- Montana State Bobcats football
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Montana State Bobcats football 
Current season
First season 1897 Athletic director Peter Fields Head coach Rob Ash 4th year, 29–17 (.630) Home stadium Bobcat Stadium (Bozeman, Montana) Stadium capacity 17,777 (seating); 19,000 (total) Stadium surface FieldTurf Location Bozeman, Montana, United States Conference Big Sky All-time record 443–457–33 (.492) Postseason bowl record 3–1–2 Claimed national titles 3 (1956, 1976, 1984) Conference titles 19 (1938, 1946, 1947, 1954, 1956, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1979, 1982, 1984, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2010, 2011) Current uniform 
Colors Blue and Gold Fight song Stand up and Cheer! Rivals Montana
North Dakota[1]Website MSUBobcats.com The Montana State Bobcats football program competes in the Big Sky Conference of the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision for the Montana State University - Bozeman. The program began in 1897 and has won three national championships (1956, 1976, and 1984). They are the only college football program in the nation to win national championships on three different levels of competition, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, NCAA Division II, and NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision.
The first championship came in MSU's last season in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Bobcats were in the RMAC from 1917 to 1956 after being an independent from 1897 to 1916. MSU had one of its most successful runs as an independent from 1957 to 1962 when it had six straight winning seasons, including an 8-2 mark in 1957 and 8-1 in 1958. In 1963 Montana State joined the Big Sky Conference where it won two national championships.
Montana State has won 19 conference titles, including 14 in the Big Sky Conference and five in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Bobcats have won conference titles in eight of the past nine decades and have won multiple conference titles in seven of the last eight decades. They have qualified for the NCAA playoffs six times, once as a Division II member and five times as a Division I-AA/FCS member. MSU has been in the post-season ten times the last coming in 2010. The Bobcats are 8-5-2 in postseason play.
The Bobcats play their home games at Bobcat Stadium, located at the south end of campus in Bozeman. Bobcat Stadium added 5,200 more seats to the south end zone in the summer of 2011 giving the stadium an official capacity of 17,777 up from 12,500 previously. Among other upgrades are an 18' x 37' LED video board, two scoreboards and sound system. In 2008 MSU replaced its natural grass playing surface with FieldTurf. Montana State is currently raising funds for lighting in hopes of extending the hours it can practice and play games.
Their primary rival is Montana, whom they meet in the annual Brawl of the Wild, to be held for the 112th time in 2012. Montana currently holds The Great Divide Trophy after a 36-10 win in Bozeman in 2011. The Bobcats are the reigning Big Sky Conference champions.
Contents
Conference Affiliations
- 1897-1916: Independent
- 1917-1956: Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
- 1957-1962: Independent
- 1963–present: Big Sky Conference
Conference championships
Year Conference Overall Record Conference Record 1938 RMAC 3–5–1 1–0–1 1946 RMAC 5–3–2 2–0–1 1947 RMAC 4–5 1–0 1954 RMAC 8–1 6–0 1956 RMAC 9–0–1 5–0 1964 Big Sky 7–4 3–0 1966 Big Sky 8–3 4–0 1967 Big Sky 7–3 4–0 1968 Big Sky 6–4 3–1 1972 Big Sky 8–3 5–1 1976 Big Sky 12–1 6–0 1979 Big Sky 6–4 6–1 1982 Big Sky 6–5 5–2 1984 Big Sky 12–2 6–1 2002 Big Sky 7–6 5–2 2003 Big Sky 7–6 5–2 2005 Big Sky 7–4 5–2 2010 Big Sky 9–3 7–1 2011 Big Sky 9–1 7–0 Total Conference Titles 19 All-time Bowl Results
Date Bowl W/L Opponent PF PA January 1, 1947 Harbor Bowl T New Mexico 13 13 December 22, 1956 Aluminum Bowl T St. Joesph's 0 0 December 12, 1964 Camellia Bowl W Sacramento State 28 7 December 10, 1966 Camellia Bowl L San Diego State 7 28 December 4, 1976 Grantland Rice Bowl W North Dakota State 10 3 December 1, 1976 Grantland Rice Bowl W Akron 24 13 Total 5 bowl games 3-1-2 82 64 National titles
1956
In 1956, the Bobcats won a share of the NAIA title at the Aluminum Bowl in Little Rock, Arkansas, playing to a scoreless tie with the Pumas of St. Joseph's College from Rensselaer, Indiana. The game was aired on CBS television and radio. It was played on a rain-soaked field that thwarted MSU's offense, which had run for an average of 323.1 yards rushing and 31.2 points per game. The championship was the first for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and the 1956 team is a member of the RMAC Hall of Fame. The 1956 Bobcats of head coach Tony Storti were the fourth, and last, Montana State football team to go undefeated. They finished at 9-0-1.
