By ERIC TABER
Tickets are now available for the University of Montana’s Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame and Grizzly Lifetime Honors Award banquet, slated for Friday evening on Sept. 7 at the Holiday Inn Missoula Downtown.
Grizzly football standout Matt Wells (1992-95) will be inducted into the Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame at the event, while former UM Equipment Manager Steve Hackney (1981-2010) will be the first-ever recipient of the new Grizzly Lifetime Honors Award.
A 5-7, 160-pound wide receiver/punt returner from Ashland, Ore., Wells is ranked among UM’s all-time leading receivers with 248 receptions for 3,342 yards and 23 touchdowns. He received many awards during his career as a four-year starter and scored Montana’s only two touchdowns in its 22-20 national championship win at Marshall in 1995.
Hackney, whose award was created “to pay tribute and give recognition to supporters of Grizzly athletics who are not eligible for the Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame, which includes only athletes and coaches,” was extremely popular with coaches, athletes and staff during his tenure.
The banquet begins with a social hour at 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 7:00 p.m., and then the induction and award ceremonies. Tickets are available online at GrizTix.Com and at the Adams Center Box Office for $40 per-person. Tickets must be purchased by Monday, Sept. 3, and will NOT be available at the door.
Wells and Hackney will also be recognized on Saturday, Sept. 8, at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, when the Griz football team hosts the Drake Bulldogs in a game which begins at 1:05 p.m.