Little Brown Stein

Idaho-Montana football rivalry

Idaho Vandals Montana Grizzlies
First meeting	1903, 122 years ago Idaho, 28–0
Latest meeting	October 14, 2023 #10 Montana 23, #3 Idaho 21
Next meeting	September 25, 2025 in Missoula
Statistics
Meetings total	89
All-time series	Idaho leads, 56–31–2 (.640)
Largest victory	Idaho, 46–0  (1945)
Longest win streak	Idaho, 8, (1951–1959)
Current win streak	Montana, 1, (2023)

200km
124miles

Montana

Idaho

   

Locations of Idaho and Montana

The Little Brown Stein is a rivalry trophy awarded to the winner of the college football game between the University of Idaho Vandals and the University of Montana Grizzlies, both members of the Big Sky Conference. The trophy is, as the name implies, a large stein mug with the results of all the games between the two painted on. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

The game was not played for fourteen seasons (2004–2017), and Montana retained the trophy. ^{[5] [6]} The series resumed in 2018, when Idaho rejoined the Big Sky for football.

History

Idaho and Montana first met in football 122 years ago in 1903 and have played 88 times; the stein was introduced 87 years ago in  1938 at the 25th meeting. ^{[1] [2] [3]} Idaho has dominated the overall series at 56–31–2 (.640), ^[7] which also includes two Division I-AA playoff wins at home in the 1980s. Montana has had the upper hand since 1991, winning twelve of the last fifteen (.800). While Idaho was in Division I-A (FBS), from 1996 through 2017, the teams met only five times, with Montana winning the last four. ^{[5] [6] [8]}

The schools are about two hundred miles (320 km) apart; Moscow and Missoula are on opposite sides of the lower Idaho panhandle, separated by the Bitterroot Mountains over Lolo Pass (U.S. Route 12).

Idaho hosted the game in southern Idaho at Boise in 1961, ^{[9] [10]} and in nearby Pullman, Washington, in 1970 and 2000.

Conferences

Both were members of the old Pacific Coast Conference (the forerunner of today's Pac-12); ^[11] Montana departed after the 1949 season, and the PCC disbanded in the summer of 1959. In most years, the loser of the game was last in the PCC standings. Montana was in the Skyline Conference from 1951 through the 1961 season.

The universities were two of the six charter members of the Big Sky Conference in 1963, ^{[12] [13]} (although Idaho remained an independent in football until 1965) and their final season as conference opponents was in 1995. While Montana has been in the Big Sky since its inception, Idaho changed its conference affiliation multiple times from 1995 to 2018:

• Idaho moved to the Big West for all sports in 1996, returning to Division I-A after 18 years in I-AA.
• After the 2000 season, the Big West dropped football. Idaho became a football-only member of the Sun Belt Conference in 2001 while remaining a full Big West member.
• Idaho joined the WAC for all sports in 2005 as part of a major NCAA conference realignment.
• After the WAC experienced a near-complete membership turnover in the early 2010s, it dropped football after the 2012 season. Idaho football was an FBS independent for one season in 2013.
• Idaho returned to the Big Sky in 2014 except for football, which rejoined the Sun Belt.
• Idaho dropped back to FCS in 2018 and resumed football membership in the Big Sky. ^{[7] [14]}

