Digger Football Release Football Schedule.

The Montana Tech Football program has released its final football schedule for 2023, and the big question was answered.

You might remember back in March, the Oredigger’s week 2 opponent -Simon Fraser- dropped out of their game with Montana Tech due to the fact that the school dropped football entirely. So that left the Diggs, well… digging, for a new opponent.

The new week 2 opponent will be Division II Central Washington. The Wildcats are a current member of the Lone Star Conference, for football only. They previously were a member of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (like Simon Fraser) from 2008 – 2021 until the conference dropped football.

Central Washington has a long and storied history in football, going back to 1901. That is why this next sentence throws me off so badly.

Montana Tech and Central Washington have never played before.

The Orediggers take the field Photo courtesy: Montana Tech Athletics

Montana Tech’s football program goes back to 1902. Ellensburg and Butte are 480 miles apart. According to my work, Tech has played 5 different Washington opponents in 22 different games.

Whitworth- 9 times. The last in 2003.
Eastern Washington – 6 times. The last in 2002.
Yakama Valley- 4 times. The last in 1988.
Puget Sound- Twice. 1975, 1976.
Western Washington- once, 1977.

But never Central Washington.

That will happen for the first time on September 9^th at Tomlinson Stadium in Ellensburg, Washington. The Wildcats will be the 66^th different opponent the Orediggers have faced in their 121-year history.

The Orediggers will start the season on a Thursday night against the Fighting Saints of Carroll College. Kickoff is scheduled for 6pm at Bob Green. The Diggs will play the Saints twice this year, the first contest will be considered a non-conference game, and the second time (Nov. 11) in Helena is the scheduled conference game.

The Montana Tech 2023 Football Schedule. Graphic courtesy of Oredigger Athletics

First-year Frontier Conference football member Arizona Christian will be in Butte for the first time October 28^th to battle the Diggs. You can read about ACU in an article we posted a bit ago HERE.