The Montana State Bobcats football program competes in the Big Sky Conference of the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision for Montana State University. The program began in 1897 and has won three national championships (1956, 1976, and 1984). It is the only college football program in the nation to win national championships on three different levels of competition, NAIA, NCAA Division II, and NCAA Division I-AA (now FCS). The Bobcats have played in 955 games and their all-time record stands at 467-459-32.
The first championship came in Montana State's last season in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, which moved to NAIA in 1952. The national championship was the first ever for the RMAC and was also the first time the NAIA had a football champion. The Bobcats were members of the RMAC from 1917 to 1956, after being an independent from 1897 to 1916. MSC rejoined the NCAA (College Division) in 1957, and had one of its most successful runs as an independent from 1957 to 1962 with six straight winning seasons, including an 8-2 mark in 1957 and 8-1 in 1958. In 1963, Montana State became a charter member of the Big Sky Conference, where it has won two national championships.
Montana State has won 20 conference titles, including 15 in the Big Sky Conference and five in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Bobcats have won conference titles in eight of the past nine decades and have won multiple conference titles in seven of the last eight decades. MSU finished the 1926 season undefeated in RMAC conference games, but was not awarded a conference title. They have qualified for the NCAA playoffs eight times, once (1976) as a Division II member and seven times (1984, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2010, 2011, and 2012) as a Division I-AA/FCS member. MSU has been in the post-season twelve times, most recently in 2012. Through the 2011 season, the Bobcats are 11-7-2 in postseason play.
Their primary rival is Montana, whom they meet in the annual Brawl of the Wild, more commonly referred to as the Cat-Griz game, which was held for the 112th time on Nov. 17, 2012 in Missoula. Montana State currently holds The Great Divide Trophy after a 16-7 win in Missoula in 2012. The 113th edition of the rivalry will be played in Bozeman on Nov. 23, 2013.
The Bobcats are the three-time reigning Big Sky Conference champions and have either won the Big Sky championship (6) or qualified for the playoffs (6) in seven of the last 11 seasons. They have had 11 straight winning seasons.
Read more about Montana State Bobcats Football: Head Coaching Records, Conference Affiliations, Undefeated Seasons
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