Montana Grizzlies
Big SkyMissoula, MTWashington-Grizzly Stadium
2026: 5–3 (4–2 Big Sky). Last: lost to Idaho 42–35 at home. Next: at Eastern Washington, Saturday, Oct 31, 4 p.m. ET.
- W 28–21Southern Utah
- W 45–10Drake
- W 35–14Utah Tech
- L 17–52at Oregon State
- W 62–22at UC Davis
- W 36–14Northern Colorado
- L 44–49at Northern Arizona
- L 35–42Idaho
- Oct 31at Eastern Washington
- Nov 7Portland State
- Nov 14Idaho State
- Nov 21at Montana State
Montana has played football since 1897 and is officially 659–522–26; 675 of its 1,207 games are in our file. They have won 19 Big Sky Conference titles (the last in 2023), counting shared titles. Since 1938, the NFL Draft has taken 18 players from here in its first seven rounds, 0 of them in the first round. The AAFC draft also took one player from here. The College Football Hall of Fame holds 2 players and 1 coach from Montana. Doug Fessenden (1935–1948) won more games here than any other coach: 28. The most-played rival is Idaho: 62 meetings, Idaho leads 39–22–1. This season, they’re 5–3.
Résumé
- All-time record
- 659–522–26 official; 340–323–12 on file; how we count
- Postseason
- 3–3 bowls, title games, playoff
- AP No. 1 finishes
- 0
- Weeks at No. 1
- 0 of 0 ranked
- Elo now
- 1440
- Computer rankings
- Massey No. 10 · Composite No. 9 in FCS, Oct 17; down 3 since Oct 11. From Massey Ratings
- Conference titles
- 19 last in 2023
- Bowl record
- 0–4 official, bowls only
- Seasons
- 103 since 1905, 675 games
Identity
- Band
- University of Montana Grizzly Marching Band 140 members
2026 season 5–3
RosterFull 2026 season| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 29 | vs Southern Utah | W 28–21 | 70% |
| Sep 5 | vs Drake | W 45–10 | 77% |
| Sep 12 | vs Utah Tech | W 35–14 | 91% |
| Sep 19 | at Oregon State | L 17–52 | 60% |
| Sep 26 | at UC Davis | W 62–22 | 42% |
| Oct 3 | vs Northern Colorado | W 36–14 | 87% |
| Oct 10 | at Northern Arizona | L 44–49 | 59% |
| Oct 17 | vs Idaho | L 35–42 | 85% |
| Oct 31 | at Eastern Washington | Preview | 70% |
| Nov 7 | vs Portland State | Preview | 86% |
| Nov 14 | vs Idaho State | Preview | 70% |
| Nov 21 | at Montana State | Preview | 24% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
This season, game by game
On the 2026 team
- Eli Gillman1,016 rushing yards, 13 TD (leads Montana in rushing yards)
- Keali’i Ah Yat2,279 passing yards, 22 TD (leads Montana in passing yards)
- Brooks Davis64 catches, 908 yards, 9 TD (leads Montana in receiving yards)
- Naiteitei Mose47 tackles (leads Montana in tackles)
- Landon Ransom-Goelz31 catches, 373 yards, 3 TD
- Tyler King25 tackles, 5.5 sacks (leads Montana in sacks)
Program greats See all
Heisman finalists, College Football Hall of Famers, consensus All-Americans, national award winners and first-round picks, for what they did at Montana.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
Program strength since 1905
Best seasons everHead coaches
| Coach | Years | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Ray Jenkins | 1958–1962 | 13–34 |
| Jerry Williams | 1955–1957 | 6–23 |
| Ed Chinske | 1952–1954 | 8–18–1 |
 Ted Shipkey | 1949–1951 | 12–16 |
| Doug Fessenden | 1935–1948 | 28–33–3 |
| Bunny Oakes | 1931–1934 | 8–22–1 |
| Frank W. Milburn | 1926–1930 | 18–22–3 |
| Earl Clark | 1924–1925 | 7–8–1 |
| John W. Stewart | 1922–1923 | 4–7 |
 Bernie Bierman | 1919–1921 | 1–5 |
| Jerry Nissen | 1915–1917 | 1–4–1 |
| A. George Heilman | 1914 | 1–0 |
| Wallace Philoon | 1912 | 0–2 |
| Frederick Schule | 1905–1906 | 0–2 |
Most-played series
All rivalries- Idaho
22–39–1 in 62
- 2001 W 33–27
- 2002 W 38–31
- 2003 W 41–28
- 2018 W 46–27
- 2019 W 42–17
- 2021 W 34–14
- 2022 L 23–30
- 2023 W 23–21
- 2025 W 41–30
- 2026 L 35–42
Lost the last one.
