Spring meetings spark changes in the Big Sky

BIG SKY PRESS RELEASE

 OGDEN, Utah — The Big Sky Conference’s annual spring meetings, conducted this past week at Weber State University, saw the changing of the guard in the conference’s leadership, while also providing a forum for the passing of conference legislation.

The meetings were the last set of conference meetings longtime Big Sky commissioner Doug Fullerton presided over, and Fullerton was presented with a gift at the annual Presidents’ Dinner, which consisted of an inscribed clock from the Big Sky Conference Presidents’ Council.

The meetings were also the first meetings newlyappointed commissioner Andrea Williams attended, as the longtime Big Ten Conference administrator formally introduced herself to the Big Sky Conference’s leadership, administrators and staff. Williams will officially begin her role as the Big Sky’s sixth commissioner on July 1.

Several policy changes were also passed over various sports. The format of the Big Sky Basketball Championships, in Reno, was solidified over the remaining two years of the deal with the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitor Authority. For the remainder of the contract, the format of the tournament will be consistent with 2016’s format, as the women will open the tournament on Monday, and alternate days with the men’s side until the semifinals on Friday.

The 2017 Big Sky Basketball Championships tip off on March 6, 2017, at the Reno Events Center.

Also, the format of the league’s soccer championships will change, as the tournament will move to a Friday-Sunday-Tuesday format. This year’s Big Sky Soccer Championship will begin Nov. 2, at the site of the regular season champion.

Date changes affect two other championships, as the 2016 Big Sky Cross Country Championship will be conducted on Friday, Oct. 28, in exchange for the championship’s traditional Saturday running. The University of Idaho will be the host for this season’s championship.

Women’s golf will also change its championship dates, as the tournament will move to April 21-23, marking a Friday-Saturday-Sunday format, with practice rounds on Thursday, April 20. The tournament will continue to be conducted at Boulder Creek Golf Club, in Boulder City, Nev.

One notable piece of legislation also concerned women’s golf, as the “Big Sky Women’s Golf Coach of the Year” award was changed to the “Jeff Smith Big Sky Women’s Golf Coach of the Year” award. Smith, who served as the Director of Golf at Weber State University, passed away in February, after serving as the program’s women’s coach since 1990. Smith is the first Big Sky coach to have an award earn his namesake.

The annual meetings concluded Wednesday with the third-annual “Big Sky Mental Health-and-Wellness Symposium.” Speakers included Dr. Brian Hainline, the Chief Medical Officer of the NCAA, and Drs. Amy Athey and Michael Grandner, who are researching the effects of sleep on student-athletes. Athey and Grandner are employed by the University of Arizona.

The next Big Sky Conference event will be the 2016 Big Sky Football Kickoff, July 17-19, in Park City, Utah.