There’s no mistaking you’re in Griz Country, at least for motorists along Campus Drive. A new archway, built during this summer’s stadium expansion project, is the Grizzly Gateway to campus.

Connected to the north end of Washington-Grizzly Stadium, the archway crosses over Campus Drive and serves as an official entrance to campus. The University gateway marks the area where Griz fans show their spirit and enjoy tailgate parties before home games.

UM added more than 4,000 seats to the stadium during the summer, and when the 2003 football season kicked off in September, the top-ranked Grizzlies were playing to sold-out crowds of more than 23,000. Montana native Bobby Hauck made a triumphant return to his alma mater as the new head football coach, coming from an assistant coaching position with the University of Washington Huskies.

In an article on the nation’s top Division I college athletic programs, UM was ranked No. 75, listed ahead of colleges such as Georgetown, Northwestern, Tulane, Yale, Rutgers, Old Dominion and UNLV. UM’s intercollegiate athletics was ranked highest among Big Sky Conference schools, and only two I-AA schools were ranked higher.

Grizzly backers, led by alumnus Terry Pugh, decided to make a good thing better by installing a massive video screen and scoreboard in Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Pugh’s company, Virtu Consulting, procured the scoreboard and screen for UM from New York City’s Times Square and agreed to pay the University $570,000 annually from advertising revenue. Visible for miles outside the stadium, the 36-by-26-foot full-color screen is the largest used in I-AA and the fifth largest screen in all of college football.

The consistently top-ranked Montana Grizzlies — battling to retain their 2001 national I-AA football championship title — grabbed headlines each week in their successful bid to tie the national record for most consecutive wins at 24. The season was capped by a USA Today feature story about the joys of Grizzly football, describing the loyalty of fans who drive hundreds of miles to take in the show at Washington-Grizzly Stadium when the Grizzlies take the field. The article, like others before it, touted the stadium as the best in Division I-AA with its state-of-the-art SprinTurf.

The victory bell rang on New Year’s Day for Monte — UM’s motorcycle-riding, moon-walking mascot — who captured the Mascot of the Year crown during the nationally televised Capital One Bowl in Orlando, Fla. To win the title, the big, loveable Grizzly bear stole the hearts of a panel of judges, as well as those of thousands of college football fans from across the country who voted online for their favorite mascot. He was picked from a field of 12 finalists whose fur and feathers were featured as part of a national advertising campaign in 2002.

The contest gave a $10,000 boost to UM’s mascot fund and launched a year of stardom for Monte, who entertained fans at trade shows, danced on a Las Vegas stage, appeared in an ESPN commercial with legendary quarterback Joe Montana and hired himself out to teach other college mascots a thing or two. Monte stands poised to retain his title, after being named to the 2004 Capital One All-America Mascot Team.

The halls of the John Hoyt Complex in the Adams Center tell the story of more than 100 years of Grizzly sports — from the 1995 and 2001 Division I-AA national championship football teams to Fred Stetson’s 1966 swim team, which captured the first of nine consecutive Big Sky titles. Artifacts, trophies, photos and other memorabilia adorn the giant display cases in UM’s new Hall of Champions, located near the entrance to the complex. The project was spearheaded by the National Advisory Board for Grizzly Athletics, whose goal is to have something for fans of all sports. The project’s next phase will include an interactive video, where visitors can push a button and watch highlights of past games.

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