Jensen comes to Cedar City as a proven program builder following a decade-long stint at Utah State University Eastern, where she served as the head volleyball coach and Assistant Athletic Director for External Operations.

In 10 years at the Price, Utah, two-year college, Jensen compiled a 190-88 record, leading the Eagles to three appearances in the NJCAA Tournament (Spring 2021, 2022, 2024).

The Eagles appeared in the national rankings every season but her first in charge, finishing the season as high as No. 4 when they reached their first national tournament in school history during the Spring 2021 campaign.

Jensen also led USU Eastern to to the first Scenic West Athletic Conference title in program history during the Fall 2021 season, before winning the SWAC, Region 18, and Rocky Mountain District titles in 2024.

A two-time SWAC Coach of the Year and the 2021 AVCA Western Region Coach of the Year, Jensen brings great experience to an SUU team looking to build off a WAC Tournament appearance in 2024.

Jensen replaces Kacey Nady, who abruptly resigned after four seasons leading the T-birds volleyball program on June 9.

The Thunderbirds will begin the 2025 campaign on Friday, Aug. 29 at 12:30 p.m., facing Big West Conference member UC Irvine in the Wildcat Invitational at Weber State in Ogden, Utah.

Following three matches at the tournament, Southern Utah will open the home portion of the schedule with a matchup against UC Riverside on Thursday, Sep. 4 at 6:30 p.m.

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First reported by Matt Brown of Extra Points and followed by Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports, the Thunderbirds will be joined by fellow WAC member and rival Utah Tech in the move to the Big Sky.

“We are excited to be rejoining the Big Sky Conference,” said SUU President Mindy Benson in an official release from the school.

“This move sets a strong foundation for the future of SUU Athletics by expanding our visibility and creating meaningful opportunities for growth. We’re looking forward to renewing friendly in-state rivalries with Weber State and Utah Tech and are eager to strengthen our connection to all the Big Sky Universities.”

The additions of Southern Utah and Utah Tech give the Big Sky 11 members in 2026, following the recent departure of Sacramento State last week.

Currently a member of the Western Athletic Conference, SUU will return to the conference it previously called home from 2012 to 2022. 

“Thunderbird Nation is thrilled to be returning to the Big Sky Conference,” said Interim Athletic Director Tom Higbee. “The Big Sky is a premier conference with a proud history and a strong competitive spirit. We’re grateful for the opportunity to rejoin and look forward to contributing to the league’s continued success. I’m excited for our student-athletes, coaches, alumni, and fans and appreciate their unwavering support of Thunderbird Athletics.”

The Thunderbirds will join the conference in all possible sports, including football, which is currently part of the United Athletic Conference. As of now, gymnastics will remain in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, as the Big Sky does not sponsor the sport.

The switch to the Big Sky also means that all three of the states’ FCS football programs – Southern Utah, Utah Tech, and Weber State – will be together in one conference.

How we got here

Southern Utah most recently joined the WAC in 2022, alongside a group of four Texas schools, which gave the conference 12 members.

Thanks to a number of other conference realignment moves, however, the WAC was never able to keep many of the schools that joined.

For the 2025-26 athletics year, the conference was slated to have eight full members, dipping to five for the 2026-27 season following the departures of Grand Canyon (Mountain West), Utah Valley (Big West), Seattle U, and California Baptist (both West Coast Conference). 

Now, the WAC and Atlantic Sun will reportedly form an alliance, where five football members of the ASUN will move to the WAC in 2026. The conference will then rebrand as the United Athletic Conference, the moniker of the current WAC-ASUN football conference that Southern Utah will play a final season in this fall.

With one year remaining in the current iteration of the WAC, six of the seven Division I schools in Utah will have been members of the conference at some point since its founding in 1962. Weber State, a founding member of the Big Sky, is the only Utah school never to be a WAC member.

A familiar home

As mentioned previously, SUU is no stranger to the Big Sky Conference.

The Thunderbirds first joined the conference in 2012 from the Summit League, under the direction of Athletic Director Ken Beazer.

Beazer is now the Athletic Director at Utah Tech, who is slated to make the move to the conference alongside Southern Utah next year.

During a decade-long run in the conference the first time around, SUU had several memorable moments. This included nine conference titles won across all sports, highlighted by the best season in the football program’s history in 2017.

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Here are recaps of all three games, beginning with Friday’s doubleheader.

Game 1 – Friday

Despite running out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, the T-birds would eventually drop the first game of the series on Friday afternoon at GCU, 6-3.

Amyah Boostedt highlighted the opening frame with a two-run RBI single, but the Lopes responded with a four-run bottom of the inning to make it a 4-3 score.

Southern Utah was unable to make it a closer contest the rest of the way, even with runners reaching base in four of the final six innings.

GCU would add two more runs in the sixth, sealing the opening game victory, 6-3.

Game 2 – Friday (DH)

After the SUU offense failed to score a run in the final six frames of game one, the drought continued in the second matchup of the day, with the Lopes securing a 4-0 shutout win.

The Thunderbirds were only able to muster a pair of hits and five total baserunners, while Grand Canyon tallied a run in four separate innings to secure the series victory.

Game 3 – Saturday

SUU would take an early 1-0 lead in Saturday’s series finale, courtesy of an RBI single off the bat of Tawnie Mozeris in the top of the second inning.

The slim advantage was short-lived, however, as the Lopes answered with six runs in the bottom of the frame to take a five-run lead.

Grand Canyon added two more runs in the third to make it an 8-1 score, but Southern Utah was able to get a trio of runs back in the top of the fourth to cut the deficit to 8-4.

Once again, any chance at momentum was quickly ruined, as the Lopes made it a 13-4 ballgame with a five-run home half of the fourth.

The deficit was too much to overcome, as SUU was held scoreless in the final frame as Grand Canyon notched the series sweep.

With the series defeat at GCU, the T-birds now sport a 9-22 record, including 4-8 in WAC play.

Up next

Southern Utah (9-22, 4-8 WAC) returns to Cedar City to battle in-state foe Utah Tech for a three-game series.

The series is slated to begin with a doubleheader on Friday, April 11, with first pitch for game one set at 1 p.m. MT.

All three games of the rivalry WAC series can be seen on ESPN+.

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