Big Sky announces conference football schedules through 2027

Planning a fall vacation in the next half-decade? Now you can plan it around a Griz game.

The Big Sky Conference extended its 12-team, eight-game league matrix through the 2025, 2026, and 2027 football seasons on Thursday, giving the Grizzlies a far-off view of opponents to come.

The schedule update now locks-in Montana's conference matchups for the next six years after the league adjusted its 2022-2024 schedules in July to account for the departure of Southern Utah.

With the new schedule roll-out, Big Sky teams will play eight games over nine weeks, with four home and four road games guaranteed through 2027. The format ensures that each team in the league will both host and travel to each conference opponent in the three-year period, never going more than one season without playing each conference team.

With 14 non-conference games already confirmed over the next six seasons, the Grizzlies now have just six open dates left to fill on the schedule, with 2022 and 2024 already completed.

Highlighting the six-year span are a pair of seasons with expanded competition windows, giving UM the opportunity to play seven home games in 2024 and 2025.

Montana has not played seven regular-season contests in the friendly confines of Washington-Grizzly Stadium since 2007, when the Griz opened with five-straight home games and five-straight wins en-route to an 11-1 record on the year.

In fact, the Griz have only played four seasons in program history with seven regular-season home games, with three in a row in 2002, 2003, and 2004. UM advanced to the FCS playoffs in each of those seasons and reached the national title game in 2004.

The potential also exists for Montana to host eight home games for the first time in program history in 2025, with week one falling on Aug. 30. It could be a September to remember too, with three straight home games already booked on weeks three, four, and five, and weeks one and two yet to be scheduled.

In conference play, Montana will face Portland State and Montana State in each of the next six seasons as its two protected rivalries by the league.

The Griz will compete for the "Little Brown Stein" against Idaho in four of the next five seasons, with UM defending the trophy in 2022, '23, '25, and '26. Montana will also square off against Eastern Washington four times in the six-year span to highlight the league slate.

In non-conference action, Montana will complete a home-and-home series with Missouri State of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). The Griz host the Bears in Missoula to open the 2024 season, with Montana traveling to Springfield on week three of the 2026 season to complete the series.

Missouri State is coached by Montana native Bobby Petrino, who was born in Lewistown and played football at Carroll College before going on to coach at several Power Five programs with stints in the NFL.

The Griz will face another MVFC (and former Big Sky) program in a home-and-home series with North Dakota in 2024 and 2025, as well as a home-and-home with Indiana State of the MVFC in 2022 and 2025.

UM will face another MVFC opponent at home this coming season against South Dakota - the return trip of a home-and-home with the Coyotes. Montana opened the 2019 season with a 31-17 win over USD to open the series in Vermilion.

Montana will also complete a four-game series with Dixie State (soon to be re-named Utah Tech) over the next six years. The Griz travel to St. George in 2023 for their only visit to Utah in the series, with the Trailblazers returning to Missoula in 2026 and 2027. Montana defeated Dixie State in the first game of the series 31-14 in 2021.

The Griz will also play one-off home matchups against Northwestern State, Butler, Morehead State, and Western Carolina to round-off the existing non-conference slate, with six remaining open dates to fill.

Montana opens the 2022 season at home against Northwestern State of the Southland Conference on Sept. 3 at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

FUTURE SCHEDULES

2022
9.3	Northwestern State
9.10	South Dakota
9.17	@ Indiana State
9.24	Portland State*
10.1	@ Idaho State*
10.8	Open
10.15	Idaho*
10.22	@ Sacramento State*
10.29	@ Weber State*
11.5	Cal Poly*
11.12	Eastern Washington*
11.19	@ Montana State*

2023
9.2	Butler
9.9	@ Dixie State
9.16	OPEN
9.23	@ Northern Arizona*
9.30	Idaho State*
10.7	@ UC Davis*
10.14	@ Idaho*
10.21	OPEN
10.28	Northern Colorado*
11.4	Sacramento State*
11.11	@ Portland State*
11.18	Montana State*

2024
8.31	Missouri State
9.7	@ North Dakota
9.14	Morehead State
9.21	Western Carolina
9.28	@ Eastern Washington*
10.5	Weber State*
10.12	Northern Arizona*
10.19	OPEN
10.26	@ Northern Colorado*
11.2	@ Cal Poly*
11.9	UC Davis*
11.16	Portland State*
11.23	@ Montana State*

2025
8.30	Open
9.6	Open
9.13	North Dakota
9.20	Indiana State
9.27	Idaho*
10.4	@ Idaho State*
10.11	Cal Poly*
10.18	Open
10.25	@ Sacramento State*
11.1	@ Weber State*
11.8	Eastern Washington*
11.15	@ Portland State*
11.22	Montana State*

2026
9.5	Open
9.12	Dixie State
9.19	@ Missouri State
9.26	Portland State*
10.3	@ UC Davis*
10.10	Sacramento State*
10.17	Open
10.24	@ Idaho*
10.31	Idaho State*
11.7	@ Northern Arizona*
11.14	Northern Colorado*
11.21	@ Montana State*

2027
9.4	Open
9.11	Open
9.18	Dixie State
9.25	@ Cal Poly*
10.2	Weber State*
10.9	@ Northern Colorado*
10.16	@ Portland State*
10.23	Open
10.30	UC Davis*
11.6	Northern Arizona*
11.13	@ Eastern Washington*
11.20	Montana State*

*= Big Sky Conference game
Home games in BOLD

University of Montana Athletics

Big Sky announces conference football schedules through 2027

Related Videos