- Montana State
38–18–1 in 57
- 2016 L 17–24
- 2017 L 23–31
- 2018 L 25–29
- 2019 L 14–48
- 2021 W 29–10
- 2022 L 21–55
- 2023 W 37–7
- 2024 L 11–34
- 2025 L 28–31
- 2025 L 23–48
Lost the last three.
Next: Nov 21
- Utah State
6–22 in 28
- 1958 L 14–27
- 1959 L 0–28
- 1960 L 12–14
- 1961 L 6–54
- 1962 L 20–43
- 1963 L 6–62
- 1964 L 0–41
- 1965 L 21–54
- 1967 L 14–20
- 1968 L 3–50
Lost the last 10.
| Opponent | Games | MONT record |
|---|---|---|
| Idaho | 62 | 22–39–1 |
| Montana State | 57 | 38–18–1 |
| Utah State | 28 | 6–22 |
| Eastern Washington | 27 | 18–9 |
| Washington State | 25 | 1–24 |
| Washington | 20 | 2–17–1 |
| Portland State | 18 | 15–3 |
| Gonzaga | 18 | 8–7–3 |
Rivals the program names: Montana State, Eastern Washington, Idaho.
The trophy it holds: The Governors Cup (Eastern Washington, since 2021). Who holds each comes from the games on file; the trophies from Wikipedia.
Every opponent (112)
Every program Montana has played, A to Z, with Montana’s record against it. Each links to the series, game by game.
- Anaconda Anodes 4–0
- App State 1–1
- Arizona 1–4
- Army 0–1
- Butler 1–0
- BYU 5–11
- Cal Poly 12–5
- Cal State Fullerton 1–1
- California 0–5
- Carroll (Montana) 6–1
- Centerville (Butte) 2–0
- Central Arkansas 1–0
- Central Washington 4–0
- Colorado State 6–10
- Delaware 1–0
- Denver 3–7
- DePaul 1–0
- Drake 2–0
- Eastern Washington 18–9
- Ferris State 1–0
- Fort Lewis 2–0
- Fort Lewis College 1–0
- Fresno State 0–1
- Furman 1–0
- Gonzaga 8–7–3
- Hawai’i 1–3
- Hawaii All-Stars 1–0
- Hofstra 1–0
- Houston 0–1
- Idaho 22–39–1
- Idaho State 17–0
- Indiana State 2–0
- Intermountain 1–0
- Iowa 0–2
- James Madison 0–1
- Kansas State 0–1
- Liberty 0–1
- Long Beach State 0–1
- Louisiana Tech 0–1
- Maine 2–0
- Mather Field 0–1
- McNeese 1–0
- Minnesota 0–1
- Mississippi Valley State 1–0
- Missouri State 1–0
- Monmouth 1–0
- Montana State 38–18–1
- Montana Tech 5–0
- Morehead State 1–0
- Nevada 0–1
- New Mexico 4–10
- North Alabama 1–0
- North Dakota 11–5
- North Dakota State 3–3
- Northern Arizona 12–4
- Northern Colorado 13–1
- Northern Illinois 1–0
- Northern Iowa 2–0
- Northwestern State 2–0
- Oklahoma City 1–0
- Oklahoma Panhandle 1–0
- Oregon 0–8–1
- Oregon State 2–13–2
- Pacific 2–5
- Pacific (Oregon) 2–1
- Portland 2–0–1
- Portland State 15–3
- Puget Sound 1–0
- Rice 0–1
- Sacramento State 13–4
- Sacred Heart 1–0
- Saint Francis 1–0
- Sam Houston 1–1
- San Diego 1–1
- San Diego Marines 0–1
- San Francisco 2–1–1
- San José State 0–3
- Savannah State 1–0
- SE Louisiana 1–0
- South Dakota 7–0
- South Dakota State 5–2
- Southeast Missouri State 1–0
- Southern Illinois 1–0
- Southern Utah 7–0
- Stanford 0–4
- Stephen F. Austin 1–0
- Syracuse 0–0–1
- Tennessee 0–1
- Tennessee State 1–0
- Texas State 1–0
- Texas Tech 1–3
