Why Don't The Montana Grizzlies Play FBS Schools?

Yesterday was the third anniversary of the Montana Grizzlies upsetting the #20 Washington Huskies in Seattle. We relived the joyous game in the article below.

What a beautiful day that was.

Last week, some fans asked on a Facebook group why Montana doesn't play FBS schools regularly. It's all about money and Montana doesn't need the cash as much as other FCS schools.

FCS schools play college football behemoths for a paycheck. FBS powerhouses like Alabama, Ohio State, Washington, USC and others can afford to pay an FCS team to come to slaughter because they make enough money. Bama, for instance, raked in $214.4 million in revenue in 2023 according to Sportskeeda. Alabama is able to pay an FCS school to get beat up and down the field as a practice game for the Crimson Tide.

Husky Stadium (Credit: Riley Corcoran)

On the flip side, many FCS programs wouldn't be sustainable without these payouts. Last year, payouts for FCS schools ranged from $1 million to $150 thousand. Hero Sports reported Tennessee State received $1 million to play at Notre Dame. Notre Dame won 56-3, but who cares? Tennessee State received a massive sum and it doesn't really affect its standing in the FCS realm. $1 million is huge chunk for any FCS school.

As for why Montana doesn't schedule FBS teams it's because Griz home games will produce more revenue than your average FCS bear. The home opener last weekend brought in a full house of over 26 thousand fans (7th largest crowd ever). I don't know how that translates to revenue, but 26 thousand fans are larger than 9/10 FCS crowds.

When teams rake in that kind of attendance there isn't as much of a need to travel to an FBS stadium to likely lose. Our rivals in Moscow scheduled two buy games this year - last week at Oregon and this week at Wyoming. Idaho draws solid crowds too. Last year against Montana, there were 16 thousand people and Montana State drew 13 thousand fans. Pretty good crowds, but Idaho still needs those paychecks from Oregon and Wyoming.

It's not unheard of for Montana, obviously, but they just don't need it as much as other FCS schools. Plus, the FBS team should be scared of the upset...

If Montana schedules an FBS school in the coming years, who would you like to see? I would like my favorite FBS school the Wisconsin Badgers to invite the Griz to Madison. Talk about two epic college towns coming together. KC on the Blaze 96.3 wants to see Nebraska match up with Montana.