BOZEMAN, Montana – The Big Sky Conference announced Friday that the league's football season will move to the spring semester of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Montana State University Director of Athletics Leon Costello said the decision gives clarity to MSU's football student-athletes and coaches, who have been in participating in workouts in Bozeman since June.
 
"This is an unprecedented time, and we appreciate everyone's patience as we work through this process," Costello said. "This decision allows our student-athletes, coaches, and staff the opportunity to prepare and play for a championship with the potential of maximizing fans in Bobcat Stadium. In honest conversations with our student-athletes, the points I heard most consistently were the importance of playing for a championship, playing in front of our fans and providing a safe environment."
 
Costello said keeping Bobcat Athletics student-athletes, coaches and staff healthy – and managing the coronavirus as a community – remain the highest priority. "Everything we do is based on the health and well-being of our student-athletes," he said. "To accomplish our goals we need to follow CDC protocols and county health directives. We need to wear a mask, wash our hands, avoid large social gatherings and follow protocols to stay healthy and get to the spring football season.
 
"Bobcat Athletics is part of a much bigger team, which is Montana State University.  We need to do our part in helping promote campus safety by being leaders and following health and safety guidelines so we can enjoy the benefits of a full athletic and academic year.  We appreciate the leadership provided by President Cruzado and the entire MSU campus, along with our partners at Bozeman Health, which allow us to be in a position to play football in the spring."
 
Non-conference play for Big Sky football programs is pending, and the league is exploring modified versions of a spring conference schedule. Big Sky Commissioner Tom Wistrcill indicated that the league fully supports the NCAA shifting the FCS Championship to the spring and that conference schools may continue with permissible athletics activities while abiding by NCAA legislation, campus policies, and local and state regulations. The league continues to review the status of other fall sports, with a final determination coming at a later date.
 
Bobcat ticket and season information will be available sometime in August, according to Costello. "Please mask up," he said, "and we are in this together!"
 
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