Given the underwhelming response to my previous thread, “Our Boosters—Who are they?”, I decided to create my own list. Understand, while I have met a couple of these people, I have no relationship with any of them; my name would mean Jack. Nor do I believe I am defaming them in any manner since any information imparted here is open source, readily available on the internet. But if I wanted to insure that we keep a DeCuire, and I needed bucks to do that, here’s where I’d look.
FORMER GRIZ IN THE NBA: Oops, bad start. Unlike football, where Kroy Biermann, Tim Hauck, Trumaine Johnson and Dan Carpenter have savored some of the incredible riches out there for today’s pro athletes, we’ve hit a goose egg when it comes to basketball. But if you can imagine the largesse a Damian Lilliard has showered on Weber State, it gives us hope for the future. Michael Oguine?
THE MONTANA COACHING TREE: Okay, so we don’t have a Lillard, but we do have several coaches who have used Montana as a springboard to great success and considerable wealth in the coaching profession. To wit:
--Mike Montgomery: Back in my days as a callow youth, I asked Montgomery, then still at Montana, if he intended to leave us. “Make me an offer!” he shot back. And boy, did they. First Stanford, then the Warriors, and finally Cal. After 18 years at Stanford, Montgomery signed a four-year, $10 million contract with Golden State. Though he was fired after two years, he finished his coaching career at Cal, where he made roughly $1.45 million per year for six years.
--Larry Krystkowiak: The ex-coach of the Bucks has, well, the other kind of bucks too. In 2015, on top of the money he made as a player and coach in the NBA, he signed a contract extension with Utah that will make him $19 million through 2022-23. He does have a lot of mouths to feed, but hopefully a residual loyalty to his Alma Mater as well.
--Wayne Tinkle: Ditto above. In 2016, Tinks signed an extension through the 2022-23 season , such that if he finishes his tenure there will have made him $13.4 million.
THE DENNIS WASHINGTON FAMILY: Nuff said! The legendary namesake of Washington Grizzly Stadium, married to our ex-Homecoming Queen, Phyllis Johnson, parlayed a small road construction company into a vast, multi-industry empire. The sons Kyle and Kevin have carried on the tradition, with their recent $7 million donation to the Champions Center. When you’ve got a yacht worth $250 million, you’re not going to be homeless anytime soon.
THE NIKE CONNECTION: Former Griz basketball stars Scott and Craig Zanon have long been associated with Nike, but the big hitter here is Eric Sprunk, a Montana native now Chief Operating Officer at Nike. Sprunk was at Price Waterhouse, the prestigious accounting firm, before joining Nike, where his most recent salary is listed at $2.9 million per year, before the exercising of stock options, worth a lot more. Doesn’t take much research to learn Sprunk loves Montana, and returns at every opportunity, especially to Flathead Lake.
JEFF AMENT: Bass guitarist and one of the founding members of Pearl Jam. Ament is an odd talent—a musician who also excelled at sports, especially basketball, where he was a high school star at Big Sandy. According to press reports, the Montana grad remains a big Griz fan, and catches games whenever he can. One somewhat spurious website lists his net worth at $70 million, but whether that’s accurate or not, he’s got some bucks in his pocket—and loves Griz basketball.
DEBORAH MCWHINNEY: The daughter of legendary Montana athlete, Dick Doyle, the NCAA discus champion in 1950, McWhinney has forged an amazing career as a wealth management specialist, first at Charles Schwab, later at Citicorp. Though I believe she is now retired, she remains a board director at numerous corporations. According to Fortune Magazine, back in 2007 she was one of the highest paid corporate women in America, with total compensation for that one year of $8.9 million. I believe she contributed to the construction of the Champions Center.
BOH DICKEY: Boh, from Helena, majored in Accounting at Montana, where he met his future wife, Marilyn (nee Brown) before embarking on a career at the accounting firm, Haskins & Sells in Seattle. Like Eric Sprunk, he used his accounting knowledge and connections as a springboard to a career at major corporations, eventually becoming President and Chief Operating Officer at Safeco, before moving on to become Chairman of Clearwater Paper Corp. He is an avid golfer and sports fan, but I have no idea of his connection to Montana or Griz athletics.
CONCLUSION: Let’s not forget that the incredible post-World War II economic boom in America has showered great wealth on many Americans— not a few of whom are Montana alums and Friends. This was evident to me last time I visited the campus, where the buildings, the athletic facilities, the landscaping and the manicured grounds would all have been an unimaginable dream in my day as a student. Let’s not cry broke. Let’s not let our best talent get away. Let’s fight for it. Believe me, the resources are there, if contacted and motivated.
