They play football here too? Montana not all about hicks and frigid weather

Before I came out to the University of Montana, I knew one thing about this state: It’s big! But there are many things I believed to be true, like everyone in the state was a hick, the only sport played up here was rodeo and that snow blanketed the state 11 months out of the year.

When I arrived in Missoula in the fall of 2003 I was shocked to see normal, everyday people. These weren’t the cowboys I heard about. And the weather was pretty nice (at least until November). It was shaping up to look like a pretty normal place.

But the thing that was most shocking was that the Grizzlies had a pretty damn good athletic program. Montana has a long history of sports success.

One of those first days of school way back in 2003, I walked through the Athletic Hall of Fame in the Adams Center. I didn’t recognize a name.

Names like Harold Reynolds, Terry Baker, Dick Fosbury, Neil Lomax and Steve Prefontaine are sporting legends in my home state of Oregon. Names like Dave Dickenson, Larry Krystkowiak and John Edwards were foreign to me.

It only took one time for me to ask, “Who’s Dave Dickenson?” before I realized the legend of number 15. The Great Falls native has a handful of Division I-AA records and a national championship. He is one of only two former Montana football players to have his number retired. To say Dickenson was a legend is an understatement.

I knew Larry Krystkowiak was a decent NBA player, but I did not know his legacy of his high school and college days. Krysko was the pride of Montana during the 1980s, and only upon his return to his alma mater a couple years ago did I learn this. He helped erase the memory of the Pat Kennedy era and led the Griz to two straight NCAA tournament berths before leaving to become an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Several incredible athletes have come and gone through Missoula in a variety of different sports. Shannon Cate dominated Lady Griz hoops in the early 1990s. Courtney Mathieson scored all over opponents in the mid-’90s for Griz soccer. Jean Cavanaugh served Montana out of volleyball mediocrity in the early ‘80s.

I guess the point of this column is to say, as a sports fan, I didn’t expect much when I left the comforts of Milwaukie, Ore., and came out to western Montana. But to my surprise, Montana has a strong history of sports excellence. And with UM’s chance to make a deep run once again in the division I-AA playoffs, and the Griz basketball team beating a Big Ten foe for the first time ever, it looks like Grizzly athletics has a strong future.

And as an aspiring sports journalist, my experiences here have only helped me in my quest to take over the sports world.

Cal’s Quick Hits

1. USC or Michigan in the BCS title game? Well, Michigan lost to the No. 1 team by three points. USC lost to the No. 28 team by two points. You be the judge.

2. Remember when then Colts kicker Mike Vanderjagt called out quarterback Peyton Manning? Then last summer, he went and signed a $5 million contract with the Cowboys. Now he has no job. Good riddance, Mikey.

3. It is now time for me to take my skills and move onto the real world and look for a job. So thank you to everyone who has read and enjoyed this column. And if you didn’t like it, then I just wasted five minutes of your time … Ha!

Cal Conrad is the sports director of KBGA 89.9 FM, the UM student-run radio station. Every Thursday, Conrad hosts Sports Talk from 4-6 p.m.