The Top 12 Moments For Grizzly Athletics In 2024

So long, 2024! As always, it was an eventful calendar year for the University of Montana athletics department. There were plenty of highs, several milestones and even some lows mixed in. Memory Road is here, so let's take a stroll.

Here are the Top 12 Montana Grizzlies Moments of 2024

#12: Monte gets inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame

Our beloved bear was inducted into the 2024 class of inductees at the Mascot Hall of Fame. Monte became the first FCS mascot to be inducted among the 33 immortalized Hall of Famers.

READ MORE: Monte Is Entering The Hall of Fame

#11: Griz Softball hires Stef Ewing

Grizzly Softball has had several down years in recent memory, but the program received an injection of excitement and intrigue

#10: Win #200 For Travis DeCuire

Griz Men's Basketball Head Coach Travis DeCuire secured his 200th career victory last season in the Big Sky Conference Tournament's Semifinals with a 72-58 win over Idaho State. We don't need to talk about what happened in the Championship Game. Moving on...

#9: Football Sellout Streak

Grizzly Football set two attendance-themed records in 2024. For the second straight season, Grizzly Football set a record with 18,816 season tickets sold. The awesome fanbase followed it up by filling the stadium up for 14 consecutive sellouts that went through the UC-Davis game.

#8: 2024 FCS National Championship Appearance

I know the Griz lost the National Championship against South Dakota State, but the fact of the matter is it's incredibly tough to reach the final game. There are 129 FCS programs and the Grizzlies were in the final 2 standing. That's a massive accomplishment. Plus, it was a fun weekend with many fans saying it's an all-time sports viewing experience.

#7: Women's Tennis captures Big Sky Title for first time since 2014 VS the Cats

Win a Conference Championship? Check. Beat Bozeman to do so? Check.

#6 Bayliss Flinn leads the country in save percentage

When Grizzly Soccer lost their all-conference goalkeeper Ashlynn Dvorak in the regular season, all hope was lost and the season fell apart... PSYCHE. Here comes Bayliss Flynn who led the entire nation, both men and women, with an astounding 92.5 save percentage.

#5 Junior Bergen ties the FCS record for most punt return touchdowns

Junior Bergen cemented his legacy at the University of Montana during the 2023 National Championship run. And then he did it again... And again... And again until he tied the FCS record for most career punt return touchdowns with 8.

#4 Evan Todd competes at U.S. Olympic Trials

I'm not sure if there is an individual Grizzly who had a better year than Evan Todd. He capped off an already phenomenal career with this third Big Sky Conference title, a UM javelin record and finished 16th at the U.S. Olympic Trials in June.

#3 Lady Griz, Griz Men obliterate the Cats at home

The Lady Griz exercised some demons by boat racing Bozeman out of the building on February 17. Final score: 72-50. The Men followed it up by throttling the Cats 88-69. That's a combined score of 160-119. That was the epitome of Ice Cube's 1992 hit It Was a Good Day.

#2 Grizzly Soccer wins back-to-back Big Sky Conference Championships

Grizzly Soccer has become the most consistent program at the University of Montana. Head Coach Chris Citowicki has won a title in all but one year since his tenure began. The latest accomplishment came this year winning back-to-back regular season titles.  

#1 Money Williams scores 30 VS Tennessee, Vols raise thousands for Williams

Griz Men's Basketball star Money Williams had an unthinkable year losing both his parents, but within that darkness came a story of glowing humanity. After Montana played at nationally ranked Tennesee this year, Volunteer fans stepped up to raise over $10,000 for Williams and his family's GoFundMe. Their GoFundMe is now at $143,966 (as of 12/31/24). Plus, Williams balled out that night in Knoxville dropping a 30 spot for a career high.