Big Sky Conference Women's Basketball Tournament

The Big Sky Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament is held at the end of each women's college basketball regular season. The tournament was first conducted by the Big Sky Conference at the end of the 1988–89 season, the first in which the conference sponsored women's sports. The Big Sky includes in its history the preceding six years of the Mountain West Athletic Conference, a women's athletic league consisting mostly of Big Sky members that operated from 1982 to 1988, so the inaugural tournament was in March 1983. (The MWAC of the 1980s is not affiliated with the current Mountain West Conference (MWC), launched in 1999). The tournament winner receives the Big Sky's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.

Big Sky Conference Women's Basketball Tournament
Conference Basketball Championship
SportBasketball
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Number of teams12 (since 2016)
FormatSingle-elimination tournament
Current stadiumCenturyLink Arena
Current locationBoise, Idaho
Played1989–present
1983–1988 (as MWAC)
Last contest2019
Current championPortland State
Most championshipsMontana (21)
Official websiteBigSkyConf.com
Women's Basketball
Host stadiums
Campus sites (1983–2015)
Reno Events Center (2016–2018)
CenturyLink Arena (2019–present)
Host locations
Campus sites (1983–2015)
Reno, Nevada (2016–2018)
Boise, Idaho (2019–present)

Prior to the 1982–83 season, Big Sky members with women's basketball programs housed them in several different conferences. The formation of the MWAC brought the women's sports programs of all Big Sky members under a single umbrella, and the Big Sky ultimately absorbed the MWAC in 1988, incorporating all MWAC statistics and records as its own. From the tournament's inception through the 2015 edition, each matchup was contested on the home court of the higher seed, a practice also used by the Big Sky men's tournament. The 2016 men's and women's tournaments were the first to be held at a predetermined neutral site, with both held at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada. On September 18, 2017, the Big Sky Conference announced that its men's and women's basketball tournaments would move to CenturyLink Arena for three years, starting in 2019.

Starting in 1986, an MVP was selected at the conclusion of the championship game. In 1989 (the first under the Big Sky name), the conference added all-conference team honors, in addition to the MVP.

The dominant program has been Montana, with 21 titles through 2017; next is Idaho State with three.

Tournament Champions

Mountain West Athletic Conference

YearChampionRunner-UpLocation
1983MontanaWeber StateMissoula, Montana
1984MontanaEastern WashingtonMissoula, Montana
1985IdahoMontanaMoscow, Idaho
1986MontanaEastern WashingtonMissoula, Montana
1987Eastern WashingtonMontanaMissoula, Montana
1988MontanaEastern WashingtonMissoula, Montana

Big Sky Conference

YearChampionRunner-UpLocation
1989MontanaIdahoMissoula, Montana
1990MontanaIdahoMissoula, Montana
1991MontanaMontana StateMissoula, Montana
1992MontanaBoise StateBoise, Idaho
1993Montana StateMontanaBozeman, Montana
1994MontanaBoise StateMissoula, Montana
1995MontanaMontana StateMissoula, Montana
1996MontanaWeber StateMissoula, Montana
1997MontanaMontana StateMissoula, Montana
1998MontanaNorthern ArizonaMissoula, Montana
1999Cal State NorthridgePortland StateNorthridge, California
2000MontanaCal State NorthridgeMissoula, Montana
2001Idaho StateMontanaPocatello, Idaho
2002Weber StateMontana StateOgden, Utah
2003Weber StateMontana StateOgden, Utah
2004MontanaIdaho StateMissoula, Montana
2005MontanaWeber StateMissoula, Montana
2006Northern ArizonaWeber StatePocatello, Idaho
2007Idaho StateNorthern ArizonaMissoula, Montana
2008MontanaMontana StateMissoula, Montana
2009MontanaPortland StateMissoula, Montana
2010Portland StateMontana StateCheney, Washington
2011MontanaPortland StatePortland, Oregon
2012Idaho StateNorthern ColoradoPocatello, Idaho
2013MontanaNorthern ColoradoMissoula, Montana
2014North DakotaMontanaGrand Forks, North Dakota
2015MontanaNorthern ColoradoMissoula, Montana
2016IdahoIdaho StateReno, Nevada
2017Montana StateIdaho StateReno, Nevada
2018Northern ColoradoIdahoReno, Nevada
2019Portland StateEastern WashingtonBoise, Idaho
2020Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemicBoise, Idaho
2021Boise, Idaho

Titles

Member Titles Years
Montana
21
1983, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991,
1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000,
2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015
Idaho State
3
2001, 2007, 2012
Montana State
2
1993, 2017
Idaho
2
1985, 2016
Weber State
2
2002, 2003
Portland State
2
2010, 2019
Eastern Washington
1
1987
North Dakota
1
2014
Northern Arizona
1
2006
Northern Colorado
1
2018
Cal State Northridge ¹
1
1999
TOTAL
35
 

¹ no longer a conference member

  • Absent for 18 seasons, Idaho rejoined the Big Sky in the fall of 2014

See also

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