By CHRIS WALTERSKIRCHEN
While none of the big name FCS polls have been released we do have a set of rankings from “Football Insider.” Not surprisingly North Dakota State is the projected No.21. Montana is rated 10th which is tops among Big Sky schools. The Grizzlies’ September 10 opponent Northern Iowa is projected as No. 3 in this poll. The Panthers of UNI are the most successful FCS program to never have won a national title, the Panthers reached the title game in 2005 but lost to Appalachian State in the title game.
Many people have asked where is St. Francis University??? While there are several St. Francis colleges around the country the Griz football team opens with St. Francis of Laretto Pennsylvania. The Griz season opening will be a 7:00 PM kick-off.
For the first time in over half a century the Griz will face the USC Trojans in basketball. The Trojans had a bounce back season last season posting their first winning season in 5 years. Facing former Griz coaches Larry Krystowiak and Wayne Tinkle in Pac-12 plays the Trojans have gone 4-12.
The Griz basketball team will have quite an excursion coming home from the Virgin Islands in November. A few days after finishing up in the Paradise Jam the Griz will face Ole Miss in Oxford Mississippi followed by a game in Vermilion South Dakota facing the USD Coyotes.
A sports and politics trivia. In August of 1976 the Republican National Convention was held in Kansas City. That week the KC Royals were on the road facing the Cleveland Indians. This week the GOP will be holding it convention in Cleveland so naturally the Indians are in KC. Back in 1968 as the Tumultuous Democratic Convention was in Chicago, both Chicago baseball teams were at home. The Giants and Cubs were at Wrigley and the Yankees and White Sox were at Cominsky Park.
Chris Walterskirchen has been an observer of Montana sports for nearly half a century. A Kalispell native, Chris has worked in various capacities for professional and college sports organization of at various times: ranging from announcing and statistical work to the concessions and even a stint as a costumed mascot.
Chris has academic degrees in communications and elementary education. His style of sports trivia involves more than just who won and who lost, but also focuses on the obscure or human side of sports. In this blog you will learn things like the Grizzly football team has won 210 games over the 19 seasons since they have had Monte as their mascot or that UNLV is the only school that both the Griz and Lady Griz have both faced in the NCAA basketball tournament
When not following sports Chris enjoys taking care of animals of all kinds (a peacock rescue?) and reading to pre-schoolers.