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JANE SELVIG: There's a generation of women
that didn't have any opportunity to play sports.
There was no such thing.
SANDY SELVIG SULLIVAN: My oldest sister was real athletic,
and she didn't get to play basketball.
Women mostly had the option of being a nurse, a teacher or a wife.
ANITA NOVAK SELVIG: In seventh grade, I had to play boys' basketball
because we didn't have a girls' team at the time.
Women's basketball was not even thought of, probably as a sport.
COMMENTATOR: And introducing, from the University of Montana, Lady Griz, Robin Selvig...
LUCY FRANCE: Rob Selvig was a pioneer in providing opportunities
for women to participate in athletics.
Women's sports were not as prominent,
but boy, the Lady Griz were prominent.
STACEY EDWARDS: The expectations of Coach Selvig
were the same expectations that were expected of the men that were playing.
TRICIA BADER BINFORD: Looking at Robin's record,
it's like inventing something for the first time.
He did something that had not been done.
Rob reaching 865 wins is not only astounding,
it's almost unbelievable.
COLLEEN McNALLY STONE: A lot of teams underestimated us,
not even knowing where Missoula, Montana was.
They would say that, you know, that you had to look us up on the map.
JULI ECKMANN: Oftentimes, they thought we were a cheerleading squad.
No, girls' basketball team. [CHUCKLES]
You've got to understand that women's basketball in a lot of places,
you know, they'll get two or three hundred people to their games.
Now you go to Montana and play the Lady Griz
and guess what, you're playing in front of thousands,
and they're right on top of you.
KRISTA REDPATH PYRON: I was part of a tradition that took many years to build,
and the girls before me were the pioneers.
GIRL 1: I just think it's so fun and inspirational
to see these amazing and talented women playing.
GIRL 2: I, like, love their competitiveness
and how much courage they have.
GIRL I like it because you can be athletic
and you can, like, show what you're capable of.
I just love playing basketball,
and playing on Lady Griz is just my life.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
SKYLA SISCO: "Small" means different things to different people.
In eastern Montana, small can anywhere from...
two hundred people in the town to,
you know, 3,000.
I went to a one-room schoolhouse until fourth grade,
so when we're talking backwoods,
I was it.
LAURA COTE GUNDLACH: If you got detention,
you had clean up poop on the football field,
bison poop,
because it's a national park.
KRISTY LANGTON SCHLIMGEN: Typical ranching lifestyle...
Changing pipes, bucking bales, feeding cows.
Learning how to drive when you're six...
JORDAN SULLIVAN: Closest mall, four hours.
Closest Costco, four hours.
We used to go to North Dakota for Walmart and a movie.
MALIA KIPP: Sports were big. I mean, what was there to do?
We didn't have a movie theater, a mall, or anything like that.
KATIE EDWARDS: I was always playing with the farmer down the street in his sixties,
or, um,
the kid that drove 30 miles from the other town
just to play five-on-five.
SCHLIMGEN: I had a backboard that my dad pieced together out of some steel,
that hung over our garage that didn't have a garage door,
and I had a little one-by-four
for my free-throw line that I nailed into the ground.
SISCO: To be offered a scholarship at the U was just...
It's just a dream come true for a small town kid.
Just a chance.
I didn't want to play for anybody else
like, I wanted to play for the Lady Griz,
and, like, Robin Selvig.
I remember, that's just all I dreamt about.
ROBIN SELVIG: My hometown is Outlook, Montana,
population of 75.
And I had seven brothers and sisters,
so you just were real active in everything.
I grew up from the time I was little
with a box up above the door
and you're playing basketball with your brothers.
SCOTT HOLLENBECRobin came from a high school
that barely had enough males in it to field a basketball team.
There was fifty kids in our high school,
fifteen in my graduating class.
ROALD SELVIG: Sports were very, very important
in Outlook, just like they were in all the little towns.
AGNES SELVIG: Our town was just hyper about basketball.
The whole town would shut down and take off.
Everybody went to the tournaments.
ROALAfter the games, we met at the bar
and explained to the coach what he did wrong and so forth.
ROBII got recruited by the University of Montana.
And to be able to go on from little old Outlook and come to big city Missoula,
chased the station wagon down the street
when they dropped me off, I was...
homesick before they left.
My sophomore year was when Jud Heathcote came, he was tough,
I wasn't used to his coaching style.
Jud is kind of considered
the godfather of Montana basketball.
And obviously, Jud coached Magic Johnson
and won a National Championship
and had an unbelievable career.
HOLLENBECK: Jud was on him.
