The Big Sky Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, affiliated with the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

's Division I with

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

competing in the

Football Championship Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision (F ...

. , ten full member institutions are located in the states of

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, and Washington. Two affiliate members from California are football–only participants.

History

Initially conceived for the Big Sky was founded on July 1, 1963, with six members in four of the charter members have been in the league from its founding, and a fifth returned in 2014 after an 18-year absence. The name "Big Sky" came from the popular 1947 western novel by A. B. Guthrie Jr.; it was proposed by Harry Missildine, a sports columnist of the '' Spokesman-Review'' just prior to the founding meetings of the conference in

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south ...

in February 1963, and was adopted with the announcement of the new conference five days later. Starting in 1968, the conference competed at the highest level (university division) in all sports except football ( college division). The sole exception was

, in the university division for football through

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

(except

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

). Football moved to the new Division I-AA in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

, which was renamed Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

. In 1974, half of the Big Sky's ten included sports were dropped (baseball, skiing, swimming, golf, and tennis), leaving football, basketball, wrestling, track, and cross country skiing. Women's sports were added in 1988, moving from the women's-only Mountain West Athletic Conference (1982–88).

Fiftieth anniversary

The 2012–13 season marked the completion of a half century of athletic competition and a quarter century 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. From 1982 to 1988, women's sports were conducted in the Mountain West Athletic Conference. The Big Sky sponsors championships in sixteen sports, including men's and women's cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field, basketball, and tennis. There are also championships in football, and in women's volleyball, golf, soccer, and softball. Men's golf will be reinstated in 2025–26 after having been discontinued in 2024. It is one of two Division I all-sports conferences to not sponsor baseball, the other being the

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC ) is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and the Mid-A ...

Member schools

Current full members

;Notes:

Affiliate members

Future affiliate members

;Notes:

Former full members

;Notes:

Former affiliate members

;Notes:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1963 till:2030 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph, use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<# Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7) id:line value:black id:bg value:white id:Full value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports id:FullxF value:rgb(0.551,0.824,0.777) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football id:AssocF value:rgb(0.98,0.5,0.445) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.5,0.691,0.824) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in some sports, but not all (consider identifying in legend or a footnote) id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference where OtherC1 has already been used, to distinguish the two PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:FullxF from:1963 till:1979 text: Gonzaga (1963–1979) bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:2026 text: WCC bar:1 color:OtherC2 from:2026 till:end text: Pac-12 bar:2 color:Full from:1963 till:1996 text:

(1963–1996) bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:1996 till:2005 text: Big West bar:2 color:OtherC2 from: 2005 till:2014 text: WAC bar:2 color:FullxF from:2014 till:2018 text:(2014–present) bar:2 color:Full from:2018 till:end text: bar:3 color:Full from:1963 till:end text: Idaho State (1963–present) bar:4 color:Full from:1963 till:end text:

(1963–present) bar:5 color:Full from:1963 till:end text: Montana State (1963–present) bar:6 color:Full from:1963 till:end text: Weber State (1963–present) bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:1963 till:1967 text: ICAC (NJCAA) bar:7 shift:(20) color:OtherC2 from:1967 till:1970 text:Ind. bar:7 color:Full from:1970 till:1996 text: Boise State (1970–1996) bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:1996 till:2001 text: Big West bar:7 color:OtherC2 from:2001 till:2011 text: WAC bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:2011 till:2026 text: Mountain West bar:7 color:OtherC2 from:2026 till:end text: Pac-12 bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:1963 till:1970 text:Independent bar:8 color:Full from:1970 till:end text: Northern Arizona (1970–present) bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:1963 till:1969 text: FWC bar:9 color:OtherC2 from:1969 till:1979 text: WCC bar:9 color:Full from:1979 till:1992 text:

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

(1979–1992) bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:1992 till:2000 text: Big West bar:9 color:OtherC2 from:2000 till:2012 text: WAC bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:end text: Mountain West bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:1963 till:1979 text: Evergreen (NAIA) bar:10 color:OtherC2 from:1979 till:1984 text: D-II Ind. bar:10 shift:(-15) color:OtherC1 from:1984 till:1987 text: DI-AA Ind. bar:10 color:Full from:1987 till:end text:

Eastern Washington Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the H ...

