GREAT FALLS – Dave Dickenson is hanging up his helmet.
Dickenson, the quarterback who led the University of Montana to the 1995 NCAA Division I-AA championship and the B.C. Lions to the 2006 Grey Cup title, is retiring after 11 seasons in the Canadian Football League.
“I feel very privileged and fortunate to get 13 years as a pro quarterback,” said Dickenson, who tried for two seasons to be signed by an NFL team. “I wasn’t sure I was going to make it in college. I was hopeful, but you never know.
“I got just about as much as I could out of my tools and that’s a good feeling. I didn’t leave anything on the table,” he said.
Dickenson passed for a school record 11,080 yards and a Big Sky Conference record 96 touchdowns in his career at Montana, winning the Walter Payton Award as a senior. He passed for 154 touchdowns as a professional. Dickenson was named the CFL’s most outstanding player in 2000 and was named the MVP of the 2006 Grey Cup.
Dickenson was told in November that he would not be cleared to play during 2009 after suffering four concussions during his pro career. His most recent concussion was suffered in September 2008.
Dickenson was scheduled to officially announce his retirement Wednesday afternoon during a press conference at Calgary Stampeders headquarters.
“It’s not a real big secret,” Dickenson told the Great Falls Tribune Tuesday. “My friends and family already know, people like (CMR coach) Jack (Johnson) who have helped me through the years.”
The Great Falls native says he expects to begin a new career in coaching.
“I feel like I know the game, but the other stuff, like film breakdown and scheduling, I’ll have to deal with,” he said. “If I get into coaching, ultimately, I want to be a head coach.”