Meet Big Sky Commissioner Tom Wistrcill (Video)

With nearly 15 years of experience as a conference commissioner, seven years in senior leadership positions at Power 5 athletic departments, six years as a Division I FBS athletic director and numerous NCAA committee appointments to his credit, Tom Wistrcill brings more than 30 years of experience in intercollegiate athletics to his role as Commissioner of the Big Sky Conference. Since taking over the league in 2018, Wistrcill has guided the Big Sky through a period of significant growth and change while advancing its mission to be a national leader and the premier conference in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).

Under Wistrcill’s leadership, the Big Sky has experienced unprecedented growth in its national media profile, revenue generation, and brand exposure. The conference’s landmark ESPN agreement, announced in 2021, was the largest media rights deal in FCS history at the time, quadrupling television revenue and national linear exposure. In January 2025, the Big Sky and ESPN extended their partnership through 2029-30, doubling the league’s nationally televised regular-season football coverage while continuing to provide a platform for more than 700 live events annually on ESPN+. The conference also extended its partnership with Scripps Sports through 2029-30, further expanding the availability of Big Sky competition throughout its geographic footprint. 

Wistrcill also helped lead the conference’s successful campaign to bring ESPN’s College GameDay to Bozeman in November 2022 for the Montana-Montana State "Brawl of the Wild". The historic broadcast marked the first-ever College GameDay appearance at a Big Sky campus and provided unprecedented national exposure for the league and its flagship football rivalry.

The Big Sky’s competitive success has been equally significant, with Big Sky teams winning five NCAA team national titles during Wistrcill’s tenure, as well as another eight individual national championships from track & field athletes since the fall of 2018. Montana State’s football team won the most recent national title for the Big Sky, after the Bobcats won a thrilling championship game over Illinois State to conclude the 2025 football season in Nashville. Prior to Wistrcill’s arrival, Big Sky teams had only won eight NCAA team national championships. 

Wistrcill has also overseen significant growth in the Big Sky’s championship events and fan engagement. The league’s men’s and women’s basketball championships, or “Starch Madness” as it has come to be known, have called Boise home since 2019, with record attendance marks established in 2026. In August 2025, the conference announced an agreement to keep Starch Madness at Idaho Central Arena through 2031, extending the event’s Boise run to 13 consecutive seasons as the bracket will expand to 20 games in six days starting in 2027. During his tenure, the Big Sky also established its Hall of Fame, expanded leadership and professional-development opportunities through Big Sky U, increased student-athlete involvement in conference governance, and introduced new initiatives supporting NIL education, academic achievement, and the overall student-athlete experience.

The Big Sky has continued to evolve competitively and institutionally during Wistrcill’s tenure. In June 2025, the conference announced that Southern Utah University and Utah Tech University would join as full members beginning with the 2026-27 academic year, bringing the league to 11 full-time institutions and reinforcing its geographic footprint and long-term stability. 

Wistrcill has remained active on the national stage throughout his Big Sky tenure. He has served on the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Competition Committee and the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee, while also holding appointments with the Collegiate Commissioners Association, NCAA officiating initiatives, and the College Football Officiating Committee. In June 2025, Wistrcill was selected as Vice President of the Collegiate Commissioners Association, a two-year position that will see him succeed ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips as CCA President. One month later, the Big Sky Presidents’ Council announced a five-year contract extension keeping Wistrcill as commissioner through 2030.

Prior to joining the Big Sky, Wistrcill served as Athletic Director at the University of Akron from 2009-15, where the Zips won the 2010 NCAA Division I men’s soccer national championship, as well as multiple conference championships across several sports. He previously held senior leadership positions at the University of Minnesota and worked with Learfield, including as General Manager of Badger Sports Properties at the University of Wisconsin. Earlier in his career, he served as commissioner of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate and Rocky Mountain Athletic conferences. 

Wistrcill graduated from St. Mary’s University in Winona, Minn., where he was a captain of the basketball team while earning a Bachelor of Arts in Media Communications. He later earned his Master of Arts in Educational Leadership with a focus in Athletic Administration from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., while interning with the University of Minnesota athletic department.
 
Wistrcill and his wife, Kelly — who swam for Minnesota before graduating from St. Mary’s, where she was a soccer student-athlete — live in Murray, Utah, and have two sons: J.T., a graduate of the University of Utah who works in sports broadcasting, and Jack, a graduate student and member of the Point Loma men’s basketball team in San Diego, Calif.