(1987–present) bar:11 color:OtherC1 from:1963 till:1990 text: CCAA bar:11 color:OtherC2 from:1990 till:1994 text: D-I Ind. bar:11 color:OtherC1 from:1994 till:1996 text: AWC bar:11 color:Full from:1996 till:2001 text: Cal State Northridge (1996–2001) bar:11 shift:(95) color:OtherC1 from:2001 till:end text: Big West bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:1963 till:1982 text: FWC bar:12 color:OtherC2 from:1982 till:1985 text: NCAC bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:1985 till:1994 text:Independent bar:12 color:OtherC2 from:1994 till:1996 text: AWC bar:12 color:Full from:1996 till:end text: Sacramento State (1996–present) bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:1963 till:1964 text: OCC bar:13 shift:(20) color:OtherC2 from:1964 till:1992 text:Independent bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:1992 till:1996 text: PacWest bar:13 color:Full from:1996 till:end text: Portland State (1996–present) bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:1963 till:1967 text: RMFAC bar:14 color:OtherC2 from:1967 till:1972 text: RMAC bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:1972 till:1978 text: D-II Ind. bar:14 color:OtherC2 from:1978 till:2003 text: NCC bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:2003 till:2006 text: D-I Ind. bar:14 color:Full from:2006 till:end text: Northern Colorado (2006–present) bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:1963 till:2008 text: NCC bar:15 color:OtherC2 from:2008 till:2012 text: GWC bar:15 color:Full from:2012 till:2018 text:

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

(2012–2018) bar:15 shift:(50) color:OtherC1 from:2018 till:end text:

Summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...

bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:1963 till:1967 text: NAIA Ind. bar:16 color:OtherC2 from:1967 till:1986 text: RMAC bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:1986 till:1988 text: D-II Ind. bar:16 shift:(15) color:OtherC2 from:1988 till:1994 text: DI-AA Ind. bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:1994 till:1996 text: AWC bar:16 color:OtherC2 from:1996 till:1997 text: Ind. bar:16 shift:(15) color:OtherC1 from:1997 till:2007 text: Mid-Con bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:2007 till:2012 text:

bar:16 color:Full from:2012 till:2022 text: Southern Utah (2012–2022) bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:2022 till:end text: WAC bar:17 color:AssocF from:2012 till:end text: Cal Poly (2012–present) bar:18 color:AssocF from:2012 till:end text:

UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

(2012–present) ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1965 TextData = fontsize:M textcolor:black pos:(0,30) tabs:(400-center) text:^"Big Sky Conference membership history" # > If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following six options (use only the colors that are used in the graphic.) Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space. <#

NCAA championships

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

national championships as of 2021. † Northern Arizona is the only Big Sky program to win D1 team national titles outside of the

(FCS).

Sports

As of the 2022–23 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. Men's golf will be reinstated in 2025–26 after a one-season absence.

Affiliates

Cal Poly and

participate as football-only affiliates, otherwise participating in the

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's NCAA Division I, Division I. The conference was origina ...

. The Mustangs and Aggies were welcomed by the BSC in September 2010 in response to both nationwide conference realignment and an expansion of the FCS playoff bracket at the time, according to then-commissioner Doug Fullerton. Both Binghamton and

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

of the

America East Conference The America East Conference (AmEast) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference is headquartered in Boston, Massachu ...

were affiliates in men's golf only from 2014 to 2023. 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. Both schools left after the 2022–23 athletic season, after Binghamton moved their program to the

Northeast Conference The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Foo ...

and Hartford reclassified to Division III and joined the

Commonwealth Coast Conference The Conference of New England (CNE), formerly known as the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC), is an List of NCAA conferences, intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division ...

. By this time the number of full Big Sky members that sponsored men's golf had dropped to 4, below the 6 member minimum necessary for the conference champion to receive an autobid to the NCAA Division I men's golf championship, so with the departure of the two affiliates, the Big Sky ceased sponsoring men's golf again after the 2024 season. However, the reinstatement of Eastern Washington men's golf effective in 2025–26 gave the Big Sky five full members that sponsored the sport, and Big Sky men's golf will return at that time with

Francis Marion Brigadier general (United States), Brigadier General Francis Marion ( 1732 – February 27, 1795), also known as the "Swamp Fox", was an American military officer, planter, and politician who served during the French and Indian War and t ...

