Editing Big Sky Conference (section)

==Sports==
As of the 2022–23 school year, the Big Sky sponsors championships in seven men's and nine women's NCAA-sanctioned sports.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bigskyconf.com/index.aspx|title=Big Sky Conference|website=Big Sky Conference|access-date=March 2, 2017}}</ref> 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 ===
[[File:CalPolyStadiumBigSkyFootballIn2023.jpg|alt=Cal Poly quarterback Sam Huard looks downfield during a Big Sky Conference football game against Northern Colorado on Oct. 21, 2023.|thumb|Cal Poly quarterback Sam Huard looks downfield during a Big Sky Conference football game against Northern Colorado on Oct. 21, 2023.]]
[[Cal Poly Mustangs football|Cal Poly]] and [[UC Davis Aggies football|UC Davis]] participate as football-only affiliates, otherwise participating in the [[Big West Conference]]. The [[Cal Poly Mustangs|Mustangs]] and [[UC Davis Aggies|Aggies]] were welcomed by the BSC in September 2010 in response to both nationwide conference realignment<ref>{{Cite news |last=Voisinavoisin |first=Ailene |date=September 8, 2010 |title=Big Sky, horizons open for UCD |pages=C1 |work=The Sacramento Bee}}</ref> and an expansion of the [[NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision|FCS]] playoff bracket at the time, according to then-commissioner Doug Fullerton.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Aird |first=Donovan |date=September 8, 2010 |title=Big Sky felt it needed to make a statement in conference realignment |pages=S1 |work=The Tribune (San Luis Obispo, CA)}}</ref>

Both [[Binghamton Bearcats|Binghamton]] and [[Hartford Hawks|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.<ref name="Big Sky men's golf">{{cite news|url=http://www.standard.net/Sports/2014/06/04/Weber-State-joins-familiar-friends-foes-as-Big-Sky-brings-back-men-s-golf.html |title=WSU joins friends/foes as Big Sky brings back men's golf |first=Roy |last=Burton |newspaper=[[Standard-Examiner]] |location=Ogden, Utah |date=June 4, 2014 |access-date=June 13, 2014}}</ref> 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 [[NCAA Division III|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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.greeleytribune.com/2024/05/07/northern-colorado-mens-golf-moving-to-the-summit-league-beginning-july-1/ |title=Northern Colorado men's golf moving to The Summit League beginning July 1 |first=Anne |last=Delaney |newspaper=Greeley Tribune |date=May 7, 2024 |access-date=May 8, 2024}}</ref>

===Baseball===
The Big Sky is unusual among Division I all-sports conferences in not sponsoring [[College baseball|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 Broncos#Baseball|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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CZNYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PvgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1598,710904&|newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle|location=(Washington)|title=Big Sky baseball: split loop planned|date=May 19, 1970|page=13}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=m5JYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ifgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4340,3107367&|newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle|location=(Washington)|title=Vandals list baseball play|date=January 28, 1971|page=22}}</ref> Montana State<ref name= msuout71>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ELxeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7DAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4226%2C3937108|newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune|location=(Idaho)|title=Big Sky baseball altered; MSU out, NAU in playoffs|agency=Associated Press|date=May 19, 1971|page=13}}</ref> 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 {{nowrap|two years.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tN9YAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ivgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6157,2549181&|newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle|location=(Washington)|title=Key games: Big Sky Conference|date=April 23, 1973|page=17}}</ref>}}

In 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.<ref name=ioffpr/><ref name=baseaxe/> Of the eleven Big Sky baseball titles, four each went to [[Idaho Vandals baseball|Idaho]]<!-- (1964,'66,'67,'69)--><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZblWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=a-kDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7163%2C4614740|newspaper=Spokesman-Review|location=(Spokane, Washington)|title=Vandals Arizona-bound|date=May 29, 1969|page=13}}</ref> and [[Gonzaga Bulldogs baseball|Gonzaga]]<!-- (1965,'71,'73,'74)-->, and three to [[Weber State Wildcats|Weber State]]<!-- (1968,'70,'72)-->.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bigskyconf.com/sports/2008/6/9/Pastbaseballchamps.aspx|website=Big Sky Conference|title=Baseball champions|access-date=August 9, 2012}}</ref> Gonzaga won the final title in 1974 over Idaho State in three games, after losing the first game in Pocatello.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kr1eAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ETEMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4197%2C5597693|newspaper= Lewiston Morning Tribune|location=(Idaho)|title=Gonzaga blasts ISU for conference title|date=May 22, 1974|page=15}}</ref> Southern division champion Idaho State chose to end its baseball program weeks following the conference's announcement,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4n9UAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FY8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=2281%2C3747292|newspaper=Ellensburg Daily Record|location=(Washington)|title=Idaho (State) drops baseball|date=June 5, 1974|page=9}}</ref> and Gonzaga, Idaho, and Boise State joined the new [[Northern Pacific Conference (baseball)|Northern Pacific Conference]] (NorPac) for baseball {{nowrap|in 1975.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=W6hYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=sPgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1720,2447355 |newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle|location=(Washington)|agency=Associated Press|title=Idaho, Gonzaga join new baseball circuit|date=June 24, 1974|page=16}}</ref>}} Boise State and Idaho competed in the NorPac for six seasons, then discontinued baseball after the {{nowrap|1980 season.<ref name=bsubsdrp>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=yJNfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FDEMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2023%2C1956440 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |location=(Idaho) |agency=Associated Press |title=Boise State drops baseball program |date=May 6, 1980 |page=C1}}</ref><ref name=boutaid>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CFZOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Re4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5702,6845869& |newspaper=Spokesman-Review |location=(Spokane, Washington)|title=Baseball's 'out' at Idaho |last=Goodwin |first=Dale |date=May 13, 1980 |page=19}}</ref>}}

