Bittner, Wilde named Big Sky Scholar-Athletes
7/16/2026 11:52:00 AM | Men's Tennis, Track & Field
MISSOULA - Not long after winning the Grizzly Cup as Montana's top overall male and female student-athletes in April, Tom Bittner and Erin Wilde again earned recognition Thursday as UM's 2026 Big Sky Conference Scholar-Athletes for their excellence in competition and in the classroom.
The pair were two of 23 honorees from around the league, recognized for their overall success in athletics and academics.
"Putting together an entire career that would qualify you to be a Scholar Athlete in the Big Sky Conference is an incredibly impressive feat, and all 23 individuals being honored today should be very proud of themselves for what they've accomplished," Commissioner Tom Wistrcill said.
"This is a group that has compiled a long list of accolades for their respective sports and are now putting a bow on their stellar careers with a diploma in hand, which is truly what collegiate athletics is all about."
Bittner recently completed his final season at UM as the highest-ranked player in Griz tennis history, the 2026 Big Sky Conference Regular Season MVP and a three-time unanimous first-team all-conference selection.
He is also a three-time winner of UM's President's Award, earning a perfect 4.0 GPA throughout his academic career while taking classes in his second language, English, rather than his native German.
Wilde wrapped up an equally dominant career on the track in May. The Whitefish native became the first Grizzly in league history to win seven Big Sky titles in the high jump while also setting several school records.
She earned Academic All-Big Sky honors every season of her career, collecting eight total between indoor and outdoor seasons, and graduated from UM this spring with a degree in business management and a cumulative GPA of 3.36.
Bittner, a native of Neusaess, Germany, graduated in May with a major in Management and Information Systems as the most decorated Grizzly in both athletic and academic pursuits to ever pick up a racquet at UM, becoming the highest ranked regional player in program history three times over.
After a breakout sophomore season, he led UM to its first Big Sky championship in over a decade as a junior and went on to become league MVP and a three-time unanimous first team all-conference selection as a senior, all while battling injury and surgery rehab.
As a sophomore Bittner had climbed to a No. 10 Mountain Region ranking, becoming the highest-ranked Grizzly player in program history at that point. He went 16-2 overall in singles that season, 7-1 in Big Sky play on the No. 1 court, and collected Unanimous first team All-Big Sky honors. He also won the President's Award for the first time, and his teammates voted him co-recipient of the Kris Nord Grizzly Grit Award, their version of the most valuable player.
In 2025, Montana won the Big Sky championship tournament and made just its second NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. Bittner played a central role, competing at No. 1 singles and earning Big Sky Tournament MVP honors, a program first.
His regional ranking climbed again, this time to No. 9, a new high-water mark for the program that made him the only player in UM history to earn a Mountain Region year-end ranking twice. The ITA took notice, naming him a Mountain Region "Player to Watch," making him one of just three Grizzlies and four Big Sky players ever to receive a regional year-end award. He took home unanimous first team All-Big Sky honors and earned his second straight President's Award with another 4.0 GPA.
His senior season in 2026 he was the conference's lone representative at the ITA Conference Masters Tournament in the fall, a preseason event that draws the best players from every league in the region. There he beat the No. 1 player from TCU (the 2024 national champion) and then beat the 2024 Big East Player of the Year for good measure. He closed his career as the Big Sky Regular Season MVP with six consecutive singles victories and was the No. 11 ranked player in the Mountain Region.
Bittner finished with a 45-24 overall dual singles record, a 20-10 record in Big Sky play, and a remarkable 20-3 record at home. He was a four-time All-Big Sky honoree and was three-time unanimous first team in singles. He won Big Sky Player of the Week three times across his career, the Tournament MVP, the Regular Season MVP, and is a four-time ITA Scholar Athlete award winer, four-time Academic All-Big Sky honoree, and three President's Award winner.
Wilde cemented her legacy as one of the all-time greats not only in Montana track & field history, but in the entire Big Sky Conference. The Whitefish product won her seventh gold medal at this year's conference meet. She has won every Big Sky meet since the 2023 outdoor season.
She is one of just five women in Montana history with at least seven Big Sky titles, and one of two to win them all in the same event.
The school records, both indoors and outdoors, belong to Wilde. The Whitefish product doesn't just have the best jump all-time, but the top five indoor marks and the top five outdoor marks. She's the only Grizzly to ever jump over 5-10 and she has done it at 10 career meets.