Judd saw his potential,
Jud saw how good he could be,
especially as a defensive player.
First of all, told me I couldn't guard anybody,
and I wasn't a good defender.
I didn't particularly like that, but I wasn't.
He should have let me take more shots
'cause I could shoot, too, but anyway...
HOLLENBECK: There was a time and a point at which I can still recall
that Jud made references to Robin playing like a girl,
and Robin exceeded the challenge
because he became an excellent defensive player.
Then he taught me the game of basketball.
HEATHCOTE: Rob, as a player, always listened to what the coaches said.
He was an ideal guy to coach.
He kind of had a charisma and a swagger about him,
even though he came from,
you know, Outlook, Montana, which is almost in Canada.
ROALD: I tried to listen to games on the radio,
and I remember one time they were playing at Weber,
and amongst the static I heard the name Selvig. [CHUCKLES]
So, uh, I stopped right there and I listened.
HEATHCOTI've always said that if he hadn't hurt his knee,
he would've played professional basketball.
I thought he was that good.
ROBIN: We lost a playoff game to go to the NCAAs.
Sitting in the locker room after that game,
it just came upon me
that basketball needed to be a part of my life
and I couldn't play anymore, so I was gonna be a basketball coach.
In 1978, when I was 25 years old,
the women's basketball job came open at the University of Montana,
and I decided to apply.
Well, it's kind of sad because I did play here
and I don't think we were aware even that the women had a team.
I was offered the job. Oh, I was excited.
I was a little nervous, because, I mean, it wasn't a big deal,
so you didn't know if it was going anywhere.
When Rob was hired in 1978,
women's basketball was not even recognized by the NCAA.
There was starting to be some rumbling.
Title IX was definitely in the news.
It was something that there was a lot of debate about,
but it was something that was coming.
In 1964, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act was passed,
in it the protected classes were race, color,
and national origin.
Prominently, sex was not part of the protections in 1964.
Title IX was passed in 1972.
In 1975, the regulations were promulgated,
and that's really where, sort of, the rubber hits the road.
It became prescriptive on what steps you actually have to take.
It made sure that women had equal playing time,
uniforms, scholarship opportunities,
publicity, equipment, good facilities.
Which seemed like a no-brainer to me.
If you're federally funded,
why aren't my daughters
getting the same opportunities that my sons are?
The disparity in men and women's sports
before Title IX was pretty drastic.
ANNETTE WHITAKER ROCHELEAU: There was no equipment room.
We bought our own shoes.
We basically wore our own practice gear.
The locker room we had was a fairly small locker room,
it was down at the end of the Field House.
We were lucky one of the boosters
carpeted our locker room the second year.
ROCHELEAU: The shower didn't even work.
I mean, there was one toilet in there and a urinal.
Our weight room was this little room under the stairs.
I don't even know if it's a room anymore.
LINDA DEDEN SMITH: There were times that we ended up
practicing in the old men's gym.
There wasn't heat in there in the winter.
MORRILL: When I got here the same year as Robin, I was assistant men's coach,
and they hired me for $16,000.
Now this was way back when.
Robin was hired as the head women's coach for $16,500
'cause the head women's coach
had to make more than the assistant men's.
That's how backward times were.
ROBIN: And I think the University of Montana
moved rapidly in making progress,
and I like to think for the right reasons,
that it was the right thing to do.
Rob demanded things, and so it was a lot better once he got there.
FRANCE: With respect to Montana,
many of these women were from small towns.
They suddenly had scholarship opportunities,
and that's opportunities to play athletics,
but it's also the opportunity to enter college.
We went from, like, six scholarships to 15 scholarships.
It's really what made our program.
I knew nothing about college sports in general.
Rob saw me, a 6'2" girl. You're probable not gonna ignore that at that time.
I don't know if college would have even been in my future
had I not had the game of basketball.
FRANCE: As much as we sometimes grumble
about the government interfering with our personal lives
in the area of civil rights, and particularly Title IX,
I'm afraid that we wouldn't have seen
the kinds of progress that we've seen.
It really took the regulations, to, um...
make sure the cultural change happened.
SANDY: Rob spent a lot of time watching film.
He just studied and studied and studied,
because he really was dedicated, very much a scholar of the game.
He was a really good fundamental coach.
We're never going to be perfect,
but he has that desire for us to be perfect.
ROCHELEARob was just this great, nice guy
that I just loved, and then we hit practice
and that great, nice guy got so intense.
ECKMANN: He was refining my skills
both offensively and defensively.
ROCHELEAU: He was giving 110 percent.
