Glacier Park College Showcase Returns for Third Year in Columbia Falls

While this may be the third year and largest edition yet of the Glacier Park College Showcase, the mission of the two-day showcase that brings high-level women’s soccer to the Flathead Valley has remained the same.

“We don’t have college soccer anywhere near us and so literally bringing it here to inspire young soccer players, young athletes, to dream big and see it in its reality and maybe dream to emulate that one day,” O’Brien Byrd, the showcase’s founder, said.

“I’ve been a high school soccer coach for almost a quarter of a century here in the valley … and I know how hard it is to get kids to dream of one day playing college sports because they don’t have it,” he added. “This isn’t Missoula. This isn’t Helena. This isn’t Billings. This isn’t Spokane, Washington where a college is in your community and you can go to any game you want to. We don’t have that source. We can’t waive our magic wand and bring a four-year school in and they have college sports, so we can do this.”

The inaugural showcase in 2024 saw the University of Montana women’s soccer squad take on the Gonzaga University Bulldogs — both coming off respective conference championships — in an exhibition match at Flip Darling Memorial Field in Columbia Falls. The sold-out game brought an estimated 1,500 people out to see the early season clash.

With the help of the community, especially Discover Kalispell, the showcase has now grown into a three-team, two-game event, with this year’s edition featuring the reigning Big Sky tournament champs Montana Griz, the Gonzaga Bulldogs (who will kick off their first season in the newly expanded Pac-12 conference this year), and the Mount Royal University Cougars from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. 

Exhibition action will begin on Friday, Aug. 7, with an 8 p.m. kickoff as the Griz takes on the Cougars, with former Whitefish High School soccer standout Nathan Boone assuming center referee duties. The tournament concludes Saturday, Aug. 8, at 7 p.m. with a battle between the Cougars and Bulldogs.

“We knew that we needed to expand this thing,” Byrd said. “I was kind of looking in the region, but I honestly wasn’t focused on Canada, but a Canadian coach at the University of Lethbridge, he knew about our showcase and he said, ‘hey I’m friends with the coach up in Calgary in the top division in Canada and it’s only five hours away. Would you guys be interested in bringing Mount Royal down?’ I was like oh my gosh that’s awesome, an international exhibition, this couldn’t get any better.”

Like the 2025 showcase, this year’s edition will also include a youth soccer clinic open to boys and girls ages 5-18 on Thursday, Aug. 6, from 4 to 5:45 p.m. Hosted directly by University of Montana Grizzly coaches and players, participants will train in age-specific groups and enjoy an exclusive autograph session immediately following the camp. 

Byrd said his organization knew the youth clinic would be a good idea when they added it into the schedule last year, but he couldn’t have imagined just how impactful it would be. 

“The head coaches set up the clinic and then the college players rolled their sleeves up and did all of the coaching, so you can imagine yourself as a 12-year-old looking up at this Division I amazing athlete, and she knows your name and she’s helping you with your skills,” Byrd said. “This is like the national team or the MLS as far as the kids are concerned, and then they’re going to the game and they know the players’ names. They made signs for the players … it’s just so much more engaging.”

Kids and sports enthusiasts alike aren’t the only ones that benefit from top collegiate soccer talent coming to the valley. Part of the appeal for the college programs coming to the Flathead is the chance to get early season tests against top regional talent, all while being on the doorstep of Glacier National Park.

“They’re busy doing all these fun team bonding activities that are here in the Flathead, from ziplining to whitewater rafting,” Byrd said. “They’re gonna go up to the park and hike, so it really does help out the college and the institutions. It really adds a lot to their program.”

As Byrd looks to future editions of the showcase, he’s not interested in slowing down the event’s expansion, eventually aiming to up the number of teams to four. 

“We would love to bring in a top Division I men’s game, and maybe it’s two women’s games and one men’s game,” Byrd said. 

To purchase tickets for each exhibition game or to reserve a spot in the youth clinic, click here. For more information on the Glacier Park College Showcase, which will run from Aug. 6-8, click here.

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