The Summit League, or The Summit, is an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic conference with its membership mostly located in the Midwestern United States, from Minnesota in the east, to the Dakotas, Nebraska and Colorado to the West, and Missouri and Oklahoma to the South. Founded as the Association of Mid-Continent Universities in 1982, it rebranded as the Mid-Continent Conference in 1989, then again as the Summit League on June 1, 2007. The league headquarters are in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The North Dakota State Bison are the athletic teams of North Dakota State University (NDSU), which is located in the city of Fargo, North Dakota. The teams are often called the "Thundering Herd". The current logo is a bison.
The Summit League women's basketball tournament has existed since 1993. The winner of the tournament receives the Summit League's automatic bid into the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship.
The 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 10, 2008, and ended with the 2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament's championship game on April 6, 2009, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The season saw six different teams achieve the AP #1 ranking during the year. Oklahoma sophomore Blake Griffin was the dominant individual performer, sweeping National Player of the Year honors. The season began with North Carolina becoming the first unanimous preseason #1 team, and ended with the Tar Heels dominating the NCAA tournament en route to their fifth NCAA title. UNC won its six NCAA tournament games by double digits, and by an average of 19.8 points per game. Junior Wayne Ellington was named Final Four Most Outstanding Player.
The 2019 Summit League men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the Summit League for the 2018-19 season. All tournament games were played at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, from March 9–12, 2019. Fourth seeded North Dakota State defeated second seeded Omaha 73–63 in the championship game to win the conference tournament championship, and received the conference's automatic bid to the 2019 NCAA tournament.
The 2021–22 Summit League women's basketball season is scheduled to begin with practices in October 2021 followed by the 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season in November 2021. The conference is scheduled to begin in December 2021. This was the fifteenth season under the Summit League name and the 40th since the conference was established under its current charter as the Association of Mid-Continent Universities in 1982.
The 2021–22 Summit League Conference men's basketball season started non-conference play on November 9, 2021, and began conference play on December 20, 2021. The regular season ended on February 26, 2022, setting up the 2022 Summit League men's basketball tournament from March 5 to March 8.
South Dakota State was the regular season champion, finishing with a perfect 18-0 conference record for the first time in conference and team history. The Jacks would go on to win the Summit League tournament as well, beating North Dakota State to reach their first NCAA tournament berth in four years.
The 2022 Summit League men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the Summit League for the 2021–22 season. All tournament games were played at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, during March 5–8, 2022.
The 2022–23 North Dakota State Bison women's basketball team represented North Dakota State University during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Bison, led by fourth-year head coach Jory Collins, played their home games at the Scheels Center, as members of the Summit League. After NDSU's win over St. Thomas on February 23, the Bison clinched their highest Division I win count since 2008. The Bison clinched the second seed in the Summit League tournament, the highest mark in a conference tournament since their Division II days.
The 2022–23 North Dakota State Bison men's basketball team represented North Dakota State University during the 2022-23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bison, led by ninth year head coach David Richman, played their home games at the Scheels Center, as members of the Summit League.
The Bison went into the Summit League tournament as the number 3 seed. They beat South Dakota and South Dakota State before falling to Oral Roberts in the championship game.
The 2022–23 Summit League women's basketball season began non-conference play on November 7, 2022. The conference schedule began on December 19, 2022. This will be the sixteenth season under the Summit League name and the 41st since the conference was established under its current charter as the Association of Mid-Continent Universities in 1982.
The 2022-23 Summit League men's basketball season started non-conference play on November 7, 2022, and began conference play on December 19, 2022. The regular season will end on February 25, 2023, and will set up the 2023 Summit League men's basketball tournament from March 3 to March 7, 2023.
Oral Roberts finished league play with a perfect 18-0 record, the second time that has happened in the Summit League's history and second year in a row a team has finished with a perfect league record . In the postseason, Oral Roberts made the 2023 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament as a 12 seed. They lost to Duke in the first round.
The 2023 Summit League men's basketball Tournament is the postseason men's basketball tournament for the Summit League for the 2022-23 season. All tournament games will be played at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, from March 3-7, 2023.
The 2023–24 North Dakota State Bison women's basketball team represented North Dakota State University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Bison, led by fifth year head coach Jory Collins, played their home games at the Scheels Center, as members of the Summit League.
NDSU made the 2024 Summit League women's basketball tournament as the 2 seed for the second year in a row, and after beating Denver and Oral Roberts in the quarterfinals and semifinals - they achieved 20 wins for the first time since 2004. The Bison would make their first Summit League title game, falling to South Dakota State.
North Dakota State made the 2024 Women's National Invitation Tournament as an at-large team, and received a first round bye. They defeated Montana in the second round in their first home postseason game since 2000, which was their first postseason win in the Division I era. The Bison would fall in the WNIT Super 16 to Minnesota.
The 2023–24 Summit League men's basketball season started non-conference play on November 6, 2023, and began conference play on December 29, 2023. The regular season ended on March 2, 2024, and set up the 2024 Summit League men's basketball tournament from March 8 to March 12, 2024.
South Dakota State finished league play with a 12-4 record as the regular season champion. In the postseason, after winning the Summit League tournament, South Dakota State was slotted as a 15 seed in the 2024 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. They lost to Iowa State in the first round.
The 2023–24 Summit League women's basketball season began non-conference play on November 6, 2023. Conference play started on December 29, 2023. This was the seventeenth season of women's basketball play under the Summit League name and the forty-second overall for the conference.
The Summit League tournament took place from March 8–12, 2024. South Dakota State won the tournament, beating North Dakota State in the tournament final, and advanced to the NCAA tournament. North Dakota State, Oral Roberts, and South Dakota played in the 2024 Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT).
The 2024–25 Summit League men's basketball season started non-conference play on November 4, 2024, and will begin conference play on January 2, 2025. The regular season will end on March 1, 2025, and set up the 2025 Summit League men's basketball tournament which will take place from March 5 to 9, 2025.
The 2024–25 Summit League women's basketball season began non-conference play on November 4, 2024. Conference play will begin on January 2, 2025 and will end on March 1, 2025 to setup the 2025 Summit League women's basketball tournament. This will be the eighteenth season of women's basketball play under the Summit League name and forty-third overall for the conference.
The 2024–25 South Dakota State Jackrabbits men's basketball team represents South Dakota State University in the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Jackrabbits, led by sixth-year head coach Eric Henderson, play their home games at Frost Arena in Brookings, South Dakota, as members of the Summit League.
