in Great Falls in August
Since taking over as the head coach of Montana State’s men’s basketball team, Brian Fish has made a point of tapping into his extensive Rolodex of connections, bringing in big-name guest speakers to benefit the Bobcat basketball program.
And he’s done it once again.
Fish and his former mentor and current University of Oregon head coach, Dana Altman, will be in Great Falls on August 4th, for an Evening with Bobcat Basketball.
Altman and Fish will join Bobcat basketball fans at The Do Bar from 6-9 p.m. on the 4th for basketball talk and conversation. Both coaches will interact with the fans and entertain questions throughout the night.
Fish and Altman have a long history together, beginning with their time on the staff at Marshall University, with stops at Kansas State and Creighton University, before the duo headed west to resurrect the Oregon Duck program in 2010. Altman gave Fish his first opportunity in the coaching business, tabbing him as a graduate assistant at Marshall shortly after taking the head coaching position in 1989. “You can’t control who gives you your first job,” said Bobcat men’s coach Brian Fish, who joined Altman’s first coaching staff as a graduate assistant just after finishing his own playing career with the Herd. “I was very fortunate that Coach (Altman) gave me the opportunity. It’s been a great relationship.”
Altman has experienced success at each of his stops in his 27 years of college coaching. He has garnered coach of the year accolades in four different conferences, collected nine conference tournament titles, four regular season titles, and amassed almost 600 career victories. His 2015-16 Oregon Duck team came within one win of reaching the Final Four, falling to the Oklahoma Sooners in the Elite Eight.
Altman’s blue print for success appears to be rubbing off on his former understudy, as Fish has led the Bobcats to vast improvements heading into his third season in Bozeman, with Bobcats appearing on the cusp of breaking into the upper echelon of the Big Sky Conference in 2016-17. “Coach Altman has always preached the value of continually working to get better,” he said. “You can see his willingness to grind, the commitment to working hard, in every part of his program. As we move forward I hope people will see that same quality in our program.”
Tickets for the Great Falls event, which begins with a 6 pm social, cost $50 each. The program begins at 7 pm, and the night features raffles and drawings ranging from MSU and Oregon gear and a custom-knitted Bobcat quilt to a trip to Portland for a Ducks game. For information, contact Jasmine Lipka in the Bobcat Basketball office at 406/994-4442.
Danny Waldo is a local freelance writer covering Bozeman Hawk and Montana State Bobcat athletics.