Official Now: The year there was no Cat-Griz football

There was no Brawl of the Wild in November. And there won't be a special edition in March either. Last Friday morning, the University of Montana and Montana State University jointly opted out of the special, 6-game Big Sky Conference spring season, which was set to begin next month. Instead, both schools are hoping to play a pair of exhibition, or non-conference games as part of traditional spring football practice, which won't begin until March.

University of Montana President Seth Bodnar says he and Montana State University President Dr. Waded Cruzado made the joint decision with the health and safety of student-athletes as their primary concern for not participating in a full spring season according to a press release put out by the UM.

"Throughout the pandemic, we have made decisions in the best interest of the students. After much discussion with the athletic directors and coaches at both schools, we feel this decision allows our student-athletes to compete with adequate time to prepare," said Bodnar.

Montana State President Dr. Waded Cruzado said her focus is trained on the well-being of students.

"The safety of our students is always our No. 1 priority at Montana State," Cruzado said. "This decision was difficult, but it will help ensure our student-athletes are as safe and healthy as possible when they do take to the field again. We are proud of their hard work and look forward to cheering them on."

Directors of Athletics Kent Haslam of Montana and Leon Costello of Montana State echoed the presidents' concerns of the difficulties in safely preparing football student-athletes for competition starting in February while focusing on implementing a successful fall 2021 season.

"We know that student-athletes want to play and coaches certainly want to coach, but a reduced number of games in the spring will give our team a greater chance of success in the fall of 2021," Haslam said. "This decision allows our student-athletes to compete in some way but gives them more time to prepare in a more controlled environment."

Costello said the modified schedule allows student-athletes to maintain a normal cycle of preparation for the upcoming fall season. Montana State's most recent game was in December, 2019.

"The health and safety of our student-athletes is paramount," he said. "The timeline for our football student-athletes to be physically prepared for the current conference schedule can't be guaranteed given our climate and related circumstances. By altering our spring season, we will be able to focus on their physical training during the appropriate conditions and proper recovery for the fall season."

Montana head coach Bobby Hauck was on the same page as university leaders, as well. Hauck said last Friday that a full spring schedule, especially so close to the 2021 fall season, wouldn't be in the best interest of his Griz.

"We want to compete this spring but we don't believe playing a complete conference schedule is in the best interest of our program," Hauck said. "We feel like we have a championship-caliber team, and preparing to win a championship in Montana in February with no indoor facility would be difficult at best. I think this modified schedule allows our players to compete while keeping the focus on the fall of 2021."

Bobcat head coach Jeff Choate said that, among the many reasons not ot play, was the inevitable trying to get ready for the season in the middle of winter. In other words, just because they call it a spring season, in Montana February and March are the furthest thing from the definition of spring.

"This has been a trying year for everyone," he said. "We respect the fact that each institution is in a different place in its ability to practice, compete and meet testing protocols. Here in Montana we're uniquely challenged in keeping our student-athletes safe and healthy, which is our top priority, while preparing and playing in deep winter conditions. This is nearly impossible to accomplish given the Big Sky Conference schedule timeline. Finding a way to compete in some fashion when circumstances allow remains important to me and our administration."

The Big Sky, and almost all of the FCS canceled the 2020 season due to rising coronavirus numbers, and moved it to spring in hopes that the pandemic would subside. Instead, the numbers, including in Montana, have steadily risen since October and, while Montana hit a peak in early December, things haven't yet subsided, and now, college campuses are re-opening this week.

Also, there was always going to be the question of how many fans UM and MSU games would be allowed, if any. Ticket sales is one of the main sources of revenue for both programs. Currently, Montana High School Sports are playing with limited fans, depending on local health departments to decide the numbers.

The Cats and Griz are now among four Big Sky teams to decide not to play a spring season, joining Portland State and Sacramento State. As of now, the Big Sky is planning to move forward, as is FCS, though more teams around the country have opted out.

Still, no matter what happens around the Football Championship Subdivision, and even inside the Big Sky, there will be no Brawl of the Wild in the 2020 season. That game will forever now be canceled.

The annual Cat-Griz game was scheduled to be played March 27 in Missoula. The 2020 fall date was Nov. 19 at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. So now the series will go a full year without a game for the first time since WWII. The next game in the series is now scheduled for Nov. 20 at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman.