Montana Grizzlies Announce Revised 2026 Football Schedule with New Opponents and Expanded Season
The Big Sky Conference has unveiled a revised 2026 football schedule, adapting to an extra week added by the NCAA and the inclusion of two new league members. Montana Director of Athletics Kent Haslam also announced the completion of the Grizzlies’ 2026 nonconference schedule with the addition of Drake University.
The University of Montana (UM) football team, known as the Griz, will play a 12-game schedule comprised of seven home games and five road contests. The team will kick off the season with three consecutive games at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, followed by two more home games in October and two in November, culminating in a road matchup against Montana State.
A key change to the calendar sees what was previously known as “week zero” now designated as week one. The Griz will officially open their 2026 season on August 29th in Missoula, hosting Southern Utah in a Big Sky Conference game. The Thunderbirds are returning to the conference after a successful run as members between 2012 and 2021, where they secured two conference titles. Montana holds an 8-2 all-time record against Southern Utah.
The Griz’s first nonconference test comes on September 5th against the Drake Bulldogs in Missoula, marking only the second all-time meeting between the two programs. Montana previously defeated Drake 48-16 in 2018 and currently leads the series 1-0.
Week three will see the Griz welcome another new Big Sky member, Utah Tech, to Missoula on September 12th. However, this game will be a nonconference contest, fulfilling a previously scheduled home-and-home agreement. Montana boasts a 2-0 all-time record against Utah Tech.
In a significant step up in competition, the Grizzlies will face an FBS opponent for the first time since 2021 – a 35-14 victory over Washington in Seattle – when they travel to Corvallis to take on Oregon State on September 19th. While the Beavers hold a 12-2-2 advantage in the all-time series, Montana secured the last victory between the two teams in 1996.
Conference play resumes the following week with a road trip to California to face UC Davis on September 26th. The Griz then return home for Homecoming on October 3rd, hosting the Northern Colorado Bears.
Another road game follows on October 10th as UM travels to Flagstaff to face Northern Arizona. The Griz then return to Missoula for a highly anticipated matchup against Idaho on October 17th, renewing the battle for the Little Brown Stein for the second consecutive year.
Following a bye week on October 24th, the Griz will be back on the road to face Eastern Washington on October 31st. November will bring two more home games, starting with Portland State on November 7th, followed by Idaho State on November 14th.
The regular season will conclude with the 125th edition of the Brawl of the Wild against Montana State on November 21st in Bozeman.
The updated 2026 Big Sky schedule received unanimous approval at recent conference meetings. Conference officials are currently working to finalize the 2027 schedule to fully integrate Utah Tech and Southern Utah as full-time members. Looking ahead, Montana has already scheduled a nonconference game against Lehigh on September 4th, 2027.
Further nonconference matchups are planned for 2028, with Montana hosting Monmouth on September 1st and traveling to face Incarnate Word in San Antonio on September 9th. In 2029, the Griz will participate in ESPN’s Kickoff series against South Dakota State on September 1st in Las Vegas, before hosting Incarnate Word to complete the home-and-home series.
Montana Football 2026
Aug. 29: SOUTHERN UTAH
Sept. 5: DRAKE
Sept. 12: UTAH TECH
Sept. 19: at Oregon State
Sept. 26: at UC Davis
Oct. 3: NORTHERN COLORADO^
Oct. 10: at Northern Arizona
Oct. 17: IDAHO
Oct. 24: Open
Oct. 31: at Eastern Washington
Nov. 7: PORTLAND STATE
Nov. 14: IDAHO STATE
Nov. 21: at Montana State*
Montana Football 2027
Sept. 4: LEHIGH
Montana Football 2028
Sept. 1: MONMOUTH
Sept. 9: at Incarnate Word
Montana Football 2029
Sept. 1: vs South Dakota State
Sept. 8: INCARNATE WORD
Home games in BOLD
*= Big Sky Conference Game
^= Homecoming
