Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament | |
---|---|
Conference Basketball Championship | |
Sport | Basketball |
Conference | Big Sky Conference |
Number of teams |
12 (since 2016) 8 (2015) 7 (2013–2014) 6 (1989–2012) 8 (1984–1988) 4 (1976–1983) |
Format | Single-elimination tournament |
Current stadium | CenturyLink Arena |
Current location | Boise, Idaho |
Played | 1976–present |
Last contest | 2018 |
Current champion | Montana |
Most championships | Weber State, Montana (tied at 10) |
Official website | BigSkyConf.com Men's Basketball |
Host stadiums | |
Campus sites (1976–2015) Reno Events Center (2016–2018) CenturyLink Arena (2019–2021) | |
Host locations | |
Campus sites (1976–2015) Reno, Nevada (2016–2018) Boise, Idaho (2019–2021) |
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,[1] the conference's thirteenth year.
The tournament winner earns a berth in the NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament.
Format and host sites
For the Big Sky's first twelve seasons, it did not have a conference tournament. Starting with its fifth season of 1967–68, the regular season champion received a berth in the West regional of the NCAA tournament. In 1974,[2] an unscheduled tiebreaker playoff was held; the two had identical records (conference & overall) and each had won at home to split the season series; the visiting team prevailed in the playoff.[3][4]
For the tournament's first eight editions (1976–1983), only the top four teams (of eight) in the conference standings participated. The tournament expanded to eight teams in 1984,[1] then scaled back to six in 1989. Before 2016, when the tournament moved to a predetermined neutral site, it was often hosted by the regular season champion, but not always. If two or more teams tied for the regular season title, all were declared co-champions, but hosting rights were determined by a tiebreaker procedure. The first tournament in which the regular season champion did not host was in 1985.
Since the 2016 tournament, all full conference members (currently 12) have participated (barring NCAA sanctions or self-imposed postseason bans, the latter of which kept Northern Colorado out of the 2017 tournament), and the tournament is held at a predetermined site, currently the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada.
On September 18, 2017, the Big Sky announced that its men's and women's tournaments will relocate in 2019 to Boise, Idaho; the initial contract runs for three years at CenturyLink Arena, through 2021.
History of the Tournament Finals
Finals performance by school
School | Championships | Appearances | Title Years |
---|---|---|---|
Weber State | 10 | 18 | 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2014, 2016 |
Montana | 10 | 19 | 1991, 1992, 1997, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2018 |
Boise State | 4 | 5 | 1976, 1988, 1993, 1994 |
Idaho | 4 | 6 | 1981, 1982, 1989, 1990 |
Nevada | 2 | 6 | 1984, 1985 |
Idaho State | 2 | 4 | 1977, 1987 |
Northern Arizona | 2 | 8 | 1998, 2000 |
Montana State | 2 | 5 | 1986, 1996 |
Portland State | 2 | 2 | 2008, 2009 |
Eastern Washington | 2 | 7 | 2004, 2015 |
Cal State Northridge | 1 | 3 | 2001 |
North Dakota | 1 | 2 | 2017 |
Northern Colorado[6] | 0 | 0 | |
Sacramento State | 0 | 0 | |
Southern Utah | 0 | 0 |
- Current members of the Big Sky Conference are highlighted in yellow.
- Boise State was a member for 26 years (1970–96), Nevada for 13 years (1979–92).
- Charter member Idaho was out of the conference for 18 years (1996–2014).
See also
References
- 1 2 "Big Sky expands basketball tourney". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 1, 1983. p. 19.
- ↑ "College cage standings". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. March 4, 1974. p. 15.
- ↑ "ISU holds off Grizzlies". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. March 6, 1974. p. 13.
- ↑ "Growing rookie key for Bengals". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. Associated Press. March 6, 1974. p. 17.
- ↑ "NCAA forces Northern Colorado to vacate 2011 Big Sky title, hits ex-coach hard". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2018-01-04.
- ↑ "NCAA forces Northern Colorado to vacate 2011 Big Sky title, hits ex-coach hard". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2018-01-04.