You were going to get coached.
The first game with Rob was really scary.
ANITA: We just got shelled.
And at halftime, we were down a lot.
We lost. I'm pretty sure we lost.
He would probably be able to tell you.
ROBIN: And we got a pretty good thumping in both of them.
Really good thumping at Weber State.
And, uh, [CHUCKLING] I was going, "Whoa!
"Maybe I should call the high school
"and see if I can get my job back."
And I remember, you know, going in the locker room afterwards,
and they were talking about,
"Oh, wonder where we're gonna eat after the game,"
and all this stuff, and... [LAUGHS]
and I wasn't.
I wanted to leave the impression.
And I said, "We're not gonna eat."
They shouldn't have been worried about
where they're gonna eat after that thumping.
They should have had been sitting there waiting to talk about,
"Hey, what we got to do better."
He coached us the way he would have coached a men's team.
There was no cushioning the blows or anything like that.
So the idea back then,
that he would treat female athletes the same
as someone would treat a male basketball team
is pioneering.
There's a certain school of thought
that you don't want to shout too much,
you don't want to hurt their feelings.
SMITH: Rob felt that an athlete is an athlete,
which is a wonderful thing for a female athlete.
It elevates you.
ROCHELEABack in the old days... [CHUCKLING]
we played a lot of prelims to the men.
A lot of people wanted prelims.
MICK HOLIEN: For most people,
if they got there, they might have got there
'cause they wanted to get an early seat,
general admission for the men's game.
It was boyfriends, girlfriends, family.
Hardly anybody else.
ROCHELEAU: He wanted people to come to see us.
And I think getting away from prelims
changed our identity immensely.
ROBIN: Hardly anybody was coming.
Hardly anybody was interested.
And it wasn't easy,
because it started from a baseline of zero.
COMMENTATOR: This is how the program looked in the late 1970s.
The early years of Robin Selvig's coaching tenure.
Empty stands, second rate uniforms,
and no conference on a par with the men's Big Sky league.
ROBIN: The 1984 game against Oregon State
was a big launching pad for our program.
Oregon State at the time was big powerhouse.
ROBIN: Because of the success we had that year,
we were awarded a home game in the NCAA tournament.
CHERI BRATT ROBERTS: We went into the locker room,
and when we came back out,
the janitors were pulling the stands out
because more people were coming in.
We had no idea the 4,000 or whatever people showed up would show up.
JANE: Just seeing people pouring in...
It brought tears to my eyes,
just to see people are really turning out to see these girls play.
ROBERTS: And wow, it was...
[VOICE BREAKING] really good to see that many people that
wanted to come watch us play.
It was so loud
that we could barely hear each other in the huddle.
It was like being at a college men's game,
and at the time, that just didn't exist other places.
ROBIThe atmosphere, that was electric.
I mean, you have to be there to actually feel it.
It's just, uh, goosebumps and electricity in the air,
and the deafening roar of the crowd when you do something well.
ANITA: The crowd is what actually got us through that game,
and I think the reason we won.
ROBINobody thought you could ever produce revenue.
You know, "Okay, women's sports, nobody's gonna ever come watch."
What we did, what my ladies started to do,
was show, "Oh. Oh, they're good. They're talented."
"Oh, they compete!"
"Oh, they're fun to watch."
COMMENTATOR: Coach Selvig with win number 224,
becomes the winningest coach in Grizzly history.
ROCHELEAEvery year, for the first seven or eight years,
our attendance doubled.
FEMALE REPORTER: The game sold out days in advance,
but if you were lucky enough to get a ticket,
you had the honor of being part of the largest crowd ever
for women's basketball west of the Rockies.
ANDY BASKIN: It's a tough place for the Lady Kats to play in.
The last time they won here,
Jimmy Carter was in his second day of his presidency.
So winning in Dahlberg Arena
is nothing that the Lady Kats are used to.
MALE NEWSCASTER: It has been simply a phenomenal year
for the Lady Griz basketball team.
They would shatter individual scoring and attendance records.
They would remain the only major undefeated team in the country,
thus establishing their national ranking at number 14.
We took great pride in being a good defensive team.
I developed a mentality
that that's how you win basketball games and win a championship.
The tough thing is, you have to go then
win the conference tournament to go to the NCAA.
So not only did he dominate the regular season,
he dominated by winning the conference tournament
that then got them to the NCAA.
STONThe first round against Stanford,
you couldn't have put another human being in here.
ROBIN: The atmosphere in that game, the band playing,
I mean, it was a back-and-forth.
