Sport Basketball Number of teams 12 (since 2016) Current location Reno, Nevada | Conference Big Sky Conference Current stadium Reno Events Center | |
Format Single-elimination tournament | ||
The Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament is the conference championship tournament in men's basketball for the Big Sky Conference. The event has been held annually since 1976, even though the Big Sky was itself established as a conference in 1964.
Contents
The winner of the tournament each year is guaranteed a spot in the NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament.
Format and host sites
Through the 2015 edition, the top eight teams in conference play participated in the conference tournament, held at the home venue of the regular-season champion. If two or more teams tie for the regular-season title, all are declared co-champions, but hosting rights were determined by a tiebreaker procedure. Beginning with the 2016 tournament, all full conference members (currently 12) will participate, and the tournament will be held at a predetermined site, initially at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada.
From 1976 to 1983, only the top four teams from the conference regular season standings actually qualified for the tournament.
From 1964–1975, no tournament was played; the team with the best record at the end of the season advanced to the NCAA tournament. Before 2016, when the tournament moved to a predetermined neutral site, all games were played on the home court of the higher seed.