The past year has produced many great moments on the Montana sports scene. But no one had as successful a year as the Montana State Bobcats, who saw their football team challenge for the FCS national championship in January – their first appearance in a title match since 1984 – and win a Big Sky Conference championship in November – its first in 10 years – all within a 365 day period.
In addition, MSU football players Troy Andersen and Daniel Hardy were NFL draftees and five draftees, and the Bobcats men’s and women’s basketball teams won Big Sky titles and advanced to play in their respective NCAA Tournaments. It was the Bobcat men’s first trip to the Big Dance since 1996.
And who could forget College GameDay making a coveted appearance in Bozeman before the 121st Cat-Griz Football Game? The show, for years a staple of ESPN college football, was broadcast November 19 from Kagy Avenue of Bobcat Stadium in freezing temperatures in front of a warm crowd, serving as a prelude to Montana State’s 55-21 victory over the rival Montana Grizzlies.
Other top stories included the Montana Tech men’s and Rocky Mountain College women’s winning their first Frontier basketball titles in decades; Lodge Grass’ Damon Gros Ventre breaking the state’s single-game scoring record with 71 points, only to be surpassed five days later by Lame Deer’s Journey Emerson, who scored 82; the Montana High School Association adopting a 35-second clock for men’s and women’s basketball and sanctioning baseball to 2023; and Rocky’s Sydney Little Light winning an NAIA national title in the 1500 meters.
But there was much more to it than the wins and losses and highs and lows experienced by teams and athletes at all levels in Montana in 2022. Here is a list of some of last year’s top features and human interest stories that were the focus of the MTN’s Year-End Sports Extra broadcast this week:
For a breakdown of these stories included in MTN’s year-end Sports Extra program, see the video above. A great 2023.
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