Eric Kjar’s tenure officially begins on the field one day earlier than previously expected when the Wildcats travel to Northern Colorado for a conference game in the season opener. The Bears have lights for the first time at Nottingham Field and have moved that game to 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28, to showcase them.

The powers that be chose to expand the FCS season to 12 games and begin each slate on what has otherwise been known as Week 0. A Big Sky committee then voted to increase the conference schedule to nine games; to help facilitate teams with existing game contracts in upcoming seasons, most Big Sky teams will play league games to begin the 2026 schedule.

As part of a massive swath of early-season games selected by TV networks, WSU’s road trip to Colorado on Saturday, Sept. 12, has a kick time as well. That matchup is set for 1:30 p.m. and the game will stream on ESPN+.

With that selection (made through the Big 12 Conference’s media rights), all 12 of Weber State’s games are set to stream on ESPN+.

History suggests WSU’s first four home games may be at 6 p.m. with the final two possibly at 1 p.m., but additional Weber State kickoff times, including the Sept. 19 home opener against Northwestern State, have yet to be announced.

BIG SKY LINEAR GAMES

The Big Sky Conference and ESPN also announced a record five league games picked up for linear television broadcasts.

Likely due to a 5-11 conference record over the last two seasons, Weber State will not feature in any of the five games picked up by ESPN networks. All five are set for kickoffs at 8 p.m. or later.

First is a late summer swing to one of the openers, Idaho at Cal Poly, set for ESPN on Friday, Aug. 28.

Northern Arizona at Montana State caps the next month on Sept. 26 on ESPN2.

One week later brings a weekend doubleheader, with Montana State at Idaho on Friday, Oct. 2, on ESPN, and Eastern Washington visiting UC Davis the next night on ESPN2.

The five-game TV slate finishes Nov. 4 with Idaho State at Montana, with the network still to be determined.

BIG SKY KICKOFF REPS

Schools have chosen player and coach groups for representation at the Big Sky Kickoff, scheduled July 25-27 in Spokane, Washington.

Eric Kjar, quarterback Devin Brown and safety Trevian Tribble will represent Weber State during the weekend.

Saturday, July 25, will feature the ceremony and banquet for the 2026 Big Sky Hall of Fame class, which will include the late Willie Sojourner (men’s basketball, track and field) and Amber Henry (track and field, cross country) from Weber State.

Monday brings broadcast media interviews with head coaches and two players from each Big Sky team. The conference says four hours of live coverage begin at 10 a.m. MT on Monday, July 27, streaming on ESPN+ and televised on some Scripps stations. The schedule will be announced later.

MORE TIMES, TV FOR FBS SCHOOLS

TV network selections of early-season games mean a few known plans for BYU, Utah and Utah State.

What follows is a listing of each game assigned a kickoff time or TV broadcast for those three teams. All times are Mountain.

BYU

Sept. 5: vs. Utah Tech, 6 p.m., ESPN+

Sept. 12: vs. Arizona, 1:30 p.m., FOX

Sept. 19: at Colorado State, 5:30 p.m., CBS

Oct. 9: vs. Iowa State, 8:15 p.m., ESPN

UTAH

Sept. 3: vs. Idaho, 7 p.m., ESPNU

Sept. 12: vs. Arkansas, 8;15 p.m., ESPN

Sept. 19: vs. Utah State, 1:30 p.m., FOX

Nov. 27: vs. West Virginia, 7 p.m., FOX

UTAH STATE

Sept. 5: vs. Idaho State, 5 p.m., CBS Sports Network

Sept. 12: at Washington, 1:30 p.m., Big Ten Network

Sept. 19: at Utah, 1:30 p.m., FOX

Sept. 26: vs. Troy, 5:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network

Oct. 3: at Boise State, 5:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network

Oct. 9: vs. Washington State, 7 p.m., The CW

Oct. 24: at Texas State, 5:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network

Oct. 31: vs. Colorado State, 1:30 p.m., USA Network

Nov. 7: vs. Fresno State, 7:30 p.m., USA Network

Nov. 14: at San Diego State, 7:30 p.m., USA Network

Nov. 21: at Oregon State, 8:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network