The Montana Grizzlies football (commonly referred to as the "Griz") program represents the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fa ...

in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) of

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

. The Grizzlies have competed in the

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eig ...

since 1963, where it is a founding member. They play their home games on campus in Missoula at

Washington–Grizzly Stadium Washington–Grizzly Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium in the western United States, located on the campus of the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana. Opened in 1986, it is home to the Montana Grizzlies, a member of the Big ...

, where they had an average attendance of 25,377 in 2016. The Grizzlies had an unprecedented streak of 25 consecutive winning seasons from 1986 to 2011, and this included runs to the NCAA FCS (formerly Division I-AA) championship seven times. In Washington-Grizzly Stadium, they have a winning percentage of .890 which includes the playoffs. They hold the records for most playoff appearances in a row (17), Big Sky Conference titles in a row (12), and overall playoff appearances (19). Their success made them the most successful program in all of college football in the 2000s (119 wins) and third most successful team in FCS in the 1990s (93 wins). On September 4, 2021, Montana upset the #20 (FBS) Washington Huskies at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Washington.

History

Early years (1897–1934)

The University of Montana's first football season was in 1897, where they won a single game against future rival

Montana State Montana State University (MSU) is a public land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana. It is the state's largest university. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's degrees in 68 fields, and doctoral degrees in 35 field ...

. The team played only schools from Montana until it helped found the Northwest Intercollegiate Athletic Association (NWIAA) in 1902. In addition to Montana, this original Northwest Conference included

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a U.S. state, state in the Northwestern United States, Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first President of the United States, U.S. p ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, Oregon State,

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Monta ...

, and

Whitman College Whitman College is a private liberal arts college in Walla Walla, Washington. The school offers 53 majors and 33 minors in the liberal arts and sciences, and it has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9:1. Whitman was the first college in the Pacific ...

. Despite the association's stated goal of increasing intercollegiate athletics, Montana continued to play only the nearest teams. Unfortunately, the team would not win a game against a conference opponent until a 10-0 win over Washington State in 1914. In 1915, the Northwest Conference had become superfluous with the creation of the

Pacific Coast Conference The Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) was a college athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pac-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, with eight of the ten PCC members (including ...

, which by 1924 already included the five public Northwest Conference schools from Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, in addition to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. S ...

. Montana joined the conference in 1924 and remained there through the 1949 season. Montana won only nine conferences games ( against rival Idaho), and never played a home game against a team from the state of California. No team was organized in 1918, due to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and the

1918 flu pandemic The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

Doug Fessenden era (1935–1948)

''(46–40–4) Record, (9–1) vs. Cats''

Doug Fessenden Douglas A. Fessenden (September 7, 1901 – June 11, 1970) was an American football coach and college athletics administrator. Fessenden began his coaching career in 1925 at Main Avenue High School—now known as Fox Tech High School—in San Ant ...

was the first Montana coach to last more than five years, and of those who coached more than two years, he was the first to end his career with a winning record. The program was on hiatus for the

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 ...

and

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in ...

seasons, due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Of the six teams in the northern division of the PCC, only

continued through the war.

Mountain States (Skyline) Conference era (1951–1961)

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

, the Montana board of education announced that it was de-emphasizing athletics at the state university. Key to the university's decision was the feeling that continued affiliation with the PCC was incompatible with the goal to "keep intercollegiate athletics properly subordinated to the academic function" and they would "seek to develop competition in all sports with institutions similar in purpose, size, resources and academic standing." The conference was only "preferable to having no conference affiliation." In

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

, Montana joined the

Mountain States Conference A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

, popularly known as the Skyline Conference, and competed there until the conference dissolved in the summer of

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

. The Grizzlies never had a winning season in the Skyline and never won more than three games until

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

. In

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

, Montana joined Gonzaga,

Idaho State , mottoeng = "The truth will set you free" , established = , former_names = Academy of Idaho(1901–1915)Idaho Technical Institute(1915–1927)University of Idaho—Southern Branch(1927–1947)Idaho State ...

, Weber State, and

in forming the

. (Gonzaga dropped its football program after

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar E ...

and Idaho did not compete in conference play until

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in for a full term ...

Jack Swarthout era (1967–1975)

''(51–41–1) Record, (3–6) vs. Cats''
Montana's football struggles continued in the new Big Sky Conference, and the team had only won nine games in its first four seasons when school officials decided that a coaching change was needed. Following a 1–9 season in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo ...

, University of Montana president Robert T. Pantzer announced in December the hiring of

Jack Swarthout Harold Jack Swarthout (February 23, 1920 – October 1, 2005) was an American college football player, coach, and administrator. He served as head football coach and athletic director at his alma mater, the University of Montana, from 1967 throug ...

