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The Mountain West has reached a multi-year agreement to have the league's conference title game be shown on CBS Sports, and yes, that is regular over-the-air CBS, not CBS Sports Network.
The league announced that the inaugural game will be at 10 p.m. ET and follow the highly rated SEC championship game.
Here some of the press release from the Mountain West:
"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."
This is the best-case scenario for the Mountain West, to have the title game on CBS and not CBS Sports Network, and having it after the SEC game is even bigger. Perhaps some of those people watching that game may stay tuned to watch a possible Boise State vs. Fresno State title game, hopefully featuring a pair of ranked teams.
This game will go up against other major-conference title games like the ACC, Pac-12, and Big Ten, so the competition will be fierce for those eyeballs. However, those games will be in the second half once the Mountain West game gets underway.
There was fear on my part that the title game would be on CBS Sports Network either Friday night, or go head to head with the SEC title game. In short, this is a huge win for the Mountain West. There are no details as of now on the monetary compensation for this game.
The Mountain West title game will feature the winner of the Mountain and West Divisions and be hosted by the highest-rated division champion according to the BCS.