CEDAR CITY, Utah-Thursday, Southern Utah University announced it is joining the Western Athletic Conference effective July 1, 2022.

The Thunderbirds will be joining this conference in 12 NCAA Division I athletics programs on campus.

The Denver-based WAC also added Texas schools Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin, all of which previously belonged to the Southland Conference.

This will make the WAC a 13-team conference consisting of two divisions. All of the Texas schools (which include current WAC members Tarleton State and Texas-Rio Grande Valley) will be in a division together. The other division will consist of Dixie State, SUU, Utah Valley University, New Mexico State, Grand Canyon, California Baptist and Seattle University.

SUU athletics have previously competed in the now-defunct American West Conference, the Mid-Continent Conference (1997-2012, the Mid-Con is now known as the Summit League) and more recently the Big Sky Conference (2012-2022).

The Thunderbirds’ football program will also find a home in the WAC as Dixie State, New Mexico State, Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin all field football squads.

The Thunderbirds have belonged to various conferences in football dating back to the program’s commencement in 1963.

SUU football has previously been affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Conference (1969-1985), the Western Football Conference (1986-1992), The American West Conference (1993-1995) and the Great West Conference (2004-2011).

The Thunderbirds were also football independents from 1963-1968 and 1996-2003.