OGDEN, Utah (March 21, 2017) – The Big Sky Conference and the AT&T Sports Networks have agreed to a multi-year extension to continue their partnership to air Big Sky football beginning with the 2017-18 season. All games will air on its
ROOT SPORTS-branded regional networks.
The extension continues a relationship that is entering its sixth year. ROOT SPORTS will air a minimum of eight games each season with at least one of those games slated to include the league’s defending football champion.
“The Big Sky is pleased to announce its continued partnership with ROOT SPORTS as the league’s football premiere TV network and appreciates the long-standing relationship,” said Big Sky Conference commissioner Andrea Williams. “The conference enjoys the Emmy-winning production and commitment of ROOT SPORTS to bring high quality football programming to our alum and fans across the country.”
As part of the agreement, Big Sky football fans will have the opportunity to watch archived copies of the games on the league’s streaming network 30 days after the game airs on television.
”We are excited to continue our partnership with the Big Sky Conference. Working with the conference allows us to bring fans some of the most competitive, regionally-relevant FCS football in the country,” said Mark Jorgensen, Senior Vice President & General Manager of ROOT SPORTS.
To date, the partnership has yielded two Emmy Awards for outstanding television production. All games will continue to be delivered with industry-leading production value.
A formal announcement of the contract extension will be made later today during the Seattle Mariners spring training game against the Oakland Athletics. Big Sky Conference Commissioner Andrea Williams will join the broadcast live from the ROOT SPORTS studio.
In addition to the partnership extension, the network and league also announced the 2017 Big Sky football broadcast schedule:
| 2017 #BigSkyFB Schedule on ROOT SPORTS |
| Date |
Game |
| 9/23 |
Eastern Washington at Montana |
| 9/30 |
Weber State at Montana State |
| 10/7 |
Portland State at Montana State |
| 10/14 |
North Dakota at Montana |
| 10/21 |
Montana State at Northern Colorado |
| 10/28 |
Idaho State at Montana State |
| 11/4 |
Northern Arizona at Montana |
| 11/11 |
Northern Colorado at Montana |
| 11/18 |
Portland State at Eastern Washington |
| 11/18 |
Montana at Montana State |
The Big Sky Conference is a Division-I FCS conference, spread across the western United States. The venerable Division I Big Sky Conference has 4,515 student-athletes, from 16 different institutions, competing in 16 sports (seven men’s, nine women’s). The Big Sky Conference was founded on Feb 25, 1963, as the name “Big Sky” was adopted by the six presidents of the charter members as the name of the new conference. Four of the current league members – Idaho State University, The University of Montana, Montana State University and Weber State University – have been with the league since its inception.
ROOT SPORTS™ is the television home of the Seattle Mariners, Seattle Seahawks, Seattle Sounders FC, Portland Timbers, Gonzaga Bulldogs, Big Sky Conference and Mountain West. The network reaches approximately 3.2 million households across five states, and delivers more than 350 live events each year – all of which are available in high definition. ROOT SPORTS Northwest is operated by AT&T Sports Networks, which operates regional sports networks in the Northwest, Pittsburgh, Rocky Mountain and Southwest regions. The four networks combined reach approximately 13 million households across 22 states and own exclusive rights to produce and distribute live events from more than 25 teams and conferences.