Montana State Adds Tennessee Tech Home-and-Home, St. Thomas for 2028

Montana State announced a home-and-home with Tennessee Tech for 2027-28 and added St. Thomas (Minn.) to the 2028 nonconference slate, with specific dates set for Sept. 18, 2027, at Bobcat Stadium and Sept. 9, 2028, at Tucker Stadium in Cookeville. Director of Athletics Leon Costello announced the moves as MSU finalized portions of its multi-year scheduling plan.

“Montana State and Tennessee Tech, members of the Big Sky Conference and Southern Conference (SoCon) respectively, have never met on the field. Both are coming off conference championship seasons, with Montana State ultimately capturing the FCS national title with a win over Illinois State.” That pairing presents a first-ever matchup between the programs and pairs MSU’s 2025 national champion pedigree with Tennessee Tech’s recent conference success.

Montana State’s 2027 nonconference slate as reported across outlets currently includes a season-opening neutral-site game against North Dakota State in Las Vegas, a home game vs. Drake, and the Tennessee Tech visit on Sept. 18, 2027. Sources differ on the NDSU opener date, with one report listing Friday, Sept. 3, 2027, and local Montana outlets listing Sept. 4, 2027; Drake’s date is reported as Sept. 11 by local reports while one schedule aggregator lists the Drake date as still to be determined. Local reporting also described the Tennessee Tech game as MSU’s final nonconference game in 2027.

Tennessee Tech’s official release by Jeff Bowe lists TTU’s 2027 nonconference dates as 8/26 Morehead State, 9/11 Eastern Illinois, and 9/18 at Montana State. The same TTU release lists 2028 nonconference dates including 8/24 Morehead State, 9/9 Montana State, and 9/23 at Eastern Kentucky. The TTU release also included promotional notes that tickets for the 2026 season go on sale March 16 and directed fans to follow @TNTechFootball on X, @tntech_football on Instagram and Tennessee Tech Football on Facebook for updates.

Montana State’s 2028 nonconference plan now shows a home opener vs. St. Thomas on Sept. 2, 2028, followed one week later by the road trip to Tennessee Tech on Sept. 9, 2028, with one nonconference slot still to be scheduled that fall. Venues are set: Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman for the MSU home dates and Tucker Stadium in Cookeville for the TTU home date.

From a competitive and business perspective, the home-and-home adds measurable strength-of-schedule value for MSU and creates a marquee mid-September road test for Tennessee Tech. The matchup also gives TTU a rare trip to a Big Sky championship program’s market and gives MSU another out-of-region opponent outside the conference. The Las Vegas opener vs. NDSU carries an added wrinkle, since one report noted that the NDSU matchup could be impacted by North Dakota State’s transition to the FBS.

Outstanding calendar items remain: confirm the exact NDSU opener date in Las Vegas, reconcile conflicting dates listed for Morehead State on the TTU calendar, and identify the remaining 2028 nonconference opponent for Montana State. With Leon Costello announcing the additions and TTU’s Jeff Bowe publishing the Golden Eagles’ dates, these confirmed matchups already shape revenue and recruiting windows for both programs as the 2027 and 2028 seasons approach.