Wilde not only has the program record outdoors, but she also claimed the Dornblaser Field record earlier this season at the Al Manuel Invitational by clearing 6-feet. In the 58 years of track meets at the field, Wilde is the only woman to ever jump six feet.
Her first career victory came back in March of 2023 when she was just a freshman. She showed promise during her first indoor season with two second place finishes but left her debut at the Big Sky Championships with an 8th place finish.
The Grizzlies opened her freshman season at home with the Al Manuel Invitational that year and since besting the field there, Wilde has done a whole lot of winning. She has 29 career victories in 52 meets.
In regular season and Big Sky meets in her career, Wilde has jumped against 799 women. She has beaten 730 of them, jumping better than 92 percent of all opponents in her four years at UM.
Wilde has reached the NCAA First Round every single year of her career with her best finish coming in 2024 as she finished 27th in the West that season.
The senior ranked 17th in the west and 21st in the entire NCAA in the high jump her final season with her mark of 6-0.
Her win in Portland at this season's Big Sky Conference Championship elevated her into some rare air. She is the first 7-time champion in the women's high jump in conference history and just the second Grizzly to ever win seven titles in the same event, joining Loni Perkins-Judisch who claimed seven 400m titles from 2005-08.
In fact, only two other women outside of Perkins-Judsich in the entire history of the Big Sky Conference have won seven titles in the same event. Brandi Pietro claimed seven gold medals in the triple jump from 1997-2000 and Elouise Rudy won the women's pole vault a record eight times.
Wilde's win made her just the 8th woman in league history to be a four-time outdoor champion in the same event and the first since Rudy did it in the pole vault from 2005-09.
It may be hard to tell that there is so much history in the air if you watch Wilde jump. The senior is incredibly focused on her craft, but at the same time there is a simple joy to what she does.
Wilde can often be seen smiling and dancing during meets with her teammate Jaidyn Pevey. She always makes it a point to thank those that help to put on the meet, and there is a sense of joy every time that she clears the bar.
Her drive has also allowed her to succeed in the classroom, where she has earned a place on every single Academic All-Big Sky team in her career.
Wilde put the finishing touches on a story that will live on in the Grizzly record books this year, and is a very worthy recipient of the Big Sky Scholar Athlete honor.
The pair were two of 23 honorees from around the league, recognized for their overall success in athletics and academics.
"Putting together an entire career that would qualify you to be a Scholar Athlete in the Big Sky Conference is an incredibly impressive feat, and all 23 individuals being honored today should be very proud of themselves for what they've accomplished," Commissioner Tom Wistrcill said.
"This is a group that has compiled a long list of accolades for their respective sports and are now putting a bow on their stellar careers with a diploma in hand, which is truly what collegiate athletics is all about."
Bittner recently completed his final season at UM as the highest-ranked player in Griz tennis history, the 2026 Big Sky Conference Regular Season MVP and a three-time unanimous first-team all-conference selection.
He is also a three-time winner of UM's President's Award, earning a perfect 4.0 GPA throughout his academic career while taking classes in his second language, English, rather than his native German.
Wilde wrapped up an equally dominant career on the track in May. The Whitefish native became the first Grizzly in league history to win seven Big Sky titles in the high jump while also setting several school records.
She earned Academic All-Big Sky honors every season of her career, collecting eight total between indoor and outdoor seasons, and graduated from UM this spring with a degree in business management and a cumulative GPA of 3.36.
Bittner, a native of Neusaess, Germany, graduated in May with a major in Management and Information Systems as the most decorated Grizzly in both athletic and academic pursuits to ever pick up a racquet at UM, becoming the highest ranked regional player in program history three times over.
After a breakout sophomore season, he led UM to its first Big Sky championship in over a decade as a junior and went on to become league MVP and a three-time unanimous first team all-conference selection as a senior, all while battling injury and surgery rehab.
As a sophomore Bittner had climbed to a No. 10 Mountain Region ranking, becoming the highest-ranked Grizzly player in program history at that point. He went 16-2 overall in singles that season, 7-1 in Big Sky play on the No. 1 court, and collected Unanimous first team All-Big Sky honors. He also won the President's Award for the first time, and his teammates voted him co-recipient of the Kris Nord Grizzly Grit Award, their version of the most valuable player.
