BILLINGS — As a new college sports year arrives, the Big Sky Conference finds itself pulled in several powerful directions.
The growing reach of its television platform, the proposed federal legislation to help regulate the industry and a rapidly expanding gambling culture have emerged as three central issues facing the league (and everyone else) in the evolving world of collegiate athletics.
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Big Sky commissioner Tom Wistrcill has been among the most vocal when it comes to the questions Division I schools face. And in the revenue‑sharing era, he sees TV exposure, potential reform from D.C. and sports betting as major talking points in how the league's member institutions both compete and protect their athletes.
At the Big Sky Kickoff media event last month at the Northern Quest Resort & Casino in Spokane, Wash., Wistrcill talked at length with MTN Sports about several topics, not the least of which were the growing reach of the league’s football brand on national television, the proposed "Protect College Sports Act" and the rise of gambling around Big Sky football.
Here, we delve into some of those thoughts.
Big lights, late nights: Despite strain, TV exposure 'so important'
This year, the Big Sky will be featured on linear ESPN television five times for what's become known as "Big Sky After Dark," the most in any single season in league history.
With that comes heightened brand exposure as well as a certain amount of strain on the players and coaches due to late kickoffs.
Specifically, Montana will appear on the ESPN network once (Nov. 14 versus Idaho State at 8:30 p.m.) while Montana State will appear twice (Sept. 26 vs. NAU and Oct. 2 at Idaho, both at 8:30). Also, MSU's game at Idaho is Friday night, making it an even shorter week between that and the NAU contest.
The Grizzlies have a 9 p.m. Mountain kickoff at Oregon State on Sept. 19 on the USA Network as well as an 8 p.m. kick at UC Davis on Sept. 26, a game that will be broadcast on the Montana Television Network via Scripps Sports. The Bobcats play at Nevada on Sept. 12 at 8:30 (on The CW) and also play their opener at Utah Tech beginning at 8 (Scripps Sports).
Those will make some late Saturdays — and some bleary-eyed Sundays, especially when you're on the road. But Wistrcill said the juice is definitely worth the squeeze in terms of how the league benefits.
"Travel is a factor," he conceded. "But we believe that the exposure we get from those late-night games is so important to our conference, to our coaches from a recruiting standpoint and the notoriety we get.
"The number of messages that I get every Saturday night when there's a late game is shocking. Texts from friends, people I used to work with, different schools I was at ... 'Hey, I'm in New York City at this bar. Big Sky football's on.' That's why I'm happy we have five games this year in that 'Big Sky After Dark' slot. I don't love the 8 or after 8 o'clock start local time. That's why we don't typically have anybody do it more than once. But ESPN kind of dictates that.
"The ratings are off the charts late at night. I've explained many times to our presidents and ADs that every bar in the country east of the Mississippi has our game on every night we're on. And like I said, I hear from so many people that are watching. We typically have late-night travel that's a little later than normal, but as long as it's not an every-week thing, then I think we're OK."
Why the Big Sky is all-in on the Protect College Sports Act
The topic by which Wistrcill seems most heartened is the potential for federal legislation in the form of the proposed Protect College Sports Act.
The bipartisan bill is expected to come to a vote in the U.S. Senate in September. If it surpasses the required 60-vote threshold it will then go to the House of Representatives for another vote.
The legislation, as it is currently written, purports to provide several safeguards for the NCAA in the "rev-share" and NIL era. Among the most important pieces for the Big Sky and conferences of that ilk, the bill could restore some semblance of order to the transfer portal.
Wistrcill said under the bill, athletes would get one free transfer. If they move a second time, they would sit out a year. Paired with that would be the NCAA's five‑year eligibility model that would replace the patchwork of redshirts and waivers that have defined the last several years of roster management.
"If we get the opportunity to (keep) our student-athletes and do our job as schools and athletic departments to help them grow as young people, that's a huge step forward," Wistrcill said.
Additionally, the legislation would give the NCAA what Wistrcill called a "limited" antitrust exemption around eligibility and other rules that would push legal challenges to the federal level and give the NCAA a chance to enforce its rules.
"Those two things alone make it an absolute grand slam for the Big Sky, and we desperately need some help with that because this path we're going down right now, it hurts us," Wistrcill said.
"Everybody wants to get better. But if the only way to get better is to pay the players more, then we're just in this vicious cycle to the bottom, and that's what you see at the highest level. And while we're not there, we still have that race among our schools to provide those types of resources."
No illusions: Anxiety in the sports betting era
The Protect College Sports Act could provide significant guardrails. But a separate concern, Wistrcill said, is the growing gambling culture associated with college sports as it relates particularly to NCAA athletes.
In June, a Texas District Court Judge restored the eligibility of then-Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby after he had been permanently banned from NCAA competition due to a betting scandal. Specifically, an investigation revealed that Sorsby had placed bets on his own team when he was at Indiana University.
The ruling eventually dissolved when Sorsby attempted to pursue the NFL Supplemental Draft in response to Big 12 teams threatening to boycott scheduled games against Texas Tech. The supplemental draft never came to fruition and Sorsby's playing prospects ended for 2026.
The initial injunction reestablishing Sorsby's eligibility sent shockwaves across college football, including the Big Sky Conference, a league in which roughly $160 million was bet on football games that involved at least one of its teams last season.
"It certainly raised the spotlight to that situation and to the sports gambling issue that we all know is there," Wistrcill said. "And you're right; $160 million bet on Big Sky football alone last year and the growth of that ... I mean, I remember I think the first time I said the number in public, it was $60 million, which was like two years ago."
Most concerning to Wistrcill is the prospect of athletes in the Big Sky Conference placing bets on NCAA sports, which is a violation of the association's policy. But he's not naive to the idea that it probably does happen.
"The things that we can do now with the tracking systems that are out there, we'll find if people are doing it. We'll find them, and they won't be eligible to play in the Big Sky anymore," Wistrcill said.
"But it's become like a part of the culture where it's so easy. We desperately need to get rid of the prop bets. Every time I see a newspaper article or something on the ticker and it says college gambling, I hold my breath until I start reading about it. Is it going to be one of our schools? Is it going to be one of our student-athletes?
"It's scary because it's just become so easy, and it's part of our society now that people are just going to bet on sports, so it's absolutely a concern of mine."
