BOZEMAN — Montana State and Nevada announced a non-conference football game between the two former Big Sky Conference rivals in 2026 on Tuesday.
The Wolf Pack will host MSU on Saturday, Sept. 12, at Mackay Stadium. Nevada's current head coach, Jeff Choate, led the Bobcats from 2016-19, and his current staff includes one-time Bobcat stars and teammates Kane Ioane and Joey Thomas, along with former MSU assistants Brian Armstrong and James Price.
The schools met every season from 1979 to 1991 as Big Sky foes, and met again in 1996. Nevada leads the series 12-6, including four straight wins. The teams played a home-and-home set to initiate the series in 1946 and 1947 (Nevada won both), then again in 1963 and 1964 (the Cats took both). Perhaps the most memorable game in the series, from a Bobcat standpoint, was the 44-41 double-overtime win in Reno H. Sales Stadium in 1984.
The Bobcats close the 2024 season on Monday in the FCS national championship game, riding a 15-0 record. Nevada finished Choate's first season in Reno 3-10.