FEMALE REPORTER: The game was over sell-out capacity,
and people were stacked up to the ceiling.
Some lady grabbed me by the shoulder and said,
"Did you come to see what it's supposed to be like?"
[LAUGHS]
And I had to chuckle at that, 'cause, you know, we weren't doing badly,
but Robin was doing so unbelievably that,
uh, we paled by comparison.
HOLIEN: It was one of those games that was beyond belief,
down five, the end of the game
to try to get it into overtime.
When you're doing a game up high,
you can tell that the ball's going in.
I have that on video with my audio on top of it.
The ball's in the air and I screamed,
"Bang!"
[CROWD CHEERING]
You know, the last shot of the game, then overtime,
that would have sent us to the sweet 16.
MALE NEWSCASTER: Montana lost that night in a heartbreaker,
but the tradition had been established.
And who knows where it might go next?
[CROWD CHEERING]
MORRILL: Just the climate around the country was changing for women's basketball.
I think he actually took Montana
and moved it ahead of the rest of the country.
It got better faster.
COMMENTATOR: The opening tip-off between Wisconsin and Montana
is just around the corner.
JOY ANDERSON KENDALL: It was the largest crowd women's NCAA had seen
for a first round game, ever.
I mean, for us, we were right at home.
Uh, women's basketball, you can't beat it.
COMMENTATOR: Jodi Hinrichs in there
against the Big Ten's Freshman of the Year Barb Franke.
Opening tip controlled by Wisconsin...
HOLLENBECShannon Cate was a senior
and played lights out that game.
COMMENTATOR: Cate using a pick, coming off the pick, and Cate has four,
the Badgers have nothing.
Cate over Williams, got it to drop.
Cate is excellent...
COMMENTATOR: It's nice to have a thoroughbred
like Shannon Cate in this situation.
Good defense by Williams, as she went right over...
SHANNON CATE SCHWEYEN: Every time we would make a basket,
just silencing the crowd,
and then the crowd would get back into it,
and get back into it,
and then we'd make a basket and silence the crowd.
They never truly thought Montana would come in there and beat them.
COMMENTATOR: Runner, no good, rebound is good.
Nice position rebound...
HOLLENBECK: We handled the Badgers.
It was, start to finish, Lady Griz...
COMMENTATOR: The Lady Griz have flown into Madison,
and they have conquered the Badgers.
They've been led by Shannon Cate
with 34 points and 11 rebounds.
And they celebrate the spoils of victory
under their veteran coach.
WOMAI think it gets fun to bring my daughters to see it.
It's fun for them to see powerful, successful women,
and, uh,
doing good things for Missoula and the university.
I love, like...
I heart the Lady Griz a lot.
Like, so much.
Lady Griz basketball is the best,
and I love it.
And as a fan, we are part of the team,
we're the sixth player.
I like watching them play because they're so good,
and I want to be a Lady Griz basketball player when I grow up.
I missed women's basketball by about three years,
and so, maybe I live...
I live vicariously through them
'cause I would like to be the bask.
I would love to be a Lady Griz.
MORRILL: There aren't very many universities
that the women are called something a little different than the men.
And to brand "Lady Griz,"
uh, different than just "The Griz,"
I thought was a little bit genius.
MALE NARRATOR: They are made in Montana.
Livingston,
Kalispell, Browning,
Fairfield, Havre,
Miles City, Philipsburg,
Malta, Stevensville and Missoula.
This team will search for victory.
The quest will be guided by a man from Outlook.
ROBIN: When we hosted UNLV in the NCAA tournament,
we were made up of all Montana kids,
which is pretty unique.
We were really representing Montana
and we were representing Lady Griz basketball.
MALIHow many Division I basketball teams
can say that they're all from one state?
There probably hasn't been one.
ROCHELEABeing from Montana,
they're looking, thinking, "These guys got no chance."
Montana, we're still using outhouses, you know?
It's like, "Do you guys fly or bus?"
MALIA: To think that we're all from small towns, reservations,
small ranch towns,
pretty amazing.
I remember the excitement of winning and being able to go on
into the second round of the NCAAs.
It was fun to show that, you know,
a small school from Montana can go compete with the best.
ROBII think the fan base likes
that we have a nucleus of Montana players,
but, believe me,
they cheer and are just as proud
of our Washington girls and our California girls and our Oregon girls.
Missoula became a women's basketball central, capital.
To have a women's basketball program
at a school that's generating revenue for you through ticket sales
is unusual at the Division I level.
The sport became popular here
because they won.
Make no mistake about it.
