(Editor's note: Montana Athletics news release.)
MISSOULA — The University of Montana athletic department announced the 2024 incoming class of the Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame on Monday, as well as this year's recipient of the Grizzly Lifetime Honors Award.
Montana football's historic tradition will be celebrated this year with three former Grizzly gridders set to be inducted alongside a Lady Griz basketball great.
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, while Lady Griz All-Big Sky guard Kelly (Pilcher) Beattie of Missoula will also be inducted to the Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame 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. 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," said director of athletics Kent Haslam.
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 in Missoula on Friday, Oct. 4, with the class of 2024 celebrated on the field during the Grizzlies' football game against Weber State on Oct. 5. Ticket information for the banquet will be announced in the near future.
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.
Last year, Grizzly soccer's founding coach Betsy Duerksen, All-American distance runner in track and cross-country Dean Erhard, NFL All-Pro Marc Mariani, and Lady Griz Big Sky MVP Jeanne McNulty-King were inducted in the class of 2023. The Dennis, Phyllis, Kyle, and Kevin Washington family received the Grizzly Lifetime Honors Award for their decades of philanthropic support to the University of Montana.
