[5] Their primary rival are the Montana Grizzlies, whom they meet in the annual Brawl of the Wild, more commonly referred to as the Cat-Griz game by MSU students, alumni and supporters.

Composed of war-hardened veterans, Clyde Carpenter and the Bobcats rolled up a 5–3–1 regular season record, impressive enough to land the team its first-ever bowl bid.

In 1956, the Bobcats, led by freshman captain and two-way (center and middle linebacker) starter Sonny Holland, won a share of the NAIA title at the Aluminum Bowl in Little Rock, Arkansas, playing to a scoreless tie with the Pumas of St. Joseph's College from Rensselaer, Indiana.

MSU is one of three Big Sky Conference schools, along with Boise State and North Dakota, to win a Camellia Bowl game.

[citation needed] Montana State won the 1976 NCAA Division II championship at the Pioneer Bowl in Wichita Falls, Texas, beating the Akron Zips 24–13.

Led by second-year head coach Dave Arnold, MSU was seeded third in the twelve-team playoffs, which meant a first-round bye and a home game in the quarterfinals, in which the Bobcats rallied from a 0–14 deficit to eliminate Arkansas State 31–14.

In the semifinals, also in Bozeman, Montana State trailed second-seeded Rhode Island 12–20 entering the fourth quarter, then scored twenty unanswered points to win 32–20.

[15] The Bobcats of head coach Tony Storti claimed a share of the 1956 NAIA title when it finished in a scoreless tie with St. Joseph's (Indiana).

MSU is one of just three schools to have repeat winners of the Buck Buchanan Award, which is given out annually by The Sports Network to the most outstanding defensive player in the Football Championship Subdivision.

The Bobcats remained in the RMAC through 1956, while the Grizzlies continued in the PCC through 1949 and joined the Skyline (aka Mountain States) Conference, which also competed in the NCAA University (large) Division, from 1951 to 1961.

Both schools entered the Big Sky Conference as charter members in 1963 with Montana holding a 42–15–2 series lead, but the Bobcats winning five of the previous seven.

In the late fall of 2011, Montana State raised funds for stadium lighting in order to extend the hours it can practice and play night games.

A native of Iowa who was raised in Bozeman, Gatton enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Service during World War I and was killed while flying for the French on November 4, 1918, 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.

In 2012 quarterback DeNarius McGhee, outside linebacker Jody Owens, and defensive end Caleb Schreibeis were selected to one or more of the various 2012 All-America first teams.

The other time it occurred was when 1984's national championship team saw defensive end Mark Fellows, punter Dirk Nelson, and offensive tackle Bill Schmidt selected.

Daly joined Bill Kollar, Les Leininger, Mark Fellows, Neal Smith, Dane Fletcher, and Caleb Schreibeis.

The Butte native joined the program in 1956, and starting at center as a true freshman, helped lead Montana State to its first national title when it tied St. Joseph's in the first NAIA championship game 0–0.

As a player, his teams never lost to rival Montana beating the Grizzlies 33–14, 22–13, 20–6, and 40–6, with Holland manning both the center and middle linebacker positions in most of those games.

After a disappointing 2–7–1 first season that included his only loss to Montana as a player or head coach, he went on to finish .500 or better in each of the next six years, and set a school record with 47 wins.

The highlight of his coaching career was the 1976 team, which won the NCAA Division II national championship with a 24–13 victory over the Akron Zips.

Erickson, flanker Ron Bain, and running back Paul Schafer led the comeback, as the Bobcats clinched a tie for the Big Sky championship—their third straight.

Schaefer scored on a short run with 8:15 to play and Erickson hit Bain for a touchdown with five minutes left cutting the lead to two at 24–22.

Scoring 20 points in the last nine minutes, Montana State won 29–24 when Schafer, who had 58 carries for 234 yards in the game, dove into the end zone with 12 seconds left.

After coming to MSU from Norway on a ski jumping scholarship, Stenerud starred on the varsity team, having a then-NCAA record 59-yard field goal against rival Montana in 1965.

He would later go on to play for the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings earning seven All-Pro and three All-AFL selections, and four trips to the Pro Bowl in his 19 seasons as a professional.

Lulay was the quarterback at MSU from 2002 to 2005 leading the Bobcats to three Big Sky Conference titles and two NCAA Division I-AA playoff appearances.

He made an immediate impact as a true-freshman, despite playing sparingly, as he recorded two sacks and blocked two kicks, leaving observers to speculate that he would have a great career.

After coming to MSU from Norway on a ski jumping scholarship, Stenerud starred on the varsity team with a then-NCAA record 59-yard field goal against rival Montana and 82 points scored as a senior in 1965.

Wilson was elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame on September 20, 1997, following a long career as an offensive lineman with the British Columbia Lions.