Aaron Cooper (middle) and Wade Willet (right) are interviewed by Mariluz Cook on ESPN+ during Big Sky Summer Kickoff in Spokane, Wash.
Big Sky Summer Kickoff Wraps Up with Media Interviews
7/27/2021 2:32:00 PM | Football
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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- After a one-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Big Sky Conference's Summer Kickoff returned in in-person fashion over the weekend in Spokane, Wash.
Each of the 13 schools was represented by two football players and its head coach for media interviews and creative video shoots by ROOT Sports, ESPN+ and the Big Sky Conference.
Cal Poly was represented by second-year head coach Beau Baldwin and seniors Aaron Cooper, a linebacker, and Wade Willet, an offensive lineman.
Aaron Cooper offers instruction during clinic Saturday.
Cooper and Willet joined the other players in a clinic for Spokane-area youth at Riverfront Park on Saturday, then were scheduled for creative video shoots Sunday. On Monday, all players and head coaches were interviewed by visiting media as well as by ROOT Sports and on a live video stream by ESPN+.
The Big Sky brought back the Summer Kickoff prior to the 2012 season when the conference expanded to 13 teams with the addition of Cal Poly, UC Davis, Southern Utah and North Dakota. The conference met in Park City, Utah, for six years before moving the event to Spokane in 2018.
Andre Broadous represented Cal Poly in the 2012 kickoff, followed by Sullivan Grosz in 2013, Nick Dzubnar in 2014, Chris Brown in 2015, Joseph Gigantino in 2016 and Joe Protheroe in 2017. Two players from each school were invited when the event moved to Spokane, with Mustangs Khaleel Jenkins and Harry Whitson attending the 2018 kickoff and J.J. Koski and Kitu Humphrey in 2019.
The kickoff was held virtually in 2020 with Matt Shotwell representing Cal Poly.
The Spokane Sports Commission has sponsored the event the last three years.
In other Big Sky football news ...
• Cal Poly has set kickoff times for its five home football games this fall.
All five contests -- one non-conference contest and four Big Sky games -- will kick off at 5 p.m.
Coach Beau Baldwin's Mustangs open the home slate with a non-conference game against South Dakota on Sept. 18 followed by Big Sky games versus Weber State on Oct. 2, UC Davis on Oct. 23, Idaho State on Nov. 13 and Northern Arizona on Nov. 20.
The Weber State contest has been established as the Homecoming Game while the UC Davis contest, the annual Battle for the Golden Horseshoe, will be held on Parent and Family Weekend.
Wade Willet offers encouragement at Big Sky clinic.
One of Cal Poly's road games -- Oct. 9 at Montana State -- will be televised by ROOT Sports. The other road contests are Sept. 4 at San Diego, Sept. 11 at Fresno State, Sept. 25 at Montana, Oct. 30 at Portland State and Nov. 6 at Sacramento State.
Times for all six Mustang road contests will be announced at a later date.
• The Big Sky Conference announced its four-game ROOT Sports schedule as well as two other games to be broadcast on ESPNU.
In addition to Cal Poly's Oct. 9 game at Montana State, the Big Sky contests on ROOT will be Idaho at Eastern Washington on Oct. 16, Southern Utah at Montana on Oct. 30 and Montana State at Montana on Nov. 20.
The pair of games on ESPNU will be Montana at Eastern Washington on Oct. 2 and Montana State at Weber State on Oct. 15.
• Northern Arizona captured the Big Sky's President's Cup, which recognizes a member school's overall success in the classroom and athletic competition.
Edging Idaho by one point, the Lumberjacks claimed the conference's women's cross country and men's and women's track and field championships. Northern Arizona also earned the highest Academic Progress Rate (APR) in the conference with a single-year rate of 990.
It is the fourth President's Cup for the Lumberjacks.
Cal Poly, a Big Sky member for football only, competes in the Big West Conference for most of its other sports.
• The Big Sky launched a new app on Thursday powered by Sidearm Sports.
