Maxwell Football Club Names Hauck Winner of 2023 Get in the Game Impact Award

The Maxwell Football Club, one of the most prestigious football honors organizations in the nation, announced Tuesday that Montana head football coach Bobby Hauck has been selected as the 2023 winner of the “Get in the Game Impact Award” presented by the Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation.

The award is given to the person or persons who have gone above and beyond to help save lives through their involvement with the NMDP Get in the Game program. These individuals show immense passion and loyalty to the program and their efforts have direct impact on its success.

Hauck will be honored Friday March 8, 2024, at the 87th Maxwell Football Club National Awards Gala at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia.

Also receiving awards at this event will be Michael Penix Jr. – Washington (Maxwell Award), Payton Wilson – NC State (Chuck Bednarik Award), Caleb Downs –Alabama/Ohio State (Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award), Steve Hatchell – National Football Foundation (Francis Reds Bagnell Award), Kalen DeBoer –Washington/Alabama (George Munger Collegiate Coach of the Year Award), and Jeremiah Smith – Chaminade-Madonna HS/Ohio State and Sammy Brown – Jefferson HS/Clemson (MFC National High School Players of the Year). Additional professional award winners will be announced next week.

Since returning to Montana in 2018, Hauck and the Grizzlies have helped lead the charge in the fight against life-threatening blood cancers by participating in the National Marrow Donor Program’s (NMDP) “Be the Match” registry, which finds potential donors and connects them with patients in need.

Montana football has held a donor registration drive on the University of Montana campus in each non-Covid impacted year since Hauck’s return. In that time the Grizzlies have helped register over 300 members of the UM campus community for the Be the Match Registry, far surpassing the team’s goal of 70 new sign-ups each time.

“The impact of Coach Hauck’s passionate support of the NMDP Get in the Game program is immeasurable. As a member of our Coaches Council, Coach Hauck has assisted with program expansion by recruiting new coaches to join our mission. He’s a spokesperson for us within the Big Sky Conference, as well as the American Football Coaches Association. We know 2024 is going to be our most successful yet with Coach Hauck as part of our team,” said Krista Ross, Manager of Athletic Programs & Partnerships for NMDP.

“Bobby Hauck is giving patients around the world hope for a cure! His efforts, alongside those of his staff and his players, have directly resulted in five blood stem cell donations, giving five individuals with blood cancer, a second chance at life. How great is that? Bobby is a first-class coach, but he is a better man. He leads by example and is teaching his players firsthand that life is bigger than the game of football. He is a hero and a lifesaver,” said Andy Talley, Head Coach Emeritus, Villanova University & Founder of the Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation.

Under Hauck, the 2023 Grizzlies put together a 13-2 record to secure the program’s 19th conference title and a No. 2 seed in the FCS playoffs where Montana won three-straight games to return to the national title game.

The Griz were picked to finish sixth by the coaches and third by the media in the preseason polls but went on to earn wins over seven ranked opponents and UM’s 74th win over rival Montana State to claim the conference championship.

To reach the national final, Montana won 10-straight games including five against top-10 teams, beating then-No. 3 Idaho on the road, No. 7 Sacramento State, and No. 4 Montana State to cap the regular season. In the playoffs, UM beat No. 7 Furman and No. 8 NDSU to reach the title game.

Hauck has led the Grizzlies to incredible success in his 12 overall seasons at Montana with a 129-36 record in that time and a 49-19 record since returning in 2018. In 2023 became the winningest coach in Big Sky Conference history.

Following the 2023 season he was named the Big Sky Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his career, the AFCA Region 5 Coach of the Year for the third time, and a finalist for the Eddie Robinson FCS Coach of the Year second time.

Hauck has also been recognized for his efforts in the community as the 2023 recipient of the Grant Teaff “Breaking the Silence” Award by the Jason Foundation at the AFCA Convention in January, honoring a head coach that has exceeded expectations as a National Awareness Ambassador, helping spread awareness of youth suicide.

The Maxwell Football Club (MFC) was founded in 1935 and is a registered 501c3 Non-Profit Corporation. The MFC promotes and recognizes excellence at all levels of football from youth leagues through the professional ranks. Each year the MFC offers programs which focus on player and coach development, safety, and player wellness. The Club also presents many of the premiere awards in the football world each year. Membership is open and additional information on the Club can be found at www.maxwellfootballclub.org.

The Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Their mission is to increase the odds of finding lifesaving donors for patients in need of a blood stem cell or bone marrow transplant by registering young, diverse and committed donors to the Be the Match Registry®.

At NMDPSM, we believe each of us holds the key to curing blood cancers and disorders. As a global nonprofit leader in cell therapy, NMDP creates essential connections between researchers and supporters to inspire action and accelerate innovation to find life-saving cures. With the help of blood stem cell donors from the world’s most diverse registry and our extensive network of transplant partners, physicians and caregivers, we’re expanding access to treatment so that every patient can receive their life-saving cell therapy. NMDP. Find cures. Save lives.

The NMDP Get in the GameSM program uses the power and influence of college athletics to recruit more students to the NMDP RegistrySM to become potential blood stem cell donors.

A blood stem cell transplant can cure or treat more than 75 diseases, including blood cancers and other blood disorders like sickle cell. NMDPSM connects thousands of patients every year with a matching donor for the chance at a life-saving transplant.

The NMDP Get in the Game program formed in 2008 when NMDP approached Villanova University head football coach emeritus Andy Talley to partner with the organization. Coach Talley had already been busy recruiting athletes to the registry through on-campus drives. By teaming up, they could accelerate awareness and encourage more athletics programs to become community leaders. In 2010, coach Talley launched the Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation to further support the program.

Over the past 16 years, more than 325 college and university athletics teams across the country have teamed up with Get in the Game to add more potential donors to the registry.
College athletics teams participate in the program by hosting their own donor registry recruitment events to help motivate more students and athletes to join the registry.

Thanks to this partnership, more than 185,000 college athletes and students have signed up to be potential donors. Of those, more than 1,100 have matched with a patient and donated their healthy blood stem cells to someone facing a blood cancer or disorder.

The latest recruits to the registry from the 2022-23 academic year are already making a direct impact, too. In fact, 30-plus of those new members have now matched with a patient and said “yes” to donating, giving hope—and possibly a cure—to a stranger in need.