Big Sky starts this season with six ranked teams in the FCS coaches poll: No. 2 Montana State, No. 7 UC Davis, No. 9 Montana, No. 12 Idaho, No. 14 Sacramento State and No. 18 Northern Arizona. When it comes to fan backing, the league is surpassed by only the SWAC—and for those fans, halftime is often the main event. In the Big Sky, it’s more a football purist pursuit. “We have many places in our conference on a football Saturday where none of the fans would know who USC, Ohio State or Alabama is even playing,” Wistrcill says. “What they care about is what’s happening with their local school.”
Montana was second nationally in FCS average attendance last year at 24,174 fans per home game—a figure that ranks ahead of what 50 FBS programs averaged. Montana State was third at 20,788, better than 40 FBS schools. Sacramento State (14,047), Idaho (10,808) and UC Davis (10,559) also were in the FCS top 20. The league’s playoff attendance numbers also were the best in FCS.
“I played at Texas, I played at Oklahoma, I played at Florida State,” says Idaho State coach Cody Hawkins, who was a multiyear starting quarterback at Colorado from 2007 to ’10. “There’s no better place to play than Wash-Grizz [Washington-Grizzly Stadium at Montana]. It’s incredible there.” Hawkins was a graduate assistant under Urban Meyer at Ohio State in 2014. Like many programs, the Buckeyes snapped the ball on the quarterback clapping his hands, because shouting signals was futile in loud opposing stadiums. Good luck trying that at Montana, Hawkins says. “White-out game at Penn State, you clap and it works,” he says. “Well, you can try that at Wash-Grizz and it may not work.”
How the Big Sky Is Staying True to Old-School Roots in a Modern College Football World
Montana was second nationally in FCS average attendance last year at 24,174 fans per home game—a figure that ranks ahead of what 50 FBS programs averaged. Montana State was third at 20,788, better than 40 FBS schools. Sacramento State (14,047), Idaho (10,808) and UC Davis (10,559) also were in the FCS top 20. The league’s playoff attendance numbers also were the best in FCS.
“I played at Texas, I played at Oklahoma, I played at Florida State,” says Idaho State coach Cody Hawkins, who was a multiyear starting quarterback at Colorado from 2007 to ’10. “There’s no better place to play than Wash-Grizz [Washington-Grizzly Stadium at Montana]. It’s incredible there.” Hawkins was a graduate assistant under Urban Meyer at Ohio State in 2014. Like many programs, the Buckeyes snapped the ball on the quarterback clapping his hands, because shouting signals was futile in loud opposing stadiums. Good luck trying that at Montana, Hawkins says. “White-out game at Penn State, you clap and it works,” he says. “Well, you can try that at Wash-Grizz and it may not work.”
How the Big Sky Is Staying True to Old-School Roots in a Modern College Football World
