Hall of Fame
Bolton, Pat
Pat Bolton
- Induction:
- 2010
- Class:
- 1975
It didn't last forever, but records are meant to be broken.
Late in the fall of 1975, his senior season as Montana State's kicker, Pat Bolton grabbed hold of the NCAA record for most points scored by a kicker. MSU's long-time and legendary Sports Information Director Ken Nicholson confirmed the record with the NCAA Statistics Bureau after the Bobcats 41-23 loss at Idaho, when Bolton scored five points in the penultimate game of the Bobcats' 1975 season - and of Bolton's career.
A week later, in a 31-17 win at Northern Arizona, Bolton scored six more points to raise his career total to 234 points. Air Force kicker Dave Lawson finished his career that fall with 231 career points, a record in Division I football but not enough to rest the all-division mark away from Bolton.
While the NCAA record has long slipped from his grasp, only Mark Carter (231 points from 1981-84) seriously challenged Bolton's kick scoring mark. (Jeff Muri scored 214 points, but only 200 came via the foot.)
Bolton remains first in school history in scoring via any method, and has the second-most field goals and extra points in Bobcat history. Bolton grabbed the NCAA Division II scoring record during a mid-October game at Idaho State's Minidome (as Holt Arena was then known) with one of the most spectacular games a college kicker has ever posted.
Bolton nailed all four of his field goals, including two of more than 50 yards (53, 51, 49, and 27). He also successfully converted his only extra point attempt that day, and accounted for several touchbacks. A year earlier, Bolton converted all four of his field goal attempts against Idaho State in the Dedication Game of Reno H. Sales Stadium.
A long-time football coach at Great Falls High, Bolton's son Tyler also played football for the Bobcats.
Late in the fall of 1975, his senior season as Montana State's kicker, Pat Bolton grabbed hold of the NCAA record for most points scored by a kicker. MSU's long-time and legendary Sports Information Director Ken Nicholson confirmed the record with the NCAA Statistics Bureau after the Bobcats 41-23 loss at Idaho, when Bolton scored five points in the penultimate game of the Bobcats' 1975 season - and of Bolton's career.
A week later, in a 31-17 win at Northern Arizona, Bolton scored six more points to raise his career total to 234 points. Air Force kicker Dave Lawson finished his career that fall with 231 career points, a record in Division I football but not enough to rest the all-division mark away from Bolton.
While the NCAA record has long slipped from his grasp, only Mark Carter (231 points from 1981-84) seriously challenged Bolton's kick scoring mark. (Jeff Muri scored 214 points, but only 200 came via the foot.)
Bolton remains first in school history in scoring via any method, and has the second-most field goals and extra points in Bobcat history. Bolton grabbed the NCAA Division II scoring record during a mid-October game at Idaho State's Minidome (as Holt Arena was then known) with one of the most spectacular games a college kicker has ever posted.
Bolton nailed all four of his field goals, including two of more than 50 yards (53, 51, 49, and 27). He also successfully converted his only extra point attempt that day, and accounted for several touchbacks. A year earlier, Bolton converted all four of his field goal attempts against Idaho State in the Dedication Game of Reno H. Sales Stadium.
A long-time football coach at Great Falls High, Bolton's son Tyler also played football for the Bobcats.
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