FARMINGTON, Utah (May 27, 2026) – For the first time in league history, five regular-season Big Sky football conference games have been selected for national linear distribution by ESPN’s family of networks. The announcement from ESPN comes as the network released its national telecast lineup for 2026 college football season on Wednesday, with five Big Sky games being among those selections.
The five matchups selected by ESPN will feature eight Big Sky schools, with Cal Poly, Eastern Washington, Idaho, Idaho State, Montana, Montana State, Northern Arizona, and UC Davis getting the national spotlight this fall.
The full national TV schedule Includes:
Friday, Aug. 28: Idaho at Cal Poly (8:00 p.m. MT // ESPN)
Saturday, Sept. 26: Northern Arizona at Montana State (8:30 p.m. MT // ESPN2)
Friday, Oct. 2: Montana State at Idaho (8:30 p.m. MT // ESPN)
Saturday, Oct. 3: Eastern Washington at UC Davis (8:30 p.m. MT // ESPN2)
Saturday, Nov. 14: Idaho State at Montana (8:30 p.m. MT // ESPN Network TBD)
Among the five game selections, the Week 0 contest between Idaho and Cal Poly (Aug. 28) will be the earliest conference game ever to be featured on ESPN. Overall, the league will have two conference games air on ESPN during the 2026 season, which is another milestone for the Big Sky. The second ESPN contest will feature defending national champions Montana State traveling to Idaho (Oct. 2) for a Friday night matchup in early October.
The Northern Arizona at Montana State (Sept. 26) and Eastern Washington at UC Davis (Oct. 3) matchups will be featured on ESPN2, while the mid-November contest between Idaho State and Montana (Nov. 14) will have its network designation announced at a later date.
Since the Big Sky's partnership with ESPN began in 2021, the league has had 17 conference games air on ESPN, ESPN2, or ESPNU, with 10 different schools being featured in those contests.
A full release of network designations and kickoff times for all Big Sky Conference football games will be announced at a later date.
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Big Sky Football Regular-Season ESPN Linear Games Since 2021
10/2/21: Montana at Eastern Washington (ESPN2)
10/15/21: Montana State at Weber State (ESPNU)
10/1/22: UC Davis at Montana State (ESPNU)
10/22/22: Montana at Sacramento State (ESPN2)
10/14/23: Montana at Idaho (ESPN2)
10/21/23: Montana State at Sacramento State (ESPN2)
10/12/24: Idaho at Montana State (ESPN2)
11/9/24: UC Davis at Montana (ESPN2)
9/27/25: Idaho at Montana (ESPN2)
10/24/25: Montana at Sacramento State (ESPN2)
10/31/25: Idaho at Northern Arizona (ESPN2)
11/15/25: UC Davis at Montana State (ESPN2)
8/28/26: Idaho at Cal Poly (ESPN)
9/26/26: Northern Arizona at Montana State (ESPN2)
10/2/26: Montana State at Idaho (ESPN)
10/3/26: Eastern Washington at UC Davis (ESPN2)
11/14/26: Idaho State at Montana (TBD Network)