The University of Montana and head football coach Bobby Hauck have agreed to a new four-year contract, the school announced Friday.

In Coach Hauck's words, "I am happy to continue representing the Montana Grizzlies and the state of Montana. My family and I are committed to the future of Grizzly football. We have unfinished business here, and we need everyone to join us as we continue to work to bring championships back to Missoula."

In just the second year in his bid to return to the Grizzlies to dominance, Hauck led his alma mater back to the FCS playoffs for the first time since 2015, with Montana advancing to the quarterfinal round for the first time in nearly a decade and winning 10 games for the first time since 2013.

After returning to UM for his second term as head coach in December of 2017, Hauck has compiled a 16-9 record, adding to his 80-17 record compiled between 2003 and 2009. He became Montana's winningest coach of all-time in 2018, surpassing the legendary Don Read's career mark of 85 wins.  He is also the winningest coach in Big Sky Conference history by winning percentage and is the fastest coach in league history to reach the 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90-win plateaus.

Under Hauck, the Grizzlies have also excelled in the classroom.  In the nine years he has served as head coach (2003-09, 2018-19), Montana has placed 150 football players on Academic All-Big Sky teams, the most, or second-most in the league each year.  Since returning in 2018, Hauck's Grizzlies have posted the best team GPAs in program history, including four-straight semesters with an average GPA of 3.0 or better.

The new contract runs through January, 2024. Our thanks to UM Sports Information Director Eric Taber for the heads up. Here's to lots of great Griz football in the years to come!

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