Bobcat History Lesson: Ott Romney
10/13/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nearly a century after he left Montana State, Ott Romney continues to tower over Bobcat Athletics. He finished his athletic career at Montana State after attending the University of Utah for three years, and graduated a Bobcat. Romney returned to Utah to begin his coaching career, but in the summer of 1922 returned to Bozeman to take over Montana State’s athletic program.
It’s not a stretch to say that any coach ran an entire program in the 1920s. At smaller schools, one man coached football and basketball, and often either coached or helped with other programs, such as baseball and track. As was the case with many of his peers, Romney served as Montana State’s Athletic Director, ran the physical education department, and taught.
Romney will always be remembered as the man that assembled the legendary Golden Bobcats basketball team, which won a string of Rocky Mountain Conference titles under his direction. Montana State’s third straight conference crown in 1929 coincided with the school’s only national championship in basketball. By then, Romney had returned to Utah to coach at Brigham Young University.
While his will remain associated with the Bobcat basketball program, Romney was also, at one time, a legendary football figure at Montana State. Playing as a senior quarterback, Romney was noted as one of the top players in the region, but the Bobcats didn’t play enough conference contests to qualify for the title, so Romney was considered for all-conference honors. When a blue ribbon panel was convened in 1933 to assemble Montana State’s all-time team, however, Romney was front and center. He was named the school’s all-time quarterback, by proclamation.
It was as Montana State’s football coach, though, that Romney made his greatest contributions on the gridiron. After putting a youthful team with extremely modest expectations through the paces at Karst’s Camp in the Gallatin Canyon, Romney’s team reconvened in Bozeman for the 1922 season. The Bobcats opened with wins over an independent team from Billings and a convincing 26-3 victory over Carroll College, then known as Mount Saint Charles. Montana State finished the season 4-4, considered a tremendously positive season, and setting the stage for good things.
Although Romney would save his wins over the Grizzlies for the hardwood, where he barely lost to his in-state rivals, his football teams posted notable triumphs. Montana State beat Colorado twice under Romney’s direction, and also earned wins over North Dakota State, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah State, and BYU. The Bobcats finished 1926 4-0, one win short of a Rocky Mountain Championship, and was 7-1 in that loop in the last two seasons.
When he left for BYU in 1928, the cupboard was full. It would have been impossible then to foresee that it would be nearly a quarter-century before Bobcat football reached this level of consistent excellence again. Romney left Bozeman with a 28-20-2 record, his win total just 11 fewer than the Montana Aggies had won in the school’s first two decades of football.
Romney would enjoy success at BYU, although not as he did at his alma mater. He returned to Bozeman occasionally, and remained a revered figure in Bobcat circles. Romney entered the service in World War II as a proponent of physical training, and would become one of America’s leading minds in physical education theory and teaching. He’ll always be remembered for his work on the hardwood, but during Ott Romney’s years in Bozeman, the Bobcats flourished on the gridiron.
It’s not a stretch to say that any coach ran an entire program in the 1920s. At smaller schools, one man coached football and basketball, and often either coached or helped with other programs, such as baseball and track. As was the case with many of his peers, Romney served as Montana State’s Athletic Director, ran the physical education department, and taught.
Romney will always be remembered as the man that assembled the legendary Golden Bobcats basketball team, which won a string of Rocky Mountain Conference titles under his direction. Montana State’s third straight conference crown in 1929 coincided with the school’s only national championship in basketball. By then, Romney had returned to Utah to coach at Brigham Young University.
While his will remain associated with the Bobcat basketball program, Romney was also, at one time, a legendary football figure at Montana State. Playing as a senior quarterback, Romney was noted as one of the top players in the region, but the Bobcats didn’t play enough conference contests to qualify for the title, so Romney was considered for all-conference honors. When a blue ribbon panel was convened in 1933 to assemble Montana State’s all-time team, however, Romney was front and center. He was named the school’s all-time quarterback, by proclamation.
It was as Montana State’s football coach, though, that Romney made his greatest contributions on the gridiron. After putting a youthful team with extremely modest expectations through the paces at Karst’s Camp in the Gallatin Canyon, Romney’s team reconvened in Bozeman for the 1922 season. The Bobcats opened with wins over an independent team from Billings and a convincing 26-3 victory over Carroll College, then known as Mount Saint Charles. Montana State finished the season 4-4, considered a tremendously positive season, and setting the stage for good things.
Although Romney would save his wins over the Grizzlies for the hardwood, where he barely lost to his in-state rivals, his football teams posted notable triumphs. Montana State beat Colorado twice under Romney’s direction, and also earned wins over North Dakota State, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah State, and BYU. The Bobcats finished 1926 4-0, one win short of a Rocky Mountain Championship, and was 7-1 in that loop in the last two seasons.
When he left for BYU in 1928, the cupboard was full. It would have been impossible then to foresee that it would be nearly a quarter-century before Bobcat football reached this level of consistent excellence again. Romney left Bozeman with a 28-20-2 record, his win total just 11 fewer than the Montana Aggies had won in the school’s first two decades of football.
Romney would enjoy success at BYU, although not as he did at his alma mater. He returned to Bozeman occasionally, and remained a revered figure in Bobcat circles. Romney entered the service in World War II as a proponent of physical training, and would become one of America’s leading minds in physical education theory and teaching. He’ll always be remembered for his work on the hardwood, but during Ott Romney’s years in Bozeman, the Bobcats flourished on the gridiron.
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