The Montana State Bobcats football program competes in the Big Sky Conference of the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision for Montana State University. The program began in 1897 and has won four national championships (1956, 1976, 1984 and 2025). It is the only college football program in the nation to win national championships on three different levels of competition, NAIA, NCAA Division II, and NCAA Division I FCS (formerly NCAA Division I-AA). Through the 2025 season, the Bobcats had played in 1,077 games with an all-time record of 548–497–32.
The first championship came in Montana State's last season in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, which moved to NAIA in 1952. The national championship was the first ever for the RMAC and was also the first time the NAIA had a football champion. The Bobcats were members of the RMAC from 1917 to 1956, after being an independent from 1897 to 1916. MSC rejoined the NCAA (College Division) in 1957, and had one of its most successful runs as an independent from 1957 to 1962 with six straight winning seasons, including an 8–2 mark in 1957 and 8–1 in 1958. In 1963, Montana State became a charter member of the Big Sky Conference and has since won three national championships.
Montana State has won 23 conference titles, including 18 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. MSU finished the 1926 season undefeated in RMAC conference games, but was not awarded a conference title. They have qualified for the NCAA playoffs fifteen times, once (1976) as a Division II member and fourteen times (1984, 2002, 2003, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025) as a Division I-AA/FCS member. Through the 2025 season, the Bobcats are 21–14–2 in postseason play.
Their primary rival are the Montana Grizzlies, whom they meet in the annual Brawl of the Wild, more commonly referred to as the "Cat-Griz" game by MSU students, alumni and supporters.
History
1946 Before World War II, Montana State football tasted success often, but in small doses. The Bobcats did not record a winning season between 1931 and 1941, MSC's last pre-war squad. The 'Cats were 1–10 in that stretch against Montana, and were shut out for eight consecutive years. In 1946, however, things began to change. Composed of war-hardened veterans, Clyde Carpenter and the Bobcats rolled up a 5–3–1 regular season record, impressive enough to land the team its first-ever bowl bid. The Bobcats tied New Mexico, 13–13. Although it would be seven more seasons until Montana State would again win more than it lost, that season helped chart the course into what would become an unbelievably successful period in Montana State's football history as the Bobcats would take 22 of the next 30 games from 1956 to 1985 from the Grizzlies and would win all three of their national championships during that same span.
The 1946 team was special for more than its accomplishments, however. When it reassembled following World War II, its special mission was to carry the Bobcat banner after 14 members of Montana State's previous team, the 1941 squad, were killed during World War II. The only pre-war regular to play in the Harbor Bowl was Bill Zupan, whose brother Al was among those 'Cat gridders making the ultimate sacrifice. Others were Orin Beller, Newell Berg, Dana Bradford, John Burke, Bernard Cluzen, William Coey, Karl Fye, John Hall, Joseph McGeever, John Phelan, Richard Roman, Wendell Scabad and Alton Zempel, according to the outstanding centennial history of MSU, "In the People's Interest".
1956 In 1956, the Bobcats, led by freshman captain and two-way (center and middle linebacker) starter Sonny Holland, 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 nationally 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 Montana State football 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. The game is the only blemish on the record of the team as it finished at 9–0–1.
1964 Behind head coach Jim Sweeney in 1964, Montana State won the NCAA Western Regional College Division Championship, which existed from 1964 to 1972, with a 28–7 win over Sacramento State in what was also known as the Camellia Bowl. The NCAA Western Regional was one of four regionals that led up to the selection of the NCAA College Division champion by poll. However, neither MSU nor any of the other regional winners—Northern Iowa (Midwest), Middle Tennessee State (Mideast), or East Carolina (East)—were awarded the national championship. That distinction went in split fashion to Los Angeles State (UPI/Coaches) and Wittenberg (AP). Upon the establishment of Division II in 1973, a full playoff system was introduced to determine the national champion. MSU is one of three Big Sky Conference schools, along with Boise State and North Dakota, 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 at the Pioneer Bowl in Wichita Falls, Texas, beating the Akron Zips 24–13. The Bobcats were led by head coach Sonny Holland and sophomore quarterback Paul Dennehy. 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 New Hampshire in Bozeman. The extra-point attempt to tie the game with seven minutes remaining missed wide right, and the remainder of the game was scoreless. That was followed by a 10–3 semifinal win in the Grantland Rice Bowl over North Dakota State, after trailing 3–0 at halftime on the road in Fargo. Kostrba ran for 100 yards in both playoff games and Don Ueland ran for 94 in the championship game. Montana State finished the 1976 season with ten consecutive wins and a 12–1 record; the lone loss at Fresno State came in September.
