Montana Grizzlies and Lady Griz
| Montana Grizzlies | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| University | University of Montana |
| Conference | Big Sky Conference |
| NCAA | Division I FCS |
| Athletic director | Kent Haslam |
| Location | Missoula, Montana |
| Varsity teams | 15 |
| Football stadium | Washington-Grizzly Stadium |
| Basketball arena | Dahlberg Arena |
| Softball stadium | Grizzly Field |
| Soccer stadium | South Campus Stadium |
| Mascot | Griz the Bear |
| Nickname | Grizzlies, Griz, Lady Griz |
| Fight song | Up With Montana |
| Colors | Maroon and Silver |
| Website | www |
| 1893–1967 | Maroon & Silver | |
|---|---|---|
| 1968–1996 | Copper & Gold | |
| 1997–present | Maroon & Silver |
The Montana Grizzlies and Lady Griz are the nicknames given to the athletic teams of the University of Montana, located in Missoula. The university is a member of the Big Sky Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding 6 men's teams (basketball, football, cross country, tennis, and track & field (indoor and outdoor)) and 9 women's teams (basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field (indoor & outdoor), and volleyball). The football team has won the university's only two NCAA Championships.
Originally known as the Bears with a live black bear named Teddy as the mascot, the university's basketball team officially became the Grizzlies (sometimes called the Silvertips) in 1923 when they were admitted to the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC). That same year Montana became the first state in the nation to designate grizzlies as a protected game animal. This name change would later prove problematic, however, for their new PCC conference-mate UCLA who had also recently changed their name to the Grizzlies. When UCLA petitioned to join the conference in 1926, Montana claimed rights to the name and the UCLA Grizzlies became the UCLA Bruins when they were admitted to the conference in 1928.
The Grizzlies continued to use live bears as mascots until the early 1960s. In addition to Teddy, there was a Cocoa, Chester, and three different Fessy's named after former football coach Doug Fessenden, among several others. In the 1970s and 80's costumed mascots were introduced, but as mascots of local sponsors, not the University. This included the Hamm's Beer bear, a chicken from a local radio station, and even Ronald McDonald. Later in the 1980s, a costumed mascot by the name of Grizzly Otto (after local sponsor Grizzly Auto) was introduced as part of the Montana cheer squad. The current mascot, Monte (short for Montana), was introduced in 1993 and in 2002 became the first winner of the Capital One Bowl's "Mascot of the Year" contest. He won again in 2004 and was nominated three other times.
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