SPOKANE, WA — Hall of Fame inductions have come fast and furious for Bill Kollar.
The Montana State football legend was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame last year, and on Saturday at the Northern Quest Casino and Resort he accepted his induction into the Big Sky Conference Hall of Fame.
"It's been awesome," Kollar said Saturday prior to the Big Sky Conference induction dinner. "It's hard to imagine getting that good of fortune back to back like that."
"It's a tremendous honor and I couldn't be more happy about it," he said.
Kollar was one of eight inductees into the Big Sky's third Hall of Fame class. Others included his old coach, late MSU legend Sonny Holland, as well as venerated Montana football coach Don Read, who passed away in January.
The other inductees were Natalie Doma (Idaho State, women's basketball), Lindsay Haupt (Sacramento State, volleyball), Orlando Lightfoot (Idaho, men's basketball), Erik Meyer (Eastern Washington, football), and coach Dick Motta (Weber State, men's basketball).
The event was held in conjunction with the annual Big Sky Kickoff media event, which runs through Monday at the Northern Quest.
Holland was destined for Big Sky induction. A defensive lineman, he was a member of the Bobcats football team from 1971-73. Kollar was named first-team All-Big Sky three years in a row and was a first-team All-American in 1973.
He won MVP honors at the 1974 Senior Bowl, becoming the first defensive player ever to do it. He was later elected to the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame. Bill Kollar
As Holland accepted his honor Saturday, both Montana's Read and MSU's Holland were inducted posthumously.
Read guided Montana to its first national championship in football in 1995 with a victory over Marshall and also led the Griz to the playoff semifinals in 1989 and 1994. Read went 10-0 against rival Montana State and never had a losing season.
He coached quarterback Dave Dickenson during his record-setting career, and Dickenson went on to win the Walter Payton Award as the top player in FCS/I-AA football in 1995.
Holland, at Butte Native who passed away in 2022, also won a national title, leading the Bobcats to the Division II crown in 1976. He was MSU's head coach from 1971-77, but was an All-American center with the Bobcats, helping the program win a national championship in 1956.
Montana coach Bobby Hauck spoke on behalf of Read and his family at the induction ceremony, saying the coach lifted the program from average to elite.
"I think the straw the stirred the drink so to speak was his positive attitude," Hauck said. "He made everyone feel special and made everyone feel like a winner. He showed it could be done at Montana, and he did something that nobody thought could be done."
Kollar said he was pleased to go into this year's Hall of Fame class alongside Holland, his old coach and mentor.
"No doubt," Kollar said of Holland. "I played for coach Holland for three years at Montana State and everybody loved the guy. He was a tremendous coach and just a tremendous person also."
"I think he'd be unbelievably proud," Kollar said.
