BIG SKY IN BOISE

BY DAVE SOUTHORN

Since 2019, Boise has hosted the Big Sky Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships after a three-year run in Reno, Nevada. Previously, since the tournament’s founding in 1976, tournaments were played at the first-place team’s home floor.

Despite Boise State not having been a Big Sky member since 1995, putting the tournament in Idaho’s capital city makes sense—it is fairly centrally located with seven of the conference’s ten schools less than an eight-hour drive away. Plus, a thriving downtown with plenty of hotel, dining, and entertainment options helps attract fans.

It is also the only Western conference tournament not held in Las Vegas.

“There’s a synergy that can be created downtown,” said Jon Kasper, the Big Sky senior associate commissioner of championships. “We felt there was a chance to build something there, that a lot of graduates of those schools are now moving to the Boise area.”

“There’s still a ton of room to grow— we want the alumni and the basketball fans to come out,” he said. “It’s a unique chance to see teams cut down the nets, get to see maybe the Cinderella team you pick in your bracket.”