Robert Doore, Dane Fletcher inspired Montana Football HOF to form mental health symposium

While Doore and Fletcher overcame their struggles, they wish they didn’t spend their youth with the “cowboys don’t cry” mindset, as Doore called it. In hindsight, they wouldn’t have waited until last year’s ceremony to open up about their demons.

Doore implores any young person battling mental health issues to reach out to somebody, whether it’s a loved one, a stranger or the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

"Don’t quit," Doore said, adding. “We all face some sort of demon. Good people face tough situations. ... How you deal with them (reveals) that character, and sometimes you can't do it alone. That's really why I think the Speak Up symposium helps us.”

Former Carroll great Dan Rambo enters MT Pro Football HOF

Former Carroll College gridder Dan Rambo was inducted into the Montana Professional Football Hall of Fame on Saturday night at the Billings Hotel & Convention Center.

Rambo, who led the nation in rushing in 1974, had tryouts with four NFL teams and three other pro clubs, prior to a 23-year administrative career in professional football.

Blue-collar Mike Person set for induction into Montana Football Hall of Fame

Mike Person is a gentle giant, but don’t tell that to the defensive lineman he mowed down while paving running lanes throughout his football career.

As the Glendive and Montana State grad gets inducted to the Montana Football Hall of Fame on Saturday evening, he credits his hometown for instilling a mental toughness to navigate the ups and downs of both football and life.

“It's a blue-collar town and you see everybody go to work no matter what the weather is," Person told MTN Sports. "If you think the weather is bad in Bozeman, go about five hours east. It's a tough land over there, but it breeds a special person."

Tuff Harris set to speak at Student Mental Health Symposium

On Saturday, the Montana Football Hall of Fame will host their first 'Speak Up Symposium' to draw attention to mental illness with a focus on high school student athletes. 

2016 Hall of Fame inductee Tuff Harris is a keynote speaker for the event at the Billings Hotel and Convention Center at 10 AM. 

Also speaking will be fellow Montana Hall of Fame inductees Robert Doore and Dane Fletcher. 

Cat-Griz Insider Podcast: Former Montana State LB Dane Fletcher talks mental health

MSU beat writer Victor Flores gives a podcast schedule update (1:49) and discusses some recent MSU and Montana Grizzly news (2:55) before playing his conversation with Fletcher, who will be speaking at Montana Football Hall of Fame's 2023 Speak Up Symposium on Mental Health.

Wolf Point native Lynn Ahrens to be inducted into Montana Pro Football Hall of Fame

During his junior year, Ahrens was beginning to catch the eye of NFL scouts, in particular Gill Brandt from the Dallas Cowboys. In 1973, Ahrens was drafted in the 12th round by the San Diego Chargers. At the time, the team wanted Ahrens as an offensive tackle, and offered a $500 signing bonus.

While in camp at San Diego, the Edmonton Eskimos called and offered him three times that amount--$1,500 to play for Edmonton and better yet, keep him at tight end. 

Ahrens was cut later that year, returning to Eastern Montana College to finish his degree. As it turns out, his true calling was teaching. He landed in Sunburst, where he spent the next three decades as a coach and a teacher. At Sunburst, Lynn coached football, girls' basketball, and even started the school's volleyball program, going on to win a state title. 

Former Grizzly, NFL player Dallas Neil to be inducted into Montana Pro Football Hall of Fame

It was his punting that caught the eye of NFL scouts in high school. He set a Bison record, averaging 42 yards per kick, and that carried over to Montana where he earned all-Big Sky honors as a punter and earned academic honors three times.

Three NFL teams showed interest in Neil. Green Bay, Denver, and the Atlanta Falcons. 

After he went undrafted in the 2000 NFL Draft, Neil was signed by Atlanta. He played six games and dealt with injury problems his rookie season. In 2001, he was released and signed to the practice squad before being re-signed and placed on the regular season roster for the 2002 season.

Canadian football legend Al Wilson set to be inducted to Montana Pro Football hall of fame

Every successful team needs one. The guy that brings the lunch pail to work every day, never seeking the limelight but making it happen for others.

Shann Schillinger welcomed as University of Mary football head coach

He’s a member of the Montana Football Hall of Fame, played for the Griz and in the NFL, has coached in the Big-10 and the Big Sky, worked for a school in the S.E.C., and on Monday he was introduced as the next head coach at the University of Mary.

“Help me welcome to the podium, our new head football coach Shann Schillinger.”

For the eighth time in school history, the University of Mary has hired a new head football coach. Shann Schillinger has seen all levels of football, but this job is a dream come true.

Butte's Colt Anderson to be inducted in Montana Pro Football Hall of Fame

Cincinnati Bengals assistant coach and Butte native Colt Anderson is being inducted into the Montana Pro Football Hall of Fame at its annual banquet on June 24.

Anderson — whose Bengals will be in the AFC championship game this weekend, one step away from the Super Bowl — was a running back and safety at Butte High School. He went on to play as a safety at the University of Montana from 2004-08. He originally joined the Grizzlies as a walk-on safety and went on to become a four-time All-Big Sky performer — three times as a safety and once as a special teams player. As a senior in 2008, he set a school record with 129 tackles.