Courtesy of the Mountain West Conference
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The 2010 Mountain West Conference football schedule was released Friday and is comprised of 73 games, including 36 conference match-ups. The 2010 schedule plays out over 14 weeks and concludes Saturday, December 4. Fifty-three of the 55 MWC-controlled games are set for Saturdays (96 percent) and every Conference match-up will be televised.
The non-conference schedule features 19 games against teams that earned bowl berths in 2009, including Boise State, Florida State, Idaho (2 games), Iowa State, Missouri, Nevada (2 games), Oklahoma, Oregon, Oregon State, Pittsburgh, Texas, Texas Tech, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Seven non-conference opponents finished ranked in last year’s final Top 25 polls (USA Today/AP) – #2/2 Texas, #4/4 Boise State, #11/11 Oregon, #15/15 Pittsburgh, #16/16 Wisconsin, #22/RV West Virginia and #23/21 Texas Tech.
The MWC will play 14 games against Bowl Championship Series automatic-qualifying conference opponents including seven against the Big 12, three match-ups with the Pac-10, two contests against the Big East and one each against the ACC and Big Ten. The remainder of the non-conference schedule features 12 games against the WAC and two match-ups with C-USA and the MAC. There are three games scheduled against Football Bowl Subdivision independents Army, Navy and Notre Dame, and four home dates with Football Championship Subdivision programs.
The 2010 schedule currently features a minimum of 52 telecasts that will be available on a national basis. CBS College Sports Network will air nine games and VERSUS is scheduled for eight telecasts. The Mtn. will televise 30 games, again featuring a unique telecast schedule that includes triple-headers on select weekends to maximize institutional exposure and provide fans all the MWC football action. The entire slate of games on VERSUS, CBS College Sports Network and The Mtn. will be produced in high-definition (HD).
The final Mtn. telecast and kick time will be selected in the near future. The MWC anticipates additional television and kick time information for non-conference road games once those conferences finalize their schedules later this summer.
The Mountain West Conference kicks off the season on Thursday, September 2, with Utah hosting Big East foe Pittsburgh at 6:30 p.m. MT live on VERSUS.
Live game coverage on the trio of MWC networks continues on Saturday, September 4 as Colorado State and Colorado square-off at Invesco Field at Mile High in Denver at Noon MT on The Mtn. CBS College Sports Network will televise the Washington at BYU game that afternoon beginning at 5 p.m. MT, while VERSUS will conclude the day with a 8 p.m. PT broadcast of the Wisconsin at UNLV contest.
VERSUS and CBS College Sports Network are widely available on cable systems across the country and via satellite on DIRECTV (VERSUS-Channel 603/CBS C-Channel 613). Dish Network carries VERSUS on Channel 151 and CBS C on Channel 152) and has not yet added The Mtn. to its lineup. The Mtn. is carried nationally by DIRECTV (Channel 616) and on numerous cable operators representing over 200 municipalities in nine states.