The Montana Grizzlies college football team represents the University of Montana in the Big Sky Conference (Big Sky), as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The program has had 36 head coaches since it began play during the 1897 season. Since November 2017, Bobby Hauck has served as Montana's head coach.
Nine coaches have led Montana in the postseason: Jack Swarthout, Larry Donovan, Don Read, Mick Dennehy, Joe Glenn, Robin Pflugrad, Mick Delaney, Bob Stitt, and Hauck. Seven of those coaches also won conference championships: Hauck captured eight; Dennehy and Glenn captured three; Read and Swarthout captured two; and, Donovan and Pflugrad each captured one as a member of the Big Sky. Two have also captured national championships as head coach at Montana: Read (1995) and Glenn (2001).
Hauck is the leader in seasons coached, with 14 years as head coach and games coached (165) and won (129). Glenn has the highest winning percentage at 0.867. Dewitt Peck and Clyde Carpenter have the lowest winning percentage of those who have coached more than one game, with 0.000. Of the 36 different head coaches who have led the Grizzlies, Bernie Bierman has been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Key
| General | Overall | Conference | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Order of coaches | GC | Games coached | CW | Conference wins | PW | Postseason wins |
| DC | Division championships | OW | Overall wins | CL | Conference losses | PL | Postseason losses |
| CC | Conference championships | OL | Overall losses | CT | Conference ties | PT | Postseason ties |
| NC | National championships | OT | Overall ties | C% | Conference winning percentage | ||
| † | Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame | O% | Overall winning percentage | ||||
Coaches
| No. | Name | Season(s) | GC | OW | OL | OT | O% | CW | CL | CT | C% | PW | PL | PT | CCs | NCs | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fred D. Smith | 1897 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0.417 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 2 | Benjamin F. Searight | 1898 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0.600 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 3 | Guy Cleveland | 1899 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0.333 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 4 | Frank Bean | 1900–1901 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0.333 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 5 | Dewitt Peck | 1902 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 6 | Hiram Conibear | 1903–1904 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0.417 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 7 | Frederick Schule | 1905–1906 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0.364 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 8 | Albion Findlay | 1907 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0.750 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 9 | Roy White | 1908–1909 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0.727 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 10 | Robert H. Cary | 1910–1911 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0.611 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 11 | Wallace Philoon | 1912 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0.571 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 12 | A. George Heilman | 1913–1914 | 14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 0.679 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 13 | Jerry Nissen | 1915–1917 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 0.500 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 14 | Bernie Bierman | 1919–1921 | 21 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 0.500 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 15 | John W. Stewart | 1922–1923 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 0.467 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 16 | Earl Clark | 1924–1925 | 16 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 0.469 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0.125 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 17 | Frank W. Milburn | 1926–1930 | 43 | 18 | 22 | 3 | 0.453 | 1 | 20 | 1 | 0.068 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 18 | Bunny Oakes | 1931–1934 | 31 | 8 | 22 | 1 | 0.274 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 0.026 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 19 | Doug Fessenden | 1931–1934 1946–1948 |
90 | 46 | 40 | 4 | 0.533 | 7 | 24 | 1 | 0.234 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 20 | Clyde Carpenter | 1942 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 6 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 21 | George Dahlberg | 1945 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0.200 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 22 | Ted Shipkey | 1949–1951 | 28 | 12 | 16 | 0 | 0.429 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0.125 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 23 | Ed Chinske | 1952–1954 | 27 | 8 | 18 | 1 | 0.315 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 0.222 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 24 | Jerry Williams | 1955–1957 | 29 | 6 | 23 | 0 | 0.207 | 5 | 15 | 0 | 0.250 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 25 | Ray Jenkins | 1958–1963 | 57 | 14 | 43 | 0 | 0.246 | 5 | 24 | 0 | 0.172 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 26 | Hugh Davidson | 1964–1966 | 28 | 8 | 20 | 0 | 0.286 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0.273 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 27 | Jack Swarthout | 1967–1975 | 93 | 51 | 41 | 1 | 0.554 | 24 | 21 | 1 | 0.533 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 28 | Gene Carlson | 1976–1979 | 41 | 16 | 25 | 0 | 0.390 | 10 | 15 | 0 | 0.400 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 29 | Larry Donovan | 1980–1985 | 64 | 25 | 38 | 1 | 0.398 | 16 | 26 | 0 | 0.381 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 30 | Don Read | 1986–1995 | 121 | 85 | 36 | 0 | 0.702 | 54 | 22 | 0 | 0.711 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 – 1995 | AFCA Division I-AA COY (1995) |
| 31 | Mick Dennehy | 1996–1999 | 51 | 39 | 12 | — | 0.765 | 27 | 5 | — | 0.844 | 3 | 4 | — | 3 | 0 | — |
| 32 | Joe Glenn | 2000–2002 | 45 | 39 | 6 | — | 0.867 | 20 | 2 | — | 0.909 | 8 | 2 | — | 3 | 1 – 2001 | — |
| 33 | Bobby Hauck | 2003–2009 2018–present |
165 | 129 | 36 | — | 0.782 | 74 | 19 | — | 0.796 | 21 | 14 | — | 8 | 0 | — |
| 34 | Robin Pflugrad |
2010–2011 | 20 | 13 | 7 | — | 0.650 | 10 | 4 | — | 0.714 | 0 | 1 | — | 1 | 0 | — |
| 35 | Mick Delaney | 2012–2014 | 38 | 24 | 14 | — | 0.632 | 15 | 9 | — | 0.625 | 0 | 2 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 36 | Bob Stitt | 2015–2017 | 35 | 21 | 14 | — | 0.600 | 14 | 11 | — | 0.560 | 1 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
Notes
- Although the first Rose Bowl Game was played in 1902, it has been continuously played since the 1916 game, and is recognized as the oldest bowl game by the NCAA. "—" indicates any season prior to 1916 when postseason games were not played.
- A running total of the number of head coaches, with coaches who served separate tenures being counted only once. Interim head coaches are represented with "Int" and are not counted in the running total. "—" indicates the team played but either without a coach or no coach is on record. "X" indicates an interim year without play.
- Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since.
- When computing the win–loss percentage, a tie counts as half a win and half a loss.
- Montana has been a member of Big Sky Conference since the 1963 season.
- Statistics correct as of the end of the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season.
- Pflugrad's record does not include 5 total wins and 2 conference wins during 2011 season which were vacated by the NCAA in 2013. The 2011 team's on-field conference record was 7–1 and overall record was 11–3.
References
- "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2012. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - "Hauck back as Montana football coach with 3-year contract". ESPN.com. Associated Press. December 1, 2017. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
- National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2011). Bowl/All-Star Game Records (PDF). Indianapolis, Indiana: NCAA. pp. 5–10. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
- Whiteside, Kelly (August 25, 2006). "Overtime system still excites coaches". USA Today. McLean, Virginia. Archived from the original on September 6, 2010. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
- Finder, Chuck (September 6, 1987). "Big plays help Paterno to 200th". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
- "NCAA penalizes Univ. of Montana over booster perks". USA TODAY.
Pflugrad cannot count the five vacated wins toward his career totals and Johnson and Kemp's statistics from the games in which they were ineligible must be erased from the record books.
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