Football
Brent Vigen
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- football@msubobcats.com
- Phone:
- 406.994.5694
Rooted in fertile football soil and raised with a champion’s pedigree, Brent Vigen joined the inner circle of Bobcat coaching legends in 2025 by leading Montana State to the fourth football national championship in school history.
The process of Vigen leading MSU back to the FCS mountain top began on February 8, 2021, when he became the program’s 33rd head football coach. The success came quickly, and accelerated emphatically.
Montana State won 12 games in 2021, advancing to the FCS Championship game, and matched that win total the next season while playing in the semifinals. The Cats own 61 wins in Vigen’s five seasons, the second-highest win total by an Bobcat head coach, and by playing for three national championships this stands as the most successful five-year span in program history.
Accolades have followed the team success. Vigen and his staff earned the 2024 Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year award, and he is a three-time Big Sky Coach of the Year. He is the only MSU coach to lead the Cats to four seasons of at least 12 wins and the only Bobcat mentor to lead the program to three national championship game appearances or five post-season berths.
Vigen’s football journey began in Buxton, North Dakota, under the watchful eye of his father, Randy Vigen, an accomplished athlete and legendary head coach who earned induction into multiple halls of fame in North Dakota. Brent Vigen starred in multiple sports at Central Valley High, and played tight end for one NDSU conference championship team and three that advanced to the NCAA Division II playoffs.
Brent Vigen’s first and most influential coach was hardly his only mentor in the business, though. At North Dakota State he played for future NFL coach Bob Babich, and worked at NDSU and Wyoming for Craig Bohl. His coaching career began under Babich as a graduate assistant for three seasons (1998-2000), and as tight ends coach (2001) and quarterbacks coach (2002) for one season each. When Craig Bohl took over, Vigen coached running backs and quarterbacks for one season each, then served as passing game coordinator from 2005-08 and offensive coordinator from 2009-13 while coaching quarterbacks from 2005-13. When Bohl left for Wyoming in 2014, Vigen went along as his offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach until moving to MSU in 2021.
During his time coaching at his alma mater the Bison won four straight league titles and three national crowns. Vigen’s teams at Wyoming won one division championship and played in three bowl games, and he helped coach All-America running back Brian Hill and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
Vigen’s impact at Montana State was immediate. His 12-3 season in 2021 is the best ever by a first-year Bobcat head coach, and one season later he became the MSU coach to post consecutive double-digit win seasons. Montana State capped its unbeaten Big Sky record in 2022 by hosting ESPN College Game Day, and Vigen now has three unbeaten league seasons.
Individual accolades generally follow team success, and MSU players have reaped great rewards. Troy Andersen won the FCS ADA Defensive Player of the Year award in 2021, Tommy Mellott became MSU’s first Walter Payton Award winning in 2024 while sweeping national offensive player of the year awards, and six Bobcat student-athletes captured conference individual honors during Vigen’s tenure.
The success extends beyond the football field. Mellott won the 2023 Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award, and Grebe joined Andersen as finalists for the National Football Foundation Walter V. Campbell Award, known as the Academic Heisman. Grebe was also named one of the top two student-athletes in the FCS by the FCS ADA, and is one of six Bobcats honored as College Sports Communicators Academic All-Americas during Vigen’s tenure.
Vigen’s creativity and adaptiveness as an offensive architect have shone as MSU’s head coach. While employing three different offensive coordinators, the Bobcats have led the Big Sky Conference in rushing yards each season, in total offense twice and in scoring offense twice. The Cats led the nation in scoring offense in 2024, and in completion percentage in 2025.
Vigen and his wife Molly, a former NDSU basketball player and member of that school’s 1996 National Championship squad, have three sons - Jake and Grant, current members of the MSU football program, and Luke, a sophomore at Gallatin High.
The process of Vigen leading MSU back to the FCS mountain top began on February 8, 2021, when he became the program’s 33rd head football coach. The success came quickly, and accelerated emphatically.
Montana State won 12 games in 2021, advancing to the FCS Championship game, and matched that win total the next season while playing in the semifinals. The Cats own 61 wins in Vigen’s five seasons, the second-highest win total by an Bobcat head coach, and by playing for three national championships this stands as the most successful five-year span in program history.
Accolades have followed the team success. Vigen and his staff earned the 2024 Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year award, and he is a three-time Big Sky Coach of the Year. He is the only MSU coach to lead the Cats to four seasons of at least 12 wins and the only Bobcat mentor to lead the program to three national championship game appearances or five post-season berths.
Vigen’s football journey began in Buxton, North Dakota, under the watchful eye of his father, Randy Vigen, an accomplished athlete and legendary head coach who earned induction into multiple halls of fame in North Dakota. Brent Vigen starred in multiple sports at Central Valley High, and played tight end for one NDSU conference championship team and three that advanced to the NCAA Division II playoffs.
Brent Vigen’s first and most influential coach was hardly his only mentor in the business, though. At North Dakota State he played for future NFL coach Bob Babich, and worked at NDSU and Wyoming for Craig Bohl. His coaching career began under Babich as a graduate assistant for three seasons (1998-2000), and as tight ends coach (2001) and quarterbacks coach (2002) for one season each. When Craig Bohl took over, Vigen coached running backs and quarterbacks for one season each, then served as passing game coordinator from 2005-08 and offensive coordinator from 2009-13 while coaching quarterbacks from 2005-13. When Bohl left for Wyoming in 2014, Vigen went along as his offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach until moving to MSU in 2021.
During his time coaching at his alma mater the Bison won four straight league titles and three national crowns. Vigen’s teams at Wyoming won one division championship and played in three bowl games, and he helped coach All-America running back Brian Hill and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
Vigen’s impact at Montana State was immediate. His 12-3 season in 2021 is the best ever by a first-year Bobcat head coach, and one season later he became the MSU coach to post consecutive double-digit win seasons. Montana State capped its unbeaten Big Sky record in 2022 by hosting ESPN College Game Day, and Vigen now has three unbeaten league seasons.
Individual accolades generally follow team success, and MSU players have reaped great rewards. Troy Andersen won the FCS ADA Defensive Player of the Year award in 2021, Tommy Mellott became MSU’s first Walter Payton Award winning in 2024 while sweeping national offensive player of the year awards, and six Bobcat student-athletes captured conference individual honors during Vigen’s tenure.
The success extends beyond the football field. Mellott won the 2023 Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award, and Grebe joined Andersen as finalists for the National Football Foundation Walter V. Campbell Award, known as the Academic Heisman. Grebe was also named one of the top two student-athletes in the FCS by the FCS ADA, and is one of six Bobcats honored as College Sports Communicators Academic All-Americas during Vigen’s tenure.
Vigen’s creativity and adaptiveness as an offensive architect have shone as MSU’s head coach. While employing three different offensive coordinators, the Bobcats have led the Big Sky Conference in rushing yards each season, in total offense twice and in scoring offense twice. The Cats led the nation in scoring offense in 2024, and in completion percentage in 2025.
Vigen and his wife Molly, a former NDSU basketball player and member of that school’s 1996 National Championship squad, have three sons - Jake and Grant, current members of the MSU football program, and Luke, a sophomore at Gallatin High.
Thursday, July 31
Monday, May 19
Wednesday, May 03
Wednesday, May 03