, a Division II member that plays Division I men's golf, as the needed sixth member.

Baseball

The Big Sky is unusual among Division I all-sports conferences in not sponsoring

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

, a distinction that it shares only with the

, and which it held alone prior to the 2022–23 school year. The conference originally sponsored baseball in 1964, 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 In May 1974, the Big Sky announced its intention to discontinue five of its ten sponsored sports. It retained football, basketball, cross-country, 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

and Gonzaga, and three to Weber State. 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 Conference (NorPac) for baseball Boise State and Idaho competed in the NorPac for six seasons, then discontinued baseball after the :*

(4) 1964, 1966, 1967, 1969 :* Gonzaga (4) 1965, 1971, 1973, 1974 :* Weber State (3) 1968, 1970, 1972 In 2016,

announced in April that it was their last baseball season. Since then, only Northern Colorado and Sacramento State have competed in the sport, both as affiliate members in the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

(WAC) until Northern Colorado baseball moved to the Summit League after the 2021 season.

Wrestling

Through the 1987 season, the conference sponsored wrestling. Boise State and Idaho State dominated in most years, winning ten and eight conference titles, respectively. BSU won seven consecutive from 1974 to 1980. Montana State and Weber State also had some good years; Montana won their only conference title in the last year Big Sky sponsored the sport. :* Montana State (3) 1964, 1965, 1966 :* Idaho State (8) 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1984 :* Boise State (10) 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1986 :*Weber State (2) 1981, 1983 :*

(1) 1987 Boise State continued its wrestling program as an affiliate member of the Pac-10 (now Pac-12) 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

Basketball

Current NBA players

Damian Lillard Damian Lamonte Ollie Lillard Sr. (born July 15, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Dame Time", he played college basketball for the Weber State Wi ...

, Weber State

Conference rivalries

and Idaho State *

and

* Idaho State and Weber State *

and Montana State * Weber State and Southern Utah *

and

* Northern Arizona and Southern Utah

Non-conference rivalries

* Weber State and Utah State/

/ BYU/

Utah Valley Utah Valley is a valley in North Central Utah located in Utah County, Utah, Utah County, and is considered part of the Wasatch Front. It contains the cities of Provo, Utah, Provo, Orem, Utah, Orem, and their suburbs, including Alpine, Utah, A ...

and Gonzaga *

and

Washington State Cougars The Washington State Cougars (known informally as the Cougs) are the sport, athletic teams that represent Washington State University. Located in Pullman, Washington, WSU is a member of the Pac-12 Conference in NCAA Division I. The athletic pr ...

, Battle of the Palouse *

and Boise State * Idaho State and

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

and

* Montana State and

* Sacramento State and

* Portland State and Portland * Northern Colorado and Colorado State * Northern Colorado and

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

2021–22 home game attendance averages

Rivalries

Protected football rivalries

Because there are 12 teams in the conference, but each team only plays eight conference football games per year, the conference has set two "protected rivalry" games for each team. These rivalry match-ups are played every season, while football games against other conference teams are played twice every three years. Many of the protected rivalries are traditional, due to the teams either being in the same state or within close geographical proximity. With the departure of Southern Utah from the conference, new protected rivalries were announced for 2022–2024; these rivalries have since been extended through 2027.

Conference

Non-conference

Commissioners

* Jack Friel (1963–71) * John Roning (1971–77) * Steve Belko (1977–81) * Ron Stephenson (1981–95) * Doug Fullerton (1995–2016) * Andrea Williams (2016–2018) ** Ron Loghry (interim, 2018) * Tom Wistrcill (2018–present)

Headquarters

Pullman, Washington Pullman is the most populous city in Whitman County, located in southeastern Washington within the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. The population was 32,901 at the 2020 census, and estimated to be 32,508 in 2022. Originally founded as ...