- Tulsa 0–1
- UAlbany 1–0
- UC Davis 9–2
- UCLA 0–7
- UNLV 0–1
- USC 0–5
- Utah 0–10
- Utah State 6–22
- Utah Tech 3–0
- Valparaiso 1–0
- Washington 2–17–1
- Washington State 1–24
- Weber State 10–7
- Western Carolina 1–0
- Western Colorado 2–0
- Western Illinois 1–1
- Western Michigan 0–1
- Western Oregon 1–0
- Whitman 4–1
- Wofford 0–1
- Wyoming 0–14
Conference titles
19, counting shared titlesAs the program counts them in its Wikipedia article, shared titles included, and listed under each conference’s current name (a Western Conference title of the 1900s counts as a Big Ten title); season pages use the name the conference had that year. A title the article files under a conference the team wasn’t in that season is listed under the one it was. Division titles include years the team tied for its division.
Conferences
- Independent 1897–1917 and 1919–1923
- Pacific Coast Conference 1924–1936, 1939–1940 and 1946–1949
- Independent 1950
- Skyline Conference 1951–1961
- Independent 1962
- Big Sky since 1978
- 1962Went independent from the Skyline Conference. Source
- 1963Joined the Big Sky from independence. Source
Montana’s football conferences by season, from CollegeFootballData.com’s memberships (renamed conferences keep the name of the time). The moves and their announcement dates from Wikipedia’s lists of NCAA Division I conference changes; the year is the first season in the new conference. Conference realignment: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Led the nation 1
| 1940 | Jack Emigh kickoff return yards (395 yds) |
The NCAA’s official national leaders since 1937, from Wikipedia’s yearly leader lists.
In the Hall of Fame
Every inductee- Players
- 2
- Coaches
- 1
| 2018 | Dave Dickenson QB |
| 1969 | Bill Kelly QB |
| 1955 | Bernie Bierman coach here, 1919–1921 |
In the draft
By college- NFL picks, rounds 1–7
- 18 since 1938
- First-round picks
- 0
- AAFC picks
- 1 1947
The school
The University of Montana- Enrollment
- 10,811 7,891 undergraduates, fall 2024
- Where
- Missoula, Montana
- Public or private
- Public Research 1
- Founded
- 1893
- Graduates’ median earnings
- $44,511 10 years after starting
Enrollment, place and Carnegie research tier from the National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS, public domain). Earnings from the US Department of Education’s College Scorecard (CC BY 4.0): the median for students who received federal aid and were working, not in school. Founding year from Wikidata. Every school’s in the data.
On the newsreel
- THE WORLD OF SPORTS —"HUSKY" GRIDERS WIN
Universal Newsreel, National Archives (catalog record). Story titles and words as Universal’s release sheet gives them; the films themselves may still be under copyright, so we link to the record rather than show them.
