2011 Montana Grizzlies football team

The 2011 Montana Grizzlies football team represented the University of Montana in the 2011 NCAA Division I FCS football season. were led by second-year head coach Robin Pflugrad and played their home games at Washington–Grizzly Stadium. They are a member of the Big Sky Conference.

2011 Montana Grizzlies football
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Ranking
Sports NetworkNo. 5
FCS CoachesNo. 5
Record6–2* (5–1* Big Sky)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJonathan Smith
Defensive coordinatorMike Breske
Home stadiumWashington–Grizzly Stadium
Seasons
← 2010
2012 →
2011 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 7 Montana State $^   7 1     10 3  
No. 5 Montana† ^   5 1     6 2  
Portland State   5 3     7 4  
Eastern Washington   5 3     6 5  
Weber State   5 3     5 6  
Northern Arizona   3 5     4 7  
Sacramento State   3 5     4 7  
Idaho State*   1 7     2 9  
Northern Colorado   0 8     0 11  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
  • † Montana vacated two conference wins, five total wins, their conference co-championship, and playoff participation (three games, including two of the five total wins) in 2011
    * Idaho State ineligible for FCS playoffs due to APR violations
Rankings from The Sports Network poll, using Montana's later-diminished W–L record

The team finished the regular season with an overall 9–2 record, 7–1 in Big Sky play. They then won two FCS playoff games, before being eliminated in the semifinals by Sam Houston State, thus ending their season with an overall 11–3 record.[1] On July 26, 2013, Montana was sanctioned by the NCAA, which found that "boosters provided extra benefits to players."[2] Montana vacated its last two conference games of the 2011 season (two wins), its last non-conference game of the regular season (one win), and its participation in the NCAA playoffs (two wins, semifinals loss), resulting in an official record of 6–2 overall, 5–1 in conference play.[2]

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 34:00 p.m.at Tennessee*No. 12ESPN3L 16–4294,661
September 101:05 p.m.Cal Poly*No. 15KWBMW 37–2325,855
September 1712:05 p.m.No. 10 Eastern WashingtonNo. 12
KPAXW 17–1426,066
September 247:05 p.m.at Sacramento StateNo. 10KPAXL 28–4212,751
October 11:05 p.m.Northern Colorado No. 19
  • Washington–Grizzly Stadium
  • Missoula, MT
KPAXW 55–2825,919
October 84:05 p.m.at Idaho StateNo. 16KPAXW 33–09,124
October 151:05 p.m.Portland StateNo. 14
  • Washington–Grizzly Stadium
  • Missoula, MT
KPAXW 30–2425,744
October 223:05 p.m.at Northern ArizonaNo. 12KPAXW 28–248,421
October 291:00 p.m.Weber StateNo. 11
  • Washington–Grizzly Stadium
  • Missoula, MT
KPAXW 45–10 (vacated)25,401
November 512:05 p.m.Western Oregon*No. 10
  • Washington–Grizzly Stadium
  • Missoula, MT
KWBMW 32–7 (vacated)24,984
November 1912:05 p.m.at No. 1 Montana StateNo. 7KPAXW 36–10 (vacated)20,247
December 31:00 pmNo. 15 Central Arkansas*No. 5
  • Washington–Grizzly Stadium
  • Missoula, MT (FCS Playoffs Second Round)
ESPN3W 41–14 (vacated)22,005
December 107:05 pmNo. 2 Northern Iowa*No. 5
ESPNW 48–10 (vacated)23,049
December 167:00 pmat No. 1 Sam Houston State*No. 5
ESPNL 28–3112,367

[1][3]

Regular season

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Tennessee

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1 2 3 4 Total
#12 Montana 0 7 2 7 16
Tennessee 14 14 7 7 42

Cal Poly

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1 2 3 4 Total
Cal Poly 10 7 6 0 23
#15 Montana 7 7 15 8 37

Eastern Washington

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1 2 3 4 Total
#10 Eastern Washington 0 6 0 8 14
#12 Montana 10 0 7 0 17

