A rivalry will be rekindled as the University of Idaho Vandals return to the Big Sky Conference on July 1, 2014.
Big Sky Conference league Commissioner Doug Fullerton and UI President M. Duane Nellis made the announcement last Friday.
The Big Sky currently consists of 11 teams, after adding the University of Dakota and Southern Utah on July 1, 2012. The University of Idaho will become the Big Sky’s 12th member.
The Big Sky Conference is exploring a move to a two-division, six team format staring in 2014-2015 for sports such as basketball and volleyball.
The majority of Idaho’s intercollegiate athletic teams will begin Big Sky Conference play during the 2014-15 academic year. The Vandal football program will play as an Independent at the Bowl Subdivision level of Division I football.
The Vandals were members of the Big Sky for 32 years from 1963 to 1996. In 1996 they decided to move on and join the Big West Conference. The Big West Conference stopped sponsoring football teams, which spurned Idaho to change conferences again and they moved to the Western Athletic Conference in 2005.
In their 32 years competing in the Big Sky, Idaho won 10 Big Sky Conference men’s tennis championships, three men’s outdoor track and field titles, one men’s indoor track and field championship, two men’s cross country championships, three regular-season volleyball titles as well as four postseason volleyball titles.
“For decades Idaho enjoyed very successful athletics teams across the board in the Big Sky Conference,’’ said Fullerton. “We expect the Vandals to enjoy success in our league again. Travel for Idaho supporters will be much easier as it plays the likes of Eastern Washington, Portland State, Idaho State, [University of] Montana and Montana State.”
“The Big Sky is a conference rich in its history and successes,’’ said Idaho Athletics Director Rob Spear. “Returning to the Big Sky allows us to renew regional and historic rivalries. Some of these rivalries date back more than 100 years and are a significant part of our legacy as Vandals.”
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