Big Sky Conference News Release and Link to League Schedules
The Big Sky Conference announced its league football schedules for the 2020 through 2023 seasons on Tuesday (May 7), and as a result the Eastern Washington University football team will play Idaho on a regular basis and Montana less regularly. The schedules were approved by the league athletic directors.
All 13 Big Sky teams will continue to play eight conference games with four at home and four on the road. Each team will have two "rivals" it will play each season. Over the course of the four years, each Big Sky team will play each other a minimum of two times.
Idaho, which re-joined the Big Sky last year, will be one of EWU's league rivals, along with Portland State. The Eagles will host Idaho in the 2020 and 2022 seasons, and PSU in 2021 and 2023.
Montana, EWU's former rival prior to the return of Idaho, is now in the rotation with the other 10 league schools. Thus, EWU will host Montana just once in that four-year span (on Oct. 3, 2020), while going to UM on Oct. 8, 2022, and not playing the Griz in both 2021 and 2023. Thus, unless a non-conference game is scheduled, EWU will have played Montana at Roos Field just once in a seven-year span from 2017 to 2023.
On the positive side, Eastern's 2020 schedule is an anomaly, with the Eagles hosting Idaho, Montana and Montana State in the same year – the first time in EWU history that will have taken place. Eastern also hosts Montana State in 2023 and plays in Bozeman in 2021, but does not play the Bobcats in the 2022 season.
As in previous years, Big Sky teams still have the option to schedule league members in non-conference games. The nine-week conference schedule features a bye week for each team, while ROOT SPORTS will continue to produce a Game of the Week.
The Big Sky Conference is coming off a 2018 campaign in which Eastern Washington was the runner-up in the NCAA Division I Championship game. The league had the most teams (3) in the FCS with a seeded ranking in the playoffs, with EWU joined by UC Davis and Weber State. The Big Sky's presence at the STATS FCS Banquet saw a pair of individuals earn top honors in Weber State's Josh Davis was named the Jerry Rice Award winner and UC Davis' Dan Hawkins was named the Eddie Robinson Award winner.
At the end of last season, the Big Sky had four teams ranked in the FCS Top 25 polls and two more receiving votes.
The Big Sky Football rival designations are listed below.
Big Sky Football Rivals for 2020-2023
Cal Poly - Sacramento State & UC Davis
Eastern Washington - Idaho & Portland State
Idaho - Eastern Washington & Montana
Idaho State - Portland State & Weber State
Montana - Idaho & Montana State
Montana State - Montana & Northern Colorado
Northern Arizona - Northern Colorado & Southern Utah
Northern Colorado - Montana State & Northern Arizona
Portland State - Eastern Washington & Idaho State
Sacramento State - Cal Poly & UC Davis
Southern Utah - Northern Arizona & Weber State
UC Davis - Cal Poly & Sacramento State
Weber State - Idaho State & Southern Utah
Eastern Washington Future Schedules
(includes non-conference games previously announced)
2020 Season
9/5/20 - at Florida
9/12/20 - Western Illinois
9/19/20 - Northern Arizona
9/26/20 - at Southern Utah
10/3/20 - Montana
10/10/20 - at Northern Colorado
10/17/20 - Idaho
10/24/20 - Weber State
10/31/20 - at UC Davis
11/7/20 - Montana State
11/14/20 - Bye
11/21/20 - at Portland State
2021 Season
9/4/21 - OPEN (FBS)
9/11/21 - Jacksonville State
9/18/21 - at Western Illinois
9/25/21 - Portland State
10/2/21 - Bye
10/9/21 - at Montana State
10/16/21 - Southern Utah
10/23/21 - at Cal Poly
10/30/21 - at Idaho
11/6/21 - Sacramento State
11/13/21 - at Northern Arizona
11/20/21 - Idaho State
2022 Season
9/3/22 - at Oregon
9/10/22 - Open
9/17/22 - Open
9/24/22 - Northern Colorado
10/1/22 - Bye/Open
10/8/22 - at Montana
10/15/22 - UC Davis
10/22/22 - at Portland State
10/29/22 - Idaho
11/5/22 - at Idaho State
11/12/22 - at Weber State
11/19/22 - Cal Poly
2023 Season
9/2/23 - Open
9/9/23 - Open
9/16/23 - Open
9/23/23 - Bye/Open
9/30/23 - at Northern Colorado
10/7/23 - Montana State
10/14/23 - at Idaho
10/21/23 - Portland State
10/28/23 - at Sacramento State
11/4/23 - at Southern Utah
11/11/23 - Northern Arizona
11/18/23 - Weber State
