A power outage in the Portland State-Montana Big Sky matchup on Saturday led to the broadcasters on the call having to call the game on a cell phone. Photo Credit: Scripps Sports Photo Credit: Scripps Sports
By Reice Shipley on

FCS games naturally get far less coverage than FBS games get week in and week out. But unfortunately, those who did attempt to tune into the streaming broadcast of the Big Sky matchup between the No. 10 ranked Montana Grizzlies and the Portland State Vikings had a unique viewing experience, to say the least.

The broadcast, which could be found on ESPN+ nationally and locally in Montana via Scripps Sports, hit an unforeseen snag midway through the fourth quarter when play was stopped due to a power outage at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, the home of Montana. Those tuning into the game received an update from the studio team covering the game.

“Well, this is unexpected. What we’ve been told is that there is a power outage at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula. Middle of the fourth quarter, Montana leading Portland State 28-17. We’ve recently been told by our truck back there that they are working on getting the power back and hope to resume this game shortly. That is straight from the referees.”

Action on the field returned before the power outage had been resolved, which led to problems both on the broadcast of the game and for the officials on the field. Officials on the field would need to keep track of the game clock on the field. And the broadcasters would call the game on a cell phone.

KPAX-TV, a CBS affiliate in Western Montana, shared a post on Facebook detailing what it looked like on the field moments after the power returned.

The broadcast issue would not be resolved before the end of the game. But luckily, viewers didn’t miss any action that impacted the end result. Montana would go on to win the game 28-17, the same score that it was before the power outage had happened.

[Awful Announcing on X, KPAX-TV on Facebook]

About Reice Shipley

Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.

View all posts by Reice Shipley