Griz named Big Sky Academic Champions

Big Sky Champions on the court, Big Sky Champions in the classroom.

The Montana men's tennis team doubled up on league titles in 2025 with the Big Sky announcing its annual Team Academic Champions list, highlighting the top team GPA across all sponsored sports for the 2024-25 school year.

In April, Montana punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in over a decade after beating Northern Arizona to win the program's second Big Sky Tournament title on the court.

This now marks the third-straight season UM has won the Big Sky Academic Championship, posting a team average 3.84 GPA. The titles are based on combined team GPA for the entire 2024-25 academic calendar, not just the season they competed in.

It's another feather in the program's cap after a historic year, both athletically and academically.

The Griz netters again posted the top team GPA in Grizzly Athletics in 2025 to win the program's seventh-straight Dustin Hollist Award in the spring, paced by junior Tom Bittner who won his second-straight President's Award for the top individual GPA in Grizzly Athletics.

After leading UM to the most overall wins in program history, a Big Sky title, and a program-best No. 7 regional ranking, head coach Jason Brown was named the ITA's Mountain Region Coach of the Year. He's just the second coach in Big Sky Conference history and the first in two decades to earn the regional Coach of the Year award. He recently agreed to a new three-year contract that will keep him chasing championships in Missoula through 2028.

Not only that, Bittner, the Grizzly No. 1 and Big Sky tourney MVP, was named the Mountain Region's "Player to Watch" – the de facto honor for the player predicted to be the region's MVP next season, and a first for Montana. He is now one of three players in Grizzly history and one of just four in Big Sky history to earn a regional year-end award for his play on the court.

Montana will begin its quest for repeat Big Sky titles on the court and in the classroom when players report to campus in late August ahead of the 2025-26 season.

2024-25 Big Sky Team Academic Champions

Men's Cross Country: Idaho (3.82)
Women's Cross Country: Northern Colorado & Weber State (3.83)
Volleyball: Idaho State (3.75)
Soccer: Northern Colorado (3.76)
Football: Weber State (3.39)
Men's Track & Field: Idaho (3.60)
Women's Track & Field: Weber State (3.72)
Men's Basketball: Weber State (3.71)
Women's Basketball: Montana State (3.73)
Men's Tennis: Montana (3.84)
Women's Tennis: Portland State (3.77)
Women's Golf: Eastern Washington (3.96)
Softball: Weber State (3.67)

University of Montana Athletics

Players Mentioned

Tom Bittner

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