MSU Spirit Squad members during the 2007 Gold Rush game
Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
GOLD RUSH: A Look Back at How a Beloved Bobcat Football Tradition Began
9/5/2020 10:00:00 AM | Football
From 'a little t-shirt promotion' to a long-standing tradition, Bobcat fans love the Gold Rush game
BOZEMAN, Montana – There was a lot happening as Montana State's 2007 football season approached.
The Bobcats' 35th year playing football at the intersection of 11th and Kagy arrived like none other in the program's first 110 years. Head coach Mike Kramer, who revived the MSU program with three Big Sky titles in his seven seasons and an FCS Playoff appearance in 2006, was relieved of his duties six months after the post-season win over Furman. Rob Ash was hired in June and calmly went about steadying the ship in choppy waters.
In the midst of all the uncertainty, Bobcat Athletics' first-year director of marketing Drew Ingraham hatched an idea. "It was really just a t-shirt promotion," the Bozeman native said of Montana State University's first Gold Rush Game, on the docket for the school's 2007 home opener against Dixie State. On that sunny September 15 afternoon, Bobcat Athletics and a couple of important partners began a tradition that has become ingrained in a way that no one could have imagined. The now-familiar FieldTurf playing surface, light standards, and expanded south end zone were all yet to arrive, but Ash's first home game marked the beginning of the Gold Rush.
"It began as a conversation" with Larry Aasheim of Universal Athletic and Montana State University marketing director Julie Kipfer," Ingraham said. The goal was to "engage our fans for the season opener and create a symbol to begin the new season, and it made sense for a couple of reasons. The athletic department had done some things like Paint it Blue previously, so the concept was familiar, and there are only so many days during football season in Bozeman that offer t-shirt weather. We wanted to find something to unify and energize the fan base, and it seemed like this could work."
While the Gold Rush spring from the Paint it Blue concept upon Ingraham's arrival, seeds may have been planted one year earlier. In August, 2006, a grass roots effort began in Montana State's residence halls. With the support (financially and otherwise) of MSU Director of Housing Jeff Bondy, Langford Hall Residence Director rallied support among his peers to had out nearly 3,000 t-shirts to students moving onto campus to be worn for the team's home opener.
After the Bobcats upended Colorado to open the season, great anticipation surrounded the team's home opener against Chadron State. While the old student section was dotted with gold t-shirts that day, not much else went right. NCAA Division II opponent Chadron State whipped the Cats 35-24. Still, the seeds for what would become the Gold Rush game had been planted.
Still, as the first official Gold Rush game approach, some uncertainty remained. Ingraham said that until game day, he never really knew it would be an unmitigated success. The Bobcats opened the season by putting up a fight in a loss at Texas A&M, then had to wait a week before opening at home, which offered Bobcat Athletics and its partners the chance to prepare and promote this "gown-and-town" idea. "We all really wanted it to succeed, to build another bond between the school and the community."
He credits Kipfer's persistence in pushing the idea and Universal's willingness to "help us hold the price point where it was affordable for everyone" in the promotion's instant success. "That was so important. We wanted everyone to be able to buy a t-shirt and wear it to that game.
As anticipation built for Ash's home opener, Ingraham said it also built internally. "We monitored sales and promoted it," he said. And on game day more than 14,000 gathered for a new era in Bobcat football. And nearly everyone wore gold.
Looking out onto the scene, Ingraham felt relief. And pride. "Both those things, for sure," he said from Lubbock, Texas, where he is Associate Athletics Director for Communications and Marketing. "And it's continued to evolve and grow through different administrations and as the school and football program has grown. I'm really proud that it's become something the fans cherish and that people appreciate. The current administration and Bethany Cordell (now in charge of the program's marketing efforts) really deserve credit for building on the idea and making it better every year."
Only one year later the Bobcats endured the most bizarre Gold Rush game in its history. A thunderstorm just before halftime of Montana State's easy win over Division II Adams State sent fans out of the stadium, and relegated both teams to the locker room for nearly an hour. When the game resumed, fans remained in the parking lot. Eventually the stadium re-opened, and MSU polished off the Grizzlies 59-3.
The Gold Rush has continued to evolve, with Cordell, now MSU Athletics' Associate Athletics Director for Annual Giving and Fan Development, implementing a design contest. An intern on Ingraham's staff and undergrad in the school's renowned business program in the early years of the Gold Rush, Cordell's return and commitment re-energized the tradition. "It's been so much fun to be part of the growth of the Gold Rush game," she said. "It's such a great tradition, and it's something everyone looks forward to." Ingraham said that those innovations "keep it relevant and gives ownership to the fans, and it's been a great evolution."
Future Big Sky Defensive MVP Jody Owens was a redshirt for the thunderstorm game in 2008, and played four straight Gold Rush wins. "It's just so exciting," Owens said, "everyone is energized for the new season and excited for Gold Rush. People talk about it all summer."
