The Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year Award, officially known as the Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Most Valuable Player Award, is an annual award given to the Big Sky Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1978–79 season. Only one player, Larry Krystkowiak of Montana, has won the award three times (1984–1986). Three others have been two-time winners: Orlando Lightfoot of Idaho (1993, 1994), and Weber State's Harold Arceneaux (1999, 2000) and Damian Lillard (2010, 2012). Weber State has the most all-time awards (12) and individual winners (10). Montana and Eastern Washington are tied for second in total awards with seven apiece.
Awarded for | the most outstanding basketball player in the Big Sky Conference |
---|---|
Country | United States |
History | |
First award | 1979 |
Most recent | Dillon Jones, Weber State |
Key
edit† | Co-Players of the Year |
* | Awarded a national player of the year award: Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year (1904–05 to 1978–79) UPI College Basketball Player of the Year (1954–55 to 1995–96) Naismith College Player of the Year (1968–69 to present) John R. Wooden Award (1976–77 to present) |
Player (X) | Denotes the number of times the player has been awarded the Big Sky Player of the Year award at that point |
Winners
editWinners by school
editSchool (year joined) | Winners | Years |
---|---|---|
Weber State (1963) | 12 | 1995, 1996†, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2024 |
Eastern Washington (1987) | 7 | 2004, 2006, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2023 |
Montana (1963) | 7 | 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1991, 1992†, 2013 |
Idaho (1963, 2014)[a] | 6 | 1980, 1981, 1982, 1990, 1993, 1994 |
Montana State (1963) | 4 | 1987, 1996†, 2002, 2022 |
Boise State (1970)[b] | 2 | 1988, 1989 |
Northern Arizona (1970) | 2 | 1997, 1998 |
Northern Colorado (2006) | 2 | 2011, 2019 |
Portland State (1996) | 2 | 2005, 2008 |
Cal State Northridge (1996)[c] | 1 | 2001 |
Idaho State (1963) | 1 | 1979 |
Nevada (1979)[d] | 1 | 1992† |
Sacramento State (1996) | 1 | 2015 |
North Dakota (2012)[e] | 0 | — |
Southern Utah (2012)[f] | 0 | — |
- ^ The University of Idaho left in 1996 to join the Big West Conference, and rejoined the Big Sky for non-football sports in 2014 (and football in 2018).
- ^ Boise State University left in 1996 to join the Big West. The Broncos are now in the Mountain West Conference (MW).
- ^ California State University, Northridge left in 2001 to join the Big West.
- ^ The University of Nevada, Reno left in 1992 to join the Big West. The Wolf Pack are now in the MW.
- ^ The University of North Dakota left in 2018 to join the Summit League.
- ^ Southern Utah University left in 2022 for the Western Athletic Conference.
References
edit- ^ "Butler named Big Sky MVP". Times-News. Twin Falls, Idaho. March 8, 1979. p. 17. Retrieved January 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Don Newman named Big Sky's MVP". Independent Record. Helena, Montana. March 8, 1980. p. 12. Retrieved January 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Kellerman named Big Sky MVP". Missoulian. Missoula, Montana. March 15, 1981. p. 25. Retrieved January 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Nevada's Greens honorable mention". Reno Gazette-Journal. Reno, Nevada. March 10, 1982. p. 37. Retrieved January 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Derrick Pope named Big Sky's MVP". Independent Record. Helena, Montana. March 16, 1983. p. 29. Retrieved January 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c "Krystkowiak named Sky MVP again". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. March 12, 1986. p. 2. Retrieved January 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Domako unanimous Big Sky MVP". Billings Gazette. Billings, Montana. March 11, 1987. p. 21. Retrieved January 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Bronco forward is Big Sky's MVP". Independent Record. Helena, Montana. March 16, 1988. p. 13. Retrieved January 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Idaho's Childs takes top honor". Great Falls Tribune. Helena, Montana. March 14, 1989. p. 11. Retrieved January 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Idaho's Riley Smith named Big Sky MVP". Times-News. Twin Falls, Idaho. March 14, 1990. p. 25. Retrieved January 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Kearney is Big Sky MVP". Great Falls Tribune. Helena, Montana. March 13, 1991. p. 19. Retrieved January 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "UM's Anderson shares Big Sky MVP honor". Billings Gazette. Billings, Montana. March 18, 1992. p. 19. Retrieved January 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Vandals' Lightfoot named Big Sky MVP". Missoulian. Missoula, Montana. March 10, 1994. p. 25. Retrieved January 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Smith Leads Celebration Into NCAAs". