Southern Utah Thunderbirds Football TV Schedule, Channels, Times
How to watch live stream Southern Utah Thunderbirds football game today, tonight, or tomorrow? What channel & time?
The Southern Utah Thunderbirds return to the Big Sky Conference in 2026, and most of their schedule streams on ESPN+ — all nine league games plus the home finale against Chicago State. Two dates break the pattern: the September 12 trip to Colorado State runs through CBS Sports under the Pac-12's television deal, and the September 19 visit to St. Thomas streams on Midco Sports Plus, the platform the Tommies use for home games. The season opener at Montana also carries a regional simulcast on Scripps Sports. East Coast viewers should watch the clock: Cedar City sits in the Mountain time zone, so several kickoffs land late, including a 10:00 PM ET Friday night game at Portland State. DeLane Fitzgerald's side plays six games at Eccles Coliseum.
| Southern Utah Thunderbirds TV Schedule 2026 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Game | Time ET | TV |
| Week 1 (Sat, Aug. 29) | @ Montana * | 9:00 PM | ESPN+ / Scripps Sports |
| Week 2 (Sat, Sept. 5) | vs Weber State * (Home Opener) | 8:00 PM | ESPN+ |
| Week 3 (Sat, Sept. 12) | @ Colorado State | 7:00 PM | CBS Sports |
| Week 4 (Sat, Sept. 19) | @ St. Thomas | 2:00 PM | Midco Sports Plus |
| Week 5 (Sat, Sept. 26) | vs Idaho State * (Homecoming) | 8:00 PM | ESPN+ |
| Week 6 (Sat, Oct. 3) | @ Utah Tech * (Battle for the Ax) | 8:00 PM | ESPN+ |
| Week 7 (Sat, Oct. 10) | BYE WEEK | — | — |
| Week 8 (Sat, Oct. 17) | vs UC Davis * | 8:00 PM | ESPN+ |
| Week 9 (Sat, Oct. 24) | @ Idaho * | 5:00 PM | ESPN+ |
| Week 10 (Sat, Oct. 31) | vs Northern Arizona * (Battle for the Grand Canyon) | 3:00 PM | ESPN+ |
| Week 11 (Sat, Nov. 7) | vs Northern Colorado * | 3:00 PM | ESPN+ |
| Week 12 (Fri, Nov. 13) | @ Portland State * | 10:00 PM | ESPN+ |
| Week 13 (Sat, Nov. 21) | vs Chicago State (Home Finale) | 2:00 PM | ESPN+ |
* Big Sky Conference game. Home games are played at Eccles Coliseum in Cedar City, Utah.
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Which Southern Utah Thunderbirds games are worth watching in 2026?
Southern Utah's return to the Big Sky begins in the hardest place possible. The Thunderbirds open August 29 at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula, where Montana routinely packs in more than 25,000 — a Week Zero conference game and about as loud a reintroduction to the league as the schedule could produce. A week later comes the home opener against in-state rival Weber State under the lights at Eccles Coliseum, and then a trip to Fort Collins on September 12 to face Colorado State, the only FBS opponent on the calendar and the only game with a proper television window.
Two trophy games anchor the middle of the season. October 3 brings the Battle for the Ax against Utah Tech in St. George, a series Southern Utah leads 6-1 and one that now carries conference weight after both schools joined the Big Sky together. Four weeks later Northern Arizona visits Cedar City for the Battle for the Grand Canyon, one of the league's longest-running rivalries and a fixture the Thunderbirds missed during their years away. Homecoming on September 26 against Idaho State is worth noting too: it is the first Big Sky game at Eccles Coliseum in five years, and Southern Utah won conference titles here in 2015 and 2017.
