Griz picked 2nd/3rd in Big Sky Preseason Polls

The Montana Grizzlies were picked to finish second in the 2025 Big Sky Conference title race by media members and third by the league's coaches the conference announced Thursday, two days ahead of its annual football kickoff event in Spokane.

The Griz received 434 points and six first place votes to slot in second in this year's media poll. They picked-up more first place votes in the coaches poll than No. 2 UC Davis but missed out on finishing second in both by just four points.

For the first time in FCS history the Grizzlies will play eight home games in 2025, holding a Washington-Grizzly Stadium-sized advantage over three of the top 10 teams in this year's polls including the team favored to win: Montana State.

UM will look to dethrone the defending champion Bobcats in Missoula this season, with MSU receiving 30 first place votes and 488 points in the media poll and seven first place picks for 117 points in the coaches poll to lead both.

The Aggies were lockstep with the Griz in the top three of both polls, slotting in third in the media poll with four first place votes and second in the coaches with just one first place vote, but 100 voting points.

Idaho, which comes to Missoula on Sept. 27, and Northern Arizona mixed and matched to finish fourth and fifth in both polls, while Sacramento State came in sixth behind them with a single first place vote in each poll. The Griz travel to Sac State on Friday, Oct. 24 for a highly anticipated showdown that will be broadcast to millions on ESPN2.

Montana travels to Idaho State for its first road game of the season on Oct. 4. The Bengals were picked to finish seventh in both polls in their third season under head coach Cody Hawkins.

The Grizzlies also host Eastern Washington in Missoula this season on Nov. 8, with the Eagles landing at No. 8 in the media poll and No. 9 in the coaches.

The Griz will field a new-look squad this season after losing 26 players to graduation in 2024 – an unusually large class size as the remaining vestiges of pandemic-era eligibility extensions matriculated through the program.

With a robust 60 players back on the roster from last year UM is long on familiar faces but short on game experience, returning 28 lettermen and seven starters from last year's team that finished fifth on the league table at 9-5.

Montana's offensive line will lead the team from the front this year as the program's most experienced position group, returning five players with at least three starts last season.

Head coach Bobby Hauck and his staff brought in plenty of experience from the transfer portal as well, with 23 new players coming to Missoula from a previous college, including 11 from the FBS ranks and five more from the FCS.

Hauck enters his 14^th season overall leading the Grizzlies in 2025 and is the winningest coach in Big Sky Conference history with wins at UM. He's got a chance to become the league's all-time leader in conference game wins this season as well, needing seven more to pass Jerome Sourers' career total of 85 at NAU.

Montana opens the season on Sept. 6 against Central Washington for the first of its eight regular season home games. The Griz will play six of their first seven games at home, spending the entire month of September in the friendly confines of Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

New season ticket packages are on sale now at GrizTix.com or GoGriz.com/Tickets.

2025 Big Sky Conference Preseason Polls

Media Poll
1. Montana State (30) - 488
2. Montana (6) - 434
3. UC Davis (4) - 399
4. Idaho (1) - 364
5. Northern Arizona - 354
6. Sacramento State (1) - 282
7. Idaho State - 247
8. Eastern Washington - 225
9. Weber State - 192
10. Portland State - 140
11. Cal Poly - 94
12. Northern Colorado - 57

Parentheses denotes first-place vote

Coaches Poll
1. Montana State (7) - 117
2. UC Davis (1) - 100
3. Montana (2) - 96
4. Northern Arizona (1) - 94
5. Idaho - 81
6. Sacramento State (1) - 73
7. Idaho State - 56
8. Weber State - 55
9. Eastern Washington - 48
10. Portland State - 32
11. Cal Poly - 25
12. Northern Colorado - 15

Parentheses denotes first-place vote // Coaches could not vote for their own team

University of Montana Athletics

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