When it came to the 3-pointer in basketball and overtime in college football, the Big Sky Conference was ahead of the curve.
The Big Sky’s use of these innovations was so important, in fact, that they rank 48
th on the list of the league’s “50 Most Memorable Moments.”
NCAA Division I football didn’t adopt its current overtime structure until 1996. That left a lot of years, and a lot of ties – even when a potential “mythical national championship” was at stake.
The Big Sky Conference embraced overtime for conference games in 1980, just months after legendary Nevada coach Chris Ault’s team lost in three overtimes in the 1979 I-AA semifinals to Eastern Kentucky.
“That format started the ball on the 15, or it might’ve been the 10,” Ault said. “It was a chip-shot field goal to keep the game going. It wasn’t much of a challenge. That spring I told Commissioner Ron Stephenson that we needed to change the format. He asked me what I thought since I was the only one who had any experience with overtime.”
Ault thought starting the overtime possession on the 25-yard line was a good idea, since gaining no yardage would require a 42-yard field goal.
“We took that to the NCAA committee that summer and voted it in,” Ault remembered. “Then the league thought it was the right way to go. The proposal came from Ron and myself, and all of the guys voted it in.”
According to the record book, the first Big Sky Conference game to feature overtime occurred on Nov. 21, 1981. Idaho State beat Weber State 33-30 in three overtimes to secure the Big Sky Championship. The Bengals rode that overtime win all the way to a national championship.
1st Big Sky Game to use Overtime Gallery
Two Big Sky conference games have been decided in the fourth extra period. In 2010, Weber State beat Northern Colorado 50-47 in four overtimes. In 1984, Montana State beat Nevada 44-41.
“I was a big proponent of the overtime games,” Ault said. “We were the only sport that would work our rears off and end up in something like kissing your sister. The major guys didn’t start it the same time. We were like the guinea pigs to see if it would work, and it did. I only had one tie my entire career. It settled nothing. It says nothing. I feel like when you play a game you win or you lose.”
In today’s college basketball, there are teams that sometimes hoist more 3-pointers than traditional shots during the course of 40 minutes. Yet, it’s been less than 30 years since the NCAA officially adopted the 3-point shot.
The Big Sky Conference was one of the first leagues to experiment with the 3-pointer, adopting it for league games during the 1982-83 season. It wasn’t until the 1986-87 that the NCAA officially adopted the trey.
In 1982-83 the Atlantic Coast Conference also experimented with the 3-pointer. The distance was 17 feet, 6 inches. The Big Sky, however, challenged players, setting the arch at approximately 23 feet, just inside NBA range.
“The league leadership led by Commissioner Ron Stephenson pulled the trigger and got it through,’’ said Stu Starner, who was Montana State’s men’s basketball coach from 1983-84 through 1989-90. “All of a sudden it showed up. I’m not sure how the process worked. I think the league was looking to define itself and make it different, so it took on the experimental rule early on.”
In the 1982-83 season, Nevada’s Ken “Tree” Green led the league with 36 3-pointers on 94 attempts. Montana State’s Craig Kilborn, who went on to later fame as an anchor on ESPN “SportsCenter,” the original host of “The Daily Show,” and his own latenight talk show on CBS, was third in the league with 10 3-pointers.
Nevada led the league with 46 makes on 115 attempts. The eight Big Sky teams combined to take 115 3-pointers. Montana, Weber State and Idaho each made three the entire season.
By comparison, every team in the Big Sky attempted at least 400 3-pointers during the 2012-13 season. Weber State’s Scott Bamforth hoisted up 226 shots from beyond the arch last season, making 103.
The Big Sky moved the 3-point arch to 19 feet, 9 inches during the 1983-84 season. Starner’s Bobcats were one of the first teams to embrace the shot. His 1985-86 team, led the league, making .489 percent from 3-point range.
“From where I shot, I was all for it,” said former Montana State star Tom Domako. “I got a three instead of two. I remember one time I stepped on the line, shot and made it. The next time I saw Stu, he asked me why I wouldn’t back up one foot and make a 3. It was about court awareness.”
“We had a very dynamic team that fit that era and the 3-point shot,’’ Starner said. “We had really good perimeter players. During that era there were people, including myself, still doubting whether it would stay. It started a different era in college basketball. Now the 3-point shot is dominant at the expense of the post player. It changed the face of basketball.”
