Robert Lawrence Hauck (born June 14, 1964) is an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

coach. He is the head football coach at the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana, United States. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. Fall 2024 saw total enrollment hit 10,811, marki ...

, a position he held from 2003 to 2009 and resumed before the 2018 season. Hauck was also the head football coach at the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the ...

(UNLV) from 2010 to 2014. During his first stint as head coach at Montana, Hauck led the

Grizzlies Grizzlies may refer to: *Grizzly bears Sports ; Sports teams named after the grizzly bear: United States: * Memphis Grizzlies, a National Basketball Association team in Memphis, Tennessee * Fresno Grizzlies, a Triple-A minor league baseball team b ...

to seven

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference, affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I with college football, football competing in the Football Cha ...

titles and postseason berths in as many seasons, including three national championship game appearances. In 2013, following three losing seasons at UNLV, Hauck led the Rebels to their first winning season since 2000, only to backslide to 2-11 the following season, resulting in a buyout of his remaining contract and a negotiated resignation. After three seasons (2015–2017) as special teams coordinator with

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

, he returned to Montana as head coach. In 2025, Hauck was voted as president of the

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).

Early days

Hauck was born in

Missoula, Montana Missoula ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, United States. It is located along the Clark Fork River near its confluence with the Bitterroot and Blackfoot rivers in western Montana and at the convergence of five ...

, and was schooled at Sweet Grass County High School in Big Timber. His brother Tim was a star defensive back at Montana and went on to play 13 seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). Bobby did his higher studies at the

(1988) and

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

(1991). Hauck never played football at the collegiate level, instead competing in track at Montana before getting into coaching.

Head coaching career

Montana

Hauck's first season as head coach of Montana was in 2003, and over the next seven seasons, the

Griz Grant Richard Kwiecinski (born May 31, 1990), also known by his stage name GRiZ, is an American DJ, songwriter, and electronic music producer from Southfield, Michigan. He is known for playing the saxophone along with producing funk, electro-soul ...

won or shared seven straight

championships. While never winning a national championship, he is the fourth coach to guide Montana to the FCS Championship game. He took the 2004 team to the NCAA Division I-AA national championship game and the 2006 team to the I-AA semifinals.Hauck signs 1-year deal
/ref> In 2007, he signed a one-year contract, rejecting a three-year deal that he was offered. Montana lost the national championship game in 2008 and 2009.

UNLV

Hauck had been rumored as a candidate for the vacant head coaching position at

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

in December 2009 and interviewed with UNLV's Athletic Director Jim Livengood on December 20, 2009. On December 22, the ''

Las Vegas Sun The ''Las Vegas Sun'' is one of the Las Vegas Valley's two daily subscription newspapers. It is owned by the Greenspun family and is affiliated with Greenspun Media Group. The paper published afternoons on weekdays from 1990 to 2005 and is now ...

'' reported that Hauck would be named UNLV's next head coach after completing a second interview earlier that day. Hauck and UNLV agreed on a three-year contract worth $350,000 annually in base pay. Hauck can also earn up to $150,000 in completion bonuses that are heavy in incentives. UNLV announced on November 28, 2014, that Hauck had submitted his resignation to the team after going 15–48 in five seasons.

San Diego State

On January 16, 2015, Hauck was hired as the

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

coordinator for the

football team. In 2016, Hauck was promoted to associate head coach.

Controversy and Return to Montana

In 2017, a coalition of students, community leaders, and advocates in Missoula, Montana campaigned against the rehiring of Hauck. Spearheaded by then graduate student, Lisa Davey, citing concerns over past player misconduct and the University of Montana's response to multiple allegations of sexual assault incidents involving the players during Hauck's previous tenure. The

non-fiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or content (media), media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real life, real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to pre ...

book ''Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town'' by

Jon Krakauer Jon Krakauer (born April 12, 1954) is an American writer and mountaineer. He is the author of bestselling nonfiction books—'' Into the Wild''; '' Into Thin Air''; '' Under the Banner of Heaven''; and '' Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pa ...

was centered around these incidents. In spite of this community backlash, Hauck was rehired, and returned to Montana during the 2018 season. After starting his first season 6-5, the Grizzlies improved to 10-4 the season after. During Spring 2021 (shortened season due to COVID), the Griz went 2-0. They did not play in 2020. On September 4, 2021, Hauck and the Grizzlies defeated the #20-ranked

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) N ...

, marking the fifth time ever an FCS team has beat a ranked FBS team, and the first time since 2014 that Hauck had defeated an FBS team.

Head coaching record

Awards

* 2006 Regional Coach of the Year Winner (Division I-AA, Region 5) * Big Sky coach of the year 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2023. * 2023 Region 5 FCS Coach of the Year. Hauck was also one of the finalists of the 2006 and 2023 Eddie Robinson Award.Seven in Gateway are FCS Award Finalists
/ref>

References

External links

Montana profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hauck, Bobby 1964 births Living people Colorado Buffaloes football coaches Montana Grizzlies football coaches Montana Grizzlies track and field athletes Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football coaches Presidents of the American Football Coaches Association San Diego State Aztecs football coaches UCLA Bruins football coaches UNLV Rebels football coaches Washington Huskies football coaches University of California, Los Angeles alumni People from Big Timber, Montana Sportspeople from Missoula, Montana Coaches of American football from Montana Track and field athletes from Montana