By John Ostapowicz / The Jambar
At the mid-major level of NCAA Division I competition, the Big Sky Conference has established itself as a premier conference within the college sports landscape.
Founded in 1963, the conference is home to 10 full-time members that compete in 15 collegiate sports — nine women’s and six men’s. For football, California Polytechnic State University and the University of California, Davis, maintain affiliate membership.
In September of 2024, Big Sky was one of three conferences that received the inaugural C.A.R.E. Model Conference Grant awarded by the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics.
According to bigskyconf.com, a C.A.R.E. Champion stands for a conference’s ability to connect athletics, revenue and education within the landscape of college sports. Dan Satter, deputy commissioner of the Big Sky, said the conference is honored to be named a C.A.R.E. Champion based on its commitment to both men’s and women’s sports.
“That C.A.R.E. Model has a lot to it. For us, it’s just been a way to make sure that our actions align with what our mission and values are,” Satter said.
The Big Sky also supports its student-athletes through its Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Satter said two athletes from the conference’s institutions help influence its decisions in the expanding landscape of college athletics.
“We’re proud to say that our SAC representatives have a vote in our governance process. Not only do we want them to share their perspective, but they officially get to put that on the record,” Satter said. “It’s part of the decision-making process, [and] that’s something that we were on the cutting edge of doing among many conferences.”
The conference also has its Big Sky U initiative, which enables institutions, student-athletes and administrators to grow in leadership roles.
The Big Sky U program consists of four cohorts:
Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Aspiring Coaches and Athletics Administrators.
Aspiring Head Coaches.
Aspiring Athletics Directors.
Satter said Big Sky U was created after questioning how the conference could best serve its members amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Satter also said the four cohorts are curriculum-based programs that allow student-athletes, assistant coaches and administrators advancement opportunities in their respective fields.
“We built a curriculum for each of those [and] customized it toward what that group’s aspirations were and relied largely, but not exclusively, on our membership with people who were already in those roles,” Satter said.
The conference also reached a five-year extension with ESPN through 2029-30. The agreement will double its television coverage for football broadcasts with a minimum of four regular season contests featured on ESPN or ESPN2.
During the 2024 football season, the Big Sky’s institutions had a historic year in the 2024 Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. Satter said the conference’s football programs are important to both the universities and its communities
“A lot of our schools draw tremendous crowds and have really strong and loyal followings. It makes for incredible gameday environments,” Satter said. “When you go to a Big Sky city on a game day, you can feel that buzz around town before you get to the stadium.”
Montana State University represented the conference in the FCS Football Championship game against Missouri Valley Football Conference member, North Dakota State University. Although MSU was 15-0, NDSU handed the team its first loss.
The Big Sky also defeated two Football Bowl Subdivision programs — the only FCS conference to do so last year. Montana State defeated New Mexico State University, while the University of Idaho toppled the University of Wyoming.
Over the years, institutions within the conference have produced numerous professional athletes.
Two notable players are NBA standout Damian Lillard, who attended Weber State University and Jared Allen, a former NFL player and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, who graduated from Idaho State University.
For a complete list of upcoming Big Sky matchups, visit bigskyconf.com.