CEDAR CITY, Utah, Sept. 18 – The Southern Utah University women's basketball schedule was announced Thursday, revealing the Thunderbirds' potential path to another Big Sky Conference championship.

SUU fans will have the chance to watch their team square off against Boise State, UNLV and in-state rival Utah Valley in the Centrum Arena leading up to another competitive conference season of Big Sky action. The road schedule will see the Thunderbirds visit perennial NCAA postseason participant Gonzaga and make a visit to Air Force for an early season tournament.

“I believe playing proven teams such as Boise State, UNLV, and Gonzaga helps our program gauge where we are in the stage of progression to becoming and established program ourselves,” stated first year SUU head coach Chris Boettcher. “It will hopefully give our veteran players a chance to play and compete at a high level. I am excited to go to Gonzaga, they have great fan support and to play in that atmosphere will be a lot of fun.” 

The Thunderbirds open Big Sky play at home with a visit from Portland State on the first of January. UVU makes a return trip to Cedar City on Jan. 6 before the T-Birds embark on their first conference road trip of the year, which will feature a matchup with rival Weber State in Ogden on Jan. 17.

“I look forward to playing UVU twice this season. After spending eight years there, I am still cheering for their success and have a lot of respect for Coach Nixon,” commented Boettcher. “I am sure the players have a little bit of a rivalry with them, but we just hope to compete and get better throughout the preseason whoever we play and hopefully it prepares us for conference play.”

The remainder of the conference schedule is well-balanced for travel with alternating weekends of home and away series. The University of Idaho returns to the Big Sky this fall, making it a 12-team basketball league and allowing modifications to the scheduling format.

“I love the balance in our conference schedule, mainly for academic purposes, but not having too any long home or road stretches also helps with consistency in preparing and playing games,” explained Boettcher.

The Thunderbirds close out the regular season on the road by taking on Sacramento State and Portland State March 5 and 7. Southern Utah looks to return to the Big Sky Tournament for a third straight season, which will be hosted by the regular season champion from March 12 through 14.

“I am excited about our upcoming schedule and the opportunities it brings to our program and players,” said Boettcher. “I really feel there is a balance there where we can challenge our veteran players and get our young players a lot of experience before conference play begins. We have decided to keep all conference games at 7:00 pm for the local community and look forward to all their support.”

SUU opens the year by hosting Colorado Mesa in exhibition on Nov. 4 in preparation for home contests against Boise State on Nov. 21 and New Mexico Highlands on Nov. 29. Be sure to follow the Thunderbirds season at www.suutbirds.com. Season tickets will be available in the coming weeks and can be purchased online at tbirdtickets.com or through the SUU ticket office at 435-586-7872. 

2014-15 SUU Women's Basketball Schedule