If you're not winning,
people still aren't gonna come out.
You gotta win.
TOM STAGPrior to the games,
Selvig would take a ride up the Rattlesnake
and listen to, you know,
some opera music and be calm as heck.
ROBIN: Soon as the ball went up,
it was like someone hit me with a cattle prod
and all of a sudden, I was back to being psycho coach.
AGNES: Watching Rob coach was fun and exciting,
and, uh, scary. [LAUGHS]
There's a picture in a lot of papers
of Rob down on all fours.
SMITH: The sport coat comes off, it goes on the floor
and then we jump on it.
Well, sometimes I was watching him and not the game
because he was different. [CHUCKLES]
One time, when he went to sit down, and missed the chair
and got right up and didn't even know he'd missed the chair.
SUE HABBE: One of the lines he always told me,
I made up for my lack of height with my lack of speed.
MARGARET WILLIAMS: He's like, "Williams, I sure wish
"I could've played you more,
"but we simply could not afford to
"have you on the floor for us."
And it was true. They couldn't.
[INAUDIBLE]
"We are the dumbest team in America." [LAUGHS]
GRETA KOSS BUEHLER: "Pretend you're fast. Put your hands on."
I got called Wendy Weak a lot.
JANE: For most of those games, I was behind the bench
and I would cringe.
AGNES: And he said, "I knew my mother was behind the bench."
[CHUCKLING] Oh.
Then he calmed down a little.
MAN 1: You know, we don't have a lot of opportunities on the reservation.
So, basketball around here, that's really big.
We just want to cheer on our people.
NEWS ANCHOR: One of the up-and-coming stars
of the Lady Griz basketball team
has already qualified for hero status.
At least in the eyes of the people of Browning.
Jill Valley has more on Malia Kipp.
VALLEMalia is special as one of just a handful
of Native American women in the country
with a full-ride basketball scholarship at a Division I school.
She hopes her success
inspires other Native American women.
MAN 2: You know, I remember watching her
and it just, like, gives our girls here
something to look up to.
A lot of little kids back home need good role models
and I believe that I'm a good...
Good role model for 'em.
[INAUDIBLE]
MALIA: Growing up on the reservation
we didn't have a lot of things, um...
But, I mean, everybody had a basketball.
Browning has so many strong athletes
and I just think in the past, that...
you know, just, natives were overlooked.
Getting the opportunity to go to school
on a Division I scholarship
was amazing.
Rob called the house, and my mom hollered,
"Malia! Malia! Rob's on the phone."
He asked how I was doing
and would I be interested in playing ball for Lady Griz.
And in my mind I'm screaming,
[SOFTLY] "Yes! Finally!"
But what came out was, "Sure. Yes."
BARBARA KIPWe put a little pressure on Malia.
You gotta tend to business
because then they see you as an Indian
who's just another Indian who didn't make it.
MALIA: No matter how tired I was
or how, um, I felt like maybe I couldn't do this,
like, quitting was not an option.
I had too many youngsters
that I needed to motivate.
Yes, we have...
We can be here. We can compete.
We can succeed.
BARBARA: You know, just the opportunity it gave Malia
was real impactful.
I think other kids looked at leaving here
and having people off-reservation
recognize you as...
not only capable, but talented.
Sometimes people go through life
feeling invisible, not being looked at,
unless they're looked at with suspicion.
Natives are resilient people, you know.
Overcome a lot of things in the past
and continue to overcome and educate.
CARL: Rob was inducted into the Indian Hall of Fame.
As of today is probably the only non-Indian
that's been inducted into the Hall of Fame.
MALIRob gave Native American females
an opportunity to be successful at the next level.
And I don't want to use the word "gave."
I want to say we earned it and he recognized it.
TAMARA GUARDIPEE: You guys remember what Rob would always say?
I meant when he was screaming at you guys from the bench?
-I'm the worst free-throw shooter in America. -[ALL CHUCKLE]
Which was almost kind of accurate at the time, but...
[ALL LAUGH]
I know when I was...
That day I was leaving and my mom and dad
were helping me bring stuff out to the car
and I was like, "What, you're not driving me?"
I was just like, "What?
"You're not gonna stay for, like, a week or so and, like, help me adjust?"
Then I was like, "No, you'll be okay."
That's a really good point.
Because, you know, the initial hurdle
is going off the res and going to school.
Like, it literally felt like a different, like, continent.
When I went to Missoula. It felt huge.
I didn't want to drive my car. I got lost.
Like, I didn't even grow up with a stop light,
so, I was afraid of stop lights.