Results

Idaho victories

Montana victories

Tie games

No. Date Location Winner Score 1 1903 Moscow, ID Idaho 28–0 2 October 17, 1914 Moscow, ID Tie 0–0 3 October 2, 1915 Missoula, MT Montana 15–3 4 November 18, 1916 Moscow, ID Montana 20–13 5 November 29, 1917 Missoula, MT Idaho 14–3 6 November 8, 1919 Moscow, ID Idaho 7–0 7 November 20, 1920 Missoula, MT Idaho 20–7 8 November 5, 1921 Moscow, ID Idaho 35–7 9 November 30, 1922 Missoula, MT Idaho 39–0 10 October 12, 1923 Moscow, ID Idaho 40–0 11 October 11, 1924 Missoula, MT Idaho 41–13 12 November 7, 1925 Moscow, ID Montana 20–14 13 October 9, 1926 Missoula, MT Idaho 27–12 14 October 22, 1927 Moscow, ID Idaho 42–6 15 November 17, 1928 Missoula, MT Idaho 21–7 16 October 12, 1929 Moscow, ID Idaho 19–0 17 November 22, 1930 Missoula, MT Montana 12–6 18 October 10, 1931 Moscow, ID Idaho 21–19 19 October 15, 1932 Missoula, MT Idaho 19–6 20 October 28, 1933 Moscow, ID Idaho 12–6 21 October 27, 1934 Missoula, MT Idaho 13–6 22 October 26, 1935 Moscow, ID Idaho 14–7 23 November 14, 1936 Missoula, MT Montana 16–0 24 November 20, 1937 Moscow, ID Idaho 6–0 25 October 29, 1938 Missoula, MT Idaho 19–6 26 October 28, 1939 Moscow, ID Montana 13–0 27 November 9, 1940 Missoula, MT Montana 28–18 28 November 15, 1941 Moscow, ID Montana 16–0 29 October 31, 1942 Missoula, MT Idaho 21–0 30 October 20, 1945 Moscow, ID Idaho 46–0 31 November 2, 1946 Missoula, MT Montana 19–0 32 November 7, 1947 Moscow, ID Montana 21–0 33 October 23, 1948 Moscow, ID Idaho 39–0 34 October 22, 1949 Missoula, MT Idaho 47–19 35 September 30, 1950 Moscow, ID Montana 28–27 36 October 13, 1951 Missoula, MT Idaho 12–9 37 November 8, 1952 Moscow, ID Idaho 27–0 38 October 3, 1953 Missoula, MT Idaho 20–12 39 November 19, 1955 Moscow, ID Idaho 31–0 40 November 22, 1956 Missoula, MT Idaho 14–0 41 November 2, 1957 Moscow, ID Idaho 31–13 42 November 8, 1958 Missoula, MT Idaho 14–6 43 November 21, 1959 Moscow, ID Idaho 9–6 44 October 1, 1960 Missoula, MT Montana 18–14 45 November 18, 1961 Boise, ID Idaho 16–14 46 October 6, 1962 Missoula, MT Montana 22–16 No. Date Location Winner Score 47 October 23, 1965 Missoula, MT Idaho 35–7 48 November 12, 1966 Moscow, ID Idaho 40–6 49 October 14, 1967 Missoula, MT Idaho 19–14 50 October 12, 1968 Moscow, ID Idaho 56–45 51 October 11, 1969 Missoula, MT Montana 34–9 52 October 10, 1970 Pullman, WA Montana 44–26 53 October 2, 1971 Missoula, MT Idaho 21–12 54 November 11, 1972 Moscow, ID Idaho 31–17 55 November 3, 1973 Missoula, MT Idaho 20–7 56 October 19, 1974 Moscow, ID Tie 35–35 57 October 18, 1975 Missoula, MT Montana 14–3 58 November 13, 1976 Moscow, ID Idaho 28–19 59 October 15, 1977 Moscow, ID Idaho 31–20 60 October 14, 1978 Missoula, MT Idaho 34–30 61 October 20, 1979 Moscow, ID Idaho 20–17 62 September 27, 1980 Missoula, MT Idaho 42–0 63 October 10, 1981 Moscow, ID Montana 16–14 64 October 16, 1982 Missoula, MT Montana 40–16 65 November 27, 1982 A Moscow, ID #11 Idaho 21–7 66 October 22, 1983 Moscow, ID Idaho 45–24 67 October 27, 1984 Missoula, MT Idaho 40–39 68 October 19, 1985 Moscow, ID #4 Idaho 38–0 69 November 1, 1986 Missoula, MT Idaho 38–31 70 October 10, 1987 Moscow, ID Idaho 31–25 71 September 24, 1988 Missoula, MT #16 Montana 26–17 72 November 26, 1988 A Moscow, ID #1 Idaho 38–19 73 September 28, 1989 Moscow, ID Idaho 30–24 74 November 10, 1990 Missoula, MT #17 Idaho 35–14 75 November 16, 1991 Moscow, ID Montana 35–34 76 November 7, 1992 Missoula, MT Montana 47–29 77 November 6, 1993 Moscow, ID Montana 54–34 78 October 29, 1994 Missoula, MT Montana 45–21 79 October 21, 1995 Moscow, ID Idaho 55–43 80 November 13, 1999 Missoula, MT Idaho 33–30 81 September 9, 2000 Pullman, WA #10 Montana 45–38 82 November 24, 2001 Missoula, MT #1 Montana 33–27 83 October 5, 2002 Moscow, ID #1 Montana 38–31 84 September 27, 2003 Missoula, MT #9 Montana 41–28 85 November 10, 2018 Moscow, ID Montana 46–27 86 November 9, 2019 Missoula, MT #6 Montana 42–17 87 October 23, 2021 Moscow, ID #11 Montana 34–14 88 October 15, 2022 Missoula, MT Idaho 30–23 89 October 14, 2023 Moscow, ID #10 Montana 23–21 Series: Idaho leads 56–31–2 A Division I-AA playoff game

• Years not played: 1904–13, 1918, 1943–44, 1954, 1963–64, 1996–98, 2004–17, 2020, 2024

Coaching records

Since 1945; Idaho led the first 29 meetings (through 1942) at 20–8–1 (.707)).

