Jim Sweeney (bottom left) led Montana State to the 1964 Big Sky title
Former Bobcat Coach Sweeney Passes Away in California
2/12/2013 1:39:00 PM | Football
The man who led MSU into the Big Sky era won 31 games with Cats
Montana State University and college football lost a key link to the heritage of each Friday with the passing of legendary coach Jim Sweeney.
A native Montanan whose college coaching career began at Montana State, Sweeney rose to national fame for his 19 years and 143 wins at Fresno State. He finished his career with 200 wins over 32 seasons, the first five in Bozeman. The Butte native compiled a 31-20 record with three Big Sky championships from 1963-67. Sweeney passed away in California on February 8. He was 83.
Sweeney was born on Sept. 1, 1929 in Butte, and starred in football and basketball at Butte Central while also pitching for the Butte Miners American Legion squad. After “weighing offers from several baseball teams,” according to Montana State's 1964 football media guide, Sweeney accepted a football scholarship offer at the University of Portland. A standout end for the Pilots, he graduated in 1951.
After Portland discontinued its football program in 1950 Sweeney became a coach at Columbia High School in Portland. After graduating in 1951 he returned to Butte Central as an assistant coach at his alma mater, then took over head coaching duties in 1952. In 1955 Sweeney moved to Kalispell, where he developed Flathead High's football program, eventually winning state titles in 1958 and '59. The four-time Montana prep coach of the year began his astounding college coaching career the next fall at Montana State.
Joining the Bobcat program in the midst of its dynastic period, Sweeney coached Montana State's lines under Herb Agocs. The Bobcats compiled a 16-9-2 record from 1960-62, and when Agocs left his post Bobcat Director of Athletics Gene Bourdet tabbed Sweeney to lead the football program.
Sweeney's ascension to the top spot coincided with the school's entry into the newly-minted Big Sky Conference as a charter member. Sweeney proved the perfect man for the job, leading his first Bobcat team to a 6-3 record. The next year Montana State grabbed the league title with a 7-4 record, including a 3-0 Big Sky mark. A disappointing 1965 season (3-7, 1-3), Sweeney's Bobcats won back-to-back conference championships in 1966 and '67 with 4-0 records each year behind quarterback Dennis Erickson.
Sweeney's 31 wins was third-most by a Bobcat football coach in history when he departed after the 1967 campaign, and he led MSU to a 14-4 record in Big Sky games and championships in three of that league's first five seasons. In two seasons there his teams were 15-7, winning the 1977 PCAC title with a 9-2 season, 4-0 in the conference.
In January, 1968, Sweeney departed Montana State for Washington State University. Sweeney remained in Pullman from 1968-75. His Cougar teams compiled a 26-59-1 record in eight seasons, but after his 1975 team failed to win a Pac 8 game Sweeney resigned and was quickly hired at Fresno State.
In 1978, Sweeney joined John Madden's final staff with the Oakland Raiders, then moved on to the St. Louis Cardinals, where he coached under Bud Wilkinson in 1979. Prior to the 1980 season, Sweeney returned to Fresno State, where he coached until retiring in 1996. He won 144 games at Fresno (against 74 losses and three ties), leading the Bulldogs to eight league titles. Sweeney's coaching family reached far and wide, and included strong MSU ties. Erickson, Sweeney's last signal caller in Bozeman, carved out a legendary coaching career in his own right, winning national crowns at Miami and also coaching at Arizona State, Wyoming and Idaho. Joe Tiller, who played as a senior for Sweeney, was a brilliant head coach at Wyoming and Purdue.
Fresno State honors Sweeney on Saturday at 1 pm in Bulldog Stadium, where Sweeney led FSU to football glory, and his strong ties to MSU will be prominently featured. Erickson and NFL Hall of Famer Jan Stenerud, who Sweeney plucked from the MSU ski team to launch a game-changing place-kicking career, are two of the seven scheduled speakers at the event.
A native Montanan whose college coaching career began at Montana State, Sweeney rose to national fame for his 19 years and 143 wins at Fresno State. He finished his career with 200 wins over 32 seasons, the first five in Bozeman. The Butte native compiled a 31-20 record with three Big Sky championships from 1963-67. Sweeney passed away in California on February 8. He was 83.
Sweeney was born on Sept. 1, 1929 in Butte, and starred in football and basketball at Butte Central while also pitching for the Butte Miners American Legion squad. After “weighing offers from several baseball teams,” according to Montana State's 1964 football media guide, Sweeney accepted a football scholarship offer at the University of Portland. A standout end for the Pilots, he graduated in 1951.
After Portland discontinued its football program in 1950 Sweeney became a coach at Columbia High School in Portland. After graduating in 1951 he returned to Butte Central as an assistant coach at his alma mater, then took over head coaching duties in 1952. In 1955 Sweeney moved to Kalispell, where he developed Flathead High's football program, eventually winning state titles in 1958 and '59. The four-time Montana prep coach of the year began his astounding college coaching career the next fall at Montana State.
Joining the Bobcat program in the midst of its dynastic period, Sweeney coached Montana State's lines under Herb Agocs. The Bobcats compiled a 16-9-2 record from 1960-62, and when Agocs left his post Bobcat Director of Athletics Gene Bourdet tabbed Sweeney to lead the football program.
Sweeney's ascension to the top spot coincided with the school's entry into the newly-minted Big Sky Conference as a charter member. Sweeney proved the perfect man for the job, leading his first Bobcat team to a 6-3 record. The next year Montana State grabbed the league title with a 7-4 record, including a 3-0 Big Sky mark. A disappointing 1965 season (3-7, 1-3), Sweeney's Bobcats won back-to-back conference championships in 1966 and '67 with 4-0 records each year behind quarterback Dennis Erickson.
Sweeney's 31 wins was third-most by a Bobcat football coach in history when he departed after the 1967 campaign, and he led MSU to a 14-4 record in Big Sky games and championships in three of that league's first five seasons. In two seasons there his teams were 15-7, winning the 1977 PCAC title with a 9-2 season, 4-0 in the conference.
In January, 1968, Sweeney departed Montana State for Washington State University. Sweeney remained in Pullman from 1968-75. His Cougar teams compiled a 26-59-1 record in eight seasons, but after his 1975 team failed to win a Pac 8 game Sweeney resigned and was quickly hired at Fresno State.
In 1978, Sweeney joined John Madden's final staff with the Oakland Raiders, then moved on to the St. Louis Cardinals, where he coached under Bud Wilkinson in 1979. Prior to the 1980 season, Sweeney returned to Fresno State, where he coached until retiring in 1996. He won 144 games at Fresno (against 74 losses and three ties), leading the Bulldogs to eight league titles. Sweeney's coaching family reached far and wide, and included strong MSU ties. Erickson, Sweeney's last signal caller in Bozeman, carved out a legendary coaching career in his own right, winning national crowns at Miami and also coaching at Arizona State, Wyoming and Idaho. Joe Tiller, who played as a senior for Sweeney, was a brilliant head coach at Wyoming and Purdue.
Fresno State honors Sweeney on Saturday at 1 pm in Bulldog Stadium, where Sweeney led FSU to football glory, and his strong ties to MSU will be prominently featured. Erickson and NFL Hall of Famer Jan Stenerud, who Sweeney plucked from the MSU ski team to launch a game-changing place-kicking career, are two of the seven scheduled speakers at the event.
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