Tuesday afternoon, the Mountain America Center announced the inaugural Snake River Invitational, a four-team men’s Division I NCAA basketball event from Nov. 27-29, 2026.

Boise State, Drake, North Dakota State and North Texas will participate, playing three games against one another in front of what should be a Bronco-heavy crowd.

Boise State has defeated St. Mary’s at the Mountain America Center each of the last three years, and associate head coach Mike Burns noted the level of competition his team will face in late November:

“The chance to play quality, neutral court games in this current college basketball climate, it’s imperative to your success and your opportunity to get an NCAA berth — especially an at-large berth,” Burns said. “… And the teams that are coming this year are all great programs with great coaches, and that’s why we scheduled this.”

It may seem like a strange group of four programs. But they do not lack in prowess. Boise State made the NCAA Tournament each season from 2022-24, Drake has made four trips since 2021, North Dakota State went dancing this past spring and North Texas has finished above .500 every campaign since 2016-17.

“We wanted to bring a great event to this side of the state because, you know, eastern Idaho’s proven that they can support this,” Burns added.

Mountain America Center general manager Aaron White also talked about trying to diversify the arena’s portfolio. Most of us are familiar with the Spud Kings games and various concerts. But he emphasized adding high school and collegiate athletics; the Snake River Invitational is a step in that direction.

“This is more than a basketball tournament. It’s an opportunity to showcase our community, strengthen our regional economy and demonstrate that the Mountain America Center and eastern Idaho can successfully host premier college sporting events,” White said.

“This is year one. We intend to build from here. Our goal is to make the Snake River Invitational an annual tradition and one of the premier, early-season college events in the region,” he continued.

“We’re just grateful to be a part of it,” Burns said.