Jim O'Day, former administrator and UM AD

12/15/20 • 55 min

Griz Greats: The Silver Anniversary of the 1995 National Champions

Before Jim O'Day started working for the Grizzly Scholarship Association or as an athletic administrator at the University of Montana and before he became UM's athletic director (2005-2012), the native of Cut Bank was a newspaper man who helped spread the good word for Grizzly athletics on Montana's Hi-Line. O'Day was integral in setting up a charter flight from Great Falls to Huntington, West Virginia so hundreds of small-town Montanans could cheer on the Grizzlies in the 1995 Division I-AA national title game.

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Brian Toone

Brian Toone was a junior on the 1995 National Championship team. He graduated from Butte High where the Bulldogs made a state championship run in his senior season. From there he became a standout on the Grizzly defense, perhaps most memorably combining with fellow Butte alum Randy Riley on a sack-safety of Marshall quarterback Chad Pennington in the National Championship. That play proved to be the final margin of victory in Montana's 22-20 defeat of the Thundering Herd. Most recently, Toone has now taken over the family business - making jewelry - he owns Jewelry Design Center in Spokane Washington.

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Dave Dickenson, College Hall of Fame quarterback

Dave Dickenson is widely considered the greatest player in the history of the Big Sky Conference and the most legendary Griz of all time. The dynamo quarterback from Great Falls led UM to three straight playoff appearances, culminating with a Walter Payton Award winning senior season in 1995 that also included guiding his team to their first-ever Division I-AA national title.

The Legend of the Fall went on to have a stellar career in the Canadian Football League and is also a championship-winning coach for the Calgary Stampeders. But the College Football Hall of Famer is best remembered for his unforgettable career with the Grizzlies.