Big Sky looking forward to Reno destination

For 24 Big Sky Conference basketball teams, the Road to Reno, Nevada, is a sure thing.

And that’s the whole point, say the officials who last year signed a three-year deal to establish “The Biggest Little City in the World” as the annual destination for its men’s and women’s teams and their fans and families.

“The feedback has been great,” said Ron Loghry, Big Sky deputy commissioner and the point man for the contract signed last April with the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority.

Until now, the tournaments were limited to eight teams and were staged at the home of the regular-season champion. Often, teams wouldn’t know their fate until a few days before, which drove up plane fares and sometimes drove fans to exasperation.

In 2014, it forced some to drive to remote Grand Forks, North Dakota, where the Big Sky women’s tournament was held that year. Last year, 16 teams converged on Missoula for two tournaments.

“That can be cost-prohibitive for some people,” Loghry said. “At least you know somewhat when you have to be there.”

Now the only question is where a team will be seeded in a six-day event, which runs March 7-12 at the Reno Events Center. The top four teams in both tournaments will earn byes, while the other eight must play in the opening round.

That’s already become the new incentive for coaches.

“The first goal is to compete for the Big Sky championship, but no matter what you want to be one of those first four teams who don’t have to play four games in the Big Sky Tournament,” EWU coach Jim Hayford said.

The Road to Reno – the Big Sky’s motto for the entire season – has been paved with a lot of hard work, Loghry said. Since last spring, the conference has worked with Reno officials on everything from hotel accommodations to signage to setting up practice facilities.

“We are in contact almost daily, sometimes three or four times a day,” Loghry said.

The Reno Events Center – home of the Reno Bighorns of the NBA Development League – is an ideal setting that needed only a few changes to suit the Big Sky, Loghry said.

Hotel rooms have been secured at the nearby Eldorado, Circus Circus and Silver Legacy, Loghry said.

The long-term goal, Loghry said, is to “build traction” among basketball fans in the Reno area. “We hope to generate ticket sales, and at the end of the day we can send some money back to our member schools,” Loghry said.