The Big Sky Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. As of 2023, full member institutions are located in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. Two affiliate members from California are football–only participants.
The Montana Grizzlies football program represents the University of Montana in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) of college football. The Grizzlies have competed in the Big Sky Conference since 1963, where it is a founding member. They play their home games on campus in Missoula at Washington–Grizzly Stadium, where they had an average attendance of 26,978 in 2023.
The Northern Colorado Bears football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of Northern Colorado located in Greeley, Colorado. The team competes in the Big Sky Conference at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The university's first football team was fielded in 1893. The team plays its home games at the 8,533 seat Nottingham Field on campus. The Bears announced the hiring of Ed Lamb on December 6, 2022, replacing Ed McCaffrey, who went 6–16 in two seasons.
The Sacramento State Hornets football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the California State University, Sacramento located in Sacramento, California. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Big Sky Conference. The school's first football team was fielded in 1954. The team plays its home games at the 21,195-seat Hornet Stadium.
The 2014–15 Northern Colorado Bears women's basketball team represented the University of Northern Colorado during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Bears were led by first year head coach Kamie Ethridge and played their home games at the Bank of Colorado Arena. They were a member of the Big Sky Conference. They finish the season 21–12, 12–6 in Big Sky for a tie to finish in third place. They advance to the championship game 2015 Big Sky Conference women's basketball tournament where they lost to Montana. They were invited to the 2015 Women's National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Colorado State and South Dakota in the first and second rounds before losing to UCLA in the third round.
The 2017 Big Sky Conference women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Big Sky Conference held from November 1 to 5, 2017. The five-match tournament took place at EWU Soccer Complex, home of the regular-season champions Eastern Washington Eagles. The six-team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The Eastern Washington Eagles were the defending champions and successfully defended their title, defeating the Northern Colorado Bears 3–0 in the final. This was the second Big Sky tournament title for the Eastern Washington women's soccer program, both of which have come under the direction of head coach Chad Bodnar.
The 2017–18 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball team represented the University of Northern Colorado during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears were led by second-year head coach Jeff Linder and played their home games at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley, Colorado as members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 26–12, 11–7 in Big Sky play to finish in fifth place. They defeated Northern Arizona and Weber State to advance to the semifinals of the Big Sky tournament to Montana. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they defeated Drake, San Diego, Sam Houston State and UIC to become CIT champions.
The 2017–18 Northern Colorado Bears women's basketball team represented the University of Northern Colorado during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Bears were led by fourth year head coach Kamie Ethridge, played their home games at the Bank of Colorado Arena as members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 26–7, 15–3 in Big Sky play to win the Big Sky regular season championship. They defeated Montana, Idaho State, and Idaho to win the Big Sky women's tournament for the first time in program history. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA women's tournament, the school's first. As the No. 10 seed in the Lexington region, they lost to Michigan in the first round.
The 2018 Northern Colorado Bears football team, represented the University of Northern Colorado in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by eighth-year head coach Earnest Collins Jr. and played their home games at Nottingham Field. They were a member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 2–9, 2–6 in Big Sky play to finish in 11th place.
The 2018–19 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball team represented the University of Northern Colorado during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears were led by third-year head coach Jeff Linder and played their home games at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley, Colorado as members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 21–11, 15–5 in Big Sky play to finish in second place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky tournament to Southern Utah.
The 2019 Northern Colorado Bears football team represented the University of Northern Colorado in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by ninth-year head coach Earnest Collins Jr. and played their home games at Nottingham Field. They were a member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 2–10, 2–6 in Big Sky play to finish in a five-way tie for ninth place. On November 24, 2019, Earnest Collins Jr. was let go after nine seasons, he finished at Northern Colorado with a record of 28–72.
The 2020 Eastern Washington Eagles football team represented Eastern Washington University as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Aaron Best, the Eagles played their home games at Roos Field in Cheney, Washington.
The 2021 Northern Colorado Bears football team represented the University of Northern Colorado as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Ed McCaffrey and played their home games at Nottingham Field.
The 2022 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the Big Sky Conference during the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by first-year head coach Jason Eck, the Vandals were 7–4 in the regular season and played their home games on campus at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho. It was the program's first winning season in six years.
The 2022 Northern Colorado Bears football team represented the University of Northern Colorado as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Ed McCaffrey and played their home games at Nottingham Field. McCaffrey was fired on November 21, 2022, two days after the Bears completed their season with a 3–8 record, repeating the win-loss record of the prior season.
The 2022 Sacramento State Hornets football team represented California State University, Sacramento as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by third-year head coach Troy Taylor, the Hornets played their home games on campus at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, California.
The 2022–23 Montana State Bobcats men's basketball team represented Montana State University in the Big Sky Conference during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by fourth-year head coach Danny Sprinkle, the Bobcats played their home games on campus at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in Bozeman, Montana. They finished the season at 25–10, 15–3 in Big Sky play to finish in second place. In the Big Sky tournament, MSU defeated Northern Colorado, Weber State, and Northern Arizona to win the tournament championship. As a result, the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 14 seed in the East regions. They lost in the first round to Kansas State.
The 2022–23 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball team represented the University of Northern Colorado in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears, led by third-year head coach Steve Smiley, played their home games at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley, Colorado as members of the Big Sky Conference.
The 2023 Idaho State Bengals football team represented Idaho State University in the Big Sky Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by first-year head coach Cody Hawkins, the Bengals played their home games on campus at Holt Arena, an indoor facility in Pocatello, Idaho.
The 2023–24 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball team represents University of Northern Colorado in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They are led by fourth-year head coach Steve Smiley and play their home games at the Bank of Colorado Arena as members of the Big Sky Conference.
