The Big Sky Conference is a NCAA Division I college athletic conference that sponsors sports programs for universities in the western United States. The Big Sky Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament is an annual postseason tournament that determines the conference champion and the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The format of the Big Sky Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament typically features the top eight teams in the conference based on the regular-season standings. The tournament is a single-elimination format, with each game played at a neutral site.
The winner of the Big Sky Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. In recent years, the tournament has been held at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada.
The Big Sky Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament was first formed in 1976. The tournament was established to determine the conference’s automatic qualifier for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The Big Sky Conference was formed in 1963 and initially sponsored basketball as one of its sports. However, it wasn’t until 1976 that the conference decided to hold a postseason tournament to determine its automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament.
Since then, the Big Sky Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament has become a yearly tradition, with the conference’s top teams competing for the championship and the opportunity to represent the conference in the NCAA Tournament.
Several notable NBA players have played in the Big Sky Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament during their college careers. Here are a few examples:
Damian Lillard – Lillard played college basketball at Weber State University and led the Wildcats to the Big Sky Conference Championship in 2012. Lillard was named the tournament MVP and went on to be selected sixth overall in the 2012 NBA Draft. He is now a six-time NBA All-Star and one of the best players in the league.
Harold Pressley – Pressley played college basketball at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and helped the Rebels win the Big Sky Conference Championship in 1983. Pressley went on to be selected 17th overall in the 1986 NBA Draft and played six seasons in the NBA.
Steve Johnson – Johnson played college basketball at Weber State University and led the Wildcats to the Big Sky Conference Championship in 1978. Johnson went on to be selected seventh overall in the 1981 NBA Draft and played 10 seasons in the NBA.
Orlando Lightfoot – Lightfoot played college basketball at Idaho State University and helped the Bengals win the Big Sky Conference Championship in 1993. Lightfoot went on to play briefly in the NBA and then had a successful career playing overseas.
Rodney Stuckey – Stuckey played college basketball at Eastern Washington University and helped the Eagles reach the Big Sky Conference Championship game in 2007. Stuckey went on to be selected 15th overall in the 2007 NBA Draft and played nine seasons in the NBA.
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