Season by season
National champions| Season | Record | Conf. | AP pre | AP final | Coach | Elo | SP+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 5–3 | 4–2 | 1440 | ||||
| 2025 | 13–2 | 7–1 | 1547 | ||||
| 2024 | 9–5 | 5–3 | 1453 | ||||
| 2023 | 13–2 | 7–1 | 1562 | ||||
| 2022 | 8–5 | 4–4 | 1449 | ||||
| 2021 | 10–3 | 6–2 | 1509 | ||||
| 2020 | 2–0 | 1446 | |||||
| 2019 | 10–4 | 6–2 | 1482 | ||||
| 2018 | 6–5 | 4–3 | 1372 | ||||
| 2017 | 7–4 | 5–3 | 1376 | ||||
| 2016 | 6–5 | 3–5 | 1369 | ||||
| 2015 | 8–5 | 6–3 | 1459 | ||||
| 2014 | 9–5 | 6–3 | 1462 | ||||
| 2013 | 10–2 | 7–2 | 1502 | ||||
| 2012 | 1–1 | 1439 | |||||
| 2011 | 10–2 | 7–1 | 1528 | ||||
| 2010 | 7–4 | 5–3 | 1452 | ||||
| 2009 | 13–0 | 8–0 | 1605 | ||||
| 2008 | 12–1 | 7–1 | 1542 | ||||
| 2007 | 11–1 | 8–0 | 1534 | ||||
| 2006 | 12–1 | 8–0 | 1528 | ||||
| 2005 | 8–4 | 5–2 | 1412 | ||||
| 2004 | 10–2 | 6–1 | 1461 | ||||
| 2003 | 4–0 | 1396 | |||||
| 2002 | 1–0 | 1340 |
Every season back to 1905 (78 more)
| Season | Record | Conf. | AP pre | AP final | Coach | Elo | SP+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 1–1 | 1321 | |||||
| 2000 | 1–0 | 1336 | |||||
| 1999 | 0–1 | 1304 | |||||
| 1997 | 0–1 | 1318 | |||||
| 1996 | 1–0 | 1336 | |||||
| 1995 | 0–1 | 1282 | |||||
| 1993 | 0–1 | 1284 | |||||
| 1992 | 0–2 | 1282 | |||||
| 1991 | 0–1 | 1301 | |||||
| 1990 | 1–0 | 1313 | |||||
| 1989 | 0–1 | 1265 | |||||
| 1987 | 0–1 | 1254 | |||||
| 1985 | 1–1 | 1248 | |||||
| 1984 | 0–1 | 1227 | |||||
| 1983 | 0–1 | 1206 | |||||
| 1982 | 0–2 | 1180 | |||||
| 1979 | 0–1 | 1160 | |||||
| 1978 | 0–2 | 1102 | |||||
| 1974 | 0–0–1 | 0–0–1 | 1108 | ||||
| 1973 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1077 | ||||
| 1972 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1097 | ||||
| 1971 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1126 | ||||
| 1970 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1211 | ||||
| 1969 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1141 | ||||
| 1968 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1105 | ||||
| 1967 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1135 | ||||
| 1966 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1111 | ||||
| 1965 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 1163 | ||||
| 1964 | 0–3 | 1198 | |||||
| 1963 | 0–5 | 1292 | |||||
| 1962 | 5–5 | Ray Jenkins | 1347 | ||||
| 1961 | 2–6 | 2–4 | Ray Jenkins | 1364 | |||
| 1960 | 5–5 | 2–5 | Ray Jenkins | 1340 | |||
| 1959 | 1–8 | 1–5 | Ray Jenkins | 1159 | |||
| 1958 | 0–10 | 0–7 | Ray Jenkins | 1153 | |||
| 1957 | 2–7 | 2–5 | Jerry Williams | 1263 | |||
