Born in Iowa, Sales moved with his family as a youngster to Montana in 1881 and they homesteaded near Salesville (now Gallatin Gateway); he was the chief geologist for Anaconda Copper for 41 years.

On October 6, 2010, the university was granted approval by the board of regents to proceed with the planning, design and eventual construction of new endzone seating and related enhancements to Bobcat Stadium.

Some of the enhancements include new visiting team and referee locker rooms, restrooms, an 18-by-37-foot (5.5 m × 11.3 m) LED video board in the north end zone, and a new scoreboard atop the new section.

[12][13] The upgraded stadium has 17,777 seats, but capacity is routinely expanded through the use of standing room only areas and temporary bleachers in the north endzone.

[17] As part of Phase One of the masterplan, MSU constructed the Bobcat Athletic Complex, a 40,000-square-foot football operations facility that encloses the northwest end of the stadium, and hosted its grand opening on October 8, 2021.

The North End Zone renovations will be designed to integrate with and enhance the Bobcat Athletic Complex, serving to complete the bowl by connecting the East and West Sidelines.

The existing West Sideline and Press Box Tower will be completely renovated to improve fan amenities and the spectator experience.

The Tower renovations will include upgrading the concourse, concessions, restrooms, retail points, and stadium entry points, improving the second-level corporate hospitality area, third-level Stadium Club and Sky Suites, and fourth-floor Sky Suites, and completely renovating the fifth-level press box, media, and coaches’ spaces.

Born in Iowa and raised in Bozeman, Gatton enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Service during World War I and was killed in northeast France while flying for the 11th Aero Squadron on November 4, just a week before the Armistice.

The class of 1917 voted in 1920 that when the school built a new football field it should be named for Cyrus Gatton, and the request was honored ten years later.