Southern Utah Thunderbirds

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2018}}

{{Infobox college athletics

| name = Southern Utah Thunderbirds

| logo = Southern Utah Thunderbirds logo.svg

| logo_width = 200

| university = Southern Utah University

| association = NCAA

| conference = Western Athletic Conference (primary)
United Athletic Conference (football)
MPSF (women's gymnastics)

| division = Division I (FCS)

| director = Doug Knuth

| location = Cedar City, Utah

| teams = 13 (5 men's and 8 women's)

| stadium = Eccles Coliseum

| basketballarena = America First Event Center

| soccerstadium = Thunderbird Park Complex

| nickname = Thunderbirds

| pageurl = https://suutbirds.com/

| altlogo =

}}

The Southern Utah Thunderbirds are the varsity athletic teams representing Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah in intercollegiate athletics. The university sponsors thirteen teams including five men's sports: basketball, cross country, football, golf, and track and field and eight women's sports: basketball, cross country, golf, gymnastics, soccer, softball, track and field, and volleyball. The baseball program was dropped after the 2011–12 season.{{cite web |url=http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/sports/54140356-77/suu-utah-baseball-program.html.csp |title=College baseball: Southern Utah mourns, celebrates dropped program | The Salt Lake Tribune |publisher=Sltrib.com |access-date=March 12, 2014}} The Thunderbirds compete in NCAA Division I and joined the Big Sky Conference on July 1, 2012, after departing from The Summit League.{{cite web |url=http://www.bigskyconf.com/sports/2008/6/9/MemberInst060908.aspx |title=Big Sky Conference - Member Institutions |publisher=Bigskyconf.com |date=July 1, 2012 |access-date=March 12, 2014}}

Since 1961, Southern Utah has used the Thunderbird as its team mascot in the sports events they participate in. Its football team mascot is an even more powerful version of the Thunderbird, as it is inspired by Thor, a well-known god of Norse mythology.{{cite web|date=October 21, 2023|title=Top 5 Football Mascots in Utah – Cougars, Utes, and More|url=https://www.heraldextra.com/news/2023/oct/21/top-5-football-mascots-in-utah-cougars-utes-and-more/|access-date=November 14, 2023|work=Daily Herald}}

In 2022, the Thunderbirds left the Big Sky Conference and joined the Western Athletic Conference.{{Cite web|date=2021-01-14|title=WAC adds Southern Utah University, and will play football in 2022|url=https://www.abc4.com/news/top-stories/wac-adds-southern-utah-university-and-will-play-football-in-2022/|access-date=2021-01-15|website=ABC4 Utah|language=en-US}} The football team played the 2022 season in a partnership between the WAC and the Atlantic Sun Conference. After that season, the two conferences merged their football leagues, creating what eventually became the United Athletic Conference.

The women's gymnastics team, also known as the Flippin' Birds, is a member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, joining that for the 2023–24 season after the demise of its former gymnastics home of the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference.{{cite press release |url=https://mpsports.org/news/2023/9/21/southern-utah-joins-mpsf-womens-gymnastics.aspx |title=Southern Utah Joins MPSF Women's Gymnastics |publisher=Mountain Pacific Sports Federation |date=September 21, 2023 |access-date=May 21, 2024}}