The 2011 home opener ushered in a new era of the Gold Rush game. Most significantly, it marked the opening of the Sonny Holland End Zone addition that raised Bobcat Stadium's capacity to 17,777. But it also initiated a new aesthetic, almost accidentally. MSU ordered pale gold jerseys during the 2010 season, and based on the arrival of the new togs hoped to debut them during the Cat-Griz game in Missoula. UM declined the request, though, and Rob Ash made a simple declaration to his team.
"Gold is for winners," he said the week of the game. "Win the game and you get the jerseys." So after freshman quarterback DeNarius McGhee and the Bobcats upended the Grizzlies to claim a share of the Big Sky Championship, MSU equipment managers distributed the jerseys to the ecstatic players.
The first official game-day appearance came on September 10, 2011, when UC Davis came to Bobcat Stadium for the Gold Rush game. The Cats put the hammer down on that day, beating a future Big Sky foe 38-14 in all-gold uniforms. That aesthetic provided some foreshadowing of a new wrinkle to the old tradition. Since 2017, the Cats have played the Gold Rush game in gold jerseys.
The backdrop of the Sonny Holland End Zone, filled with their fellow students splashed in gold, is not lost on Bobcat players. "Coming out of the tunnel and hearing the roar from the students, seeing them all in gold, it's really cool," says current Bobcat Troy Andersen. "There's nothing like it."
So today, the scheduled day of the 2020 Gold Rush game against Long Island, brings everyone associated with Bobcat football some sadness. But it should also bring some pride, some exhilaration, and some comfort, knowing that a great tradition will – one day – bring everyone together in Bobcat Stadium once again.
PAST GOLD RUSH GAMES
2019 – Montana State 38, #12 Southeast Missouri 17 (19,497)
2018 – Montana State 28, Western Illinois 23 (18,507)
2017 - #4 South Dakota State 31, Montana State 27 (19,817)
2016 – Montana State 27, Bryant 24 (18,867)
2015 – Montana State 45, Fort Lewis 14 (19,367)
2014 – Montana State 57, Black Hills State 10 (19,187)
2013 – Montana State 42, Monmouth 14 (21,007)
2012 – Montana State 33, Chadron State 6 (20,767)
2011 – Montana State 38, UC Davis (18,487)
2010 – Montana State 59, Fort Lewis 20 (14,417)
2009 – Montana State 23, Dixie State 20 (13,767)
2008 – Montana State 59, Adams State 3 (13,767)
2007 – Montana State 61, Dixie State 7 (14,217)
The Bobcats' 35th year playing football at the intersection of 11th and Kagy arrived like none other in the program's first 110 years. Head coach Mike Kramer, who revived the MSU program with three Big Sky titles in his seven seasons and an FCS Playoff appearance in 2006, was relieved of his duties six months after the post-season win over Furman. Rob Ash was hired in June and calmly went about steadying the ship in choppy waters.
In the midst of all the uncertainty, Bobcat Athletics' first-year director of marketing Drew Ingraham hatched an idea. "It was really just a t-shirt promotion," the Bozeman native said of Montana State University's first Gold Rush Game, on the docket for the school's 2007 home opener against Dixie State. On that sunny September 15 afternoon, Bobcat Athletics and a couple of important partners began a tradition that has become ingrained in a way that no one could have imagined. The now-familiar FieldTurf playing surface, light standards, and expanded south end zone were all yet to arrive, but Ash's first home game marked the beginning of the Gold Rush.
"It began as a conversation" with Larry Aasheim of Universal Athletic and Montana State University marketing director Julie Kipfer," Ingraham said. The goal was to "engage our fans for the season opener and create a symbol to begin the new season, and it made sense for a couple of reasons. The athletic department had done some things like Paint it Blue previously, so the concept was familiar, and there are only so many days during football season in Bozeman that offer t-shirt weather. We wanted to find something to unify and energize the fan base, and it seemed like this could work."
While the Gold Rush spring from the Paint it Blue concept upon Ingraham's arrival, seeds may have been planted one year earlier. In August, 2006, a grass roots effort began in Montana State's residence halls. With the support (financially and otherwise) of MSU Director of Housing Jeff Bondy, Langford Hall Residence Director rallied support among his peers to had out nearly 3,000 t-shirts to students moving onto campus to be worn for the team's home opener.
After the Bobcats upended Colorado to open the season, great anticipation surrounded the team's home opener against Chadron State. While the old student section was dotted with gold t-shirts that day, not much else went right. NCAA Division II opponent Chadron State whipped the Cats 35-24. Still, the seeds for what would become the Gold Rush game had been planted.
