SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Summit League will be eyeing a three-peat when the third annual Big Sky-Summit Challenge takes place this December as those contests were officially announced Wednesday as a combined 36 men’s and women’s basketball games will be played for the third straight year between the two conferences.
The first batch of games will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 3 and the remainder will be held on Saturday, Dec. 6.
In year two, the Summit League retained the trophy without needing a tiebreaker as the men’s and women’s teams posted a 24.5-17 victory thanks to a strong finish on day two when they outscored their Big Sky foes 14-6.5 on the scoreboard. The men went 11-7 overall, while the women were 10-8 to give the Summit League a combined 21 victories.
The Denver men, the St. Thomas men along with the North Dakota State men and women, and the Omaha and South Dakota State women all won each of their challenge games last season to help keep the trophy at the Summit League headquarters in Sioux Falls.
The matchups for the series are determined annually using data from past seasons, including NET rankings and regular-season conference finishes, along with consideration for the prior season matchups.
Summit League women’s regular season and tournament champion South Dakota State travels to Northern Arizona, while Big Sky women’s regular season and tournament champion Montana State travels to North Dakota State, who advanced to the quarterfinals of the WNIT a season ago. The Jackrabbits have a home game against Weber State, while the Bobcats play host to North Dakota.
Summit League men’s regular season and tournament champion Omaha will host Big Sky co-regular season champion Northern Colorado and also play at Portland State, while the Bears will also host South Dakota. Fellow co-champ Montana, who won the Big Sky Tournament as well, will host North Dakota State and travel to play at North Dakota.
2025-26 Big Sky – Summit Challenge Matchups
Denver Men
Home: Eastern Washington (Dec. 3)
Away: Idaho State (Dec. 6)
Denver Women
Away: Eastern Washington (Dec. 3)
Home: Idaho (Dec. 6)
Kansas City Men
Home: Idaho State (Dec. 3)
Away: Eastern Washington (Dec. 6)
Kansas City Women
Away: Northern Colorado (Dec. 3)
Home: Portland State (Dec. 6)
North Dakota Men
Away: Idaho (Dec. 3)
Home: Montana (Dec. 6)
North Dakota Women
Home: Montana (Dec. 3)
Away: Montana State (Dec. 6)
North Dakota State Men
Away: Montana (Dec. 3)
Home: Northern Arizona (Dec. 6)
North Dakota State Women
Home: Montana State (Dec. 3)
Away: Weber State (Dec. 6)
Omaha Men
Home: Northern Colorado (Dec. 3)
Away: Portland State (Dec. 6)
Omaha Women
Away: Idaho State (Dec. 3)
Home: Northern Colorado (Dec. 6)
Oral Roberts Men
Away: Weber State (Dec. 3)
Home: Montana State (Dec. 6)
Oral Roberts Women
Away: Idaho (Dec. 3)
Home: Idaho State (Dec. 6)
St. Thomas Men
Away: Montana State (Dec. 3)
Home: Weber State (Dec. 6)
St. Thomas Women
Home: Northern Arizona (Dec. 3)
Away: Montana (Dec. 6)
South Dakota Men
Home: Portland State (Dec. 3)
Away: Northern Colorado (Dec. 6)
South Dakota Women
Away: Portland State (Dec. 3)
Home: Eastern Washington (Dec. 6)
South Dakota State Men
Away: Northern Arizona (Dec. 3)
Home: Idaho (Dec. 6)
South Dakota State Women
Home: Weber State (Dec. 3)
Away: Northern Arizona (Dec. 6)
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