Utah Tech opens Big Sky era with biggest test. Are the Trailblazers ready for it?

LEHI — Utah Tech will celebrate another significant milestone in six years of competing in the NCAA's top division this summer.

But for head football coach Lance Anderson, the work has just begun.

The Trailblazers will open their first season as full members of the Big Sky Conference this fall, an aspirational moment for Utah's newest Division I university that has only been a full member for two years.

Anderson, who will enter this third season this fall, won't have to wait long for his "welcome" to the conference; the Trailblazers will face Big Sky power Montana State — the reigning FCS national champion — in the season opener Aug. 29 at Greater Zion Stadium. Then it's a trip to Provo to face Big 12 contender BYU on Sept. 5, followed by a visit to another perennial Big Sky power in Montana in a nonconference game Sept. 12.

"They really are the benchmark of what we want to be as an FCS program," said Anderson, whose team went 2-10 last season including a 1-7 mark in its final season in the United Athletic Conference. "Whether it's Montana, Montana State, UC Davis, Idaho; those are the kinds of programs we want to be and who we want to model ourselves after. We are really working to try to get to that point."

Getting to this point has been a journey for Utah Tech. The university formerly known as Dixie State accepted an invitation to join the soon-to-be-defunct Western Athletic Conference in 2019, the latest former junior college to rise from the ranks of junior college to the NCAA's top level of athletics.

The school came off the NCAA-mandated transition ahead of the 2024 season, making each of its 15 athletic programs eligible for postseason play. That was around the time the football program hired Anderson, bringing the former Stanford assistant and Idaho native back to the intermountain west after working under the likes of David Shaw, Jim Harbaugh, Derek Mason and Vic Fangio.

He's had plenty to learn since then, finishing just 1-11 in his first season before the program received penalities for a level one academic progress rate (APR) penalty that reduced practice time by four hours a week (to be dedicated to academics).

The biggest surprise, though? The money — even at a school like Utah Tech. As part of the school's agreement to join the Big Sky, the Trailblazers (as well as in-state rival Southern Utah) agreed to pay a $3 million entrance fee and forfeit revenue from the conference's media-rights agreement through the 2030-31 academic year, according to a copy of the agreement obtained by HERO Sports.

Utah Tech also added men's track and field to boost the athletic department to 16 intercollegiate sports, giving the conference 11 men's programs.

All of the additions and financial forfeitures aside, the decision was worth it — not only for Anderson's program but the university as a whole.

"Now that we're joining the Big Sky, we really are geographically aligned with many of the schools we really want to compete with," said Utah Tech president Shane B. Smeed, a Utah native who stepped into the role last year after nearly 10 years at Park University in Kansas City. "And from an FCS perspective, there's no better conference the Big Sky. I think it's going to be really competitive.

"We need to continue to invest in our programs, in our student-athletes, and in our coaches."

Investment comes in a lot of ways, both financially and otherwise — especially in the new era of athlete revenue sharing and name, image and likeness. That's why fundraising matters now for a school like Utah Tech, with more than 40,000 members of the university's alumni association spread across the United States.

"We have alumni that are in the states where we're going to compete and play," Smeed added during a fundraising golf tournament at Thanksgiving Point. "Whether it's Montana, Idaho or in northern Utah, I think the idea is we need to sharpen our saw to be competitive — and recruit some of the best kids from right here in the state of Utah. There's nothing more exciting than cheering on your team when you see student-athletes from the state and region that you compete in."

That includes football, where Anderson has recruited 34 alums of Utah high schools to his roster, as well as transfers from BYU, Utah and Utah State. The Trailblazers three-man quarterback competition that carried over from the spring will include former Dixie High signal caller Bronson Barben, fifth-year senior Deacon Hill from Wisconsin and Iowa, and former Boise State and Utah State quarterback CJ Tiller.

"They're all very talented kids, and each has their own unique skillset," he said. "They all have some unique leadership abilities, as well. I think whoever wins that battle will be well-positioned to help us win games."

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