GREAT FALLS — The maroon and silver rolled through the Electric City on Tuesday as the Grizzly Scholarship Association's annual spring tour stopped for an annual barbecue.
Fans, boosters and supporters packed the Civic Center for an evening centered around University of Montana athletics, featuring coaches from several programs — including new head football coach Bobby Kennedy.
WATCH: GSA Spring tour rolls through Great Falls
The event is one of several stops across Montana designed to connect Griz athletics with communities around the state while also helping raise support for student-athlete scholarships.
For Kennedy, the stop in Great Falls was another opportunity to meet fans and experience the passion surrounding Griz athletics across Montana.
“It’s really fun to get out and meet Grizzly fans and to see how passionate they are and how excited they are for the upcoming season … but also how they want to support our players,” Kennedy said.
The tour serves multiple purposes for the university — part fundraiser, part fan engagement event and part thank-you tour for communities that regularly support Griz athletics.
Nate Harris, the head coach of the Lady Griz basketball program, said the statewide support remains one of the unique parts of coaching at Montana.
“Griz fans are the best,” Harris said. “They come out in droves … and we get to say hi to a lot of people. They take great care of us, so it’s a lot of fun getting out, getting across the state and really spending time with Griz fans from all over.”
The event also highlighted the importance of fundraising efforts connected to Grizzly athletics. Coaches discussed how donor support and GSA fundraising help fund scholarships, facilities and other program needs across the athletic department.
Among the coaches making the trip was new women's soccer coach Stuart Gore, who is still relatively new to Montana athletics. Gore said traveling around the state has helped him better understand the role Griz sports play in communities across Montana.
“It shows you that we don’t have pro sports. And this is pro sports,” Gore said.
The GSA spring tour continues across Montana throughout May and into June, with upcoming stops scheduled in Cut Bank, Fort Benton, Havre, Glasgow, Sidney, Billings, Helena, Butte and Ronan.
