Big Sky Hall inducting Holland, Kollar, Read

One Grizzly — “Papa Bear” — and two Bobcats are part of the 2024 Big Sky Conference Hall of Fame induction class that was announced Thursday by the league office.

Former Montana football coach Don Read, who passed away at age 90 on Jan. 3, joins seven other inductees that includes legendary Montana State coach Sonny Holland — Holland passed away on Dec. 3, 2022 — and standout defensive lineman Bill Kollar.

It’s an impressive class that includes Idaho basketball star Orlando Lightfoot; Erik Meyer, the  first in Eastern Washington’s run of outstanding quarterbacks.

Read died just four days before the Montana Grizzlies played South Dakota State for the NCAA Division I football championship in Frisco, Texas. It was UM’s fourth trip to the title game under Bobby Hauck who began his coaching career under Read in 1988.

“Coach Read meant a lot to Montana and the people that worked and played for him. He was just a great friend and mentor to all,” Hauck said in a release from UM. “His 10 years in the conference were highly successful. He always did things the right way, and he is very deserving of being a Hall of Famer. “Coach set the tone for everything that we've done over the past couple of decades. He set a standard for winning and really built the program from an interest standpoint where people really became interested in Grizzly football. 

“He laid the foundation for all the growth we’ve seen over the last 30 years.”

Read retired from coaching after guiding the Griz to their first national championship in 1995, a team led by fellow Big Sky Hall of Famer Dave Dickenson. Read also went 10-0 against the Bobcats in the annual Brawl of the Wild.

Holland had the distinction of coaching the first Big Sky football program to win a national championship, when the Montana State Bobcats beat Akron for the 1976 Division II title.

When he stepped down as coach after the 1977 season — at age 39 — he had a 54-24-1 coaching record with the Cats.

The Butte native was a small college All-America at MSU, where he played offensive line from 1956-59. He passed away five weeks before the Bobcats played for the 2022 FCS title against Northern Dakota State.

As Bobcat coach Holland went 6-1 against the Grizzlies in the Brawl. 

“He said, ‘There’s 365 days a year, and only one day you get to play them,’” longtime Columbia Falls teacher and coach Steve Kracher, one of his former players, told the Daily Inter Lake in 2022. “Every time I saw him I’d tell him how much he impacted my life, and that I used a lot of his coaching philosophy as my own. That’s really what a man’s legacy should be: How much he’s impacted the lives of the people he touched. 

“He’s certainly done that for a lot of us. That’s why we played so hard for him.”

Kollar also played for Holland from 1971-73, then was a first-round draft pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in 1974. He spent three seasons with them, four with Tampa Bay and then embarked on a long career as an NFL and College assistant. He was defensive line coach for the 2015 Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos; he retired from the Broncos at age 70 in 2023.

The Big Sky Conference Hall of Fame was established in 2020 to “perpetuate the memory of those persons who have brought distinction, honor and excellence to both the Big Sky Conference and its institutional athletic programs.”

The 2024 Hall of Fame class was selected by a committee of 14 members, which included representatives from all 10 full-time Big Sky institutions, as well as an additional Athletic Director, Senior Women’s Administrator, a conference office representative and an at-large committee member.

The 2024 class will be officially inducted on Saturday, July 20 starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Northern Quest Resort & Casino in Spokane. Tickets to the gala cost $80, plus fees. The Big Sky Hall of Fame now features 36 members, with the first class being honored in 2022.

Here are the 2024 inductees:

Natalie Doma, Idaho State, Women’s Basketball 2004-08

Led the Bengals to a 2007 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament appearance against Stanford, scoring 32 points in the loss… Big Sky MVP during the 2006-07 season and earned all-conference first-team selections in her final three seasons at Idaho State… Scored 2,296 points and hauled in 1,174 rebounds as a Bengal, which topped the Big Sky at the time.

Lindsay Haupt, Sacramento State, Volleyball 2004-07

Led the Hornets to Big Sky Tournament titles in all four years of her career, as well as three league regular-season championships… Haupt was Big Sky MVP in 2005 and 2007. … Also was a two-time Big Sky Tournament MVP in 2005-06… her 1,359 career kills are the most by any Hornet middle blocker in the program’s Div. I era.

Allyn “Sonny” Holland, Montana State. Football Head Coach 1971-77

Holland became the first coach to lead a Big Sky football program to a national championship when the Bobcats captured the Div. II crown in 1976… Led Montana State to Big Sky championships in 1972 and 1976. … In the years before the Big Sky’s formation, Holland was a three-time Mid-Bracket All-America player for the Bobcats from 1957-59. 

Bill Kollar, Montana State, Football, 1971-73

Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2023, Kollar was first-team all-Big Sky on the defensive line from 1971-73. … First-team All-America in 1973 and MVP at the 1974 Senior Bowl. … Drafted 24th overall in 1974 by Cincinnati. … Coached in Super Bowl XXXIII with the Falcons, Super Bowl XXXVI with the Rams and was part of Denver’s Super 50 championship staff.

Orlando Lightfoot, Idaho, Men’s Basketball 1991-94

Two-time Big Sky MVP in 1993 and 1994… Lightfoot was a Big Sky All-Conference First Team selection all three seasons with the Vandals… Led the Vandals to a Big Sky title in 1993. …  He is the all-time leading scorer for the Big Sky with 2,102 points. … Also holds four of Idaho’s top six single-game performances, including a 50-point outburst against Gonzaga in 1993.

Erik Meyer, Eastern Washington, Football 2002-05

Meyer won the Walter Payton Award for the top offensive player in the FCS in 2005. … Big Sky MVP in 2004 and 2005. … Passed for 10,261 yards and 84 touchdowns in 42 career games with the Eagles. … Meyer set 14 school records, including throwing for 4,003 yards in 2005. …. Currently co-offensive coordinator at quarterbacks coach at Cal Poly.

Dick Motta, Weber State, Men’s Basketball Coach 1960-68

Motta coached Weber State to the first NCAA  Tournament appearance in 1968… Led the Wildcats to three Big Sky championships in 1965, 1966 and 1968… Currently ranks third in Big Sky history for career winning percentage at .772… Went on to to win 935 games in 25 seasons  as an NBA head coach.  and guided the Washington Bullets to the 1978 NBA Championship. … 

Don Read, Montana, Football Coach 1986-95

Read led Montana to its first National Championship in 1995, after taking the Grizzlies to the FCS semifinals in 1989 and 1994… Read was named the 1995 AFCA 1-AA Coach of the Year and was a three-time Big Sky Coach of the Year in 1989, 1993 and 1995… Left with a school-record 85 coaching wins. …Was named the Div. II coach of the year after leading Portland State to a league title in 1984.