Montana coach could be Grizzlies' ace in the hole

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

During a rare day off a month ago, Montana football coach Joe Glenn launched a tee shot that landed on the green and then disappeared from his view.

Joe Glenn coached Montana to the NCAA Division I-AA football title last year.

As he approached the par-3 hole, the answer was obvious to anyone within earshot.

"I hooted," said Glenn, 51. "I was going to act cool, but it was kind of exhilarating, so I let out a hoot."

Then, in front of a maintenance worker who served as an eyewitness to the ace, Glenn turned and kissed his best friend.

"She's always been there for me," Glenn said of his wife, Michele.

They grew up a mile apart in a small Nebraska town, married when they were young and are in their 30th year of a honeymoon.

They were together in 1976 when, on a whim, he was named as the 27-year-old head coach at Doane College in Crete, Nev.

Being head coach at the NAIA school meant teaching classes during the day and operating a budget with enough money to pay for one full-time assistant. Recruiting consisted of mass-mailing brochures to high schools in South Texas.

"There was a lot of plate spinning," he said. "But I loved it. It was a great learning experience."

Glenn succeeded at Doane, and then at Northern Colorado, where he was head coach from 1989 through 1999. Northern Colorado won two Division II national championships, in 1996 and 1997, and Glenn had a winning percentage of .839 in his last four seasons there.

Northern Colorado is located in Greeley, a farming and dairy community distinguished by the smell of manure.

"That's the smell of money," Glenn said. "It built our new stadium."

Glenn could have lived happily ever after in Greeley except Montana officials made him an offer he just couldn't refuse.

"I wasn't looking for a job," he said. "I wanted to stay (in Greeley) for a long, long time."

But his two children were adults, Montana played in a higher division and, well, "I accepted. I took a chance."

At Montana, Glenn is again successful, leading the Grizzlies to the NCAA Division I-AA title game last year.

Glenn also has kept the atmosphere upbeat.

"He's the most positive person I know," said offensive coordinator Billy Cockhill, who attended one of Glenn's football clinics in the early 1980s. "He wants you to work hard, but not overwork yourself."

Glenn will throw parties for his assistant coaches after scrimmages and, Cockhill said, "he'll invite us to golf at the country club. If we need something, he says, 'Go get it. We'll take it out of our budget.'"

The offices are a Lollapalooza festival. "We have heavy metal, country and rap playing," Cockhill said. "It's a great place to work."

Glenn, who has 11 siblings, remains close to his family. Last month, Glenn, his brothers and their sons went on a camping trip in Fullerton, Neb., where the Cedar and Loup rivers come together. They caught catfish and swapped stories, just like in the days when a community basketball team had seven Glenn brothers on the roster.

"We're a very close family," he said.

And, of course, he is devoted to his team.

"My wife should be canonized," he said. "Any free time, we're together. She's my best friend. We're a team."