Griz and Lady Griz Hoops

“Grizzly Bill” Schwanke is a UM journalism grad and Missoula native.  He spent 21 years doing play-by-play for Griz football and men’s basketball, winning sportscaster of the year six times, and working in Grizzly athletics for 15 years total. He’s enjoying retirement, especially the chance to spend time with his three grandsons. His wife Lynn and he have been married for 42 years.  Read “Grizzly Bill’s” current blog posts below.

Click here to see Griz and Lady Griz Hoops archive.

Photos & Multimedia: Griz Win the Big Sky Conference Championship

By PATRICK RECORD - Griz Nation filled the Adams Center and cheered the... more

Photos & Multimedia: Griz Beat EWU, Advance to Finals

By PATRICK RECORD - It was déjà vu all over again for the Griz on Tue... more

Multimedia: Griz Beat Weber, Win the Big Sky Conference

By PATRICK RECORD - Last Tuesday, the Griz showed up to win, and win th... more

Lady Griz Basketball Pre-Game Rituals

By KRISTA REDPATH PYRON - I've been reminiscing about Lady Griz memories and pre-game rituals. Routines, rituals, superstitions... call them what you want, they formulate after years of playing together.... more

Skyla Sisco Goes From Griz to Zebra

By SKYLA SISCO - In my college days, I was definitely the passionate, competitive type. Upon graduating, I had the suspicion that a self-imposed penance of officiating was in order.... more

All Things Lady Griz: Reintroducing Shannon Cate

By KRISTA REDPATH PYRON - Shannon Cate is Montana-made and proud of it. And she's even more than just the most talented Lady Griz player to ever don the uniform.... more

Lady Griz Tradition: Some Get to Wear It

By LINDA WEYLER - Every year, the Lady Griz team has new faces, but, in my eyes, the honor of being a Lady Griz is forever.... more

NCAA Final Four Contest

ENTER TO WIN! MakeItMissoula.com Final Four Bracket Contest. Join us for ways to make March Madness more fun. Ongoing contests will be announced here. ... more

Lady Griz Did Montana, Big Sky Conference, Proud in 55-47 Loss to UCLA

By BILL SCHWANKE. Anybody who watched the Montana Lady Griz struggle until midway in the season to earn an NCAA Tournament berth shouldn’t have been surprised by what they saw from the team against UCLA in Sp... more

Can’t Let Up Against Such a Quick Team

By BILL SCHWANKE. Wednesday night the Griz found out they can’t shut down at all when they’re up against easily the quickest and most athletic team they’ve probably seen this season, even on your home cou... more

How About Those Lady Griz?

By BILL SCHWANKE. Who’da thunk it? Come on now, don’t sit there and tell me that - back in December and January - when the Montana Lady Griz couldn’t even get the ball over half court in less than 20 sec... more

Too Many Odds Against Griz

By BILL SCHWANKE. There was just too much for the Montana Grizzlies to overcome Wednesday night in Greeley, Colo. Thanks, BQ, for some wonderful memories, and best of luck to you down the road, wherever it take... more

Early Easter for the Griz

By BILL SCHWANKE. It is the Easter season, after all, and the Montana Grizzlies seemingly rose from the dead in the second half Tuesday night to stun Weber State and move into Wednesday night’s championship g... more

Dajavu All Over Again – NOT!

By BILL SCHWANKE. The Montana Lady Griz must have felt like they had been there before. That’s because Saturday afternoon, just like Thursday night at Portland State, they fell behind 9-0 at the beginning of... more

One That Got Away

By BILL SCHWANKE. It was another one that got away from the Montana Lady Griz. In fact, it got away from them twice, but they got it back after the first time.... more

More Sour Grapes

By BILL SCHWANKE. The front end of my car got smooshed in Lot Z so I missed the first few half of the first half of Saturday afternoon’s Lady Griz game against Eastern Washington at Dahlberg Arena. Apparent... more

Griz Men One Step Closer, Lady Griz One Step Farther Away

By BILL SCHWANKE. Welcome back Will Cherry, and howdy do Matthias Ward. Unfortunately for the Montana Lady Griz, at least early on, too many of the threes belonged to Portland State and too many of the telegr... more

