The Big Sky Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I, with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the nine states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. Four affiliate members each participate in one sport. Two schools from California are football-only participants, and two schools from the Northeast participate only in men's golf.
Video Big Sky Conference
History
Initially conceived for basketball, the Big Sky was founded 55 years ago in 1963 with six members in four states; 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 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 Idaho, in the university division for football through 1977 (except 1967, 1968).
In 1974, half of the Big Sky's ten sports were dropped (baseball, skiing, swimming, golf, and tennis), leaving football, basketball, wrestling, track, and cross country.
Women's sports were added 30 years ago 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, golf, indoor and outdoor track and field, basketball, and tennis. There are also championships in football, and in women's volleyball, soccer, and softball.
Maps Big Sky Conference
Member schools
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.
Affiliate members
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 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 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 Conference (NorPac) for baseball in 1975. Boise State and Idaho competed in the NorPac for six seasons, then discontinued baseball after the 1980 season.
In 2016, North Dakota announced on April 12 that it was their last baseball season. As of 2017, only Northern Colorado and Sacramento State compete in the sport, both as affiliate members in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
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.
Basketball
Current NBA players
- Joel Bolomboy, Weber State
- Damian Lillard, Weber State
- Rodney Stuckey, Eastern Washington
Conference rivalries
- 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
Rivalries - football
Protected Football rivalries
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-present)
Headquarters
- Pullman, Washington (1963-1971)
- Boise, Idaho (1971-)
- Ogden, Utah (1995-)
Big Sky championships
Big Sky men's basketball
- Prior to 1976, each NCAA regional had a third place game (won 1969; lost 1972, 1975)
- The only Big Sky team to reach the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament was Idaho State in 1977
- The only Big Sky team to earn a bye in the NCAA tournament was Idaho in 1982
- Through 2018, the Big Sky has yet to have an at-large team in the NCAA tournament
Basketball championships (by school)
NCAA Tournament
Since 1968, the Big Sky champion has received a berth in NCAA Tournament; the conference tournament winner has been the representative since its introduction in 1976.
The best finish by a Big Sky team came in 1977, when the Idaho State Bengals of Jim Killingsworth advanced to the Elite Eight, with a one-point upset of UCLA in the Sweet Sixteen in Provo, Utah. Two days later, the Bengals led UNLV by a point at halftime, but lost by seventeen and finished at 25-5.
Seeding was introduced in 1979 when it expanded to forty teams, and the highest seed granted a Big Sky team was in 1982: ranked eighth in the final polls with a 26-2 record, the Idaho Vandals under Don Monson were seeded third in the West regional. After a first round bye, they beat Lute Olson'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, when the total field was 25 teams, and the Montana Grizzlies under Jud Heathcote in the 32-team field in 1975. The Griz fell to UCLA by just three points, who went on to win another title in John Wooden'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 1979.)
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 and 1999, coached by Ron Abegglen, and Montana in 2006, led by alumnus Larry Krystkowiak. Prior to Idaho in 1982, the Big Sky had been seeded seventh (Weber State, 1979 & 1980; and Idaho, 1981); the highest seed for the conference since 1982 is ninth (Weber State, 1983), and the highest since expanding to 64 teams in 1985 is twelfth (Weber State in 2003; Montana in 2006).
Through 2017, the Big Sky has yet to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The first NIT appearance for the conference was Idaho in 1983; two Big Sky teams advanced to the NIT's round of 16: Weber State (1984) and Boise State (1987).
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
Football championships (by school)
All-time school records by wins for current teams
This list goes through the 2013 season.
Overall Big Sky Conference champions
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
References
External links
- Official website
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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