Still, as the first official Gold Rush game approach, some uncertainty remained. Ingraham said that until game day, he never really knew it would be an unmitigated success. The Bobcats opened the season by putting up a fight in a loss at Texas A&M, then had to wait a week before opening at home, which offered Bobcat Athletics and its partners the chance to prepare and promote this "gown-and-town" idea. "We all really wanted it to succeed, to build another bond between the school and the community."
He credits Kipfer's persistence in pushing the idea and Universal's willingness to "help us hold the price point where it was affordable for everyone" in the promotion's instant success. "That was so important. We wanted everyone to be able to buy a t-shirt and wear it to that game.
As anticipation built for Ash's home opener, Ingraham said it also built internally. "We monitored sales and promoted it," he said. And on game day more than 14,000 gathered for a new era in Bobcat football. And nearly everyone wore gold.
Looking out onto the scene, Ingraham felt relief. And pride. "Both those things, for sure," he said from Lubbock, Texas, where he is Associate Athletics Director for Communications and Marketing. "And it's continued to evolve and grow through different administrations and as the school and football program has grown. I'm really proud that it's become something the fans cherish and that people appreciate. The current administration and Bethany Cordell (now in charge of the program's marketing efforts) really deserve credit for building on the idea and making it better every year."
Only one year later the Bobcats endured the most bizarre Gold Rush game in its history. A thunderstorm just before halftime of Montana State's easy win over Division II Adams State sent fans out of the stadium, and relegated both teams to the locker room for nearly an hour. When the game resumed, fans remained in the parking lot. Eventually the stadium re-opened, and MSU polished off the Grizzlies 59-3.
The Gold Rush has continued to evolve, with Cordell, now MSU Athletics' Associate Athletics Director for Annual Giving and Fan Development, implementing a design contest. An intern on Ingraham's staff and undergrad in the school's renowned business program in the early years of the Gold Rush, Cordell's return and commitment re-energized the tradition. "It's been so much fun to be part of the growth of the Gold Rush game," she said. "It's such a great tradition, and it's something everyone looks forward to." Ingraham said that those innovations "keep it relevant and gives ownership to the fans, and it's been a great evolution."
Future Big Sky Defensive MVP Jody Owens was a redshirt for the thunderstorm game in 2008, and played four straight Gold Rush wins. "It's just so exciting," Owens said, "everyone is energized for the new season and excited for Gold Rush. People talk about it all summer."
The 2011 home opener ushered in a new era of the Gold Rush game. Most significantly, it marked the opening of the Sonny Holland End Zone addition that raised Bobcat Stadium's capacity to 17,777. But it also initiated a new aesthetic, almost accidentally. MSU ordered pale gold jerseys during the 2010 season, and based on the arrival of the new togs hoped to debut them during the Cat-Griz game in Missoula. UM declined the request, though, and Rob Ash made a simple declaration to his team.
"Gold is for winners," he said the week of the game. "Win the game and you get the jerseys." So after freshman quarterback DeNarius McGhee and the Bobcats upended the Grizzlies to claim a share of the Big Sky Championship, MSU equipment managers distributed the jerseys to the ecstatic players.
The first official game-day appearance came on September 10, 2011, when UC Davis came to Bobcat Stadium for the Gold Rush game. The Cats put the hammer down on that day, beating a future Big Sky foe 38-14 in all-gold uniforms. That aesthetic provided some foreshadowing of a new wrinkle to the old tradition. Since 2017, the Cats have played the Gold Rush game in gold jerseys.
The backdrop of the Sonny Holland End Zone, filled with their fellow students splashed in gold, is not lost on Bobcat players. "Coming out of the tunnel and hearing the roar from the students, seeing them all in gold, it's really cool," says current Bobcat Troy Andersen. "There's nothing like it."
So today, the scheduled day of the 2020 Gold Rush game against Long Island, brings everyone associated with Bobcat football some sadness. But it should also bring some pride, some exhilaration, and some comfort, knowing that a great tradition will – one day – bring everyone together in Bobcat Stadium once again.
PAST GOLD RUSH GAMES
2019 – Montana State 38, #12 Southeast Missouri 17 (19,497)
2018 – Montana State 28, Western Illinois 23 (18,507)
2017 - #4 South Dakota State 31, Montana State 27 (19,817)
2016 – Montana State 27, Bryant 24 (18,867)
2015 – Montana State 45, Fort Lewis 14 (19,367)
2014 – Montana State 57, Black Hills State 10 (19,187)
2013 – Montana State 42, Monmouth 14 (21,007)
2012 – Montana State 33, Chadron State 6 (20,767)
2011 – Montana State 38, UC Davis (18,487)
2010 – Montana State 59, Fort Lewis 20 (14,417)
2009 – Montana State 23, Dixie State 20 (13,767)
2008 – Montana State 59, Adams State 3 (13,767)
2007 – Montana State 61, Dixie State 7 (14,217)
Players Mentioned
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