This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
We don't know where the first Mountain West Conference football championship game will be played yet, but we do know what channel it will air on — CBS. That's KUTV-Ch. 2 here in Utah.
CBS announced a "multi-year deal" to air the game, which will be played at the home of the MWC division champion with the highest BCS ranking.
(The MWC has named its two divisions "Mountain" and "West," which makes the league a whole lot smarter than, say, the "Leaders" and "Legends" geniuses in the Big Ten Conference.)
The inaugural MWC title game is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 7, at 8 p.m. MT. It will air after the SEC title game, which is good news.
Depending on where it's played and how cold it might be, the 8 p.m. start time could be bad news. I'd love to see Utah State host it, but an 8 p.m. kickoff in Logan in December sounds ... chilly.
Here's the official release:
CBS SPORTS SIGNS MULTI-YEAR DEAL TO BROADCAST MOUNTAIN WEST FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP Inaugural Game Set for Saturday, December 7 at 10:00 PM, ET CBS Sports has signed a multi-year deal to broadcast the Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game. CBS Sports will broadcast the inaugural title match-up live on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 10:00 pm, ET from the home stadium of the regular-season Mountain West divisional champion with the highest BCS ranking. CBS Sports Network serves as the Mountain West's primary television partner and will air 23 games this season featuring MW teams, with CBS Sports airing one regular-season contest (Air Force vs. Navy) in addition to the championship match-up. CBS Sports' college football championship coverage on December 7 begins earlier in the day with the SEC Championship (4:00 PM, ET) from the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Ga. "The new Mountain West football structure, which will culminate in an exciting match-up between two divisional champions, is one of many recent initiatives for the Conference as we enter our next era," said Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson. "We are pleased that CBS Sports will serve as a tremendous platform for this marquee event, providing an opportunity to showcase the caliber of Mountain West football." "We're thrilled to extend our relationship with the Mountain West and broadcast their inaugural football championship game," said Dan Weinberg, Senior Vice President, Programming, CBS Sports. "It's a great addition to our college football programming and we look forward to providing fans with a full day of championship coverage for many years." Beginning in the fall of 2013, MW football membership will include Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, New Mexico, Utah State and Wyoming in the Mountain Division and Fresno State, Hawai'i, Nevada, San Diego State, San José State and UNLV in the West Division.