Sonny Holland, Don Read and Bill Kollar enter the hall of fame as Big Sky Kickoff begins

SPOKANE, Washington — Bill Kollar has been following his Hall of Fame induction with lightning speed.

The Montana State football legend was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame last year and was inducted into the Big Sky Conference Hall of Fame last Saturday at the Northern Quest Casino and Resort.

“It’s amazing,” Kollar said Saturday before the Big Sky Conference induction dinner. “It’s hard to imagine getting that kind of fortune twice in a row.”

“It’s a huge honor and I’m extremely happy about it,” he said.

Greg Rachac / MTN Sports

Kollar was one of eight inductees into the Big Sky’s third Hall of Fame class. Others included his longtime coach, the late MSU legend Sonny Holland, and revered Montana football coach Don Read, who died in January.

The other newcomers were Natalie Doma (Idaho State, women’s basketball), Lindsay Haupt (Sacramento State, volleyball), Orlando Lightfoot (Idaho, men’s basketball), Erik Meyer (Eastern Washington, American football) and coach Dick Motta (Weber State, men’s basketball).

The event was held in conjunction with the annual Big Sky Kickoff media event, which runs through Monday at the Northern Quest.

Holland was destined for Big Sky induction. As a defensive lineman, he was a member of the Bobcats football team from 1971-73. Kollar was named first-team All-Big Sky three years in a row and was a first-team All-American in 1973.

He won the MVP award at the 1974 Senior Bowl, becoming the first defensive back to do so. He was later elected to the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame. Bill Kollar

While Holland accepted his honor on Saturday, both Read of Montana and Holland of MSU were inducted posthumously.

Greg Rachac / MTN Sports

Read led Montana to its first national football championship in 1995 with a win over Marshall and also led the Griz to the playoff semifinals in 1989 and 1994. Read went 10-0 over rival Montana State and did not have a single losing season.

He coached quarterback Dave Dickenson during his record-breaking career and Dickenson won the 1995 Walter Payton Award as the best player in FCS/I-AA football.

Holland, who died in 2022 at Butte Native, also won a national title, leading the Bobcats to a Division II crown in 1976. He was head coach at MSU from 1971 to 1977, but was an All-American center with the Bobcats and helped the program to a national championship in 1956.

Montana coach Bobby Hauck spoke on behalf of Read and his family at the dedication ceremony, saying the coach has taken the program from average to elite.

“I think it was his positive attitude that stirred the drink,” Hauck said. “He made everyone feel special and everyone felt like a winner. He showed that it could be done at Montana, and he did something that no one thought could be done.”

Kollar said he was pleased to stand alongside Holland, his longtime coach and mentor, in this year’s Hall of Fame class.

“No question about it,” Kollar said of Holland. “I played for Coach Holland for three years at Montana State and everybody loved him. He was a great coach and just a great person.”

“I think he would be incredibly proud,” Kollar said.