Sonny Holland
Allyn A. "Sonny" Holland (March 22, 1938 – December 3, 2022) was an American football player and coach.[1] He was the head coach at his alma mater, Montana State University in Bozeman, from 1971 to 1977.[2][3][4] Holland led the Bobcats to two Big Sky titles (1972, 1976) and the Division II playoffs in 1976, where they won all three postseason games and were national champions.
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 22, 1938 Butte, Montana, U.S. |
| Died | December 3, 2022 (aged 84) |
| Playing career | |
| 1956–1959 | Montana State |
| Position(s) | Center |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1961 | Bozeman HS (MT) (assistant) |
| 1962–1964 | Montana State (assistant) |
| 1965–1967 | Charles M. Russel HS (MT) |
| 1968 | Washington State (assistant) |
| 1969 | Western Montana |
| 1970 | Montana State (DL) |
| 1971–1977 | Montana State |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 54–24–1 (college) |
| Tournaments | 3–0 (NCAA D-II playoffs) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1 NCAA Division II (1976) 1 Frontier (1969) 2 Big Sky (1972, 1976) | |
| Awards | |
| Montana State No. 52 retired | |
A native of Butte,[5] Holland graduated from Butte High School and was a lineman at Montana State from 1956 to 1959,[6][7] where he was a small college All-American at center.[8],
Holland was an assistant coach under Jim Sweeney at Montana State and then was head coach at Charles M. Russell High School in Great Falls for three seasons, from 1965 to 1967. He rejoined Sweeney for a year at Washington State in Pullman, then was the head coach Western Montana College in Dillon in 1969. Holland returned to Bozeman in 1970 as the Bobcats' defensive line coach under Tom Parac, then was promoted to head coach after the season.
At age 39, Holland stepped down as the Montana State head coach in November 1977,[3][4] and was succeeded by Sonny Lubick. The spring football game at Montana State is named for Holland and a bronze statue of him was unveiled at Bobcat Stadium in September 2016.[8][9]
Holland died on December 3, 2022, at the age of 84, after suffering from Parkinson's disease.[10]
Head coaching record
College
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Montana Bulldogs (Frontier Conference) (1969) | |||||||||
| 1969 | Western Montana | 7–0 | 5–0 | 1st | |||||
| Western Montana: | 7–0 | 5–0 | |||||||
| Montana State Bobcats (Big Sky Conference) (1971–1977) | |||||||||
| 1971 | Montana State | 2–7–1 | 0–5–1 | 7th | |||||
| 1972 | Montana State | 8–3 | 5–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1973 | Montana State | 7–4 | 5–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1974 | Montana State | 7–3 | 4–2 | 2nd | |||||
| 1975 | Montana State | 5–5 | 4–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1976 | Montana State | 12–1 | 6–0 | 1st | W NCAA Division II Championship | ||||
| 1977 | Montana State | 6–4 | 3–3 | 3rd | |||||
| Montana State: | 47–24–1 | 27–14–1 | |||||||
| Total: | 54–24–1 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
References
- "'Sonny' Holland joining Sweeney". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). January 10, 1968. p. 13.
- Payne, Bob (November 11, 1971). "Bobcats bother Idaho's Robbins". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 19.
- "Sonny Holland quits Montana State post". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 10, 1977. p. 15.
- "Holland resigns at Montana State". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). UPI. November 9, 1977. p. 37.
- "Deanna R. Holland (1937–2008)". Bozeman Daily Chronicle. (Montana). (obituary). November 15, 2008. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
- "Parac Signs Resignation; 'Sonny' Holland Is Montana State Coach". The Daily Inter Lake. Kalispell, Montana. Associated Press. March 19, 1971. Retrieved September 15, 2016 – via Newspapers.com
. - Lamberty, Bill (October 15, 2010). "Sonny Holland". Montana State University. Mountains & Minds (magazine). Retrieved December 20, 2016.
- Bermes, Whitney (September 23, 2016). ""The greatest Bobcat of them all": Statue honoring legendary Bobcat player, coach Sonny Holland unveiled". Bozeman Daily Chronicle. (Montana). Retrieved December 20, 2016.
- Dawson, Ted (September 23, 2016). "Sonny Holland honored with statue at Bobcat Stadium". Montana Sports. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
- Flores, Victor (December 4, 2022). "Butte, Montana State football legend Sonny Holland dead at 84". Billings Gazette. Billings, Montana. Retrieved December 4, 2022.