-[ALL LAUGH] -Yeah, I think Malia, um...
being the first trailblazer...
You know, it's like, something happens in your mind
when you see somebody else do it.
I mean, I'm not 100 percent positive
I would have tried to play for the Lady Griz
if I wouldn't have seen her do it first.
Watching Malia play, it just, um,
gave me inspiration that I could do it.
You know, I'm Native American,
she was Native American,
um, she did it,
I can do it as well
and prove to everybody that I could get off the reservation,
go to college and stick it out.
Not only basketball,
but academics as well, you know.
I think it's super important
to be a part of a sports team
if you want to leave,
because if feel like, a lot of the times,
you know, that's your ticket out.
And there were many times during college when I was just like,
"Do I want to keep doing this?"
You know, um...
But I would think, "Well, Malia made it. "So, I can probably do this."
[ALL CHUCKLE]
You know, "I can do four years.
"Malia did it somehow."
"I'm going to, um... I'm gonna try to do the same."
-And you did. -And I did, yeah.
JANE: I think the hardest part of Rob's job
was definitely kind of being a single parent at times.
You know, I was a teacher
and, um, I quit teaching when the boys were born
because every other weekend,
he would be gone for, you know,
maybe Wednesday through Sunday.
ROBIN: I would have never thought of missing a practice.
One of the boys was sick
and Janey, she'd be the one that would stay home with them.
I was coach, I had to go...
I had to go to work.
We had practice.
And I kind of wish now...
Maybe I missed out on some things
which would be like staying at home.
JANE: And then game days were really, really hard for him.
Really, really stressful.
You could tell he was completely stressed out.
He was zoned out.
He would feel terrible
that he didn't get a player into the game
or he got a player into the game for 90 seconds.
He really felt like every player had
a role in the team, and an important role.
JEFF SELVIG: Growing up, my basketball role models
were the Lady Griz.
Uh, Marti Leibenguth, I remember.
Um, at one point I told my dad,
"That is who I want to play like."
DAN SELVIG: My first memories were of great women playing basketball.
And, so, for me, it always just seemed totally natural
because that's the world that I lived in.
JEFThe thing I liked least
about my dad being a coach growing up
was the fact that he was gone quite a bit
and I remember he'd always bring back
a little a souvenir or something from wherever he went,
so, we'd be excited,
you know, waiting for him to come home.
My mother played a huge role
behind the scenes with the team.
She was a huge part of my father's success as a coach.
ROBIN: Pat Summitt is the real pioneer
in women's basketball.
Talked about playing a series and, uh, she said,
"Yeah, we've never played in Montana, let's do it."
Number one in the nation coming to Missoula. Great.
SISCWe were unranked nationally.
They were ranked number one.
I'm certain, to a point, they overlooked this.
I mean, it's hard not to.
People literally laughed.
You know, they were like, "Um, right, who's this?"
Like, "Montana? Whatever."
"A bunch of skinny girls from Montana."
And then we'd get out there on the floor
and play 40 minutes of the most intense basketball they've ever seen.
INTERVIEWER: Do you guys make it a point to come into a lot of the games?
-Yes. Every game. -As much as we can.
SISCO: At one point, late in the fourth,
we were only down by two or three, I think,
and the crowd was starting to get a sense of like,
"Oh, this could really happen."
We could really beat a number-one-seed team in the nation.
-MAN: Yeah! -[CROWD CHEERING]
SPELTZ: It's a special connection
between the fans and the players.
There's a little magic there. There's a little mystique.
[INDISTINCT COMMENTARY]
PYRON: I'm actually one of the kids
that wanted to play for the Lady Griz,
looking around the arena,
thinking that, someday, I was going to play
in front of this type of a crowd.
Um, it was overwhelming. It was emotional.
COMMENTATOR 1: This is where you need one of those special plays that
hits someone long.
COMMENTATOR 2: Kipp gets this going to backcourt
One second to shoot.
She sends the longshot down, but it doesn't go.
The final score. The Tennessee Lady Vols, 66,
Montana, 61.
The Lady Griz get a standing ovation from the crowd.
[INTERVIEWER SPEAKING]
Well, if they play that well all the time,
they're a good basketball team. They're very impressive.
Having been in the business 21 years,
never have we gone on the road
and played in front of almost 19,000 fans
in a matter of a two-game period.
HEATHCOTE: You know, I always thought so much of Rob
that when I had an assistant's job open
at Michigan State University,
I contacted him twice to see if he had any interest
and he turned me down both times.
There's no way I could say,
"Ladies, I'm gonna move up to the men's."