1964
In 1964 Montana State, behind head coach Jim Sweeney, won the NCAA Western Regional College Division Championship, which existed from 1964 to 1972, with a 28-7 win over Sacramento State in the Camellia Bowl. The NCAA Western Regional was one of four regionals that led up to the selection of the NCAA Division II champion until the Division II playoffs were implemented in 1973. MSU is one of just two Big Sky Conference schools (Boise State) to win a Camellia Bowl game. The Bobcats finished the 1964 season at 7-4.
1976
Montana State won the 1976 NCAA Division II championship in Wichita Falls, Texas, beating the Akron Zips 24-13 with head coach Sonny Holland at the helm. MSU led 17-0 in the third quarter before Akron cut the lead to 17-13. Running back Tom Kostrba scored from seven yards out in the fourth quarter to seal the win. The Bobcats advanced to the championship game with a 17-16 quarterfinal win over the University of New Hampshire and a 10-3 semifinal win over North Dakota State after trailing 3-0 at halftime. Kostrba ran for 100 yards in both playoff games and Don Ueland ran for 94 in the championship game. They finished the 1976 season with a 12-1 record with their lone loss coming at Fresno State.
1984
Eight years later, the Bobcats defeated Louisiana Tech 19-6 in the 1984 Division I-AA title game in Charleston, South Carolina, for their third national championship. Montana State, behind head coach Dave Arnold, beat Arkansas State University 31-14, after falling behind 14-0, in the quarterfinals and University of Rhode Island 32-20, after trailing 20-12 entering the fourth quarter, in the semifinals. MSU took the lead on a 97-yard interception return for a touchdown by safety Joe Roberts, Jr. Quarterback Kelly Bradley threw for over 300 yards in each playoff game and had eight touchdown passes in the postseason. Tight end Joe Bignell hauled in 10 passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns in the championship game. After a 2-2 start, the 1984 team finished 12-2 following a 1-10 season in 1983.
