Northwest Notes Aug. 20, 2025
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 12 months AGO
Big Sky men's, women's basketball tournaments staying in Boise through 2031
The Big Sky Conference announced the league’s annual men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, dubbed "Starch Madness," will continue to be played at Idaho Central Arena in Boise through 2031.
“Boise has proven to be the perfect home for Starch Madness,” Commissioner Tom Wistrcill said in a news release. “Boise provides our student-athletes, coaches, administrators, and fans with a first-class postseason experience, which is largely thanks to our many outstanding partners throughout the city and across the state. On behalf of our membership, I am grateful for the way Boise has fully embraced Starch Madness, and all of us with the Big Sky are thrilled to extend this relationship for many more years to come.”
With this latest agreement, the Big Sky basketball championships are now slated to call Boise home for 13 consecutive seasons, a run that began in 2019.
Outside of the Las Vegas area, Boise is the only city in the Western United States that hosts a NCAA Division I conference basketball tournament. The Big Sky first went to a neutral site for its basketball tournament in 2016, hosting the event in Reno, Nev., before moving to Boise in 2019.
The 2026 edition of Starch Madness returns to downtown Boise on March 7-11, as Idaho Central Arena hosts 20 teams (10 men’s and 10 women’s) playing a total of 18 games over five days for the Big Sky men’s and women’s basketball championships, which give each winner an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.