Minty Tidbits by Minty Coach: College Football
Depending on who you are, the last two months have been pretty sucky around Montana. Neither of our “major” college football progrums made the playoffs, we’re sorely lacking in the snow department and Donald Trump is our president in waiting. The hits just keep on coming.
With prep and college football in the rearview, there’s now a significant void in the lives of sports fans that basketball just can’t fill. Only one man and one thing can fill such a gaping hole: Minty Coach and his Minty Tidbits.
This week’s focus is college football, in honor of what was a miserable college football season for most fans in Montana (congrats on your playoff win, Montana Tech).
Everyone knows of Carroll College’s recent gridiron success, but did you know that the 1931 Fighting Saint squad went undefeated, untied and unscored upon en route to a Montana Collegiate College title? Muy impressivo.
DYK…Carroll head coach Mike Van Diest ranks third among coaches with at least ten seasons of experience with a win percentage of .878. He trails only the legendary Knute Rockne of Notre Dame (.881) and Larry Kehres of Mount Union (.929).
Speaking of Mount Union, were you aware that the Purple Raiders own the NCAA-record for consecutive wins with 55? The DIII powerhouse set that record from 2000-2003 and actually topped its own previous record of 54, which they set from 1996-1999!
From the Purple Raiders to the Oakland Raiders now. Did you know that rather than the Raiders, the Oakland-based squad was once set to be called the Señors? Those name-the-team contests can get pretty ugly.
While we’re on the subject of name changes, did you know that while they’re still known as the Tribe, The College of William and Mary’s official mascot is a griffin? Yep, the W and M logo adorned with green and yellow feathers was deemed inappropriate in 2007, but the name wasn’t. So, the school held an online mascot naming process and came up with some dandies. The Griffin eventually took the title, but options like The King and Queen, Phoenix, Pug and Wren all made the top five! Doesn’t The College of William and Mary Biting Pugs sound intimidating as hell?
Bonus tidbit: Did you know that former Buffalo Bills head coach Marv Levy and former Notre Dame head man Lou Holtz both coached the Tribe early in their careers? In fact, current Tribe/Griffin head coach Jimmye Laycock played under both Levy and Holtz and is in his 36th season at the helm.
And while we’re on Jimmye, who spells a name like that?! Laycock had to have been a nightmare in school and then his parents go ahead and add an “E” to Jimmy just to make matters worse? Good for you for overcoming that disaster, Jimmye.
And finally, although many football minds hold Coach Lou Holtz in high regard, were you aware that four of his six stops as a college football head coach ended in controversy? Investigations and/or alleged violations at Arkansas, Minnesota, Notre Dame and South Carolina eventually led to his dismissal/retirement. What the hell, Lou?
Special super bonus tidbit: Did you know that Coach Holtz made campaign donations to both Hillary Clinton (2008) and Donald Trump (2016)? Lou’s got us all on tilt!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s Minty Tidbits! We’ll see you again next week, or month, or whenever I get the motivation to do this again.
Thanks to folks at pexels.com for the cover image.
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About the Author
Minty Coach A proud native of Great Falls, Coach now resides in Missoula, however he's a Bobcat to the core.
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