How long has it been since Idaho State football appeared on ESPN?

So long that apparently nobody remembers.

The Big Sky Conference announced Wednesday that the Idaho State-Montana game scheduled for Nov. 14 in Missoula will air on one of ESPN's linear channels, with kickoff set for 8:30 p.m. The specific channel will be announced at a later date.

Jon Match, Idaho State's sports information director, has been searching through old ISU football press guides and other references trying to determine when — or if — the Bengals have ever appeared on ESPN.

So far, he has found no evidence of one.

"All I can tell you is that in the last 26 years, there is no evidence that we've been on ESPN," Match said.

The Bengals did appear on The CW, a cable network that carries Pac-12 football, when they played at Oregon State during the 2024 season. But no Idaho State game has been among the 17 Big Sky games to air on ESPN since the league and network's partnership began in 2021.

The Idaho State-Montana game is one of five Big Sky games scheduled to air on ESPN platforms next fall — the most the conference has ever had selected. The others include the Idaho at Cal Poly game on Aug. 28, Northern Arizona at Montana State on Sept. 26, Montana State at Idaho on Oct. 2 and Eastern Washington at UC Davis on Oct. 3.

The late kickoff could present a challenge for Idaho State, which relies heavily on the passing game. The average low temperature in Missoula on Nov. 14 is 27 degrees.

Last season, the Bengals fell to the Grizzlies 42-38 in a thriller that came down to the final possession at ICCU Arena in Pocatello.