Year Coach Record Score Opponent 1956 Tony Storti 9-0-1 0-0 St. Joesph's 1976 Sonny Holland 12-1 24-13 Akron Zips 1984 Dave Arnold 12-2 19-6 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Head coaching records
Tenure Coach Years Record Pct. 1897 Mr. Lisle 1 1-3-0 .250 1898 George Ahem 1 0-2-0 .000 1899 W.J. Adams 1 3-0-0 1.000 1900 E.C. Woodruff 1 2-1-0 .666 1901-1905 A.G. Harbaugh 2 3-3-1 .500 1902-1903 J.E. Flynn 2 5-0-2 .857 1904 Fred Ervin 1 2-1-0 .666 1908-1910 John H. McIntosh 3 3-10-5 .305 1911-1912 E.A. Dockstader 2 0-4-1 .100 1913 Eugene F. Bunker 1 2-2-0 .500 1914-1917 Fred Bennionr 4 11-7-5 .586 1919 Walter D. Powell 1 1-3-1 .300 1920-1921 D.V. Graves 2 6-5-1 .541 1922-1927 G. Ottiger "Ott" Romney 6 28-20-21 .580 1928-1941 Schubert R. Dyche 12 37-53-7 .417 1936-1937 Jack Croft 2 6-9-1 .406 1946-1949 Clyde Carpenter 4 13-20-2 .400 1950-1951 John H. Mason 2 1-15-0 .062 1954-1955 Walter "Wally" Lemm 2 8-9-1 .472 1952-1957 Tony Storti 4 23-11-1 .671 1958-1962 Herb Agocs 5 30-13-2 .688 1963-1967 Jim Sweeney 5 31-20-0 .607 1968-1970 Tom Parac 3 9-20-0 .310 1971-1977 Sonny Holland 7 47-27-1 .633 1978-1981 Sonny Lubick 4 21-19-0 .525 1982 Doug Graber 1 6-5-0 .545 1983-1986 Dave Arnold 4 18-29-0 .382 1987-1991 Earle Solomonson 5 15-40-0 .272 1992-1999 Cliff Hysell 8 42-46-0 .477 2000-2006 Mike Kramer 7 40-43-0 .481 2007-present Rob Ash 4 38-18-0 .678 1897-2010 31 coaches 107 452-458-33 .497 Rivalries
Montana
Main article: Brawl of the WildThe Brawl of the Wild is the game between MSU and their primary rival; the University of Montana Grizzlies. Both teams play for The Great Divide Trophy. As of 2011, Montana leads the series 69-36-5.
The series has three distinct periods. From 1897 to 1916 the teams didn't belong to a conference and 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 and 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 members. When MSU joined the RMAC included Colorado, Colorado State, Utah, Utah State, and Brigham Young. When UM joined the PCC 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 and joined the Skyline (aka 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 Cat-Griz 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 Cat-Griz 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. MSU ended the drought by winning three of four, while UM holds a 6-4 edge after "The Streak" with Montana winning the most recent game 36-10 in Bozeman. The Big Sky era shows Montana with a 28-21 lead.
Montana has won 22 of the last 26 meetings. Since MSU won its first national championship in 1956, the series shows UM with a 30-26 edge.
Notable Players
Dennis Erickson
Quarterback from 1966 to 1968.
Jan Stenerud
One Montana State Bobcat has been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, this was Jan Stenerud. Stenerud starred on the varsity team with a then-record 59-yard field goal and 82 points scored as a senior. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third round of the AFL's 1966 draft and scored 11 points in Kansas City's 23-7 Super Bowl IV win. He would later go on to play for the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings earning four trips to the Pro Bowl. He was inducted in 1991 and is the only pure kicker in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
References
- ^ "Big Sky Rivals". bigskyconf.com/. http://bigskyconf.com/news/2011/4/28/FB_0428110957.aspx. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
External links
Montana State football seasons 1897 • 1898 • 1899 • 1900 • 1901 • 1902 • 1903 • 1904 • 1905 • 1906 • 1907 • 1908 • 1909 • 1910 • 1911 • 1912 • 1913 • 1914 • 1915 • 1916 • 1917 • 1918 • 1919 • 1920 • 1921 • 1922 • 1923 • 1924 • 1925 • 1926 • 1927 • 1928 • 1929 • 1930 • 1931 • 1932 • 1933 • 1934 • 1935 • 1936 • 1937 • 1938 • 1939 • 1940 • 1941 • 1942 • 1945 • 1946 • 1947 • 1948 • 1949 • 1950 • 1951 • 1952 • 1953 • 1954 • 1955 • 1956 • 1957 • 1958 • 1959 • 1960 • 1961 • 1962 • 1963 • 1964 • 1965 • 1966 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969 • 1970 • 1971 • 1972 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1979 • 1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011
Conference Championships: 1938 • 1946 • 1947 • 1956 • 1964 • 1966 • 1967 • 1968 • 1972 • 1976 • 1979 • 1982 • 1984 • 2002 • 2003 • 2005 • 2010
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Champion – Eastern Washington Eagles
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