Montana Grizzlies

Watching the silver & maroon crusaders fighting heroically to secure the overwhelming pride at stake is a sight to behold. Indeed, the Montana Grizzlies are famous for that fierce competitive spark & recently have notched up results to show for it. Montana Grizzlies is a cumulative name for the 14 varsity sports teams of the University of Montana. They play in the Big Sky Conference at NCAA Division I Level (with football being naturally part of the Football Championship Subdivision). Montana Grizzlies tickets are a huge attraction as fans queue up to cheer their team in the pitched battle.

Missoula's University of Montana is the flagship campus of the four-campus university system. Established in 1893, it provides one fourth of the population for the college town, which itself is the seat of Missoula County. Football's Washington-Grizzly Stadium dominates the city's features. The outdoor athletic stadium can seat 25,203 raucous fans with Montana Grizzlies tickets and has seen a solid home advantage (142-20) accorded to the Grizzlies since its 1986 opening. 2001 saw SprinTurf introduced, while the GrizVision screen was installed in 2002. Basketball's Dahlberg Arena can hold 7,500 fans for basketball games and is reconfigured to 5,500 for traditional concert seating. Dornblaser Field, named after former football captain and WWI war-hero Paul Dornblaser, was formerly used for football, but now hosts the track & field teams. The new off-campus venue, opened in 1967, can hold 12,500, a great development from the on-campus ivy-covered stone stadium of old. Other facilities providing sporting excellence include Adams Center Auxiliary Gymnasiums (volleyball), Athletic Performance Center, Jacobsen Academic Center, Rhinehard Athletic Training Center, Robert O. Lindsay Tennis Center with its 9 courts and South Campus Stadium which seats 1,000 for soccer.

Jim O'Day is the Athletics Director, having earlier spent four years as the university's Director of Development for Intercollegiate Athletics. The various sports' coaches complete their team's selection. Football's Robin Pflugrad is in his second year, with his debut season ending inauspiciously as the Grizzlies failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1993. Wayne Tinkle is in his sixth year in charge of the men's basketball team, while long-standing coach Robin Selvig holds the women's team's reins since 1978. The Missoula High School has provided rough-cut diamonds for Montana Grizzlies to nurture. Notable players for Grizzlies football include 60s Athlete of the Decade Bob O'Billovich, Guy Bingham and Larry Tofanelli. In basketball, Juli Eckmann for the women's team and Eric Jordan for the men's team were standout players.

Montana Grizzlies football has 18 Big Sky Conference titles, but the high points are undoubtedly the two National titles. 1995 saw Dave Dickenson lead them to glory over Marshall University, while a Joe Glenn-led team edged out Furman University for the 2001 NCCA title. Grizzlies also have the FCS record for 16 consecutive playoff appearances (1993-2009). Grizzlies basketball has seen regular season conference championships for both men's (6) & women's (22) teams.

The Grizzly Marching Band is enthusiastic in whipping up support during games. It provides the perfect background to the ultra-charged contests which fans with Montana Grizzlies Tickets are accustomed to seeing.