Former Grizzlies Inducted in Hall of Fame

All-American safety Colt Anderson of Butte, All-Big Sky receiver and longtime radio analyst Scott Gurnsey of Tumwater, Washington, and All-American offensive lineman Dylan McFarland of Kalispell will represent Griz football. Lady Griz All-Big Sky guard Kelly (Pilcher) Beattie of Missoula will also be inducted at a banquet this fall.

UM’s longest serving president, George Dennison, will posthumously receive the Grizzly Lifetime Honors Award for his decades of support for Grizzly Athletics and its student-athletes.

“Once again, the Hall of Fame committee has done a great job selecting five Grizzly greats who are deserving of this honor,” UM athletic director Kent Haslam said. “Each of them made a lasting impact on not only Grizzly Athletics, but also the University of Montana. It is our honor to recognize their accomplishments.”

The Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame was founded in 1993 to pay tribute and give lasting recognition to those student-athletes, coaches, and teams who have made exceptional contributions and brought recognition, honor, and distinction to the University of Montana in the field of Intercollegiate Athletics, and who have continued to demonstrate in their lives the values imparted by their experience. Induction into the Hall of Fame represents the highest athletic honor the university can bestow.

Established in 2018, the Grizzly Lifetime Honors Award pays tribute and gives recognition to supporters of Grizzly Athletics who are not eligible for the Grizzly Hall of Fame, which includes athletes and coaches only.

The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held in the Adams Center on the University of Montana campus on Oct. 4, with the class of 2024 celebrated on the field during the Grizzlies’ football game against Weber State on Oct. 5.

With the class of 2024 included, the Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame is now comprised of 79 former UM athletes, coaches, and teams. Athletes and coaches become eligible for nomination 10 years after their careers at the University of Montana end. Dennison will become the sixth all-time recipient of the Grizzly Lifetime Honors Award.

GRIZZLY SPORTS HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2024

Another star in a long Grizzly tradition of walk-ons turned NFL-caliber athletes, Colt Anderson of Butte, America, was a two-time All-American safety and a three-time letterman at UM from 2006-2008.

He was a defensive leader on great Griz teams that went 37-5 during his career, and advanced to the 2008 national championship. He twice earned All-America honors in 2007 and 2008 and was named to six different All-America teams. He was a three-time first team All-Big Sky selection (2006, 2007, 2008), and earned Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week honors once in 2008.

In 2008 Anderson was named the winner of the Steve Carlson Team MVP Award and was a two-time winner of UM’s Tony Barbour Award given to the player who best exemplifies Griz football (2006 and 2008). He was also a two-time winner of the Golden Helmet Award for the team’s hardest hitter (2007 and 2008).

His career total of 313 tackles remains a top-10 mark in program history, and his 2008 total of 129 tackles was tied for the third-most in program history after that season and remains a top-10 total to this day.

Also a star in the classroom, Anderson was a 2008 Academic All-Big Sky selection.

After graduation, he represented Montana in the “Texas vs the Nation” all-star game before signing as a free agent with the Minnesota Vikings in 2009. He would go on to spend 9 years playing in the NFL with the Vikings, Eagles, Colts, and Bills.

Now an NFL coach, Anderson currently works as the special teams coordinator for the Tennessee Titans after three seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, where he helped them to the 2021 AFC Championship.

He also remains active in the Butte community with the “Colt Anderson Dream Big Foundation,” dedicated to “creating positive change for our children by providing resources, innovative opportunities, and experiences that will empower them to find their passion to dream big and succeed.”

Quoting Anderson: “I’m very excited and honored to be inducted into the Griz Hall of Fame. It just means a lot. I grew up in Butte, Montana, and was a big University of Montana fan. I watched Griz football greats like Dave Dickenson and Tim Hauck, and to be mentioned in the same sentence as guys like that is truly an honor and I’m very excited. I can’t put it into words, but I’m extremely honored.”

Lady Griz Basketball: 1990-1994

Missoula native and Big Sky High School alum Kelly (Pilcher) Beattie helped lead the Lady Griz to a 97-21 overall record and a 44-6 record in the Big Sky during her four-year varsity career, with just two losses inside Dahlberg Arena in that time.

Montana was extraordinarily successful during that run, advancing to the NCAA tourney three times during her career in her freshman, sophomore, and senior seasons. She helped lead the Lady Griz to some of the program’s most memorable moments, including an 85-74 win over Wisconsin in 1992 and a 77-67 win over UNLV in 1994 in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

She was a two-time first team All-Big Sky pick and a two-time all-tournament selection as well. She was voted team co-MVP (with Grizzly Sports Hall of Famer Ann (Lake) Rausch) as a senior in 1994 and was named UM’s outstanding defensive player in 1993. She also earned Big Sky Player of the Week honors three times in her career.

To this day she is ranked seventh in school history in career assists with 475 and is tied for 10th in career steals with 177. Her senior year total of 215 assists remains the second highest single season total in program history as well. Her 68 steals in 1994 tie her for 10th most in a season.

(Pilcher) Beattie had 15 assists against Boise State in 1994, a mark still tied for the school record. She also led the team in minutes played with 942 in that season.

Quoting Beattie: “When I got the call from Kent (Haslam) I was so surprised. I’m like, ‘are you kidding me?’ And he said ‘nope, nobody put me up to this.’ I was just lucky enough to have played on the most amazing teams with the most amazing teammates. For me, the team is what was so great. I’m honored and super humbled because I was just lucky to play with the people I did and to be coached by Rob. We just had some great years during that time.”