| 1956 | 1–9 | 1–6 | Jerry Williams | 1220 | |||
| 1955 | 3–7 | 2–4 | Jerry Williams | 1297 | |||
| 1954 | 3–6 | 1–5 | Ed Chinske | 1318 | |||
| 1953 | 3–5 | 2–4 | Ed Chinske | 1323 | |||
| 1952 | 2–7–1 | 1–5 | Ed Chinske | 1296 | |||
| 1951 | 2–7 | 1–4 | Ted Shipkey | 1301 | |||
| 1950 | 5–5 | Ted Shipkey | 1366 | ||||
| 1949 | 5–4 | 0–3 | Ted Shipkey | 1362 | |||
| 1948 | 3–7 | 0–3 | Doug Fessenden | 1292 | |||
| 1947 | 7–4 | 2–1 | Doug Fessenden | 1400 | |||
| 1946 | 4–4 | 1–3 | Doug Fessenden | 1210 | |||
| 1945 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1135 | ||||
| 1942 | 0–8 | 0–6 | 1212 | ||||
| 1941 | 6–3 | 1–3 | 1445 | ||||
| 1940 | 4–4–1 | 1–2 | Doug Fessenden | 1319 | |||
| 1939 | 3–6 | 1–2 | Doug Fessenden | 1294 | |||
| 1938 | 5–3–1 | 0–1 | 1416 | ||||
| 1937 | 7–1 | 0–1 | 1546 | ||||
| 1936 | 6–3 | 1–3 | Doug Fessenden | 1488 | |||
| 1935 | 1–5–2 | 0–5–1 | Doug Fessenden | 1392 | |||
| 1934 | 2–5–1 | 0–4–1 | Bunny Oakes | 1403 | |||
| 1933 | 3–4 | 0–4 | Bunny Oakes | 1414 | |||
| 1932 | 2–7 | 0–5 | Bunny Oakes | 1298 | |||
| 1931 | 1–6 | 0–5 | Bunny Oakes | 1388 | |||
| 1930 | 5–3 | 1–3 | Frank W. Milburn | 1422 | |||
| 1929 | 3–5–1 | 0–4–1 | Frank W. Milburn | 1365 | |||
| 1928 | 4–5–1 | 0–5 | Frank W. Milburn | 1384 | |||
| 1927 | 3–4–1 | 0–4 | Frank W. Milburn | 1409 | |||
| 1926 | 3–5 | 0–4 | Frank W. Milburn | 1433 | |||
| 1925 | 3–4–1 | 1–4 | Earl Clark | 1457 | |||
| 1924 | 4–4 | 0–3 | Earl Clark | 1403 | |||
| 1923 | 4–4 | John W. Stewart | 1356 | ||||
| 1922 | 0–3 | John W. Stewart | 1313 | ||||
| 1921 | 0–2 | Bernie Bierman | 1382 | ||||
| 1920 | 1–1 | Bernie Bierman | 1425 | ||||
| 1919few games on file | 0–2 | Bernie Bierman | 1374 | ||||
| 1917 | 1–4 | Jerry Nissen | 1371 | ||||
| 1915few games on file | 0–0–1 | Jerry Nissen | 1475 | ||||
| 1914few games on file | 1–0 | A. George Heilman | 1459 | ||||
| 1912few games on file | 0–2 | Wallace Philoon | 1420 | ||||
| 1906few games on file | 0–1 | Frederick Schule | 1449 | ||||
| 1905few games on file | 0–1 | Frederick Schule | 1457 |
Officially 659–522–26 since 1897 (per Wikipedia, rechecked weekly); game by game here, 340–323–12 (675 of its 1,207 games are on file). Our file starts in 1905; the program began in 1897. Some games are missing from our source.
No season on file for 1907–11, 1913, 1916, 1918, 1943–44, 1975–77, 1980–81, 1986, 1988, 1994, 1998: the program may not have played, or our source may be missing them.
Records are computed from every game on file at CollegeFootballData.com, whose coverage of the earliest seasons can be incomplete. Elo is this site’s own rating; see how it works on the records page.