From news services

Football schedules at Idaho and Eastern Washington for the abbreviated spring 2021 season took a hit Friday with the announcement that Montana, Montana State and Portland State have opted out of the spring 2021 Big Sky Conference football season.

Big Sky teams are scheduled to play six games this spring, all of them conference games.

Idaho was scheduled to play host to Portland State on March 13 (Week 3), and host Montana on April 3.

Eastern was slated to play all three teams — at Portland State on Feb. 27 (Week 1), vs. Montana on March 6 and at Montana State on April 3.

Nine of the 13 Big Sky teams will play the full six-game football conference schedule in the spring of 2021 to compete for the conference championship. Sacramento State announced on Oct. 15 that it would not compete this season.

"We are still moving forward with our preparations for a spring football season, with our first official practice currently scheduled for Jan. 29," an Idaho spokesperson said. "We look forward to learning our updated Big Sky Conference schedule when the league releases that information here soon."

An updated Big Sky conference schedule, game times, and broadcast clearances will be announced at a later date. Each member institution will determine stadium capacities in accordance with local and/or state health ordinances and government officials.

Montana, Montana State and Portland State could opt to play a modified nonconference schedule this spring, perhaps consisting of a couple games/scrimmages.

"We want to compete this spring but we don't believe playing a complete conference schedule is in the best interest of our program," Montana coach Bobby Hauck said. "We feel like we have a championship-caliber team, and preparing to win a championship in Montana in February with no indoor facility would be difficult at best. I think this modified schedule allows our players to compete while keeping the focus on the fall of 2021."

Montana State coach Jeff Choate, who was a candidate for the recent head coaching opening at Boise State, said the spring season's timeline wasn't feasible in Montana.

"This has been a trying year for everyone," he said. "We respect the fact that each institution is in a different place in its ability to practice, compete, and meet testing protocols. Here in Montana we're uniquely challenged in keeping our student-athletes safe and healthy, which is our top priority, while preparing and playing in deep winter conditions. This is nearly impossible to accomplish given the Big Sky Conference schedule timeline. Finding a way to compete in some fashion when circumstances allow remains important to me and our administration."

The NCAA FCS Playoffs will feature 16 teams with 11 automatic qualifiers and five at-large berths. The bracket will be announced on Sunday, April 18, with a champion being crowned in Frisco, Texas, on May 14, 15, or 16.

The Presidents’ Council also ratified that the 2021 Big Sky Indoor Track & Field Championships would not be held in February as scheduled due to local health restrictions and capacity concerns.