The 2008 Mountain West Conference football schedule was released today and is comprised of 72 games, including 36 conference match-ups. The 2008 schedule plays out over 13 weeks and concludes the weekend prior to Thanksgiving. Fifty-two of the 56 MWC-controlled games are set for Saturdays (93 percent).
The non-conference schedule features 13 contests against teams that earned bowl berths in 2007, including Arizona State, California, Colorado, Houston (2 games), Navy, Michigan, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Tulsa and UCLA. Five opponents finished ranked in last year's final Top 25 polls - #13/16 Arizona State, #8/8 Oklahoma, #12/12 Tennessee, #19/18 Michigan and #NR/25 Oregon State.
The MWC will play seven games against the Pac-10 and Western Athletic Conferences, four against Big 12 and Conference USA schools, two against the Mid-American Conference and one each against the Big Ten and SEC. There are three games against Football Bowl Subdivision independents, including Army, Navy and Notre Dame, and seven match-ups with Football Championship Subdivision programs.
The Mountain West Conference kicks off the season on Saturday, August 30 with all nine league teams in action. New Mexico hosts TCU in a Conference match-up scheduled to air on VERSUS beginning at 4 p.m. MT, and The Mtn. - MountainWest Sports Network opens its coverage in Laramie as Wyoming hosts Ohio at Noon MT.
The 2008 schedule currently features a minimum of 48 telecasts. The Mtn. will televise 30 games, CBS College Sports Network thus far is scheduled for eight telecasts and VERSUS will air eight contests. The MWC anticipates additional television and kick time information for non-conference road games once those conferences finalize their schedules this summer.
Again this season, The Mtn. will feature a unique telecast schedule that includes triple-headers on select weekends to maximize exposure for MWC institutions. Coupled with the outstanding schedule on VERSUS and CBS College Sports Network, and the addition of The Mtn. to the DirecTV lineup this fall, fans across the nation will have the opportunity to see more Mountain West football action than ever before.
Below is the complete 2008 Mountain West Conference schedule, including kick times and television information.
Day
Date
Opponent
Location
TV
Time
Sat
08/30/08
Ohio @ Wyoming
Laramie, Wyo.
12:00 p.m. MT
Sat
08/30/08
Southern Utah @ Air Force
Colorado Springs, Colo.
12:00 p.m. MT
Sat
08/30/08
Utah @ Michigan
Ann Arbor, Mich.
ABC
3:30 p.m. ET
Sat
08/30/08
Northern Iowa @ BYU
Provo, Utah
4:00 p.m. MT
Sat
08/30/08
TCU @ New Mexico
Albuquerque, N.M.
4:00 p.m. MT
Sat
08/30/08
Cal Poly @ San Diego State
San Diego, Calif.
Channel 4 San Diego
6:30 p.m. PT
Sat
08/30/08
Utah State @ UNLV
Las Vegas, Nev.
7:00 p.m. PT
Sun
08/31/08
Colorado State vs. Colorado (Qwest Rocky Mountain Showdown)