:*[[Idaho Vandals baseball|Idaho]] (4) 1964, 1966, 1967, 1969
:*[[Gonzaga Bulldogs baseball|Gonzaga]] (4) 1965, 1971, 1973, 1974
:* Weber State (3) 1968, 1970, 1972

In 2016, [[North Dakota Fighting Hawks baseball|North Dakota]] announced in April<!-- 12--> that it was their last baseball season.<ref>{{cite web|title=UND to reduce number of sports after 2015-16 season|url=http://www.undsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=13500&ATCLID=210885388|url-status=live|access-date=April 12, 2016|publisher=University of North Dakota|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630133534/http://www.undsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=13500&ATCLID=210885388 |archive-date=June 30, 2016 }}</ref> Since then, only [[Northern Colorado Bears baseball|Northern Colorado]] and [[Sacramento State Hornets#Baseball|Sacramento State]] have competed in the sport, both as affiliate members in the [[Western Athletic Conference]] (WAC) until Northern Colorado baseball moved to the [[Summit League]] after the 2021 season.

===Wrestling===
<!--From the 1962–63 season-->Through the 1987 season, the conference sponsored wrestling. [[Boise State Broncos#Wrestling|Boise State]] and [[Idaho State Bengals#Wrestling|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.

:*[[Montana State Bobcats#Wrestling|Montana State]] (3) <!--1963, ??? conference formed in Feb 1963, started that fall-->1964, 1965, 1966
:*[[Idaho State Bengals#Wrestling|Idaho State]] (8) 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1984
:*[[Boise State Broncos#Wrestling|Boise State]] (10) 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1986
:*Weber State (2) 1981, 1983
:*[[Montana Grizzlies and Lady Griz#Former sports|Montana]] (1) 1987

Boise State continued its wrestling program<!-- for the next thirty years 2017--> as an [[Pac-12 Conference#Former affiliate members|affiliate member]] of the [[Pac-12 Conference|Pac-10 (now Pac-12) Conference]].

{| class="wikitable" style=
|+ '''Teams in Big Sky Conference competition'''
!Sport||Men's||Women's
|-
| [[Basketball]] || {{center|11}} || {{center|11}}
|-
| [[Cross country running|Cross country]] || {{center|11}} || {{center|11}}
|-
| [[American football|Football]] || {{center|13}} || {{center|–}}
|-
| [[Golf]] || {{center|7}} || {{center|11}}
|-
| |[[College soccer in the United States|Soccer]] || {{center|–}} || {{center|10}}
|-
| [[Softball]] || {{center|–}} || {{center|7}}
|-
| [[Tennis]] || {{center|10}} || {{center|10}}
|-
| [[Track and field#Indoor|Track and field (Indoor)]] || {{center|11}} || {{center|11}}
|-
| [[Track and field#Outdoor|Track and field (Outdoor)]] || {{center|11}} || {{center|11}}
|-
| [[Volleyball]] || {{center|–}} || {{center|11}}
|}