That wasn't a step up to me. We were a team.
I mean, I'm part of a team.
BINFORD: Rob could've coached anywhere,
but he chose to stay there
because it was a place that he had helped create.
Out of all of the things he's accomplished,
I think I admire that the most,
is the fact that he made that his home
and no other place could take him away.
MORRILL: You look at how many of us
coached Montana on the men's side
and then something would come along
and we just thought we had to take it
because we were fortunate enough.
We'd get a so-called bigger job,
a so-called better job.
There's no bigger and better job
than Montana to Robin Selvig.
He could take a line-up every year,
and 15 girls,
and mold them into this championship team.
He'd just have an itch for finding what worked
and making them believe.
SCHLIMGEN: At first, it was a little bit hard
because his level of intensity and competitiveness
was something I hadn't experienced before.
He pushed me to a level of competitiveness
that I didn't know I had.
ROCHELEAU: And everybody on the team had a role and knew their role.
And I think most of all,
he taught them how basketball can be fun.
You can work really, really hard, but it's gonna be fun, too.
He wouldn't let you get away with those little mistakes.
Every practice, he'd hold you accountable.
SHERRI BROOKS McWILLIAMS: The first time I dribbled,
turned out I wouldn't dribble far enough.
So, then, we'd have to stop the play for everybody and then I would dribble again.
And then I wasn't passing at the right angle.
And, I swear, he did that to me ten times in a row
and I was so frustrated.
But those are the things that he did
that made me better
because, um, I really learned how to execute that
the way it should be executed.
TRISH OLSON DUCE: Other places, you know, they might have
three All-Americans on their team.
It's a little easier, I think, to coach if you have three All-Americans
versus, every year,
um, figuring out how you're gonna do it
with some girls that might not be quite as athletic.
SISCO: He really had an incredible ability
to get the most out of every single player.
He knew who he could push far
and we had to be a little bit more delicate with.
Truly one of his great strengths,
knowing when he was about to cross that line where he would break a player,
but not crossing it,
so, the end result was getting them
to their absolutely max potential.
And it was amazing that he really found that gray area
with nearly every player he had.
[CROWD CHEERING]
LeANN MONTEHaving a child in high school was a really big challenge.
From that point on, it was no longer about me.
I know Rob was taking a risk with bringing me on,
which I'm really grateful for.
It would have been easier for me to stay on to the reservation,
and my family was there.
ROBIThere's some really good
Native American basketball teams in this state.
Men's and women's high school teams.
Now, I never recruited anybody
I didn't think it was good enough to play here.
MONTEThere was a lot of times where I just wanted to be
the normal college student without much responsibilities,
other than to get up, go to class
and then go to basketball practice.
But, unfortunately, that wasn't my lifestyle.
You know, my daughter went to school in the mornings
and then she went to the YMCA in the afternoons
and then I would go to school all morning,
go to practice late in the afternoon.
Rob basically held my hand throughout that entire first year
and reassured me that I would be
continuing on with the program the second year.
He takes the time to get to understand his players,
their background, what they're about.
What kind of responsibilities they have on and off the court.
I was getting ready to graduate from undergrad.
I had an option of whether or not to continue and pursue a master's
through the University of Montana
or to actually go to New Mexico and obtain a law degree.
I remember asking, Rob, you know, "What should I do?"
You know, "What am I supposed to do?"
And he looked right at me
and he was like, "[SCOFFS] Go to law school."
My desire was always,
after graduating from New Mexico,
was to move home,
take the Montana State Bar and practice for my tribe,
and fortunately, that's exactly what I'm doing.
I currently am the attorney general for the Chippewa-Cree Tribe.
HOLLIE TYLER SHORT: My junior year,
we hosted the first round of the NCAAs here,
and we played Louisiana Tech.
It was sold out. There wasn't an empty seat in house.
COMMENTATOR: ...last few minutes...
BROOKLYNN LORENZEN: I've never felt the level of energy and excitement
amongst my team and from the fans.
ROBIWe started out. They jumped on us.
I think we were behind eight-ten-nothing,
and then we got rolling.
LORENZEI remember passing the ball up-court to Katie Edwards
and she hit this tremendous three-pointer.
-[INDISTINCT COMMENTARY] -[CROWD CHEERING]
And literally all the fans stood up
and I could feel the vibrations on the floor.
I could literally feel it, but I couldn't hear anything
because it was so loud that it was silent.
And I did my first ever fist pump
that I'm still really embarrassed about.
And they caught it on camera,
so, it was in the paper the next day
and I was humiliated.
