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.  Notably, Weber State defeated Western Illinois in an additional meeting in the NCAA Division I Football Championship, but only regular-season games count toward the Challenge Series.
 
Over the past five seasons, institutions in the two conferences have played one another 44 times.  The MVFC has the advantage in that span, although the Big Sky and MVFC are almost even in the past two years, with the MVFC holding a slight 9-8 advantage.  This year, institutions in the two leagues will play one another eight times, including five times at MVFC sites.
 
Since being founded in 1985, the MVFC has an all-time edge of 55-37 in games played between their institutions, which includes 31 playoff meetings.  Notably, the Big Sky and the MVFC make up two of only three leagues to have two or more playoff teams every year since 1999.  In each of the past four seasons, the MVFC and Big Sky, meanwhile, have combined to produce eight of the 24 teams in the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoff field each year.  Since the FCS playoffs began in 1978, the two leagues have combined to produce 14 national champions. 
 
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+)
 
Television rights for each Challenge Series contest are controlled by the home team’s conference television agreement, which will dictate the distribution of the game and all related matters, including kick times.
 
About the Big Sky Conference
The Big Sky Conference is a NCAA Division I conference, competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. The venerable Big Sky Conference has nearly 4,500 student-athletes, from 15 different institutions, competing in 16 sports (seven men’s, nine women’s). The Big Sky Conference, spread across the western United States, was founded on Feb 25, 1963, as the name “Big Sky” was adopted by the six presidents of the charter members as the name of the new conference. The league has 11 full members (Eastern Washington University; the University of Idaho; Idaho State University; the University of Montana; Montana State University; Northern Arizona University; the University of Northern Colorado; Portland State University; Sacramento State; Southern Utah University; and Weber State University); two football affiliate institutions (California Polytechnic State University and the University of California, Davis); and two men’s golf affiliates (Binghamton University and the University of Hartford).
 
About the Missouri Valley Football Conference
Founded in 1985, the Missouri Valley Football Conference has shaped itself into the nation’s premier NCAA FCS conference.  During the 2017 season, the league demonstrated its superiority as five MVFC teams earned selection to the NCAA Division I Championship, with league member North Dakota State representing the Conference in the title game, marking the seventh-straight year an MVFC school had played in the championship.  Members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (and initial year of membership) include Illinois State University (1985), Indiana State University (1986), Missouri State University (1985), North Dakota State University (2008), the University of Northern Iowa (1985), the University of South Dakota (2012), South Dakota State University (2008), Southern Illinois University (1985), Western Illinois University (1985), and Youngstown State University (1997).