FORMER GRIZ IN THE NBA: Oops, bad start. Unlike football, where Kroy Biermann, Tim Hauck, Trumaine Johnson and Dan Carpenter have savored some of the incredible riches out there for today’s pro athletes, we’ve hit a goose egg when it comes to basketball. But if you can imagine the largesse a Damian Lilliard has showered on Weber State, it gives us hope for the future. Michael Oguine?
THE MONTANA COACHING TREE: Okay, so we don’t have a Lillard, but we do have several coaches who have used Montana as a springboard to great success and considerable wealth in the coaching profession. To wit:
--Mike Montgomery: Back in my days as a callow youth, I asked Montgomery, then still at Montana, if he intended to leave us. “Make me an offer!” he shot back. And boy, did they. First Stanford, then the Warriors, and finally Cal. After 18 years at Stanford, Montgomery signed a four-year, $10 million contract with Golden State. Though he was fired after two years, he finished his coaching career at Cal, where he made roughly $1.45 million per year for six years.
--Larry Krystkowiak: The ex-coach of the Bucks has, well, the other kind of bucks too. In 2015, on top of the money he made as a player and coach in the NBA, he signed a contract extension with Utah that will make him $19 million through 2022-23. He does have a lot of mouths to feed, but hopefully a residual loyalty to his Alma Mater as well.
--Wayne Tinkle: Ditto above. In 2016, Tinks signed an extension through the 2022-23 season , such that if he finishes his tenure there will have made him $13.4 million.
THE DENNIS WASHINGTON FAMILY: Nuff said! The legendary namesake of Washington Grizzly Stadium, married to our ex-Homecoming Queen, Phyllis Johnson, parlayed a small road construction company into a vast, multi-industry empire. The sons Kyle and Kevin have carried on the tradition, with their recent $7 million donation to the Champions Center. When you’ve got a yacht worth $250 million, you’re not going to be homeless anytime soon.
THE NIKE CONNECTION: Former Griz basketball stars Scott and Craig Zanon have long been associated with Nike, but the big hitter here is Eric Sprunk, a Montana native now Chief Operating Officer at Nike. Sprunk was at Price Waterhouse, the prestigious accounting firm, before joining Nike, where his most recent salary is listed at $2.9 million per year, before the exercising of stock options, worth a lot more. Doesn’t take much research to learn Sprunk loves Montana, and returns at every opportunity, especially to Flathead Lake.
JEFF AMENT: Bass guitarist and one of the founding members of Pearl Jam. Ament is an odd talent—a musician who also excelled at sports, especially basketball, where he was a high school star at Big Sandy. According to press reports, the Montana grad remains a big Griz fan, and catches games whenever he can. One somewhat spurious website lists his net worth at $70 million, but whether that’s accurate or not, he’s got some bucks in his pocket—and loves Griz basketball.
DEBORAH MCWHINNEY: The daughter of legendary Montana athlete, Dick Doyle, the NCAA discus champion in 1950, McWhinney has forged an amazing career as a wealth management specialist, first at Charles Schwab, later at Citicorp. Though I believe she is now retired, she remains a board director at numerous corporations. According to Fortune Magazine, back in 2007 she was one of the highest paid corporate women in America, with total compensation for that one year of $8.9 million. I believe she contributed to the construction of the Champions Center.
BOH DICKEY: Boh, from Helena, majored in Accounting at Montana, where he met his future wife, Marilyn (nee Brown) before embarking on a career at the accounting firm, Haskins & Sells in Seattle. Like Eric Sprunk, he used his accounting knowledge and connections as a springboard to a career at major corporations, eventually becoming President and Chief Operating Officer at Safeco, before moving on to become Chairman of Clearwater Paper Corp. He is an avid golfer and sports fan, but I have no idea of his connection to Montana or Griz athletics.
CONCLUSION: Let’s not forget that the incredible post-World War II economic boom in America has showered great wealth on many Americans— not a few of whom are Montana alums and Friends. This was evident to me last time I visited the campus, where the buildings, the athletic facilities, the landscaping and the manicured grounds would all have been an unimaginable dream in my day as a student. Let’s not cry broke. Let’s not let our best talent get away. Let’s fight for it. Believe me, the resources are there, if contacted and motivated.