Get to Know the FCS 2023: Big Sky
History
The Big Sky was founded in 1963 as a basketball conference to represent Rocky Mountain schools in the western states of Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Washington. The name originated in a novel written by A.B. Guthrie of Great Falls, MT, entitled “The Big Sky”. There were six founding members: Gonzaga, Idaho, Idaho State, Montana, Montana State, and Weber State. Four of these (Idaho State, Weber State, and the two Montana schools) have been continuous members of the conference, and have sponsored football every year since 1963.
Gonzaga as we all know doesn’t have football, and given they haven’t since 1941, they were never a Big Sky football member. Then we have Idaho. Idaho didn’t play football in the Big Sky until 1965, after being ordered by the conference to start playing the conference schedule. The reason for this initial difference in Idaho’s case was because of their long-time history as a member of the PCC and the “University” division of football (essentially Division I), while the other schools had played in the “College” Division (the non-Division I schools). Idaho remained playing the highest level as an independent until 1977, although they did play a full conference schedule against Big Sky members.
In 1978, when division one football was split into I-A and I-AA, the Big Sky Conference jumped from Division II up to I-AA. Since then, it’s been a stable member of the subdivision and a consistent participant in the FCS playoffs.
The Big Sky Conference was a landing spot for many schools up and down the Rocky Mountain region and indeed most of the Mountain West region. The first conference expansion happened in 1970 when the conference added Boise State and Northern Arizona. Gonzaga would leave the conference in 1979, but was replaced by Nevada. In 1987, Eastern Washington joined the conference, re-adding Washington to the list of states covered.
1992 would see the beginning of the most tumultuous realignment period in the Big Sky’s 60 year history as Nevada made the jump to I-A football and left for the Great West. Idaho and Boise State would make the same decision four years later in 1996. In response, the Big Sky added three new members: Portland State, Sacramento State, and Cal State Northridge. This was the first time the conference’s regional footprint had been dramatically expanded. PSU and Sac State are still members, but Northridge was a mediocre fit at best, and left the conference again in 2000, dropping football a year later.
Since that odd footnote of Northridge’s Big Sky existence that ended in 2000, the Big Sky has added six football members. In 2006, Northern Colorado came into the Big Sky only shortly after a jump from Division II. In 2012, a large swath of four new members arrived; Southern Utah and North Dakota as full members, UC Davis and Cal Poly as football-only members. In 2014, Idaho rejoined the Big Sky for all sports except football, but in 2018 the Vandals became the first football team to drop out of FBS for FCS football and rejoined the Big Sky as well, replacing a leaving North Dakota program. Southern Utah also played their last season as a Big Sky member in 2021, leaving for the WAC. This means the conference now sits at 12 teams.
Membership
Current Members
Former Members
Conference Success and Strength
Conference Championships
FCS National Championships
Big Sky teams hold claim to a total of 6 national championships at the FCS/Division IAA level. Of those, 5 were earned by teams that are still Big Sky members.
Posted Jul 24, 2023, 3:41 PM UTC