===Men's sponsored sports by school===

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; width:80%"
|-
! School !! Basketball !! Cross<br />country !! Football !! Tennis !! Track and field<br />(indoor) !! Track and field<br />(outdoor) !! Total<br /> Sports
|-
| <big>Eastern Washington</big> || {{yes}} || <sup>{{yes}}</sup> || {{yes}} || {{yes}}{{efn|group=n|Eastern Washington will cease sponsoring men's tennis after the 2024–25 season.}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || 6  
|-
| <big>Idaho</big> || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || 6 
|-
|  <big>Idaho State</big> || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || 6  
|-
| <big>Montana</big> || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || 6  
|-
| <big>Montana State</big> || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || 6  
|-
| <big>Northern Arizona</big> || {{yes}} || <sup>{{yes}}</sup> || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || 6  
|-
| <big>Northern Colorado</big> || {{yes}} || <sup>{{yes}}</sup> || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || 5 
|-
| <big>Portland State</big> || {{yes}} || <sup>{{yes}}</sup> || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || 6  
|-
| <big>Sacramento State</big> || {{yes}} || <sup>{{yes}}</sup> || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || 6    
|-
| <big>Weber State</big> || {{yes}} || <sup>{{yes}}</sup> || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} ||6 
|-
! <big>Totals</big> || 10 || 10 || 10+2{{efn|group=n|Affiliates Cal Poly and UC Davis.}} || 9 || 10 || 10 || 61+2
|}

{{notelist|group=n}}

'''Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the Big Sky Conference which are played by Big Sky schools:'''

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! School !! Baseball !! Golf !! Skiing !! Soccer !! Wrestling
|-
| align=left | Eastern Washington || No || No{{efn|group=mn|Eastern Washington will reinstate men's golf in 2025–26 after an absence of over 20 years. It has not announced an affiliation in that sport.<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://goeags.com/news/2024/10/15/general-mens-golf-to-return-as-ewu-athletics-varsity-program.aspx |title=Men's golf to return as EWU Athletics varsity program |publisher=Eastern Washington Eagles |date=October 15, 2024 |access-date=November 26, 2024}}</ref>}} || No || No || No
|-
|align=left| Idaho || No || [[Big West Conference|Big West]] || No || No || No
|-
|align=left| Montana State || No || No || Independent || No || No
|-
|align=left| Northern Colorado || [[Summit League|Summit]] || [[Summit League|Summit]] || No || No || [[Big 12 Conference|Big 12]]
|-
|align=left| Sacramento State || [[Western Athletic Conference|WAC]] || [[Big West Conference|Big West]] || No || [[Big West Conference|Big West]] || No
|-
|align=left| Weber State || No || [[Summit League|Summit]] || No || No || No
|}

{{notelist|group=mn}}

===Women's sponsored sports by school===

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; width:80%"
|-
! School !! Basketball !! Cross<br />country !! Golf !! Soccer !! Softball !! Tennis !! Track and field<br />(indoor) !! Track and field<br />(outdoor) !! Volleyball !! Total<br /> Sports
|-
| <big>Eastern Washington</big> || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || <sup>{{no}}</sup> || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || 8  
|-
| <big>Idaho</big> || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || 8  
|-
|  <big>Idaho State</big> || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || 9  
|-
| <big>Montana</big> || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || 9  
|-
| <big>Montana State</big> || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || 7  
|-
| <big>Northern Arizona</big> || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || <sup>{{no}}</sup> || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || 8  
|-
| <big>Northern Colorado</big> || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || <sup>{{yes}}</sup> || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || 8  
|-
| <big>Portland State</big> || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || <sup>{{yes}}</sup> || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || 9  
|-
| <big>Sacramento State</big> || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || <sup>{{yes}}</sup> || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || 9  
|-
| <big>Weber State</big> || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || <sup>{{yes}}</sup> || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || 9  
|-
! <big>Totals</big> || 10 || 10 || 10 || 9 || 6 || 9 || 10 || 10 || 10 || 92  
|}

'''Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Big Sky Conference which are played by Big Sky schools:'''

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! School !! Beach volleyball !! Gymnastics !! Rowing !! Skiing !! Swimming
|-
|align=left| Idaho || No || No || No || No || [[Western Athletic Conference|WAC]]{{efn|group=wn|name=MPSF|Joining the [[Mountain Pacific Sports Federation]] in 2025.}}
|-
|align=left| Montana State || No || No || No || Independent || No
|-
|align=left| Northern Arizona || No || No || No || No || [[Western Athletic Conference|WAC]]{{efn|group=wn|name=MPSF}}
|-
|align=left| Northern Colorado || No || No || No || No || [[Western Athletic Conference|WAC]]{{efn|group=wn|name=MPSF}}
|-
|align=left| Sacramento State || [[Big West Conference|Big West]] || [[Mountain Pacific Sports Federation|MPSF]] || [[West Coast Conference|WCC]] || No || No
|}

{{notelist|group=wn}}