For the first time in over a decade, Montana legend Dave Dickenson will return to Missoula for a Grizzly football game when the University of Montana and the National Football Foundation (NFF) celebrate his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Dickenson and his family will be in Missoula for the game against Sacramento State on Sept. 22 for an on-field salute with dignitaries from the NFF and Fidelity Investments, the presenting sponsor of the NFF On-Campus Salute program.
In January the NFF announced Dickenson will be immortalized as one of the greatest college football players of all time as a member of the College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2018. He will be officially inducted at the NFF’s annual awards dinner on Dec. 4 in New York City, and his achievements will be permanently enshrined at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
“I’m excited to be coming home to Montana with my family. It will be a day in my life that I will never forget. It is the perfect setting to celebrate my induction into the College Football Hall of Fame,” said Dickenson.
“The Dickenson family has never forgotten the support of Griz Nation, and we cherish any chance we get to come back to Missoula and watch the Griz make Montana proud. I can’t wait to get together with friends and reminisce about the best times of my life. Once a Griz, always a Griz.”
To mark the occasion, the Grizzlies will take the field against Sac. State in their throwback copper and gold uniforms, and now fans have the opportunity to join them.
To celebrate Dickenson’s honor, a line of limited-edition Nike commemorative gear will soon be available at participating retailers.
The Dave Dickenson product line features the fan-favorite vintage copper and gold colors and includes youth, men’s and women’s apparel as well as headwear. Each piece includes Dave’s retired Grizzly Football jersey number “15”, which until now has been unavailable for use on licensed product.
Various pieces include a vintage version of the interlocking UM – worn on the 95′ championship team jerseys. Youth and adult t-shirt jersey’s featuring “DICKENSON” on the back are also available.
A portion of royalty proceeds from the sale of Dave Dickenson product will be donated to a Griz football scholarship in Dave’s name, benefitting a University of Montana student-athlete.
The Dickenson product line will be available for purchase through the fall of 2018 only.
While in Missoula, Dickenson will meet with the team ahead of the game against Sac. State, have lunch with Montana’s National Advisory Board for Grizzly Athletics (of which he is a member), and tour the new Washington-Grizzly Champions Center with his family.
During the game, the NFF and Fidelity Investments will present Dickenson with a Hall of Fame plaque on the field at Washington-Grizzly Stadium to be permanently displayed in the Feist Family Foundation Grizzly Athletics Hall of Champions.
Dickenson is only the second player from the state of Montana to ever be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame quarterback “Wild” Bill Kelly was inducted to the national hall in 1963.
Only five other players or coaches in the history of the Big Sky Conference have ever been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame: Rex Mirich of Northern Arizona, Missoula native and Idaho quarterback John Friesz, Ken O’Brien and Jim Sochor of UC Davis, and Neil Lomax of Portland State.
Dickenson let the Grizzlies to the 1995 national championship as the Walter Payton Award winner that season. He has since gone on to an illustrious career in the Canadian Football League as a four-time Grey Cup champion, 2006 Grey Cup MVP, and was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player in 2000.
In 2002, he was inducted into the Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame and in 2015, entered the CFL Hall of Fame as well. Most recently he was named CFL Coach of the Year in his inaugural season at the helm of the Calgary Stampeders.
Dickenson will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame alongside nine other legendary players and three coaches at the NFF’s black-tie banquet in December at the Hilton Midtown in New York. Their accomplishments will also be housed permanently in Atlanta at the Chick-Fil-A College Football Hall of Fame.
The class of 2018 includes legendary players Trevor Cobb – RB, Rice (1989-92), Kerry Collins – QB, Penn State (1991-94), Dave Dickenson – QB, Montana (1992-95), Dana Howard – LB, Illinois (1991-94), Calvin Johnson – WR, Georgia Tech (2004-06), Paul Palmer – RB, Temple (1983-86), Ed Reed – DB, Miami [Fla.] (1998-2001), Matt Stinchcomb – OT, Georgia (1995-98), Aaron Taylor – C/OG, Nebraska (1994-97), Charles Woodson – DB, Michigan (1995-97).
Coaches joining the Hall of Fame include Frank Beamer – 280-144-4 (65.9%); Murray State (1981-86), Virginia Tech (1987-2015), Mack Brown – 244-122-1 (66.6%); Appalachian State (1983), Tulane (1985-87), North Carolina (1988-97), Texas (1998-2013), Mel Tjeerdsma – 242-82-4 (74.4%); Austin College [Texas] (1984-93), Northwest Missouri State (1994-2010).
The inductees were selected from a national ballot of 75 All-America players and six elite coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and 98 players and 31 coaches from the divisional ranks.
Dickenson apparel available now at the following retailers
The M Store
The Bookstore at the University of Montana
Universal Athletic and GoGriz.com
Bob Ward & Son’s
Scheel’s of Billings and Great Falls
Fanatics online