In 2025, Montana won the Big Sky championship tournament and made just its second NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. Bittner played a central role, competing at No. 1 singles and earning Big Sky Tournament MVP honors, a program first.
His regional ranking climbed again, this time to No. 9, a new high-water mark for the program that made him the only player in UM history to earn a Mountain Region year-end ranking twice. The ITA took notice, naming him a Mountain Region "Player to Watch," making him one of just three Grizzlies and four Big Sky players ever to receive a regional year-end award. He took home unanimous first team All-Big Sky honors and earned his second straight President's Award with another 4.0 GPA.
His senior season in 2026 he was the conference's lone representative at the ITA Conference Masters Tournament in the fall, a preseason event that draws the best players from every league in the region. There he beat the No. 1 player from TCU (the 2024 national champion) and then beat the 2024 Big East Player of the Year for good measure. He closed his career as the Big Sky Regular Season MVP with six consecutive singles victories and was the No. 11 ranked player in the Mountain Region.
Bittner finished with a 45-24 overall dual singles record, a 20-10 record in Big Sky play, and a remarkable 20-3 record at home. He was a four-time All-Big Sky honoree and was three-time unanimous first team in singles. He won Big Sky Player of the Week three times across his career, the Tournament MVP, the Regular Season MVP, and is a four-time ITA Scholar Athlete award winer, four-time Academic All-Big Sky honoree, and three President's Award winner.
Wilde cemented her legacy as one of the all-time greats not only in Montana track & field history, but in the entire Big Sky Conference. The Whitefish product won her seventh gold medal at this year's conference meet. She has won every Big Sky meet since the 2023 outdoor season.
She is one of just five women in Montana history with at least seven Big Sky titles, and one of two to win them all in the same event.
The school records, both indoors and outdoors, belong to Wilde. The Whitefish product doesn't just have the best jump all-time, but the top five indoor marks and the top five outdoor marks. She's the only Grizzly to ever jump over 5-10 and she has done it at 10 career meets.
Wilde not only has the program record outdoors, but she also claimed the Dornblaser Field record earlier this season at the Al Manuel Invitational by clearing 6-feet. In the 58 years of track meets at the field, Wilde is the only woman to ever jump six feet.
Her first career victory came back in March of 2023 when she was just a freshman. She showed promise during her first indoor season with two second place finishes but left her debut at the Big Sky Championships with an 8th place finish.
The Grizzlies opened her freshman season at home with the Al Manuel Invitational that year and since besting the field there, Wilde has done a whole lot of winning. She has 29 career victories in 52 meets.
In regular season and Big Sky meets in her career, Wilde has jumped against 799 women. She has beaten 730 of them, jumping better than 92 percent of all opponents in her four years at UM.
Wilde has reached the NCAA First Round every single year of her career with her best finish coming in 2024 as she finished 27th in the West that season.
The senior ranked 17th in the west and 21st in the entire NCAA in the high jump her final season with her mark of 6-0.
Her win in Portland at this season's Big Sky Conference Championship elevated her into some rare air. She is the first 7-time champion in the women's high jump in conference history and just the second Grizzly to ever win seven titles in the same event, joining Loni Perkins-Judisch who claimed seven 400m titles from 2005-08.
In fact, only two other women outside of Perkins-Judsich in the entire history of the Big Sky Conference have won seven titles in the same event. Brandi Pietro claimed seven gold medals in the triple jump from 1997-2000 and Elouise Rudy won the women's pole vault a record eight times.
Wilde's win made her just the 8th woman in league history to be a four-time outdoor champion in the same event and the first since Rudy did it in the pole vault from 2005-09.
It may be hard to tell that there is so much history in the air if you watch Wilde jump. The senior is incredibly focused on her craft, but at the same time there is a simple joy to what she does.
Wilde can often be seen smiling and dancing during meets with her teammate Jaidyn Pevey. She always makes it a point to thank those that help to put on the meet, and there is a sense of joy every time that she clears the bar.
Her drive has also allowed her to succeed in the classroom, where she has earned a place on every single Academic All-Big Sky team in her career.
Wilde put the finishing touches on a story that will live on in the Grizzly record books this year, and is a very worthy recipient of the Big Sky Scholar Athlete honor.
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