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah. March 12, 1995. p. 25. Retrieved January 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Mansch, Scott (March 17, 1996). "WIT begins new half-century this week". Great Falls Tribune. Helena, Montana. p. 33. Retrieved January 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "NAU guard is Big Sky MVP". Billings Gazette. Billings, Montana. March 12, 1997. p. 23. Retrieved January 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Big Sky bestows MVP honor on NAU's Mavis". The Montana Standard. Butte, Montana. March 4, 1998. p. 9. Retrieved January 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Arceneaux gets Big Sky MVP". Independent Record. Helena, Montana. March 8, 2000. p. 9. Retrieved January 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "What You Won't Find in the Box Score". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. March 17, 2001. p. 104. Retrieved January 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Mansch, Scott (March 6, 2002). "MSU guard named league MVP". Great Falls Tribune. Helena, Montana. p. 17. Retrieved January 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Boyette named Big Sky Conference MVP". The Times. Munster, Indiana. March 6, 2003. p. 73. Retrieved January 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Snow earns Big Sky MVP award". Great Falls tribune. Helena, Montana. March 5, 2004. p. 15. Retrieved January 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Big Sky Awards". Independent Record. Helena, Montana. March 3, 2005. p. 12. Retrieved January 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Trimmer, Dave (March 2, 2006). "It's a freshman first – Eastern's Stuckey is Big Sky MVP". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 19. Retrieved January 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Mattingly, Katie (March 5, 2007). "Patten's changed game merits award". The Signpost. Ogden, Utah. p. 6. Retrieved January 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Portland State faces daunting task". Tri-City Herald. Kennewick, Washington. March 20, 2008. p. 20. Retrieved January 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "All-Big Sky Conference". The Montana Standard. Butte, Montana. March 6, 2009. p. B6. Retrieved January 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Davis, Nathan (March 5, 2012). "Lillard named Big Sky MVP". The Signpost. Ogden, Utah. p. 6. Retrieved January 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ May, Jacob (March 8, 2011). "Quicken the pace". Arizona Daily Sun. Flagstaff, Arizona. p. 11. Retrieved January 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Meseroll, Bob (March 12, 2013). "UM's Jamar, Baker named Big Sky MVPs". The Montana Standard. Butte, Montana. p. B1. Retrieved January 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Big Sky Awards". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. March 11, 2014. p. 4. Retrieved January 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Bashore, Cody (March 8, 2015). "Hornets come up short in bid to claim Big Sky crown". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California. p. C7. Retrieved January 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "All-Big Sky team". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. March 8, 2016. p. B6. Retrieved January 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Allen, Jim (March 10, 2017). "Others step up while Wiley sits". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. B1. Retrieved January 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Allen, Jim (March 6, 2018). "Sky High On Bliznyuk – EWU senior named conference player of year". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. B3. Retrieved January 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "All-Big Sky". Billings Gazette. Billings, Montana. March 13, 2019. p. D5. Retrieved January 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Collingwood, Ryan (March 11, 2020). "Big Sky honors Peatling, Legans". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. B1. Retrieved January 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Big Sky Conference". Billings Gazette. Billings, Montana. March 9, 2021. p. B3. Retrieved January 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Jubrile Belo Big Sky MVP, top defensive player; Danny Sprinkle is Coach of the Year". Independent Record. Helena, Montana. March 9, 2022. p. B3. Retrieved January 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "2022–23 All-Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Honors". Billings Gazette. Billings, Montana. March 4, 2023. p. B5. Retrieved January 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Three Montana Grizzlies earn all-Big Sky basketball honors". Missoulian. Missoula, Montana. March 9, 2024. p. B3. Retrieved June 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.