Big Sky Conference

50th anniversary

The 2012-13 season marked the completion of 50 years of athletic competition and 25 years sponsoring women’s collegiate athletics. Before the season the league introduced a new logo to celebrate this.

The 25th season of women’s athletics also marked a first for the league, as Portland State won the league’s inaugural softball championship. Women's sports were formerly conducted in the Mountain West Athletic Conference.

The Big Sky sponsors championships in 16 sports, including men’s and women’s cross country, golf, indoor and outdoor track and field, basketball, and tennis. In addition, there are also championships in football, and women’s volleyball, soccer, and softball.

Full members

All 12 of the Big Sky's full members will play football in the conference once Idaho drops from the FBS to FCS in 2018.

North Dakota will leave the non-football side of the Big Sky in 2018 to join the Summit League. The football team will remain in the Big Sky until 2020, when it will join the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

Former members

Notes

Gonzaga, which has not fielded a football team since 1941, was a charter member in 1963.

Membership timeline

Full members Assoc. members (football only) Full members (except football) Assoc. members (other sports) Other Conference Other Conference

Sports

As of the 2016–17 school year, the Big Sky sponsors championships in seven men's and nine women's NCAA sanctioned sports. Each core member institution is required to participate in all of the 13 core sports. Men's core sports are basketball, cross country, football, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, and tennis. Women's core sports are basketball, cross country, golf, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, tennis, and volleyball. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and UC Davis participate as football-only affiliates, otherwise participating in the Big West Conference. Binghamton and Hartford are affiliates in men's golf only, otherwise participating in the America East Conference. Before the 2014–15 school year, the latter two schools had participated in men's golf alongside five full Big Sky members in the single-sport America Sky Conference. The return of Idaho brought the number of members participating in men's golf to six, which led to the Big Sky adding men's golf and absorbing the America Sky Conference.

Baseball

The Big Sky is unusual among Division I all-sports conferences in not sponsoring baseball. The conference originally sponsored baseball, with all members participating. When Boise State and Northern Arizona arrived for the 1971 season, competition was split into two divisions of four teams each, with the winners in a best-of-three championship series. Montana State and Montana soon dropped the sport and by the 1973 season, only six teams remained but the divisions were kept, and Boise State moved over to the North Division for two years. In May 1974, the Big Sky announced its intention to discontinue five of its ten sponsored sports. It retained football, basketball, cross-county, track, and wrestling, and dropped conference competition in baseball, golf, tennis, swimming, and skiing. Of the eleven Big Sky baseball titles, four each went to Idaho (1964,'66,'67,'69) and Gonzaga (1965,'71,'73,'74), and three to Weber State (1968,'70,'72). Gonzaga won the final title in 1974 over Idaho State in three games, after losing the first game in Pocatello. Southern division champion Idaho State chose to end its baseball program weeks following the conference's announcement, and Gonzaga, Idaho, and Boise State joined the new Northern Pacific League (NorPac) for baseball in 1975. Boise State and Idaho competed in the NorPac for six seasons, then discontinued baseball after the 1980 season. North Dakota announced on April 12, 2016 that it would discontinue its baseball program, effective following the 2015-16 season. Currently, two Big Sky members sponsor baseball: Northern Colorado and Sacramento State. Both compete in the Western Athletic Conference.

Men's sponsored sports by school

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the Big Sky Conference which are played by Big Sky schools:

Women's sponsored sports by school

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Big Sky Conference which are played by Big Sky schools:

Facilities

Note: The Idaho Vandals men's basketball team plays early season home games at Memorial Gym, home of the Vandals volleyball team.

Joel Bolomboy, Weber State

Damian Lillard, Weber State

Rodney Stuckey, Eastern Washington

Conference rivalies

Eastern Washington and Portland State

Idaho and Idaho State

Idaho and Montana

Idaho State and Weber State

Idaho State and Montana

Montana and Montana State

Portland State and Sacramento State

Weber State and Southern Utah

Eastern Washington and Montana

Weber State and Montana

Non-conference rivalries

Weber State and Utah State/Utah/BYU/Utah Valley

Eastern Washington and Gonzaga

Idaho and Boise State

Idaho State and Wyoming

Montana and Wyoming

Montana State and Wyoming

Sacramento State and UC Davis

Portland State and Portland

Northern Colorado and Colorado State

Northern Colorado and Denver

North Dakota and North Dakota State

North Dakota and South Dakota

Commissioners

Jack Friel (1963–71)

John Roning (1971–77)

Steve Belko (1977–81)

Ron Stephenson (1981–95)

Doug Fullerton (1995–2016)

Andrea Williams (2016–present)

Headquarters

1963 – Pullman, Washington

1971 – Boise, Idaho

1996 – Ogden, Utah

NCAA Tournament

The best finish by a Big Sky team in the men's NCAA Tournament came in 1977, when the Idaho State Bengals advanced to the Elite Eight, with a one-point upset of UCLA in the Sweet Sixteen in Provo, Utah. The highest seed granted a Big Sky team was in 1982: the Idaho Vandals under Don Monson were seeded third in the west regional. They beat Lute Olson's Iowa Hawkeyes in nearby Pullman in overtime, but lost to second-seeded Oregon State in the regional semifinals (Sweet Sixteen), also played in Provo. Other Big Sky teams that advanced to regional semifinals include the Weber State Wildcats in 1969 and 1972, and the Montana Grizzlies under Jud Heathcote in 1975. They fell to UCLA by just three points, who went on to win another title in John Wooden's final year as head coach.