Sacramento State

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1 2 3 4 Total
#10 Montana 7 7 7 7 28
Sacramento State 7 14 14 7 42

Northern Colorado

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1 2 3 4 Total
Northern Colorado 7 7 0 14 28
#19 Montana 10 17 28 0 55

Idaho State

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1 2 3 4 Total
#16 Montana 10 3 10 10 33
Idaho State 0 0 0 0 0

Portland State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Portland State 6 15 3 0 24
#14 Montana 0 10 14 6 30

Northern Arizona

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1 2 3 4 Total
#12 Montana 0 14 7 7 28
Northern Arizona 14 0 0 10 24

Weber State*

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1 2 3 4 Total
Weber State 3 0 0 7 10
#11 Montana 14 24 7 0 45

Western Oregon*

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1 2 3 4 Total
Western Oregon 0 0 7 0 7
#10 Montana 6 6 10 10 32

Montana State*

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1 2 3 4 Total
#7 Montana 0 12 17 7 36
#1 Montana State 0 0 7 3 10
  • On July 26, 2013, the NCAA sanctioned Montana and forced it to vacate its last five wins of the 2011 season, Big Sky Conference co-championship and NCAA FCS playoff participation.

FCS Playoffs

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Second Round–Central Arkansas*

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1 2 3 4 Total
#15 Central Arkansas 0 0 7 7 14
#5 Montana 17 14 7 3 41

Quarterfinals–Northern Iowa*

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1 2 3 4 Total
#2 Northern Iowa 7 3 0 0 10
#5 Montana 7 21 7 13 48

Semifinals–Sam Houston State

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1 2 3 4 Total
#5 Montana 0 14 7 7 28
#1 Sam Houston State 21 7 3 0 31
  • On July 26, 2013, the NCAA sanctioned Montana and forced it to vacate its last five wins of the 2011 season, Big Sky Conference co-championship and NCAA FCS playoff participation.

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
Week
PollPre123456789101112Final
The Sports Network12151210191614121110875
FCS Coaches1213119161411988775

NCAA investigation and sanctions

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In 2013, the NCAA investigated the University of Montana for violations of regulations concerning gifts to student athletes. On July 26, 2013, the NCAA announced its finding that the university had insufficiently monitored its football program, enabling boosters to provide gifts and services to players against NCAA regulations.[4]

Much of the investigation centered on events surrounding the arrests of two Montana football players, cornerback Trumaine Johnson and backup quarterback Gerald Kemp, in October 2011. The NCAA found that boosters provided the players with bail and free legal counsel, in violation of NCAA rules. Several university personnel, including then-coach Robin Pflugrad, then-athletics director Jim O’Day, and the university compliance officer, evidently knew details of the situation but did not report them. The investigation also found that six boosters had provided smaller benefits to players over 100 times between 2004 and 2012.[4]

Montana faced several penalties as a result of the investigation, most of which it self-imposed. Montana vacated five wins from the 2011 season in which Johnson and Kemp had played, including a win in the rivalry game against Montana State and two FCS playoff victories, vacating the school's participation in the FCS playoffs. Montana was also subjected to a probationary period and lost four scholarships in each of those years.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Montana Grizzlies, 2011 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "NCAA penalizes Montana football program". The Marshall News Messenger. Marshall, Texas. Associated Press. July 27, 2013. p. B3. Retrieved February 10, 2019 – via newspapers.com. including vacating five wins... and advancing to the FCS semifinals ... falling to Sam Houston State. However, it can no longer list those among its football accomplishments
  3. ^ "MontanaGrizzlies.com :: The original source for Montana Grizzly sports since 1999". Archived from the original on April 25, 2011. Retrieved May 11, 2011.
  4. ^ a b c Hanson, Amy Beth (July 26, 2013). "NCAA penalizes Univ. of Montana over booster perks". Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 4, 2017. Retrieved August 30, 2023.