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SALT LAKE CITY — When Jon Judkins first went into coaching, his ultimate goal was to become a Division I college basketball coach.
The former standout at Dixie Junior College who matriculated to Utah State eventually returned to his first alma mater, and those plans changed. Over the years, he's grown up, started a family, had children and set down roots in St. George.
Sixteen years after taking that job, his original goal has been achieved.
The Trailblazers will open their first season as a Division I college hoops program this year, with the scheduled Nov. 28 season opener against Saint Katherine inside Burns Arena. From there, Dixie State's nonconference games will include in-state foes Weber State, Utah State and Southern Utah before a road trip to The Kennel to face college basketball power Gonzaga in the penultimate game of nonconference play on Dec. 29.
"That matchup will be very good for us," Dixie State senior Jarod Greene said. "They're one of the top teams in the nation, with a great coaching staff and great program. We'll be able to better grow our family vibe against that team and go into the WAC knowing we can do it again."
Judkins said the Zags originally called Dixie State — with an assist from assistant coach and former BYU assistant Andrew May — about scheduling a one-off "buy game" that won't be returned to St. George. Ten days later, the Trailblazers will open WAC play with back-to-back games against league power New Mexico State on Jan. 8-9 — a new league rule that will have teams play the same team in the same site due to COVID-19 regulations.
Welcome to Division I.
"Welcome to the WAC, I guess. They're very good; watching them the last couple of years is impressive," Judkins said of the Aggies, who have won the league the last three years and seven of the last eight seasons. "The thing we like is we've got them at home, at our place, and I know our fans are excited to see the best team in the conference."
While the Trailblazers will wait for the road trip to Provo and Salt Lake City, Dixie State's women's basketball team is scheduled to host BYU on Dec. 1. That schedule also includes local matchups at UNLV and Southern Utah before opening conference play Jan. 8-9 at New Mexico State.
For BYU women's basketball coach Jeff Judkins, the chance to play more local and in-state rivalries — especially in a pandemic year — is important, even if it means going to St. George.
The Cougars' schedule hasn't been finalized, but Jeff Judkins hinted that Utah Valley could be the only other local team that will play BYU this year, especially with the Utes restricted to as few as three nonconference games before Pac-12 play.
"We called every single school in the state, and said we need to try to play in-state to help us all get through the virus," said Jeff Judkins, who is the older brother of Dixie State's Jon Judkins. "It's crazy how people don't think about that, and three or four schools don't want to play us. This is a bonus year, too."
In Weber's case, the Wildcats and head coach Randy Rahe were excited about beginning a home-and-home series with the Trailblazers — and even offered to schedule the first game for Dec. 5 in St. George.
The offer didn't take much consideration, either. Being able to regularly schedule the other six Division I teams in the state was a key reason that Dixie made the jump from Division II. Joining the WAC was just a bonus.
"It's going to be fun, to be interesting," Greene said. "We'll see who is the best team in Utah and figure out what we can do to make that a game and compete."
With those three on the schedule, plus a two-game series with Utah Valley as part of its WAC schedule, the Trailblazers will play every Division I in-state team except BYU and Utah in their first season. They also had a game scheduled with the Cougars in Provo, but COVID-19 complications forced them to postpone that game to another year, Judkins said.
"They both said they wanted to play us and they think it's a good thing for our state," Jon Judkins added of both top-tier programs. "Utah State was one of the first teams to call us, and Weber State said, 'Let's start a home-and-home and we'll start it at your place.' We thought that was great.
"It was great to get SUU to play us because I think it will be a great rivalry for us. It should be a lot of fun to keep this going, maybe even twice in some years. We're really excited to play the Utah schools. It's what the fans want, and I think it's what our players want, as well."
Dixie State was picked to finish seventh in its first season in the WAC by both the media and coaches, just behind UVU and just ahead of fellow newcomer Tarleton State. Hunter Schofield, a senior forward from Spanish Fork who also played at Salt Lake Community College, was named to the All-WAC second team by both the media and the coaches.
That's to be expected from a program that is brand-new to the league and Division I. But the Trailblazers have 18 players on the roster and went 242-114 in Division II play with six Pacific West Conference championships.
They're used to winning; and after 16 years of putting off his time in Division I, Judkins is ready for the next challenge.
"I'm excited for it, and I know my family is even more excited," he said. "This university and this community in St. George is so excited for this."