Big Sky women's basketball

Mountain West Athletic Conference (MWAC) through 1988 season

Big Sky football titles

Season, conference record, and champion

1963 - (3–1) - Idaho State

1964 - (3–0) - Montana State - won Camellia Bowl

1965 - (3–1) - Weber State^ and Idaho

1966 - (4–0) - Montana State

1967 - (4–0) - Montana State

1968 - (3–1) - Idaho, Montana State, and Weber State

1969 - (4–0) - Montana

1970 - (5–0) - Montana

1971 - (4–1) - Idaho - (Boise State won Camellia Bowl, UI was Div. I)

1972 - (5–1) - Montana State

1973 - (6–0) - Boise State - Div. II semifinalist

1974 - (6–0) - Boise State

1975 - (5–0–1) - Boise State

1976 - (6–0) - Montana State - won Div. II national championship

1977 - (6–0) - Boise State - had late regular season game, runner-up Northern Arizona invited to Div. II playoffs

1978 - (6–0) - Northern Arizona - not invited to inaugural four-team I-AA playoffs - (independent Nevada selected from West)

1979 - (6–1) - Montana State - (Boise State (7–0) ineligible) - Nevada (5–2) to four-team I-AA playoffs

1980 - (6–1) - Boise State - won I-AA national championship

1981 - (6–1) - Idaho State^ - (also 6-1 - Boise State - both to eight-team I-AA playoffs) - ISU won I-AA national championship

1982 - (5–2) - Montana^, Idaho, and Montana State (UM @ UI in twelve-team I-AA playoffs, MSU excluded)

1983 - (6–1) - Nevada - I-AA semifinalist

1984 - (6–1) - Montana State - won I-AA national championship

1985 - (6–1) - Idaho^ - (also 6-1 - Nevada - both to I-AA playoffs)

1986 - (7–0) - Nevada - I-AA semi-finalist

1987 - (7–1) - Idaho^ - (also 7-1 - Weber State - both to I-AA playoffs)

1988 - (7–1) - Idaho - I-AA semifinalist

1989 - (8–0) - Idaho - (Montana - I-AA semifinalist)

1990 - (7–1) - Nevada - I-AA runner-up, defeated Boise State in I-AA semifinals in 3OT

1991 - (8–0) - Nevada

1992 - (6–1) - Idaho^ and Eastern Washington - (both to I-AA playoffs)

1993 - (7–0) - Montana - (Idaho - I-AA semifinalist)

1994 - (6–1) - Boise State - I-AA runner-up - (Montana - I-AA semifinalist)

1995 - (6–1) - Montana - won I-AA national championship

1996 - (8–0) - Montana - I-AA runner-up

1997 - (7–1) - Eastern Washington - I-AA semifinalist

1998 - (6–2) - Montana

1999 - (7–1) - Montana

2000 - (8–0) - Montana - I-AA runner-up

2001 - (7–0) - Montana - won I-AA national championship

2002 - (5–2) - Montana, Montana State, and Idaho State - (UM, MSU to I-AA playoffs, ISU excluded)

2003 - (5–2) - Montana State^, Montana, and Northern Arizona - (all three to I-AA playoffs)

2004 - (6–1) - Montana^ and Eastern Washington - (both to I-AA playoffs) - UM - I-AA runner-up

2005 - (5–2) - Eastern Washington^, Montana State, and Montana - (EWU, UM to I-AA playoffs, MSU excluded)

2006 - (8–0) - Montana - FCS semifinalist

2007 - (8–0) - Montana

2008 - (7–1) - Weber State^ and Montana - (both to FCS playoffs) - UM - FCS runner-up

2009 - (8–0) - Montana - FCS runner-up

2010 - (7–1) - Montana State^ and Eastern Washington - (both to FCS playoffs) - EWU won FCS national championship

2011 - (7–1) - Montana State and Montana^^

2012 - (7–1) - Eastern Washington^, Montana State, and Cal Poly SLO - (all three to FCS playoffs)

2013 - (8–0) - Eastern Washington - FCS semifinalist

2014 - (7–1) - Eastern Washington

2015 - (7–1) - Southern Utah

2016 - (8–0) - Eastern Washington - FCS semifinalist and North Dakota

^ - winner of head-to-head matchup(s) in conference game(s) during the regular season. ^^ - vacated due to NCAA violations

All-time school records by wins for current teams

This list goes through the 2013 season.

Football

Eastern Washington Eagles football

Montana Grizzlies football

Idaho State Bengals football

2016 Big Sky Conference football season

Basketball

Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament

Big Sky Conference Women's Basketball Tournament