A Montana Road Split

By BILL SCHWANKE. coach Wayne Tinkle summed it up when he talked about Montana’s inability of late to perform well on the road. With the final two league games at Portland State and Eastern Washington next ... more

Griz Pound ISU, But Where to Begin

By BILL SCHWANKE. You wouldn’t think there would be much to write about in a 71-52 basketball game, but actually it’s hard to know where to start.... more

Griz and Lady Griz Tough on Bears

By BILL SCHWANKE. If you’re into atmosphere - almost a tournament atmosphere - Dahlberg Arena was the place to be Saturday night as the Montana Grizzlies took on the Northern Colorado Bears for a share of fi... more

Griz, Lady Griz Handle Sac State

By BILL SCHWANKE. You’ve gotta love how the Montana Grizzlies continue to play defense right to the end, no matter who’s in the game and no matter how big the lead.... more

Ditto for Saturday: Home Court Advantage Wins Again

By BILL SCWANKE: Robin Selvig showed he still has a sense of humor Saturday afternoon after his Lady Griz pummeled Northern Arizona 84-61 at Dahlberg Arena. Tinkle’s post-game comments were right on point. T... more

Home Teams Prevail Thursday Night

By BILL SCHWANKE. Home teams held serve Thursday night as the Montana men took on Weber State in Ogden, Utah and the Montana women took on the Wildcats in Missoula.... more

Make Mine a Double: Griz Women, Men Sweep Bobcats

By BILL SCHWANKE. A second doubleheader in a row featuring Montana and Montana State, this time in Bozeman. And what a sweet Saturday it was for the University of Montana, albeit perhaps an unexpected one.... more

Griz-Cat Weekend – A 50-50 Deal

By BILL SCHWANKE. The Grizzlies, led by Will Cherry, jumped the Cats early, racing to a 20-6 lead. UM had its biggest first half margin with just under 10 minutes left, 27-10.... more

Griz & Lady Griz Basketball Contest

We've been inspired by "Grizzly" Bill Schwanke's latest blog post, so we want to know: What's your best Griz or Lady Griz b-ball moment? Tell us about it in the comments below now through Jan. 20 to enter th... more

A Double Dose of “W” for UM Hoops

By BILL SCHWANKE. The win over ISU put Montana at 14-5 overall this season, 6-1 in Big Sky play. Not bad for a team with seven new players and a couple of key ones out with injuries.... more

The Mystery of Big Sky Conference Hoops

By BILL SCHWANKE. When I was the Voice of the Grizzlies on radio all those years I more often than not would see an official call something that seemed totally wrong or at best out of place, and would label it... more

My Top Griz Memories

By BILL SCHWANKE. When asked to list my top memories of Griz and Lady Griz basketball I have to confess that most of the list will come from Griz basketball because of the years I watched the men play, starting... more

Un-Bear-able Thursday, Satisfying Saturday

By BILL SCHWANKE. All in all, a good bounce-back Saturday for both the men and women at Montana. But as they say, “There’s a long way to go.”... more

A Huge Week for Griz Hoops – Part II

By BILL SCHWANKE. LADY GRIZ 69, NORTH DAKOTA 59. Like Utah Valley UND came to Missoula with only one win. ... more

A Huge Week for Griz Hoops – Part I

By BILL SCHWANKE. The week was huge in terms of wins and progress for both University of Montana basketball programs. Let’s take it a game at a time in the order they were played.... more

Same Start, Different Finish

By BILL SCHWANKE. It looked like the Lady Griz and Griz were headed for the same destination at the beginning of their games against Wyoming and Cal State-Fullerton last week. But fortunately only one team made... more

Grizzly Bill Schwanke’s Blog Tip-Off

By BILL SCHWANKE. Where to begin, when it comes to blogging about Griz and Lady Griz basketball. Especially when you’re perceived by some to be an expert despite the fact that your more direct contact with Gr... more

Griz 2-0 in Gut-Check Basketball Games

By BILL SCHWANKE. Oregon State at Montana--one of the best basketball games I’ve ever seen in Dahlberg Arena . . . period!... more