The Wildcats’ opener on Saturday, Aug. 30, at James Madison is scheduled for a 4 p.m. MDT kickoff. The following week on Sept. 6, WSU’s game at Arizona kicks off at 8 p.m. MDT. Both games are set to stream on ESPN+.

The Big Sky also had a record four conference games selected for linear ESPN broadcasts. Those are: Sept. 27, Idaho at Montana (ESPN2 or ESPNU); Oct. 24, Montana at Sacamento State (ESPN2); Oct. 31, Idaho at Northern Arizona (ESPN2); and Nov. 15, UC Davis at Montana State (ESPN2 or ESPNU).

Additionally, Portland State will open the season with an ESPN2 game, hosting Tarleton State on Aug. 23rd’s “Week 0” schedule.

In power-conference news, BYU and Utah had some assignments made.

BYU will open with Portland State at 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 30, on ESPN+. A Sept. 6 game hosting Stanford is at 8:15 p.m. on ESPN. A few weeks later, a Sept. 27 rematch at Colorado is set for 8:15 p.m. on ESPN. BYU also gets a Friday game on Oct. 3, hosting West Virginia at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN.

Utah’s Aug. 30 opener at UCLA will kick off at 9 p.m. MDT on FOX. In the next two weeks, Utah hosts Cal Poly at 4 p.m. on Sept. 6, streaming on ESPN+, and travels to Wyoming for a 6 p.m. kickoff Sept. 13 on CBS Sports Network. The Utes also have their Black Friday kickoff set, a Nov. 28 trip to Kansas that’s set for a 10 a.m. MDT kickoff on ABC or ESPN.

Utah State had a handful of games assigned. The Aggies open the season hosting UTEP with a 5:30 p.m. kickoff Saturday, Aug. 30, on CBS Sports Network. The next week, USU goes to Texas A&M for a 10:45 a.m. MDT kick on SEC Network. USU hosts Air Force on Sept. 13 with a 7:45 p.m. start on FS1. The Aggies also have games against San Jose State, Nevada, UNLV and Fresno State set for CBS Sports Network.

USU caps the regular season with a Black Friday (Nov. 28) game hosting Boise State at 2 p.m. on CBS.

BYU hoops to face UConn in Boston

BYU men’s basketball continued announcing premier nonconference games Thursday with a newly set matchup against Connecticut. That’s scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 15, at TD Garden, home of the Boston Celtics.

The Cougars are already set to play Villanova in the Nov. 3 season opener in Las Vegas. BYU will also spend Thanksgiving in Orlando, Florida, in the ESPN Events Invitational with games against Dayton, Georgetown and Miami.

Utah Mammoth sign several players

The Utah Mammoth hockey club inked several players this week as efforts continue in the offseason.

The team announced signing defenseman Nick DeSimone to a one-year, $800,000 contract, after picking the 30-year-old up off waivers from New Jersey during the 2024-25 season.

The Mammoth also signed former draft picks Daniil But and Dmitri Simashev.

But, a 20-year-old, 6-foot-6 forward, signed a three-year, entry-level contract.

“Daniil is a highly skilled forward with a great shot and playmaking skills who is coming off a career season,” Utah general manager Bill Armstrong said in a news release.

Simashev, also 20 and a 6-foot-5 defenseman, is also on a three-year initial contract.

“Dmitri has established himself as one of the top defenseman prospects in the NHL and we look forward to watching him play for the Mammoth for many years to come,” Armstrong said.