What Happened to Bobcat Football After 1984?

[KittieKop]

I looked at all the answers and could only conclude everyone is right! How the he!! all this could have happened, and in the order it happened could be a primer on "how to destroy yourself". Oh, and there are a few other tidbits that help flesh it out. The 1984 team was built on 80% Sonny Lubick recruits. Sonny was fired after the '81 seaon and replaced with Doug Graber, a Wisconsin assistant and fine football coach. He went 6-5 his first year, impressed all with a first game showing vs. Utah, beat EWU, Nevada, Boise State, Idaho State, Weber and NAU. Graber stayed ONE SEASON and chose to move on to assist with the Kansas City Chiefs. This, I believe, is when the landslide started. Arnold moved in as headcoach, and went 1-10 his first year. The next season Lubick's recurits came of age and the Cats won the championship. I don't mean to disrespect the coaches, including Arnold. That was a brilliant season all around. But you can look at the record from then on...until Cliff Hysell arrived.
AD Tom Parac retired after the 1984 season and Fulllerton was hired. Why Sonny Holland wasn't hired for that position astounded most of us old-timers. Anyway, Fullerton fired Arnold and hired Earle. So Earle comes to the Bobcats and brings his veer-option game, has basically a bare cupboard and needs to rebuild from the ground-up..literally. That was not his thing, and his offensive style was all wrong for the BSC. If Fullerton would have been paying more attention he would have hired the NDSU defensive co-ordinator. They gave up just 87 points (6.7 ppg) the entire 1986 season. That's exactly what NDSU did. They replaced ES with Rockey Hager, their DC and the beat went on in Fargo. Anyway, after five losing seasons he was terminated and replaced with Cliff who basically stopped the bleeding. He went 7-4 his second season, but by then only the most rabid Cat supporters were still on board. This program was about as low as it could get and that's why I tip my hat to Cliff, Mike Kramer Rob Ash and those administrators who put the Bobcats back on firm footing
PS I don't think the griz had much to do with it. They were simply an eager receipient of all the damage the Cats did to themself. Like Super Dave preferred the Bobcats coming out of high school. Earle didn't think he was D-1 college material.

This is a really good post, I pretty much agree with it entirely.

The Lubbick firing was the biggest boner of the generation, Tom Parac was responsible as far as I know. At the time Solomonson was hired he seemed like a logical choice, not many including me, could see in light of all the success at NDSU that he was a walking north dakota joke. Dave Arnolod, although a fine guy was not head coaching material and I honestly believe Rocky Gullickson was more responsible for the 1984 NC. The players were just physically dominating that year and much of it was due to his strength and conditioning coaching and maybe some whey protien, creatine and other performance enhancing supplements in the diets of some of the players.

I also agree that Cliff Hysel, Mike Kramer and Rob Ash need to be commended for their extraordinary dedication to the bobcat football program.

What's telling is that it took nearly 20 years to really fully build and recover from what took less than a decade to destroy.

[Cat Grad]

Wow! I don't see a thing posted thus far about Title IX and the University of Montana graduates who sat on and controlled the Board of Regents. The Schweitzer administration did more in eight years to flip the flow of money to where it belonged...

[imacat]

Wow! I don't see a thing posted thus far about Title IX and the University of Montana graduates who sat on and controlled the Board of Regents. The Schweitzer administration did more in eight years to flip the flow of money to where it belonged...

Unfortunately our wounds were, for the most part, self inflicted.

Speaking for myself, I was excited about the hiring of Earle Solomonson. In hindsight it was a disaster.


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[RickRund]

Wow! I don't see a thing posted thus far about Title IX and the University of Montana graduates who sat on and controlled the Board of Regents. The Schweitzer administration did more in eight years to flip the flow of money to where it belonged...

Unfortunately our wounds were, for the most part, self inflicted.

Speaking for myself, I was excited about the hiring of Earle Solomonson. In hindsight it was a disaster.


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I will add that living back on the west coast was not up on all the info but was elated to know we had hired this guy from NDSU. Wow, here we go now, national power. Little did I know!!!!!