ST. LOUIS – In an effort to publicize current matchups and promote future non-conference scheduling between two of the premier FCS conferences, the Missouri Valley Football Conference and the Big Sky Conference have announced the 2018 Challenge Series matchups between the two leagues. Last year marked the inaugural year of the Big Sky-MVFC Challenge, which was won by the MVFC, 5-3. This year, a total of eight teams representing the two leagues highlight the STATS FCS top-25 pre-season rankings. All eight matchups in the 2018 Challenge Series will feature at least one team that received votes or is ranked in that pre-season top-25 poll, including the UNI at Montana game on Sept. 1 game, in which both teams are ranked.
Date — Matchup (TV)
Aug. 30 — (RV) Western Illinois at (RV) Montana State, 8 pm CT (SWX)
Sept. 1 — Cal Poly at (#1) North Dakota State, 2:30 pm CT (NBC North Dakota, ESPN+)
Sept. 1 — (#13) UNI at (#24) Montana, 8 pm CT (SWX)
Sept. 8 — Northern Colorado at (RV) South Dakota, 2 pm CT (Midco Sports Network, ESPN+)
Sept. 8 — (RV) Montana State at (#3) South Dakota State, 6 pm CT (Midco Sports Network, ESPN+)
Sept. 15 — (RV) Northern Arizona at Missouri State, 2 pm CT (ESPN3)
Sept. 15 — (RV) South Dakota at (#8) Weber State, 7 pm CT (Pluto 235)
Sept. 15 — (#24) Montana at (RV) Western Illinois, 3 pm CT (ESPN+)
MVFC and Big Sky Conference Announce Football Challenge Series
By Jody Heemstra
Aug 14, 2018 | 12:07 PM