Nevada football announces new 2020 schedule

Well, Pack fans, it’s time to mark your calendars.

A week after agreeing to restart the season, the Mountain West Conference announced its 2020 football schedule Thursday. Barring any setbacks, the season is expected to start on Oct. 24.

“We are excited to get our student-athletes back on the football field this fall,” said Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson via press release.

“The shift away from a two-division format was necessary to optimize the schedule and allow for maximum flexibility given the various constraints which had to be considered. Inasmuch as the season begins with an uneven number of Conference games, and the possibility exists additional games may be lost to COVID-19 challenges, the procedures for determining the participants in and location for the MW Football Championship Game were adapted to accommodate a range of outcomes in as equitable a fashion as possible.”

Nevada will play four games at Mackay Stadium this season, including the season-opener versus Wyoming on Oct. 24. Nevada’s athletic department is continuing to work through local and state directives related to allowing fans in the stadium at reduced capacity.

The Pack will also host Utah State (Nov. 7), San Diego State (Nov. 21) and Fresno State (Dec. 5).

The road slate is kicked-off by travelling to Las Vegas, Nev., to take on intrastate rival UNLV on Oct. 31. Its road slate continues with New Mexico (Nov. 14), Hawai’i (Nov. 28) and its season finale versus San Jose State on Dec. 12.

Today’s release represents the first phase in the 2020 football schedule process. Mountain West national television partners, CBS Sports and FOX Sports, will now initiate a selection procedure which will include the shifting of several games to Thursday’s and Friday’s. Those additional announcements will be made in the near future.

The top two teams featuring the highest winning percentage will face off in the Mountain West Championship game on Saturday, Dec. 19 — eliminating divisional delineation. The team with the best record will host the game.

Check out Nevada’s full schedule below: