Big Sky Conference
The Big Sky Conference is a NCAA conferences|collegiate athletic conference], affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision., ten full member institutions are located in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. Two affiliate members from California are football–only participants, and a South Carolina school joined for men's golf in July 2025. Sacramento State will leave at the end of the 2025–26 school year, with Southern [Utah Thunderbirds|Southern Utah] and Utah Tech joining.
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 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 in all sports except football. The sole exception was Idaho, in the university division for football through Idaho Vandals football team|1977]. Football moved to the new Division I-AA in 1978, which was renamed Division I Football Championship Subdivision in Division I FCS football season|2006].
In 1974, half of the Big Sky's ten included sports were dropped, 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.
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.
Member schools
Members departing for the Big West Conference on July 1, 2026.Current full members
;Notes:Future members
;Notes:Former full members
;Notes:Former affiliate members
;Notes:Membership timeline
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id:Full value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports
id:FullxF value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football
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id:AssocOS value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in some sports, but not all
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bar:1 color:FullxF from:1963 till:1979 text:Gonzaga
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:Idaho
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:
bar:2 color:Full from:2018 till:end text:
bar:3 color:Full from:1963 till:end text:Idaho State
bar:4 color:Full from:1963 till:end text:Montana
bar:5 color:Full from:1963 till:end text:Montana State
bar:6 color:Full from:1963 till:end text:Weber State
bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:1963 till:1967 text:ICAC (NJCAA)
bar:7 shift: color:OtherC2 from:1967 till:1970 text:Ind.
bar:7 color:Full from:1970 till:1996 text:Boise State
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 University|Northern Arizona]
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
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: color:OtherC1 from:1984 till:1987 text:DI-AA Ind.
bar:10 color:Full from:1987 till:end text:Washington University|Eastern Washington]
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
bar:11 shift: 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:2026 text:Sacramento State
bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:2026 till:end text:Big West
bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:1963 till:1964 text:OCC
bar:13 shift: 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
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
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
bar:15 shift: color:OtherC1 from:2018 till:end text:Summit
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: 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: color:OtherC1 from:1997 till:2007 text:Mid-Con
bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:2007 till:2012 text:Summit
bar:16 color:Full from:2012 till:2022 text:Southern Utah
bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:2022 till:2026 text:WAC
bar:16 color:Full from:2026 till:end text:
bar:17 color:AssocF from:2012 till:end text:Cal Poly
bar:18 color:AssocF from:2012 till:end text:UC Davis
bar:19 color:OtherC1 from:1963 till:1984 text:ICAC (NJCAA)
bar:19 color:OtherC2 from:1984 till:2006 text:Scenic West
bar:19 shift: color:OtherC1 from:2006 till:2007 text:D-II Ind.
bar:19 color:OtherC2 from:2007 till:2018 text:PacWest
bar:19 shift: color:OtherC1 from:2018 till:2020 text:RMAC
bar:19 color:OtherC2 from:2020 till:2026 text:WAC
bar:19 color:Full from:2026 till:end text:Utah Tech
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NCAA championships
NCAA Division I national championships as of 2021.† Northern Arizona is the only Big Sky program to win D1 team national titles outside of the Football Championship Subdivision.
Sports
As of the 2025–26 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.
Affiliates
Cal Poly and UC Davis participate as football-only affiliates, otherwise participating in the Big West Conference. 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 of the America East Conference 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 and Hartford reclassified to Division III and joined the Commonwealth Coast Conference. 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 returned at that time with Francis Marion, 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, a distinction that it shares only with the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, 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 forIn 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 Idaho 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 for baseball Boise State and Idaho competed in the NorPac for six seasons, then discontinued baseball after the
In 2016, North Dakota announced in April that it was their last baseball season. Since then, only Northern [Colorado Bears baseball|Northern Colorado] and Sacramento State have competed in the sport, both as affiliate members in the Western Athletic Conference until Northern Colorado baseball moved to the Summit League after the 2021 season. Sacramento State will leave the Big Sky for the baseball-sponsoring Big West Conference in 2026. At the same time, baseball-sponsoring Utah Tech will join the Big Sky, placing baseball in the Mountain West Conference.