Idaho

Head Coach	Team	Games	Seasons	Wins	Losses	Ties	Pct.
Babe Brown	Idaho	2	1945–46	1	1	0	.500
Dixie Howell	Idaho	4	1947–50	2	2	0	.500
Babe Curfman	Idaho	3	1951–53	3	0	0	1.000
Skip Stahley	Idaho	7	1954–61	6	1	0	.857
Dee Andros	Idaho	1	1962–64	0	1	0	.000
Steve Musseau	Idaho	3	1965–67	3	0	0	1.000
Y C McNease	Idaho	2	1968–69	1	1	0	.500
Don Robbins	Idaho	4	1970–73	3	1	0	.750
Ed Troxel	Idaho	4	1974–77	2	1	1	.625
Jerry Davitch	Idaho	4	1978–81	3	1	0	.750
Dennis Erickson (a)	Idaho	5	1982–85	4	1		.800
Keith Gilbertson	Idaho	4	1986–88	3	1		.750
John L. Smith	Idaho	6	1989–94	2	4		.333
Chris Tormey	Idaho	2	1995–99	2	0		1.000
Tom Cable	Idaho	4	2000–03	0	4		.000
Nick Holt	Idaho	0	2004–05
Dennis Erickson (b)	Idaho	0	2006
Robb Akey	Idaho	0	2007–12
Paul Petrino	Idaho	3	2013–21	0	3		.000
Jason Eck	Idaho	2	2022–23	1	1		.500
Total	Idaho	60	1945–2023	36	23	1	.608

Montana

Head Coach	Team	Games	Seasons	Wins	Losses	Ties	Pct.
George Dahlberg	Montana	1	1945	0	1	0	.000
Doug Fessenden	Montana	3	1946–48	2	1	0	.667
Ted Shipkey	Montana	3	1949–51	1	2	0	.333
Ed Chinske	Montana	2	1952–54	0	2	0	.000
Jerry Williams	Montana	3	1955–57	0	3	0	.000
Ray Jenkins	Montana	5	1958–63	2	3	0	.400
Hugh Davidson	Montana	2	1964–66	0	2	0	.000
Jack Swarthout	Montana	9	1967–75	3	5	1	.389
Gene Carlson	Montana	4	1976–79	0	4	0	.000
Larry Donovan	Montana	7	1980–85	2	5		.286
Don Read	Montana	11	1986–95	5	6		.455
Mick Dennehy	Montana	1	1996–99	0	1		.000
Joe Glenn	Montana	3	2000–02	3	0		1.000
Bobby Hauck (a)	Montana	1	2003–09	1	0		1.000
Robin Pflugrad	Montana	0	2010–11
Mick Delaney	Montana	0	2012–14
Bob Stitt	Montana	0	2015–17
Bobby Hauck (b)	Montana	5	2018–23	4	1		.800
Total	Montana	60	1945–2023	23	36	1	.392

• Last tie was in 1974 and the Big Sky enacted overtime for conference games in 1980; ^[15] all Division I games went to overtime in 1996.
• Two games in 1982 and 1988; regular season at Montana and playoff (I-AA) at Idaho: home teams won all four games
• No games in 1954, 1963, 1964, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2004–2017, 2020, 2024

See also

• List of NCAA college football rivalry games

References

1. "Vandals still seeking a win". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). October 20, 1948. p. 18.
2. Payne, Bob (October 18, 1974). "Tips riding two-game win streak". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 29.
3. "Football". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1943. p. 233.
4. "Montana tickets on sale to season ticket holders". University of Idaho Athletics. August 27, 2018. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
5. Meehan, Jim (September 28, 2003). "Idaho collapses in Montana". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C13.
6. Bauer, Doug (September 28, 2003). "Griz catch Vandals with pants down". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
7. Welsch, Jeff (April 30, 2016). "Idaho's twice-bruised ego offers cautionary tale for Griz, Cats". Billings Gazette. (Montana). Retrieved October 4, 2016.
8. "Idaho opponents: vs. Montana". CFB Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 12, 2015. Retrieved October 4, 2009.
9. "Idaho, Montana renew old football rivalry at Boise". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 18, 1961. p. 2.
10. "Vandals repel late Montana bid for 16-14 upset victory". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 19, 1961. p. 8.
11. "Montana eleven wallops Vandals". Bend Bulletin. (Oregon). United Press. November 8, 1947. p. 2.
12. Missildine, Harry (February 26, 1963). "Six western schools create Big Sky athletic conference". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 12.
13. "Big Sky is ready for league action". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). February 26, 1963. p. 13.
14. "Idaho football to Big Sky Conference". Big Sky Conference. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
15. Kasper, John (September 25, 2013). "No. 48 Big Sky Innovation". Big Sky Conference. Retrieved June 9, 2016.