Kick times and TV details finalized for Griz football season

Kickoff times and broadcast details for the coming Montana Grizzly football season were announced by the Big Sky Conference on Saturday.

For the first time in over a decade the majority of Montana's games – both home and away, in conference and out – will be televised by a single broadcaster with Scripps Sports and the Montana Television Network securing nearly all of UM's broadcast rights.

The only game not available on statewide MTN stations this year will be available nationwide, with the UC Davis game on Nov. 9 set to be aired to millions of viewers on ESPN2 from Missoula.

The Griz vs. Aggies game will mark Montana's first regular season home game broadcast on ESPN2 since the Big Sky partnered with "The Worldwide Leader in Sports" in 2021, and the first on ESPN linear networks since 2015 when the Griz beat NDSU in Missoula.

UM vs. UC Davis will be a "Big Sky After Dark" contest, with kickoff from Washington-Grizzly Stadium set for 8:15 p.m. Montana will have two regular season night games at home this year, with the season opener against Missouri State set to kick at 7 p.m.

UM's remaining five home games will kick off in more traditional time slots, with Morehead State, Western Carolina, Weber State, and Portland State all starting at 1 p.m., and the homecoming game against Northern Arizona Starting at 2 p.m.

On the road, the Griz will kick off from North Dakota at 5 p.m. (MT), with MidCo Sports producing a broadcast that will be picked up by MTN.

Other road kickoff times include a 6 p.m. (MT) start at Eastern Washington on Sept. 28, a 1 p.m. start at Northern Colorado on Oct. 26, 3 p.m. (MT) at Cal Poly on Nov. 2, and noon at Montana State on Nov. 23 – all available to watch on MTN stations.

Montana Television Network stations owned by Scripps include KPAX in Missoula, KTVQ in Billings, KXLF in Butte, KBZK in Bozeman, KRTV in Great Falls, and KXLH in Helena. Games not shown on CBS stations across the state will be available on "MTN," a new secondary network available over the air and via DirecTV across the state.

Each MTN game will also be available to stream live nationwide and without blackout on ESPN+.

Montana football was a TV sensation in 2023's march to the FCS title game, with millions of viewers tuning in to see three magical playoff games at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

1.04 million viewers tuned in to ABC to watch Montana in the national title game against SDSU, the largest known single-game TV audience in program history, beating out the 981,000 viewers that saw UM beat NDSU in 2015 on ESPN.

1,469,000 combined viewers were treated to a pair of thrilling playoff games in Washington-Grizzly Stadium on ESPN2 in December. The Grizzlies' Friday night OT win over Furman on 12/8 garnered 679,000 viewers, while the double overtime win over NDSU on 12/16 drew 790,000. They were, by far, the most viewed FCS games on ESPN2 during this year's playoffs. For reference, Montana's regular season game at Idaho on ESPN2 drew just 241,000 viewers.

Last year's Brawl of the Wild game against Montana State also drew an extraordinary number of viewers to the Montana Television Network, with more than four times more in-state viewers watching the Griz beat the Cats than watched the College Football Playoff national championship.

Scripps-owned CBS stations across the state averaged a 35.7 household rating, making Griz/Cat the highest-rated college football game of the year in Big Sky country by far.

Montana will play seven regular season home games in 2024 for the first time since 2007 and for just the fifth time in program history.

New season ticket packages start at just $200 and are on sale now at GrizTix.com and GoGriz.com/Tickets and ensure fans a seat at all seven home games this fall as well as guaranteed access to playoff tickets, which sold out for the first time ever in 2023.

Other benefits to purchasing season tickets include savings over the single game price in UM's first seven-game home slate in nearly two decades, guaranteed seats at every home game, priority access to away game tickets, and more.

2024 Montana Football Schedule

Date	Opponent	Time	TV	Stream
8.31	Missouri State	7 PM	MTN	ESPN+
9.7	@ North Dakota	5 PM (MT)	Midco/MTN	ESPN+
9.14	Morehead State	1 PM	MTN	ESPN+
9.21	Western Carolina	1 PM	MTN	ESPN+
9.28	@ Eastern Washington*	6 PM (MT)	MTN	ESPN+
10.5	Weber State*	1 PM	MTN	ESPN+
10.12	Northern Arizona*	2 PM	MTN	ESPN+
10.26	@ Northern Colorado*	1 PM	MTN	ESPN+
11.2	@ Cal Poly*	3 PM (MT)	MTN	ESPN+
11.9	UC Davis*	8:15 PM	ESPN2	ESPN+
11.16	Portland State*	1 PM	MTN	ESPN+
11.23	@ Montana State*	12 PM	MTN	ESPN+

Home games in BOLD
*Big Sky Conference game

University of Montana Athletics

Kick times and TV details finalized for Griz football season

2024 Montana Football Schedule

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