Bobby Hauck became the 37th head football coach at the University of Montana on Nov. 30, 2017. He was formally re-introduced to Griz nation a day later on December 1, 2017, in a press conference at the Washington-Grizzly Stadium Club.
2023 will be his seventeenth year as a college football head coach, his 12th overall year at Montana, and the fifth year of his second stint as Grizzly head coach.
In 2018 Hauck became the winningest coach in Montana history, surpassing the great Don Read with 86 wins in eight seasons.
In 2023 he also became the winningest coach in Big Sky Conference history, surpassing former NAU head coach and longtime Montana assistant Jerome Souers' career total of 123 with the win over Sacramento State. He's now closing in Souers' other record of 85 wins in Big Sky play.
A long history of success in the league, Hauck is also the fastest coach in Big Sky history to reach the 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80-win plateaus.
In his first tenure at UM from 2003-2009 Hauck won more games than any other coach in FCS football, led the Grizzlies to three national championship appearances, and won seven-straight Big Sky Conference championships.
In his first stint at UM, Hauck’s Grizzlies outscored their opponents 3,079-1,795 in his 97-game tenure. He also coached 37 first-team All-Big Sky selections. His 82 percent winning average was the highest in the FCS at the time, and he led UM to three perfect seasons in Big Sky play with a 47-6 league record, winning at least a share of the Big Sky title in each of his seven seasons.
He is a four-time Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year and a three-time AFCA FCS Region 5 Coach of the Year, earning the honor in 2006, 2009, and 2023. He is also a two-time finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year award, once 2009 and the second in 2023.
Under Hauck, the Grizzlies have also excelled in the classroom. From 2003-2009, Montana placed 104 football players on Academic All-Big Sky teams, the most, or second most in the league each year. In each of those seasons, football student-athletes also graduated at a higher rate than their campus counterparts, including a remarkable 90 percent rate in 2005.
Since returning in 2018 Hauck's Grizzlies have posted the highest grade point averages in program history, averaging over a 3.0 each year.
The UM alum returned to his native Montana in 2017 after five seasons as the head coach at UNLV, and three seasons serving as the Associate Head Coach and Special Teams Coordinator at San Diego State.
He began his coaching career with the Grizzlies in 1988 after earning a bachelor’s degree in business and physical education at Montana in 1987.
“It is an honor and a privilege to be able to come back home to a place that is so important to me. I am grateful for the opportunity to continue the tradition of excellence at the University of Montana. I am absolutely committed to success both on and off the field. I cannot wait to see what the future holds, and look forward to being a strong advocate for the University as a whole,” said Hauck.
From 2010-2014 Hauck served as head coach and special teams coordinator at UNLV. As head coach, he led the Rebels to the Heart of Dallas Bowl in 2013 - their only winning season since 2000, only the fourth bowl game in UNLV history, and the first to be played on New Year's Day.
In 2015, Hauck accepted the role as special teams coordinator at San Diego State under legendary head coach Rocky Long. There he coached kick returner Rashaad Penny, a three-time Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year and 2017 Offensive Player of the Year - the only player in league history to win both awards in the same season. Penny also holds the NCAA record for career kick returns for a touchdown (7).
In 2022 Hauck’s special teams at Montana set more records when Malik Flowers tied Penny’s NCAA record with his seventh kickoff return for a touchdown and broke the FCS record for career kick return yards with 2,659.
Hauck’s son Robby also finished his playing career at Montana as a record breaker, setting a new UM and Big Sky record for tackles with 482, the sixth-most in FCS history.
Hometown: Missoula, Mont. (Born), Big Timber, Mont. (High School)
Alma Mater: Montana '88 (B.A. Business and Health and Physical Education), UCLA '91 (M.S. Education Administration)
Family: Wife Stacey; Daughters Alexandra, Elise, and Sydney; Son Robby
Bobby Hauck became the 37th head football coach at the University of Montana on Nov. 30, 2017. He was formally re-introduced to Griz nation a day later on December 1, 2017, in a press conference at the Washington-Grizzly Stadium Club.