, a former quarterback/halfback/end from Montana. Swarthout brought on Jack Elway as an assistant and they improved the team immediately to 7–3 in their first season. Within two years, Swarthout guided the team to back-to-back undefeated regular seasons in

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

and 1970, and Montana's first Big Sky Conference titles. At the end of both years, they were defeated by

North Dakota State North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North ...

in the

Camellia Bowl Camellia Bowl can refer to one of three college football bowl games: * Camellia Bowl (1948), played in Lafayette, Louisiana in 1948 * Camellia Bowl (1961–80), played in Sacramento, California from 1961 to 1975 and again in 1980 in the NCAA Colle ...

, which was part of a set of bowls that determined the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision national championship, prior to the current FCS playoff structure. Continued success was expected, but a disappointing season in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses ( February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events J ...

was followed by a work-study scandal that eventually led to Swarthout's resignation. In 1972, a federal grand jury returned a 32-count indictment charging five university officials and coaches (including Swarthout) with conspiring to illegally use federal-aid money to pay for fictitious jobs for athletes. Though Swarthout was found not guilty, the charges hurt recruiting and the student-body government decided to withdraw financial support for athletic programs. Despite the controversy and resultant performance decline, Swarthout is credited as being the coach that turned Montana into a winning football program.

Don Read era (1986–1995)

''(85–36) Record, (10–0) vs. Cats''
After Swarthout's departure, Montana would register only one winning season over the next 10 years. In November 1985, Montana fired coach Larry Donovan and replaced him with Portland State's head coach,

Don Read Don Read (born December 15, 1933) is a former American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. head football coach at Portland State University the University of Oregon the Oregon Institute of Technology and the Univers ...

. Over the next 10 years, Montana would go 85-36, have 10 straight winning seasons, and was undefeated against cross-state rival Montana State. Read would win 2 conference titles, make the FCS playoffs 5 times and win Montana's first national championship.

Mick Dennehy era (1996–1999)

''(39–12) record, (4–0) vs. Cats''

Mick Dennehy Michael Dennehy (born June 13, 1950) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Montana Western (1988–1990), the University of Montana (1996–1999), and Utah State University (2000 ...

had been the offensive coordinator under Don Read and was promoted to head coach when Read retired in 1995. Dennehy continued Montana's success, making it to the national championship in his first year for a rematch against

Marshall University Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States. The university is currently composed of nine colleges ...

. This time, however, Montana lost 49–29. Montana made the playoffs every year under Dennehy and continued to beat Montana State, but they did not make it past the first round of the playoffs after his first season. After the 1999 season, Dennehy accepted a head coaching position at

Utah State Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

Joe Glenn era (2000–2002)

''(39–6) Record, (2–1) vs. Cats''
The Joe Glenn era began with high hopes for the winner of two Division II championships at the

University of Northern Colorado The University of Northern Colorado (UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado. The university was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has officially changed ...

. He did not disappoint, making it to the national championship in his first two seasons, where he won it in his second appearance. Unfortunately, during Glenn's third year, Montana's win streak against Montana State finally came to end at 16 straight games. Glenn left after the 2002 season to pursue the head coaching job at the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

Bobby Hauck era (2003–2009)

''(80–17) Record, (5–2) vs. Cats''

Bobby Hauck Robert Lawrence Hauck (born June 14, 1964) is an American college football coach. He is the head football coach at the University of Montana, a position he held from 2003 to 2009 and resumed before the 2018 season. Hauck was also the head footbal ...

began his tenure in 2003, and over the next 7 years would win a share of the Big Sky Conference title every year. His teams made it to the national championship game three times but lost each game including in 2004 (lost to

JMU James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, the institution was renamed Madison Co ...

), 2008 (lost to the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a private liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approximately 4,350 undergraduate and graduate students in five schools: the School ...

), and 2009 (lost to

Villanova University Villanova University is a private Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1842 and named after Saint Thomas of Villanova. The university is the oldest Catholic university in Pennsy ...

). After the 2009 season, Hauck left to take the head coaching job at

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes th ...

