“Grizzly Bill” Schwanke is a UM journalism grad and Missoula native. He spent 21 years doing play-by-play for Griz football and men’s basketball, winning sportscaster of the year six times, and working in Grizzly athletics for 15 years total. He’s enjoying retirement, especially the chance to spend time with his three grandsons. His wife Lynn and he have been married for 42 years. Read “Grizzly Bill’s” current blog posts below.
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By PATRICK RECORD - Griz Nation filled the Adams Center and cheered the... more
By PATRICK RECORD - It was déjà vu all over again for the Griz on Tue... more
By PATRICK RECORD - Last Tuesday, the Griz showed up to win, and win th... more
By KRISTA REDPATH PYRON - I've been reminiscing about Lady Griz memories and pre-game rituals. Routines, rituals, superstitions... call them what you want, they formulate after years of playing together.... more
By SKYLA SISCO - In my college days, I was definitely the passionate, competitive type. Upon graduating, I had the suspicion that a self-imposed penance of officiating was in order.... more
By KRISTA REDPATH PYRON - Shannon Cate is Montana-made and proud of it. And she's even more than just the most talented Lady Griz player to ever don the uniform.... more
By LINDA WEYLER - Every year, the Lady Griz team has new faces, but, in my eyes, the honor of being a Lady Griz is forever.... more
ENTER TO WIN! MakeItMissoula.com Final Four Bracket Contest. Join us for ways to make March Madness more fun. Ongoing contests will be announced here. ... more
By BILL SCHWANKE. Anybody who watched the Montana Lady Griz struggle until midway in the season to earn an NCAA Tournament berth shouldn’t have been surprised by what they saw from the team against UCLA in Sp... more
By BILL SCHWANKE. Wednesday night the Griz found out they can’t shut down at all when they’re up against easily the quickest and most athletic team they’ve probably seen this season, even on your home cou... more
By BILL SCHWANKE. Who’da thunk it? Come on now, don’t sit there and tell me that - back in December and January - when the Montana Lady Griz couldn’t even get the ball over half court in less than 20 sec... more
By BILL SCHWANKE. There was just too much for the Montana Grizzlies to overcome Wednesday night in Greeley, Colo. Thanks, BQ, for some wonderful memories, and best of luck to you down the road, wherever it take... more
By BILL SCHWANKE. It is the Easter season, after all, and the Montana Grizzlies seemingly rose from the dead in the second half Tuesday night to stun Weber State and move into Wednesday night’s championship g... more
By BILL SCHWANKE. The Montana Lady Griz must have felt like they had been there before. That’s because Saturday afternoon, just like Thursday night at Portland State, they fell behind 9-0 at the beginning of... more
By BILL SCHWANKE. It was another one that got away from the Montana Lady Griz. In fact, it got away from them twice, but they got it back after the first time.... more
By BILL SCHWANKE. The front end of my car got smooshed in Lot Z so I missed the first few half of the first half of Saturday afternoon’s Lady Griz game against Eastern Washington at Dahlberg Arena. Apparent... more
By BILL SCHWANKE. Welcome back Will Cherry, and howdy do Matthias Ward. Unfortunately for the Montana Lady Griz, at least early on, too many of the threes belonged to Portland State and too many of the telegr... more
By BILL SCHWANKE. coach Wayne Tinkle summed it up when he talked about Montana’s inability of late to perform well on the road. With the final two league games at Portland State and Eastern Washington next ... more
By BILL SCHWANKE. You wouldn’t think there would be much to write about in a 71-52 basketball game, but actually it’s hard to know where to start.... more
By BILL SCHWANKE. If you’re into atmosphere - almost a tournament atmosphere - Dahlberg Arena was the place to be Saturday night as the Montana Grizzlies took on the Northern Colorado Bears for a share of fi... more
By BILL SCHWANKE. You’ve gotta love how the Montana Grizzlies continue to play defense right to the end, no matter who’s in the game and no matter how big the lead.... more
By BILL SCWANKE: Robin Selvig showed he still has a sense of humor Saturday afternoon after his Lady Griz pummeled Northern Arizona 84-61 at Dahlberg Arena. Tinkle’s post-game comments were right on point. T... more
By BILL SCHWANKE. Home teams held serve Thursday night as the Montana men took on Weber State in Ogden, Utah and the Montana women took on the Wildcats in Missoula.... more
By BILL SCHWANKE. A second doubleheader in a row featuring Montana and Montana State, this time in Bozeman. And what a sweet Saturday it was for the University of Montana, albeit perhaps an unexpected one.... more
By BILL SCHWANKE. The Grizzlies, led by Will Cherry, jumped the Cats early, racing to a 20-6 lead. UM had its biggest first half margin with just under 10 minutes left, 27-10.... more
We've been inspired by "Grizzly" Bill Schwanke's latest blog post, so we want to know: What's your best Griz or Lady Griz b-ball moment? Tell us about it in the comments below now through Jan. 20 to enter th... more
By BILL SCHWANKE. The win over ISU put Montana at 14-5 overall this season, 6-1 in Big Sky play. Not bad for a team with seven new players and a couple of key ones out with injuries.... more
By BILL SCHWANKE. When I was the Voice of the Grizzlies on radio all those years I more often than not would see an official call something that seemed totally wrong or at best out of place, and would label it... more
By BILL SCHWANKE. When asked to list my top memories of Griz and Lady Griz basketball I have to confess that most of the list will come from Griz basketball because of the years I watched the men play, starting... more
By BILL SCHWANKE. All in all, a good bounce-back Saturday for both the men and women at Montana. But as they say, “There’s a long way to go.”... more
By BILL SCHWANKE. LADY GRIZ 69, NORTH DAKOTA 59. Like Utah Valley UND came to Missoula with only one win. ... more
By BILL SCHWANKE. The week was huge in terms of wins and progress for both University of Montana basketball programs. Let’s take it a game at a time in the order they were played.... more
By BILL SCHWANKE. It looked like the Lady Griz and Griz were headed for the same destination at the beginning of their games against Wyoming and Cal State-Fullerton last week. But fortunately only one team made... more
By BILL SCHWANKE. Where to begin, when it comes to blogging about Griz and Lady Griz basketball. Especially when you’re perceived by some to be an expert despite the fact that your more direct contact with Gr... more
By BILL SCHWANKE. Oregon State at Montana--one of the best basketball games I’ve ever seen in Dahlberg Arena . . . period!... more