The Montana Grizzlies have been picked to win back-to-back Big Sky titles by the league’s coaches and media in 2024 slotting in at No. 1 in both preseason polls, the conference announced Sunday from its football kickoff event at the Northern Quest Casino in Spokane.
The Griz received all but two first-place votes in the coaches’ poll with 120 total points and 17 more first-place votes in the media poll than the runner-up with 442 points to lead each by a wide margin.
Prognosticators also picked the Brawl of the Wild to once again determine the conference champion, with Montana State coming in second in both polls with 110 points in the coaches’ poll and 414 points in the media poll.
There was more consensus among coaches and media at the top of the league with Idaho, UC Davis, and Sacramento State rounding out the top five in both polls, in that order.
Montana will be seeking the program’s 20th Big Sky championship in 2024 after advancing to the FCS national championship for the eighth time in school history last season.
UM exceeded all expectations in 2023 having been picked to finish third in the league by the media and sixth by the coaches. After suffering an early road loss at Northern Arizona, Montana went on a 10-game win streak en route to an outright conference title and three playoff wins.
The Griz return a robust 16 starters (11 offense, 5 defense) and 35 lettermen from last season’s championship team, with the offensive line alone returning 71 combined starts and the defense combining for 53 total starts.
UM returns six All-Big Sky honorees that won a combined eight awards last year, led by first-team receiver and punt returner Junior Bergen, second team running back and FCS Freshman of the Year Eli Gillman, and second-team linebacker Riley Wilson.
The Griz are led by head coach Bobby Hauck, the winningest coach of all time in the Big Sky and defending conference Coach of the Year who enters the season with 129 wins across two tenures in Missoula.
Montana is now the winningest team of the 20th century (2000-2023) with a 226-76 record in that time, passing North Dakota State’s record of 225-46 with the semifinal win in Missoula last season.
UM plays a seven-game home schedule for the first time since 2007 and for just the fifth time in program history this year. The Griz play three first time opponents in Missouri State, Morehead State, and Western Carolina to start the year. Montana’s lone road game in the nonconference slate is at North Dakota.
New season ticket packages start at just $200 and are on sale now at GrizTix.com and GoGriz.com/Tickets and ensure fans a seat at all seven home games this fall as well as guaranteed access to playoff tickets, which sold out for the first time ever in 2023.
Other benefits to purchasing season tickets include savings over the single game price in UM’s first seven-game home slate in nearly two decades, guaranteed seats at every home game, priority access to away game tickets, and more.
2024 Big Sky Preseason Coaches’ Poll
| Rank | Team (1st) | Votes |
| 1 | Montana (10) | 120 |
| 2 | Montana State (1) | 110 |
| 3 | Idaho | 95 |
| 4 | UC Davis (1) | 88 |
| 5 | Sacramento State | 82 |
| 6 | Weber State | 74 |
| 7 | Northern Arizona | 55 |
| 8 | Eastern Washington | 47 |
| 9 | Portland State | 45 |
| 10 | Idaho State | 31 |
| 11 | Northern Colorado | 23 |
| 12 | Cal Poly | 22 |
2024 Big Sky Preseason Media Poll
| Rank | Team (1st) | Votes |
| 1 | Montana (26) | 442 |
| 2 | Montana State (9) | 414 |
| 3 | Idaho (2) | 342 |
| 4 | UC Davis (1) | 332 |
| 5 | Sacramento State | 324 |
| 6 | Eastern Washington | 240 |
| 7 | Weber State | 234 |
| 8 | Idaho State | 174 |
| 9 | Northern Arizona | 172 |
| 10 | Portland State | 169 |
| 11 | Cal Poly | 74 |
| 12 | Northern Colorado | 47 |