. He returned as head coach in 2017 after leaving UNLV and being an assistant for

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

Robin Pflugrad era (2010–2011)

''(13–7) Record, (1–1) vs. Cats''
In 2009,

Robin Pflugrad Robin Pflugrad (born November 29, 1958) is an American football coach. He is currently the assistant head coach and tight ends coach at Northern Arizona University. He was the head coach for the University of Montana from 2010 to 2011 and the off ...

returned to Montana to become the wide receivers coach under Bobby Hauck. After that season, Hauck left Montana to become the head coach at UNLV, and Pflugrad was promoted to replace him. Pflugrad said after his hiring that Montana would be "very fast on offense, up-tempo and upbeat." Pflugrad led Montana to a Big Sky Conference title and a national semifinal appearance in 2011, but those were vacated by the NCAA on July 26, 2013 due to infractions which included a nationally publicized rape scandal. Individually, Pflugrad was hit with numerous sanctions by the NCAA for his part in the infractions.

Mick Delaney era (2012–2014)

''(24–14) Record, (2–1) vs. Cats''

Mick Delaney Michael Delaney (born December 2, 1942) is an American college football coach, and a former head coach at the Montana Grizzlies football, University of Montana. Delaney was hired July 26, 2012, replacing former head coach Robin Pflugrad. Delaney ...

was hired July 26, 2012, replacing former head coach Robin Pflugrad. On July 26, 2013, the NCAA found the Montana football program guilty of multiple major infractions and one secondary infraction. None of these infractions occurred while Delaney was the head coach. Delaney retired after three seasons.

Bob Stitt era (2015–2017)

''(21–14) Record, (1–2) vs. Cats''
On December 16, 2014, the university announced that Bob Stitt would be replacing former head coach Mick Delaney after he announced his retirement. Bob Stitt started his tenure at Montana with one of the most memorable games in Griz football history with a 38–35 win over the 4-time Defending FCS National Champions

thanks to an 80-yard, 1:37 scoring drive to end the game.

Bobby Hauck era, part two (2018–present)

''(25–11) Record, (1–2) vs. Cats''
Hauck returned to Montana for the 2018 season. Montana earned its 200th win at home against

Sacramento State California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is the eleventh oldest school in the 23-campus California ...

on September 22, 2018, 41-34. On September 4, 2021, Montana upset the #20 ranked

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac ...

. It was their first win against Washington since 1920 and only their second overall win in 20 games against the Huskies. It was also the fifth occasion a FCS team beat a ranked FBS team since the 1978 FBS/FCS split.

Program achievements

The Grizzlies rank among the all-time playoff appearance leaders, with appearances in 1982, 1988, 1989, and 1993–2009. The Grizzlies had a playoff streak of 17 in a row from 1993–2009, which is a record at the I-AA level, now known as Football Championship Subdivision. The streak came to an end on November 21, 2010 when the Grizzlies were not selected to the FCS playoffs following a loss to in-state rival

. The Grizzlies won the national championship in 1995 under

when

Dave Dickenson David Dickenson (born January 11, 1973) is a Canadian football head coach with the Calgary Stampeders and former professional player with the Stampeders and the BC Lions where he won the 2006 Grey Cup and was named the game's MVP. Dickenson als ...

led the team to a victory over

in the national championship game. In 2001, coach Joe Glenn led the Montana Grizzlies to another national championship by defeating

Furman University Furman University is a Private university, private Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Greenville, South Carolina. Founded in 1826 and named for the clergyman Richard Furman, Furman University is the oldest private institution of hig ...

, 13-6.

Conference affiliations

Montana has competed as both an independent and as a conference member throughout its history. * Independent (1897–1923) *

(1924–1949) * Independent (1950) *

(1951–1961) * Independent (1962) *

(1963–present)

Championships

National championships

Conference championships

Montana has won 18 conference championships, all in the

† Co-champions

Head coaches

† Montana was penalized by the NCAA on July 26, 2013 and forced to vacate its last five wins of the 2011 season. One win was against Montana State. It was also forced to vacate its conference title and appearance in the 2011 FCS playoffs.

Home venues

The Montana Grizzlies have played their home games in

since its construction in 1986. The stadium has an official capacity of 25,203. However, its record attendance is 26,856 which was set on November 20, 2021 with a 29 to 10 smashing defeat of cross state Rivals Montana state Bobcats. Construction of the stadium closely follows the Grizzlies recent success, and since its construction the Grizzlies have a 218 - 34 record as of 2021 and have gone undefeated 11 times. Before Washington-Grizzly Stadium, the Grizzlies played off-campus at "new"

Dornblaser Field Dornblaser Field is the name of two outdoor athletic stadiums in the western United States, located in Missoula, Montana. Both were former home fields of the University of Montana Grizzlies football teams and were named for Paul Dornblaser, a c ...

from 1968 to 1986. Prior to 1968, Montana played on-campus at "old" Dornblaser Field from 1920 to 1967. Both stadiums were named for Paul Dornblaser, the team's captain in 1912, who was killed in World War I. Prior to 1920, Montana played its home games at a field in downtown Missoula, near the former ''Missoulian'' newspaper building.