Featuring real-time news alerts, schedules, exclusive multimedia content, league details and more, the new Big Sky Conference app is free and compatible with both iOS and Android devices.
Through the app, Big Sky fans will enjoy a personalized mobile experience with the ability to stay current on every team in the league, and can also receive breaking news and notifications for the sports they follow.
The app is designed with a user-friendly interface that integrates with www.BigSkyConf.com to bring the latest Big Sky Conference digital content right to your fingertips. Additionally, it includes links to video and audio streams of live games, in-game stats, and league social media feeds.
To download the app to your smartphone or tablet, visit the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and search for "Big Sky Conference."
Cal Poly head coach Beau Baldwin is interviewed by ROOT Sports.
• The Big Sky Conference released its preseason coaches and media football polls Monday.
Weber State, which won the 2021 spring Big Sky title with a 5-0 mark, was tabbed by both the coaches and media to capture the 2021 fall crown as well. The Wildcats, who claimed at least a share of the Big Sky crown from 2017-19, return 60 lettermen, including 10 starters on offense and 11 on defense.
Both polls also ranked Montana No. 2, Eastern Washington No. 3, Montana State No. 4 and Sacramento State No. 5.
The rest of the coaches poll includes UC Davis at No. 6, followed by Northern Arizona, Idaho, Idaho State, Portland State, Southern Utah, Cal Poly and Northern Colorado.
Sixth in the media poll is UC Davis, followed by Northern Arizona, Idaho, Idaho State, Portland State, Southern Utah, Northern Colorado and Cal Poly.
Head coach Beau Baldwin's second season at Cal Poly begins Sept. 4 at San Diego.
• Eastern Washington quarterback Eric Barriere and Idaho linebacker Tre Walker were named Big Sky Preseason Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively. The honors were announced during the Big Sky Summer Kickoff banquet held Sunday night at the Davenport Grand in Spokane, Wash.
In claiming the offensive award for the second year in a row, Barriere led the Big Sky in nearly every passing category, finishing the spring with 2,439 yards and 19 touchdowns through the air thanks to 183 completions. He led the squad in total offense with 2,583 yards on the year as the Eagles earned an FCS Playoff berth.
Walker finished Idaho's 2021 spring campaign with 54 total tackles, splitting evenly at 27 between solo and assisted. That resulted in him being named to five different All-American teams, along with being named a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award. He also racked up 4.5 tackles for loss on the season.
Cal Poly did not have any players on the preseason All-Big Sky team.
2021 All-Big Sky Preseason Team
Offense
Quarterback
Eric Barriere – Eastern Washington
Running Backs
Elijah Dotson – Sac State
Josh Davis – Weber State
Fullback
Logan Kendall – Idaho
Wide Receivers
Samuel Akem - Montana
Talolo Limu-Jones – Eastern Washington
Tanner Conner – Idaho State
Tight End
Marshel Martin – Sac State
Tackles
Tristen Taylor – Eastern Washington
Conlan Beaver – Montana
Guards
Ty Whitworth – Weber State
Taylor Tuiasosopo – Montana State
Center
Connor Pettek – UC Davis
Placekicker
Luis Aguilar – Northern Arizona
Return Specialist
Rashid Shaheed – Weber State
Defense
Tackles
Jared Schiess – Weber State
Bryce Rodgers – UC Davis
Ends
Mitchell Johnson – Eastern Washington
George Tarlas – Weber State
Outside Linebackers
La'akea Kaho'ohanohano-Davis – Southern Utah
Troy Andersen – Montana State/Conner Mortensen – Weber State (tie)
Middle Linebackers
Tre Walker – Idaho
Jace Lewis - Montana
Cornerbacks
Anthony Adams – Portland State
Eddie Heckard – Weber State
Safeties
Morgan Vest – Northern Arizona
Robby Hauck - Montana
Punter
Daniel Whelan – UC Davis
Long Snapper
Matthew O'Donoghue - Montana
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