Huntsberger, Curry, receive Montana’s highest honors
11/18/2019 7:44:00 PM | Football, General
Huntsberger, Curry, receive Montana's highest honors
On Friday, Grizzly Athletics honored a pair of Montana legends at the 2019 Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame Banquet, officially inducting Griz football All-American Vince Huntsberger as the Hall of Fame's 58th member, and presenting long-time UM physician Robert "Doc" Curry with the 2019 Grizzly Lifetime Honors Award.
A native of Libby, Huntsberger played for the Grizzlies from 1998-2001 and achieved enormous success both on the field and in the classroom as the 2001 National Championship MVP and a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy.
Curry was the director of Montana's Student Health Center – the program in the building which now bears his name – from 1965 to 1990, and also served as the football team doctor for generations of Grizzly student-athletes. He also stayed involved with UM's athletic training program and various athletic teams until 2005.
On hand to present Curry's Lifetime Honors Award was former UM Director of Residence Life Ron Brunell.
After a short highlight reel that scratched the surface of his illustrious career, long-time friend and teammate Dan Orizotti gave a heartfelt introduction of Huntsberger, who then added his own sincere thanks.
The Hall of Fame weekend was capped on Saturday with an on-field presentation during the first quarter of Montana's game against Weber State.
Huntsberger and Curry will both now be permanently enshrined in the Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame, located on the west end of Montana's Hall of Champions in the Adams Center. The GSHF and Hall of Champions are free to visit and open to the public.
Nominations for the GSHF class of 2020 will open in the spring.
Gallery: (11/18/2019) 2019 Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame Banquet
MORE ON HUNTSBERGER
Football Accolades/Achievements/Records
*Including playoffs, Huntsberger totaled 469 tackles in 55 games (8.52/game). If the NCAA and Big Sky Conference recognized tackles and playoff totals as official statistics at the time:
Huntsberger Career Stats*
*Including Playoffs
** The NCAA did not recognize tackles, tackles for loss, or sacks as official stats until 2000. Playoff games were not included in any team or individual single-game, season, or career record until the 2002 season.
Academic Accolades/Achievements/Records
On Friday, Grizzly Athletics honored a pair of Montana legends at the 2019 Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame Banquet, officially inducting Griz football All-American Vince Huntsberger as the Hall of Fame's 58th member, and presenting long-time UM physician Robert "Doc" Curry with the 2019 Grizzly Lifetime Honors Award.
A native of Libby, Huntsberger played for the Grizzlies from 1998-2001 and achieved enormous success both on the field and in the classroom as the 2001 National Championship MVP and a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy.
Curry was the director of Montana's Student Health Center – the program in the building which now bears his name – from 1965 to 1990, and also served as the football team doctor for generations of Grizzly student-athletes. He also stayed involved with UM's athletic training program and various athletic teams until 2005.
On hand to present Curry's Lifetime Honors Award was former UM Director of Residence Life Ron Brunell.
After a short highlight reel that scratched the surface of his illustrious career, long-time friend and teammate Dan Orizotti gave a heartfelt introduction of Huntsberger, who then added his own sincere thanks.
The Hall of Fame weekend was capped on Saturday with an on-field presentation during the first quarter of Montana's game against Weber State.
Huntsberger and Curry will both now be permanently enshrined in the Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame, located on the west end of Montana's Hall of Champions in the Adams Center. The GSHF and Hall of Champions are free to visit and open to the public.
Nominations for the GSHF class of 2020 will open in the spring.
MORE ON HUNTSBERGER
Football Accolades/Achievements/Records
- 2001 National Champion
- 2001 Championship Game MVP
- Two-time Big Sky Conference Defensive MVP (2001 & 1999)
- 2001 Buck Buchanan Award runner-up (National Defensive Player of the Year)
- Won 4 Big Sky Conference championships
- Two-time First-team All-Big Sky (1999 &200)
- Second-team All-Big Sky (2000)
- Montana's all-time leader in career tackles (469* Including Playoffs – 393 Regular Season)
- Received a vote for the Heisman from Joe Posnanski of the Kansas City Star in 2001 because, "He is what I want to believe the Heisman is about . . . But he is, I think, the most outstanding player in college football this year."
- Eight All-American selections (2000 & 2001: Associated Press, Don Hanson's Football Gazette, The Sports Network, Walter Camp Foundation)
- Four-time varsity letterman for the Griz
- Started 55-straight games for the Griz
- Win-loss record of 45-10
- Led team in tackles three seasons in a row
- Team best of 113 tackles in 2001 (Regular Season)
- Team captain 3 years in a row
- Steve Carlson Team MVP 2001
- Two-time UM Golden Helmet Award winner 2000 & 2001
- UM's Terry Dillon Award winner 1999 (best back or receiver)
- UM's Special Teams Player of the Year as a freshman (1998)
- Co-recipient of UM's Freshman of the year award (1998)
- Played in 2001 Paradise Bowl All-Star Game
- Three-time Big Sky Player of the Week (x2 in 1999 & 2001)
- Career highs: 20 tackles at Idaho in 2000, 16 of which were solo - 3 interceptions vs. EWU in 1999 - 3 pass deflections at Idaho in 2000
*Including playoffs, Huntsberger totaled 469 tackles in 55 games (8.52/game). If the NCAA and Big Sky Conference recognized tackles and playoff totals as official statistics at the time:
- Huntsberger would be the third all-time leading tackler in Big Sky history.
- His single-season high of 145 tackles would have been the school record until 2018 when Dante Olson had 151 and would be the 8th-best single season in Big Sky history
Huntsberger Career Stats*
| Year | GP | Solo | Ast | Total | TFL-Yds | Sacks: No-Yds | INTs-Yds | PBU | PD | FR-Yds | FF | Blk Kick |
| 1998 | 12 | 49 | 40 | 89 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1999 | 12 | 51 | 43 | 94 | 1-10 | 1-10 | 4-17 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | 15 | 90 | 51 | 141 | 5-12 | 1-6 | 1-7 | 6 | 7 | 2-0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2001 | 16 | 75 | 70 | 145 | 3-15 | 1-11 | 3-63 | 10 | 13 | 3-92 | 5 | 0 |
| Total | 55 | 265 | 204 | 469 | 9-37 | 3-27 | 8-87 | 26 | 33 | 5-92 | 6 | 2 |
*Including Playoffs
** The NCAA did not recognize tackles, tackles for loss, or sacks as official stats until 2000. Playoff games were not included in any team or individual single-game, season, or career record until the 2002 season.
Academic Accolades/Achievements/Records
- 2001 National Football Foundation William V. Campbell Trophy Finalist (National Scholar-Athlete – One of 16 finalists)
- Three-time Academic All-American (1999, 2000, 2001) – Only three-time member at the time
- Inaugural I-AA Athletic Directors Association (D1-AA ADA) Scholar-Athlete of the Year recipient (2002)
- D1-AA ADA Academic All-Star Team (2001)
- Big Sky Scholar-Athlete (2002)
- Four-time Academic All-Big Sky selection
- Maintained a 3.87 GPA in biology/pre-med
- Awarded UM's Bruce E Blattner Memorial Scholarship
- Received NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship
Players Mentioned
LB
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