Rivalries

Montana State

Montana's primary rivalry is the

Brawl of the Wild Brawl or Brawling may refer to: * Brawl, a large-scale fist fight usually involving multiple participants *''Brawl Stars'', a game desarrollated by Supercell, created at 2018 * Brawl, Scotland, a crofting community on the north coast of Scotland * ...

(AKA: ''The Cat - Griz game'') against

Montana State University Montana State University (MSU) is a public land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana. It is the state's largest university. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's degrees in 68 fields, and doctoral degrees in 35 fie ...

Bozeman Bozeman is a city and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. Located in southwest Montana, the 2020 census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it the fourth-largest city in Montana. It is the principal city of ...

. The game has been played 121 times, and the Griz lead the series, 73-42-5. Montana State Bobcats won the last meeting 55-21 on November 19, 2022. The series has three distinct periods. From 1897 to 1916, the teams didn't belong to a conference, but at times would play twice per year. Early seasons had seven games or less, with one season seeing the Grizzlies play just one game. Four of the five ties in the series came during this era. Montana won 12 games to Montana State's 7. In 1917, Montana State joined the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC). In 1924, Montana joined what is now the Pac-12 Conference when it entered the Pacific Coast Conference. The RMAC included several teams that would become Mountain West Conference members. When MSU joined the RMAC, it included Colorado, Colorado State, Utah, Utah State, and Brigham Young. When UM joined the PCC, it included Stanford, California, UCLA, USC, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Washington State, and Idaho. The Bobcats remained in the RMAC through 1956, while the Grizzlies remained in the PCC through 1949. Montana joined the Mountain States Conference from 1951–1961. MSU was independent from 1957–1962 and UM was independent in 1950 and 1962. During this period UM, enjoyed a 30-8-1 edge in Griz-Cat games. Both schools entered the Big Sky Conference as charter members in 1963, with Montana holding a 42-15-2 series lead. From 1963 to 1985, Montana State enjoyed its most successful period of the Griz - Cat rivalry. MSU won 17 games to just six for UM. Following that, Montana started "The Streak" when it won 16 straight games from 1986 to 2001. Montana holds a 31-27 lead in the series during the Big Sky era. * Montana was penalized by the NCAA on July 26, 2013 and forced to vacate its last five wins of the 2011 season. One win was against Montana State.

Idaho

Montana formerly played a rivalry game against the Idaho Vandals for the Little Brown Stein. The Grizzlies trail in the 84-game series 28-55-2 (.333), but have won the last five meetings (2000–03, 2018). (Idaho moved up to Division I-A (now FBS) in 1996.) The Montana-Idaho rivalry resumed during the 2018 season when Idaho returned to the Big Sky Conference as a full member. Montana won the game at Idaho, 46-27.

Eastern Washington

The Grizzlies also have an annual rivalry game in

conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

with the

Eastern Washington Eagles The Eastern Washington Eagles are the intercollegiate varsity athletic teams that represent Eastern Washington University, located in Cheney, southwest of Spokane. A member of the Big Sky Conference, EWU's athletic program comprises five men's ...

, called the

EWU–UM Governors Cup The EWU–UM Governors Cup is the college football rivalry game between the University of Montana Grizzlies and the Eastern Washington University Eagles, both members of the Big Sky Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Hi ...

. Montana leads the series 27-16-1. The teams are not scheduled to meet in 2018, ending an annual series that dates from 1982 to 2017.

Uniforms

Colors

*Maroon & Silver (1893–

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

–present) *Copper & Gold (

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * J ...

–

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

) The official

school colors School colors (also known as university colors or college colors) are the colors chosen by a school as part of its brand identity, used on building signage, web pages, branded apparel, and the uniforms of sports teams. They can promote connect ...

of the University of Montana are

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pink ...

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

, and

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

; these were chosen in recognition of the state's mining history. Contrary to popular perception, these colors have never changed, with the confusion stemming from the university's decision to represent "copper" with either

maroon Maroon ( US/ UK , Australia ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word ''marron'', or chestnut. "Marron" is also one of the French translations for "brown". According to multiple dictionaries, there are vari ...

or "

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

orange" at various times in its history. When the university was founded in 1893 and its colors were chosen, a lack of copper dye led the school to use maroon, and occasionally other colors, to represent copper. This had the effect of having the school's athletic teams not always being represented across the board by the same uniform colors. In 1967, head football coach and athletic director

, who personally preferred the maroon and silver used by the football team, sought to make the schools colors more consistent and held a vote among UM coaches. They selected ''Texas orange'' ( burnt orange to represent copper) and yellow gold to be used on the school's uniforms and it remained for the next 30 years. The maroon was brought back in 1993 as part of the university's centennial celebrations and a student survey in 1995 showed support for a return to maroon and silver uniforms. Despite some vocal opposition, by 1997, the colors began to phase into the maroon and silver that are used.

