Around Montana: Ash ready to have Bobcats in pads

published on Thursday, August 9, 2007 9:48 PM MDT

By Chronicle Staff

After taking a moment to greet a couple of distinguished guests during Thursday’s football practice, new Montana State coach Rob Ash came away with a smile.

MSU President Geoff Gamble, a former college football player, and Provost David Dooley, the university’s top

academic official, spent a few minutes observing MSU's second session of fall camp in shoulder pads and helmets, and had a message for Ash.

“Like President Gamble said, athletics really is an educational process,” Ash said. “You teach skills, and you teach fundamentals of activity. You also teach concepts like teamwork and working together, there are a lot

of different concepts. That’s what building a team is all about.”

Ash cited Thursday’s practice as a case in point, the

intersection between learning and execution. “(Thursday) I saw guys getting better at their individual skills while they were learning the plays. That’s what we have to have. I’m really happy with their effort and their focus, they’ve really gone the extra mile. They know how important it is.”

The Bobcats will don full pads for the first time today.

Volleyball

GRIZ THIRD, MSU LAST: Montana is picked to finish third and Montana State last by the Big Sky Conference coaches, the league office announced.

Sacramento State, the defending regular-season and postseason tournament champion, was a unanimous choice to win the league. The Hornets are the preseason favorite for the fifth time in six years.

Montana was 9-7 and placed fourth last year, making its first Big Sky tournament since the 2000 season. The Bobcats (7-20, 3-13) finished last.

Portland State is picked for second. After Montana are Weber State, Eastern Washington, Northern Arizona, Idaho State, Northern Colorado and MSU (7-20, 3-13 BSC) with 17 points rounded out spots seven through nine in the poll.

Big Sky play starts Thursday, Sept. 13.

MSU-BILLINGS FOURTH: The Great Northwest Athletic Conference released its preseason coaches’ poll, and Montana State-Billings is picked to finish fourth in the 10-team league.

The Yellowjackets are coming off a 26-5 season in which they won the Heartland Conference regular season title, the Heartland Conference Tournament title and qualified for the NCAA Tournament.

Miscellany

GRIZ, LEARFIELD JOIN FORCES: At Missoula, the University of Montana announced that Learfield Sports has become its exclusive athletics marketing partner for stadium and arena sponsorship rights beginning this fall.

This move ushers in a new entity, known as “Grizzly Sports Properties”, to oversee certain marketing activities for Montana athletics.

Grizzly Sports Properties will oversee certain sponsorship rights, including all signage and video board advertising for Washington-Grizzly Stadium and Adams Center-Dahlberg Arena. Montana joins MSU as the only Big Sky member school whose rights are managed by Learfield Sports.

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