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 teams11 (since 2019)
FormatSingle-elimination tournament
Current stadiumIdaho Central Arena
Current locationBoise, Idaho
Played1989–present
1983–1988 (as MWAC)
Last contest2024
Current championEastern Washington
Most championshipsMontana (21)
Official websiteBigSkyConf.com
Women's Basketball
Host stadiums
Campus sites (1983–2015)
Reno Events Center (2016–2018)
Idaho Central 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 Idaho Central 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 2024; next is Idaho State with four.[1]

Results

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Year Champions Score Runner-Up Venue
Mountain West Athletic Conference
1983 Montana (1) 66–63 Weber State Missoula, Montana
1984 Montana (2) 77–62 Eastern Washington
1985 Idaho (1) 80–57 Montana Moscow, Idaho
1986 Montana (3) 65–39 Eastern Washington Missoula, Montana
1987 Eastern Washington (1) 77–74 Montana
1988 Montana (4) 79–53 Eastern Washington
Big Sky Conference
1989 Montana (5) 63–49 Idaho Missoula, Montana
1990 Montana (6) 64–49 Idaho
1991 Montana (7) 77–49 Montana State
1992 Montana (8) 82–67 Boise State Boise, Idaho
1993 Montana State (1) 64–57 Montana Bozeman, Montana
1994 Montana (9) 81–65 Boise State Missoula, Montana
1995 Montana (10) 75–57 Montana State
1996 Montana (11) 72–60 Weber State
1997 Montana (12) 52–49 Montana State
1998 Montana (13) 58–48 Northern Arizona
1999 Cal State Northridge (1) 79–65 Portland State Northridge, California
2000 Montana (14) 66–53 Cal State Northridge Missoula, Montana
2001 Idaho State (1) 68–59 Montana Pocatello, Idaho
2002 Weber State (1) 53–47 Montana State Ogden, Utah
2003 Weber State (2) 62–53 Montana State
2004 Montana (15) 66–62 Idaho State Missoula, Montana
2005 Montana (16) 81–64 Weber State
2006 Northern Arizona (1) 74–59 Weber State Pocatello, Idaho
2007 Idaho State (2) 84–78 Northern Arizona Missoula, Montana
2008 Montana (17) 101–65 Montana State
2009 Montana (18) 69–62 Portland State
2010 Portland State (1) 62–58 Montana State Cheney, Washington
2011 Montana (19) 62–58 Portland State Portland, Oregon
2012 Idaho State (3) 49–46 Northern Colorado Pocatello, Idaho
2013 Montana (20) 56–43 Northern Colorado Missoula, Montana
2014 North Dakota (1) 72–55 Montana Grand Forks, North Dakota
2015 Montana (21) 60–49 Northern Colorado Missoula, Montana
2016 Idaho (2) 67–55 Idaho State Reno, Nevada
2017 Montana State (2) 62–56 Idaho State
2018 Northern Colorado (1) 91–69 Idaho
2019 Portland State (2) 61–59 Eastern Washington Boise, Idaho
2020 Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic
2021 Idaho State (4) 84–49 Idaho Boise, Idaho
2022 Montana State (3) 75–64 Northern Arizona
2023 Sacramento State (3) 76–63 Northern Arizona
2024 Eastern Washington (2) 73–64 Northern Arizona

Champions

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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
4
2001, 2007, 2012, 2021
Montana State
3
1993, 2017, 2022
Eastern Washington
2
1987, 2024
Idaho
2
1985, 2016
Portland State
2
2010, 2019
Weber State
2
2002, 2003
Northern Arizona
1
2006
Northern Colorado
1
2018
Sacramento State
1
2023
Cal State Northridge
1
1999
North Dakota
1
2014

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "WOMEN'S BASKETBALL RECORD BOOK" (PDF). bigskyconf.com. Big Sky Conference. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
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