When the Big Sky Conference agreed to its current media rights deal with ESPN three years ago, the league was guaranteed that two of its regular season contests would be broadcasted on one of ESPN’s national networks. On Wednesday the league revealed which two matchups got the distinct honor this year.
The first game getting the prime time treatment this fall will be the Week 7 showdown between Idaho and Montana. Both the Vandals and Grizzlies were playoff teams a year ago and have established a long-running rivalry. Idaho and Montana will meet in Moscow on October 14 on ESPN2 marking the first time the “Little Brown Stein” battle will be aired on a national network.