1984 Eight years later, the Bobcats defeated Louisiana Tech 19–6 in the Division I-AA Championship Game in Charleston, South Carolina, for their third national championship. Led by second-year head coach Dave Arnold, MSU was seeded third in the twelve-team playoffs, which meant a first-round bye and a home game in the quarterfinals, in which the Bobcats rallied from a 0–14 deficit to eliminate Arkansas State 31–14.
In the semifinals, also in Bozeman, Montana State trailed second-seeded Rhode Island 12–20 entering the fourth quarter, then scored twenty unanswered points to win 32–20. 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 Bobcats won ten straight to end at 12–2 in 1984, which followed a 1–10 season in 1983, and preceded a 2–9 record in 1985.
Four Titles in three divisions Montana State holds the distinction of being the only college football program with national championships in three levels of college football. The Bobcats of head coach Tony Storti claimed a share of the 1956 NAIA title when it finished in a scoreless tie with St. Joseph's (Indiana). In 1976, Sonny Holland's MSU team downed Akron 24–13 for the NCAA Division II championship, and the Bobcats won the NCAA Division I-AA (FCS) championship in 1984 under Dave Arnold with a 19–6 win over Louisiana Tech. In 2025, the Bobcats won the FCS championship under Brent Vigen with a 35-34 win over Illinois State.
10,000 passing; 1,000 rushing quarterbacks In the history of college football, including the NAIA, there have been just 11 quarterbacks that have gone over 10,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing for their career. Two of those quarterbacks were produced by Montana State. Travis Lulay accomplished the feat in 2005 when he finished with 10,746 passing and 1,459 rushing. DeNarius McGhee hit those milestones on consecutive weeks in 2013 when he went over 1,000 rushing against Northern Arizona, then hit 10,000 passing against Weber State. He finished his career with 1,133 yards rushing and 11,203 yards passing. Both quarterbacks began playing their freshman season at Montana State. Lulay started the sixth game of his freshman year against Idaho State. After a 2–4 start, he led the Bobcats to the Big Sky regular season championship and their first trip to the playoffs in 18 years. McGhee started the first game of his frosh season and has only missed two games – both in his senior year. He led MSU to Big Sky titles and the FCS playoffs the first three years of his career.
Back-to-back Bucks MSU is one of just three schools to have repeat winners of the Buck Buchanan Award, which is given out annually by The Sports Network to the most outstanding defensive player in the Football Championship Subdivision.
In 2012 Caleb Schreibeis became the first Bobcat to win the award followed by Brad Daly in 2013. Both players manned the defensive end (Bandit) position for MSU and racked up big numbers playing in defensive line coach Bo Beck's system.
The two players took completely different routes to the award as Schreibeis, a walk-on out of Billings West, didn't get on the list until the last week of the season and Daly, a highly touted prospect out of Helena Capital, was on the list all season.
The Miracle in Missoula On November 17, 2018, at approximately 3:19 in the afternoon at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula with Montana State clinging to a 29–25 lead after rallying from a 22–0 deficit and rival Montana sitting within one foot of the Bobcats goal line with 14 seconds to play, defensive tackle Tucker Yates of Colstrip, Mont. jarred the ball loose from UM's Adam Eastwood and Grant Collins of Bozeman, Mont. sent the ball rolling into the UM backfield where Derek Marks of Belgrade, Mont. pounced on the ball to seal the win for the Bobcats. MSU's other defensive tackle Chase Benson of Helena, Mont. knocked his man so far into the UM backfield that Eastwood had to alter his course causing him to collide with Yates. Bobcat fans have since referred to the play as The Stuff or The Montana Stuff in reference to the four Montana natives who played key roles in the play.
Earlier in the quarter Collins had forced and recovered a fumble in UM territory to set up the go-ahead touchdown. The Bobcats trailed by 15 points in the fourth quarter and outscored the Grizzlies 29–3 after falling behind 22–0. The overall comeback is the greatest in Cat-Griz Game history and the fourth quarter comeback matched the comeback from a 24–9 deficit by the 1968 Bobcats, which ended in a 29–24 win over UM.
Conference affiliations Independent (1897–1916, 1957–1962) Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (1917–1956) Big Sky Conference (1963–present)
Championships
National championships 1956 NAIA Tony Storti 9–0–1 T 0–0 St. Joseph's (IN) Pumas 1976 Division II Sonny Holland 12–1 W 24–13 Akron Zips 1984 Division I-AA Dave Arnold 12–2 W 19–6 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs2025Division I-FCSBrent Vigen14–2W 35–34 Illinois State Redbirds
Conference championships Montana State has won 23 (five in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (per RMAC website); 18 in the Big Sky Conference) conference championships through the 2025 season.