#37 Jersey

The #37 Jersey is a tradition that began in 1987 by then-running back Kraig Paulson. The tradition holds that whomever wears the #37 jersey selects an in-state recruit and leading defensive player to wear it next.

Postseason results

College Division / Division II

Formerly in the University Division, Montana moved down to the College Division for football in

with the formation of the

. The College Division concluded the season with four regional bowls, played in December after the final polls were released. The undefeated Grizzlies played in the

and 1970, but lost both to

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

. Division II debuted in 1973 and introduced a playoff system; Montana and the Big Sky moved to the new Division I-AA in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 ...

Division I-AA/FCS Playoffs

The Grizzlies have appeared in the I-AA/FCS playoffs 26 times with a record of 37–25. However, their

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...

appearance has been vacated, reducing their official playoff record to 35–24 in 25 appearances. With seven trips to the title game in fifteen seasons, they were national champions twice (

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

) and runner–up five times (

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

). :† '

Individual awards and honors

National honors—players

* Walter Payton Award :''National Offensive Player of the Year'' :1995:

*Walter Payton Award finalists :1989: Tim Hauck :1996: Brian Ah Yat :1997: Brian Ah Yat :1998: Brian Ah Yat :1999: Drew Miller :2001: Yohance Humphery :2002: John Edwards :2004: Craig Ochs :2005:

Lex Hilliard Lex Douglas Hilliard (born July 30, 1984) is a former American football running back and fullback. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Montana. Hilliard was one of the lar ...

:2009: Chase Reynolds *

Buck Buchanan Award The Buck Buchanan Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding defensive player in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) of college football, and was first given in 1995 after the Walter Payton Award was ...

:''National Defensive Player of the Year'' :2007:

Kroy Biermann Kroy Evan Biermann (born September 12, 1985) is a former American football outside linebacker. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Montana. He is married to former Bravo t ...

:2019: Dante Olson *Buck Buchanan Award finalists :2000: Andy Petek (Runner-up) :2001: Vince Huntsberger (Runner-up) :2002: Trey Young :2006: Kroy Biermann :2011: Trumaine Johnson :2012: Jordan Tripp :2013: Jordan Tripp *

STATS STATS may refer to: * Statistical Assessment Service * STATS LLC, a former name of Stats Perform Stats Perform (formerly STATS, LLC and STATS, Inc.) is a sports data and analytics company formed through the combination of Stats and Perform. T ...

FCS Defensive Player of the Year :2015: Tyrone Holmes

National honors—coaches

American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...

(AFCA) :''National Coach of the Year'' :1995:

* Eddie Robinson Award :''National Coach of the Year'' :2002: Joe Glenn

Big Sky Conference honors

*Offensive MVP :1993:

, QB :1994: Dave Dickenson, QB :1995: Dave Dickenson, QB :1996: Brian Ah Yat, QB :1998: Brian Ah Yat, QB :2002: John Edwards, QB *Defensive MVP :1974: Ron Rosenberg, LB :1976: Greg Anderson, DB :1988: Tim Hauck, DB :1989: Tim Hauck, DB :1996: Jason Crebo, LB :1999: Vince Huntsbergeru, SS :2000: Andy Petek, DE :2001: Vince Huntsberger, SS :2002: Trey Young, FS :2007:

, DE :2011: Caleb McSurdy, LB :2019: Dante Olson, LB (co-player of the year) *Top Newcomer :1999: Drew Miller, QB :2003: Justin Green, RB :2018: Dalton Sneed, QB :2019: Marcus Knight, RB :2021: Justin Ford, CB *Coach of the Year :1969: Jack Swarthout :1970: Jack Swarthout :1989:

:1993: Don Read :1995: Don Read :1996:

:2000: Joe Glenn :2001: Joe Glenn :2002: Joe Glenn :2006:

:2007: Bobby Hauck :2009: Bobby Hauck :2011:

Other awards and honors

*Grizzlies quarterback Bob O'Billovich was selected as the Montana Athlete of Decade (1960–1970)

Program alumni who played professionally

Future non-conference opponents

Schedule as of January 4, 2021.

References

External links

*
Grizzly football yearbooks, 1939–2018Grizzly football game day programs, 1914–2012
{{Big Sky Conference football navbox American football teams established in 1897 1897 establishments in Montana