The Big Sky Conference women's basketball tournament is held at the end of each women's college basketball regular season. The tournament was first conducted by the Big Sky Conference at the end of the 1988–89 season, the first in which the conference sponsored women's sports. The Big Sky includes in its history the preceding six years of the Mountain West Athletic Conference, a women's athletic league consisting mostly of Big Sky members that operated from 1982 to 1988, so the inaugural tournament was in March 1983. (The MWAC of the 1980s is not affiliated with the current Mountain West Conference (MWC), launched in 1999). The tournament winner receives the Big Sky's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.
Prior to the 1982–83 season, Big Sky members with women's basketball programs housed them in several different conferences. The formation of the MWAC brought the women's sports programs of all Big Sky members under a single umbrella, and the Big Sky ultimately absorbed the MWAC in 1988, incorporating all MWAC statistics and records as its own. From the tournament's inception through the 2015 edition, each matchup was contested on the home court of the higher seed, a practice also used by the Big Sky men's tournament. The 2016 men's and women's tournaments were the first to be held at a predetermined neutral site, with both held at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada.
On September 18, 2017, the Big Sky Conference announced that its men's and women's basketball tournaments would move to the venue now known as Idaho Central Arena for three years, starting in 2019. The hosting contract has since been extended twice, with the most recent extension running through 2031.
Starting in 1986, an MVP was selected at the conclusion of the championship game. In 1989 (the first under the Big Sky name), the conference added all-conference team honors, in addition to the MVP.
The dominant program has been Montana, with 21 titles through 2024; next is Idaho State with four.
Results YearChampionsScoreRunner-upLocationMountain West Athletic Conference1983 Montana (1) 66–63 Weber State Missoula, Montana1984 Montana (2) 77–62 Eastern Washington1985 Idaho (1) 80–57 Montana Moscow, Idaho1986 Montana (3) 65–39 Eastern Washington Missoula, Montana1987 Eastern Washington (1) 77–74 Montana1988 Montana (4) 79–53 Eastern WashingtonBig Sky Conference1989 Montana (5) 63–49 Idaho Missoula, Montana1990 Montana (6) 64–49 Idaho 1991 Montana (7) 77–49 Montana State 1992 Montana (8) 82–67 Boise State Boise, Idaho1993 Montana State (1) 64–57 Montana Bozeman, Montana 1994 Montana (9) 81–65 Boise State Missoula, Montana1995 Montana (10) 75–57 Montana State 1996 Montana (11) 72–60 Weber State1997 Montana (12) 52–49 Montana State 1998 Montana (13) 58–48 Northern Arizona 1999 Cal State Northridge (1) 79–65 Portland State Northridge, California2000 Montana (14) 66–53 Cal State Northridge Missoula, Montana2001 Idaho State (1) 68–59 Montana Pocatello, Idaho2002 Weber State (1) 53–47 Montana State Ogden, Utah2003 Weber State (2) 62–53 Montana State2004 Montana (15) 66–62 Idaho State Missoula, Montana2005 Montana (16) 81–64 Weber State 2006 Northern Arizona (1) 74–59 Weber State Pocatello, Idaho2007 Idaho State (2) 84–78 Northern Arizona Missoula, Montana2008 Montana (17) 101–65 Montana State 2009 Montana (18) 69–62 Portland State 2010 Portland State (1) 62–58 Montana State Cheney, Washington2011 Montana (19) 62–58 Portland State Portland, Oregon2012 Idaho State (3) 49–46 Northern Colorado Pocatello, Idaho2013 Montana (20) 56–43 Northern Colorado Missoula, Montana2014 North Dakota (1) 72–55 Montana Grand Forks, North Dakota2015 Montana (21) 60–49 Northern Colorado Missoula, Montana2016 Idaho (2) 67–55 Idaho State Reno, Nevada2017 Montana State (2) 62–56 Idaho State2018 Northern Colorado (1) 91–69 Idaho2019 Portland State (2) 61–59 Eastern Washington Boise, Idaho2020 Final (Montana State, Idaho) cancelled; COVID-19 pandemic. 2021 Idaho State (4) 84–49 Idaho2022 Montana State (3) 75–64 Northern Arizona2023 Sacramento State (3) 76–63 Northern Arizona2024 Eastern Washington (2) 73–64 Northern Arizona 2025 Montana State (4) 58–57 Montana2026 Idaho (3) 60-57 Montana State2027 2028 2029 2030 2031
Champions School Championships Championship Years Montana 1983, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991,1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000,2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015 Idaho State 2001, 2007, 2012, 2021 Montana State 1993, 2017, 2022, 2025 Idaho 1985, 2016, 2026 Eastern Washington 1987, 2024 Portland State 2010, 2019 Weber State 2002, 2003 Northern Arizona 2006 Northern Colorado 2018 Sacramento State 2023 Cal State Northridge 1999 North Dakota 2014 Boise State, Nevada, and Southern Utah never won the tournament as Big Sky members. Southern Utah will return to the conference in 2026–27. Schools highlighted in pink are former members of the Big Sky, as of the 2026–27 season.
See also Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament
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