ESPN adds some Idaho, Idaho State football games to broadcast schedule in 2026
The University of Idaho and Idaho State football teams will receive some national exposure during the upcoming season.
The Vandals will have three games televised on an ESPN network, while the Bengals have been picked up for one game.
Idaho’s season opener against Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Calif., will air at 8 p.m. Mountain time on ESPN on Friday, Aug. 28. The Vandals will be on the network again the following week when they travel to the University of Utah for a 7 p.m. nonconference game against the Utes on Thursday, Sept. 3. That game will air on ESPNU.
Finally, the Vandals get another prime-time slot when they host defending FCS national champion Montana State at the P1FCU Kibbie Dome in Moscow. The game is set for 8:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, on ESPN.
Idaho State gets its turn in the national spotlight on Saturday, Nov. 14, when the Bengals play Montana in a Big Sky matchup at 8:30 p.m. in Missoula. The specific ESPN network will be determined at a later date.
Idaho made the FCS playoffs in three straight seasons from 2022-24, but last year the Vandals suffered through a 4-8 campaign under first-year coach Thomas Ford.
Idaho State has improved each of the past three seasons under coach Cody Hawkins and went 6-6 last year, including 5-3 in the Big Sky. The Bengals last made the FCS playoffs in 1983.
