BILLINGS — There's familiarity with the Big Sky for both Southern Utah and Utah Tech as they join the conference for the 2026 campaign, where they'll see a significant jump in competition.
"Growing up in in Idaho and then gone to Idaho State, just you know so much about the history and tradition of the Big Sky," Utah Tech coach Lance Anderson told Scripps Sports in July at the Big Sky Kickoff in Spokane, Wash. "The Big Sky has always been like that premier FCS conference, and so it's exciting to be able to be in that league, in that conference and compete against the other schools in the league."
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There isn't much of an acclimation period given to either team, though. Southern Utah gets one of the country's toughest environments with a road game at Montana, while Utah Tech gets the unenviable task of hosting defending champion Montana State.
"It's a really, really good football program, well coached, great players," Southern Utah coach DeLane Fitzgerald said of Montana. "Their quarterback is one of the best in the country. Their tailback, they've got a wide receiver, a couple linebackers, just great football players. We expect to find out exactly how we stack up on August 29th."
"Yeah, we know that's going to be a tough challenge to open our season," Anderson said of playing the Bobcats. "Our first-ever Big Sky game, and it's against the defending national champions. That is a big challenge. But it will give us a great measure of where we are as a program, how we stack up against one of the top schools in our league. They're kind of the benchmark of where we want to be as an FCS program."
Along with the tougher strength of schedule to help bolster any playoff hopes, there's also the benefits of less travel for both schools.
"We've been right there (on the cusp of making the FCS playoffs)," Fitzgerald said. "And our motto for this year's, 'Earn it.' We're going to earn what we get at the end of the season. We're going to earn our Big Sky ranking. We're going to earn an opportunity to play in a postseason. And that's really what we're trying to do."
Southern Utah and Utah Tech get their Big Sky tenures underway this weekend.
The Thunderbirds play second-ranked Montana at 7 p.m. inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula, while the Trailblazers host No. 1 Montana State at 8 p.m. at Greater Zion Stadium in St. George, Utah.
Both games will be broadcast by Scripps Sports and air on the Montana Television Network.