(1963–1971) *

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

(1971–1995) *

Ogden, Utah Ogden ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the United States Census ...

(1995–2019) * Farmington, Utah (2019–present)

Big Sky championships

Men's basketball

* Prior to 1976, each NCAA regional had a

third place In sociology, the third place refers to the social surroundings that are separate from the two usual social environments of home ("first place") and the workplace ("second place"). Examples of third places include Church (building), churches, C ...

game (won 1969; lost 1972, 1975) * The only Big Sky team to reach the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament was Idaho State in

* The only Big Sky team to earn a bye in the NCAA tournament was

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

* Through 2025, the Big Sky has yet to have an at-large team in the NCAA tournament

Championships (by school)

NCAA tournament

Since

, the Big Sky champion has received a berth in the NCAA tournament; the conference tournament winner has been the representative since its introduction in

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

. The best finish by a Big Sky team came in

, when the Idaho State Bengals of Jim Killingsworth advanced to the

Elite Eight In the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, NCAA men's Division I basketball championship or the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, NCAA women's Division I basketball championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight t ...

, with a one-point upset of

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

in the Sweet Sixteen in

Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Utah County, Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front, and lies between the cities of Orem, Utah, Orem to the north and Springville, Utah, Springville to the south ...

. Two days later, the Bengals led

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. ...

by a point at halftime, but lost by seventeen and finished at Seeding was introduced in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

when it expanded to forty teams, and the highest seed granted a Big Sky team was in

in a 48-team bracket: ranked eighth in the final polls with a record, the

Idaho Vandals The Idaho Vandals are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing the University of Idaho, located in Moscow, Idaho. The Vandals compete at the NCAA Division I level as a member of the Big Sky Conference. The Idaho Vandals football, footbal ...

under Don Monson were seeded third in the West regional. After a first round bye, they beat

Lute Olson Robert Luther "Lute" Olson (September 22, 1934 – August 27, 2020) was an American basketball coach, who was inducted into both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. He was the head co ...

's Iowa Hawkeyes in nearby Pullman in overtime, but lost to second-seeded (and fourth-ranked) Oregon State in the regional semifinals (Sweet Sixteen), also played in Provo. (Idaho had defeated OSU by 22 points in December in the Far West Classic at Portland.) Other Big Sky teams that advanced to regional semifinals (Sweet Sixteen) include the Weber State Wildcats in 1969 and

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

, when the total field was 25 teams, and the

Montana Grizzlies The Montana Grizzlies and Lady Griz are the nicknames given to the athletic teams of the University of Montana, located in Missoula, Montana, Missoula. The university is a member of the Big Sky Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fieldin ...

under Jud Heathcote in the 32-team field in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

. The Griz fell to heavily-favored

by just three points, who went on to win another title in

John Wooden John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball coach and player. Nicknamed "the Wizard of Westwood", he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, nati ...

's final year as head coach. (A year later, Heathcote was hired at Michigan State with Monson as an assistant for the first two years; in his third season, the Spartans won the national title in

.) Since 1982, only three teams from the Big Sky have advanced within the NCAA tournament, and none past the round of 32. Weber State won in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

and

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, coached by Ron Abegglen, and Montana in

, led by alumnus Larry Krystkowiak. Prior to Idaho in 1982, the Big Sky had been seeded seventh (Weber State, 1979 & 1980; and

, 1981); the highest seed for the conference since 1982 is ninth (Weber State,

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

), and the highest since expanding to 64 teams in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

is twelfth (Weber State in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

; Montana in 2006). Through 2025, the Big Sky has yet to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The first NIT appearance for the conference was

; two Big Sky teams advanced to the NIT's round of 16: Weber State (

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

) and Boise State (

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

Women's basketball

* Mountain West Athletic Conference (MWAC) through 1988 season

Football titles

Bold = National Champions

Football championships (by school)

All-time school records by wins for current teams

This list goes through the 2020 season. This list includes former member North Dakota and excludes current member Idaho. Records do not match NCAA record book.

Overall Big Sky Conference champions

References

External links

* {{NCAA Division I FCS conference navbox Sports in the Western United States Ogden, Utah Sports organizations established in 1963