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.Boise State continued its wrestling program as an affiliate member of the Pac-10 (now Pac-12) Conference.
| Sport | Men's | Women's |
| Basketball | 11 | 11 |
| Cross country | 11 | 11 |
| Football | 13 | – |
| Golf | 6 | 11 |
| Soccer | – | 10 |
| Softball | – | 7 |
| Tennis | 10 | 10 |
| Track and field (Indoor) | 11 | 11 |
| Track and field (Outdoor) | 11 | 11 |
| Volleyball | – | 11 |
Men's sponsored sports by school
Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the Big Sky Conference which are played by Big Sky schools:| School | Baseball | Skiing | Soccer | Wrestling |
| Montana State | No | RMISA | No | No |
| Northern Colorado | Summit | No | No | Big 12 |
| Sacramento State | WAC | No | Big West | No |
| Utah Tech | MW | No | MW | No |
Women's sponsored sports by school
Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Big Sky Conference which are played by Big Sky schools:| School | Beach volleyball | Gymnastics | Rowing | Skiing | Swimming |
| Idaho | No | No | No | No | MPSF |
| Montana State | No | No | No | RMISA | No |
| Northern Arizona | No | No | No | No | MPSF |
| Northern Colorado | No | No | No | No | MPSF |
| Sacramento State | Big West | MPSF | WCC | No | No |
| Southern Utah | No | Pac-12 | No | No | No |
| Utah Tech | No | No | No | No | MPSF |
Basketball
Current NBA players
- Damian Lillard, Weber State
Conference rivalries
- Idaho and Idaho State
- Idaho and Montana
- Idaho State and Weber State
- Montana and Montana State
- Weber State and Southern Utah
- Eastern Washington and Montana
- Northern Arizona and Southern Utah
Non-conference rivalries
- Weber State and Utah State/Utah/BYU/Utah Valley
- Eastern Washington and Gonzaga
- Idaho and Washington State Cougars, Battle of the Palouse
- 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
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 were extended through 2027, and have not yet been updated following the announcement of conference membership changes that will occur in 2026.| School | Rival 1 | Rival 2 |
| UC Davis | Cal Poly | Sacramento State |
| Cal Poly | UC Davis | Sacramento State |
| Eastern Washington | Idaho | Montana State |
| Idaho | Idaho State | Eastern Washington |
| Idaho State | Idaho | Weber State |
| Montana | Montana State | Portland State |
| Montana State | Montana | Eastern Washington |
| Northern Arizona | Weber State | Northern Colorado |
| Northern Colorado | Northern Arizona | Portland State |
| Portland State | Montana | Northern Colorado |
| Sacramento State | UC Davis | Cal Poly |
| Weber State | Idaho State | Northern Arizona |
Commissioners
- Jack Friel
- John Roning
- Steve Belko
- Ron Stephenson
- Doug Fullerton
- Andrea Williams
- Ron Loghry
- Tom Wistrcill
Headquarters
Big Sky championships
Men's basketball
- Prior to 1976, each NCAA regional had a third place game
- 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 2025, the Big Sky has yet to have an at-large team in the NCAA tournament
NCAA tournament
Since 1968, 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.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
Seeding was introduced in 1979 when it expanded to forty teams, and the highest seed granted a Big Sky team was in 1982 in a 48-team bracket: ranked eighth in the final polls with a 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 Oregon State in the regional semifinals, also played in Provo.
Other Big Sky teams that advanced to regional semifinals 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 heavily-favored UCLA by just three points, who went on to win another title in John Wooden's final year as head coach.
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 ; the highest seed for the conference since 1982 is ninth, and the highest since expanding to 64 teams in 1985 is twelfth.
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 Idaho in 1983; two Big Sky teams advanced to the NIT's round of 16: Weber State and Boise State.
Women's basketball
- Mountain West Athletic Conference through 1988 season
Football titles
Bold = National ChampionsAll-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.
| # | Team | Records | Pct. | Big Sky Championships | National Championships |
| 1 | North Dakota | 622-383-30 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Montana | 564-478-26 | 18 | 2 | |
| 3 | Eastern Washington | 503-404-23 | 10 | 1 | |
| 4 | UC Davis | 495-384-35 | 1 | 0 | |
| 5 | Cal Poly | 485-383-19 | 1 | 1 | |
| 6 | Montana State | 470-467-33 | 16 | 3 | |
| 7 | Idaho State | 449-488-21 | 3 | 1 | |
| 8 | Northern Arizona | 445-438-23 | 2 | 0 | |
| 9 | Northern Colorado | 425-450-26 | 0 | 2 | |
| 10 | Portland State | 331-354-10 | 0 | 0 | |
| 11 | Weber State | 266-294-3 | 6 | 0 | |
| 12 | Sacramento State | 263-351-8 | 2 | 0 | |
| 13 | Southern Utah | 261-319-13 | 2 | 1 |