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.

[2] The Thunderbirds compete in NCAA Division I and joined the Big Sky Conference on July 1, 2012, after departing from The Summit League.

[3] 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.

[5] The football team played the 2022 season in a partnership between the WAC and the Atlantic Sun Conference.