While not a Montana native, you’d be hard pressed to find someone with as much passion for the Montana Grizzlies than Scott Gurnsey.

One of the most prolific receivers in program history, Gurnsey was a first-team All-Big Sky pick in 1993 as the conference’s top wide-out. He caught 67 passes for 1,079 yards and nine touchdowns in 11 regular-season games that year, which still stands as the eighth-best season of any UM receiver. For his work, he earned UM’s Terry Dillon award for outstanding back or receiver that year.

In 1994 he was the co-recipient of the Steve Carlson Team MVP Award alongside Dave Dickenson and Shalon Baker. Known for big plays in big games, in two seasons against Montana State (1993, ’94) Gurnsey totaled 363 yards receiving, both still ranked among the top-25 games in UM history. He posted 176 receiving yards against Boise State in 1993, highlighted by a 70-yard touchdown catch – both marks that also rank among the tops in program history.

To this day he remains fifth on UM’s all-time receiving yards list with 2,574, eighth in career receptions with 167, and seventeenth in career TD catches with 17 (not including playoffs). His career average of 15.41 yards per catch is also a top-13 mark in program history.

A four-time letterman between 1991-94, Gurnsey also served as UM’s punter and averaged more than 40 yards per kick. He still holds the school record for most punts in a season with 77 in 1992.

After graduation he served as UM’s radio color analyst and pre/post-game show host for 27 years until his retirement in 2023, helping paint the picture for a generation of fans over the airwaves for some of the greatest moments in program history.

Quoting Gurnsey: “The biggest thing I can say is that it’s surreal, hard to believe, and I’m completely honored. When you open the media guide and see all the people that have been inducted before me, it’s just mind blowing and it’s hard to feel worthy to be honest. It’s a tremendous honor and could not have been done without the help of a lot of different coaches, different teammates, and different family. It’s just super special and one of the highlights of my life.”

Dylan McFarland helped pave the way for some of Montana’s greatest rushers of all-time as a three-year starter at left tackle and helped lead the Griz to the 2001 national championship and four Big Sky Conference championships.

He was a two-time All-American in 2002-2003 and was named to six different All-America teams. He was also a two-time first team All-Big Sky selection.

In 2003 he was the winner of the Steve Carlson team MVP award, and to this day remains the only offensive lineman to ever earn the honor. He was also a two-time winner of the Paul Weskamp Award for outstanding offensive lineman in 2002 and 2003, one of only eight to win the award more than once in a career.

A team captain as a senior in 2003, he was a four-year letterman on teams that compiled a record of 35-8 in three years as a starter and advanced to two national title games.

McFarland was selected in the 7th round of the 2004 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills and remained in the league for two seasons. He also spent time in NFL Europa with the Hamburg Sea Devils.

In the classroom he was a four-time Academic All-Big Sky selection and a 2003 semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, known as the “Academic Heisman.” He was also a two-time member of the FCS Athletic Directors Association Academic All-Star team.

A native of Kalispell, McFarland remains an active member of the Missoula community. He earned both his undergraduate and law degrees at the University of Montana and serves as an attorney at McFarland, Molloy, and Duerkis. He is an active GSA member, and helps underprivileged Missoula area youth attend Griz football games through his work with the GrizKidz program.

Quoting McFarland: “I was just incredibly honored to get that call from Kent (Haslam), and was excited to talk to my dad and all the guys I played with that made this possible. There have been so many great teams and great friends along the way, and I’m excited to thank them and honor them for the opportunities I got in my career at the banquet. It’s something that I never thought would happen when I set foot on the University of Montana campus all those years ago, and I’m incredibly grateful and humbled to be included with so many legends throughout UM history. It’s amazing.”

University of Montana President: 1990-2010

George Dennison (1935-2017) was the longest-serving president in the history of his alma mater, The University of Montana. Between 1990-2010, the Montana native presided over a time of explosive growth for the university and Grizzly Athletics, a period that saw UM win its first national championship in 1995, and its second in 2001.

During his tenure Montana won a total of 40 Big Sky Championships, including 15 in football and 13 in women’s basketball. He also helped start the women’s soccer program, which won three conference titles in his time and has since gone on to be one of the most successful teams in Grizzly Athletics.

Grizzly football advanced to the 1-AA/FCS national title game seven times in that period and qualified for the playoffs in 17 consecutive years while posting a 17-4 record over rival Montana State and never suffering a losing season.

Men’s basketball won a combined 10 regular season and tournament Big Sky championships in that time and saw the Griz post a win over Nevada in the first round of the NCAA tournament, to this day the last Big Sky team to win a game in the “Big Dance.”

Dennison also helped Montana build its athletic facilities to become some of the best in the FCS. During his tenure UM expanded Washington-Grizzly Stadium capacity from 12,500 to its current 25,217. He also helped administer the remodeling of the Adams Center.

In the 2006-2007 school year, UM won the Sterling Savings and Loan Presidents Cup, recognizing the most well-rounded athletic department in the conference – a first for Montana.

During his tenure, Dennison oversaw a nearly 50 percent growth in enrollment at UM and increased the campus endowment from $17.3 million to $120 million.

Quoting Rob Dennison (son): “This is a tremendous honor for our family. We’re very proud of our father, his accomplishments, and what he did for the university. We were fortunate to be a part of seeing Grizzly Athletics grow while it was happening. Montana is where he grew up, went to high school, and where he went to college for his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He got his PhD at Washington, but made his way back to Montana, his roots. He was a firm believer in a well-rounded education and keeping your mind and your body in as good a shape as you possibly could. He really believed in what the university did to help its student-athletes.”