The chase for a 13th consecutive Big Sky Conference title begins Saturday at Cheney, Wash., when the Grizzlies look to extend a streak of domination that has included winning 31 of their last 32 league games since losing at Montana State University in 2005.
Not to take anything away from Montana’s stellar performances, but one should remember that during this 13-year streak the Grizzlies have tied for the league crown five times.
The worldwide Griz fan base has perhaps tripled during these winning seasons, allowing Washington-Grizzly Stadium to continually expand the apparel to be sold.
When I came to Montana in 1984, the little amount of team colors that were worn by past or current athletes. Now you can seldom travel anywhere without seeing Griz maroon in a variety of shades.
According the latest statistics obtained from Collegiate Licensing Corp., the organization that monitors the trademark sales of college apparel, the University of Montana ranks first among Football Championship Subdivision schools and 56th in Division-I.
Ironically, the list is topped by the burnt orange of the University of Texas, the colors that head coach and later Athletic Director Jack Swarthout brought to UM when he left the Longhorn staff in 1967.
The maroon and silver colors were adopted after the 1995 championship.
More people buy Griz apparel than Gonzaga or Wyoming, for example, and the Grizzlies rank just 10 spots back from upstart Boise State University, which I am sure will explode on the next list if it continues its winning ways.
Montana just trails Stanford University, University of Washington and Washington State University, while the nearest FCS schools are some 20 spots down the list.
The sale of apparel not only has dramatically increased but so has the number of fans who annually head down the road to take in a Griz game. With games at Cheney, Wash., Portland, Ore., and Greeley, Colo., many fans are anxious to make a weekend out of it, take in a road game promoting their team, then spend some money out of town.
As opposing institutions have long realized, packing your stadium with maroon neutralizes any home field advantage.
Eastern Washington University thought moving the Griz game to Joe Albi Stadium was a good way to market the Eagles to the Spokane, but soon realized it just made more room for Montana fans.
And with the construction of luxury boxes in Cheney, the game was moved back to campus several years ago.
The problem for Griz fans is that league schools, especially in these challenging economic times, have quickly realized the Montana game is the crown jewel of their schedule. And because of its popularity they can charge more for a ticket.
But Eastern Washington and Portland State went a step further.
While there will be a limited number of single-game tickets at Hillsboro, where the Vikings play this year, in order to buy a ticket for the Griz game you have to buy a two-game set for $60.
At Eastern Washington, in order to attend the first game on the Eagle’s new red turf, you must to join the Eagle Athletic Association ($120) after which you are entitled to buy a pair of tickets.
When remaining tickets went on sale Sept. 1, Eagle fans were notified of a three-hour head start to secure a ticket before they went on sale to the general public.
Now while all this generated a lot of message-board buzz, it isn’t exactly an anomaly or even a new idea.
Major institutions long have realized the significance of “rival” games as a way to generate additional revenue for their respective athletic departments by charging higher admittance.
There is a price for being recognized as the top FCS program in the nation.