ROBIJulie Deming...
Always comes back to thinking about her
because she was having the game of her life, a senior.
COMMENTATOR 2: ...passed to Deming on the weak side of the floor,
she made her pay for it.
ROBIN: She's the young lady we lost in a car accident a few years ago.
COMMENTATOR 2: ...can't believe this ball game has heap fulls of,
people spread apart from each other.
COMMENTATOR 1: That's Julie Deming setting her career high.
Julie just exploited...
The closer you got to the end of the game, it was like,
"Oh, my gosh, they might pull this out."
We had the crowd going crazy. We were shooting it in.
Both teams were playing hard,
but all of a sudden, they're coming up with steals
and they make some big plays in front of our crowd,
while we're going crazy.
COMMENTATOR 1: Two seconds left,
and a foul cannot be called,
and, so, the 12th seed Lady Griz of Montana fall...
MAN: In college basketball,
the yardstick of success is simple,
the NCAA tournament,
to play, or a chance to win.
But the odds of winning at all are long,
and so, successful, even historic seasons end in defeat.
ROBIN: I have more memories, precious memories of locker rooms
after tough losses, I think, than I do after big victories.
Who in life has not had setbacks? Everybody has.
You quickly become a failure in sports if you can't handle setbacks.
'Cause you give up. We lose a game we can't get it back.
We can't dwell on that.
What you have is the next one.
SHADRA ROBISON: As much as you think those first couple of years
of playing college basketball,
that it's about the wins and losses,
it's about the person you become.
My dad died September of my sophomore year.
And I went home for the funeral and I remember
this very packed church and there were two extra rows
that were, like, right behind my family.
And I was like, "Who are those for?"
It's like, "Your team is coming."
And like very last minute, in the snow, in walks all of them,
my coaches and, and they...
They all came and were so supportive.
JULIE TONKIAnd Rob made sure that every Lady Griz on that team
went to Gardiner to be with Laura.
I know that I didn't play very well that year.
That was just a very difficult year.
Um, but they were there.
I mean, I wasn't injured physically,
but it was... you knew that they wanted the best for me,
that they would take care of me, and they all did.
The Lady Griz-Bobcat rivalry is an iconic rivalry.
Everyone comes to it.
Everyone all over the state knows about it.
It's not just Bozeman and Missoula.
Nobody wants to say you were a Lady Griz and you lost to the Cats.
Until you experience it, you really don't know how to explain it.
INTERVIEWER: Anything else you'd wanna say?
-Go Cats. [LAUGHS] Just kidding. -MAN: Oh, boo!
It's a crazy rivalry in this state.
I'd be lying to say it's not a game I'd probably get a little more nervous for,
and I probably want to win little more.
You know, I don't think he lost a game
for 15 years against the Bobcats.
You know that this game is going to be televised throughout the state.
So it's that game on everybody's radar in the state.
I don't care what other sports, what other levels,
there is not anything like this.
[CROWD CHEERING]
BINFORD: I remember when we won in the Field House for the first time,
I got a phone call on my office phone,
and when I picked up, I was really surprised.
That was Rob on the other end,
just talking about what a great game that was for the crowd
and the fans and I'm like, "Who does that?"
And I just think the respect, the character of that
is just a lesson for all coaches and all players.
SPELT2015, they're in the Big Sky Conference tournament final,
Montana's playing Northern Colorado.
Tough game. Down 14 with 15 minutes left.
[CROWD CHEERING]
We were down and it was just painful to watch.
McCALLE FELLER: Rob is on the floor,
is like kicking and screaming,
energy's up.
I remember our seniors started making shots.
[FINAL BUZZER SOUNDS]
SPELTZ: Montana comes back and wins that game on grit and hustle.
That's when you believe there's something more here
than just X's and O's and making adjustments.
There's a belief that's something special.
ROBIN: Just think about it.
Had that been in an empty gym, would it have been quite as special?
No, 'cause things that are special
are special because you get to share them.
ANNOUNCER: The KPAX 5:30 News starts right now in high definition.
Good afternoon. I'm Jill Valley.
And I'm Dennis Bragg.
We begin with breaking news from the University of Montana.
Legendary Lady Griz basketball coach Robin Selvig
announces today that he's retiring after nearly 40 years.
HASLAM: This is a day that...
we knew eventually would come.
A day that certainly didn't look forward to.
It's never a good time to lose Robin Selvig.
ROBIN: For 42 years, I've actually have been a basketball coach.
Now I'm gonna be something else.
-I know I'm not gonna do anything for a while. -[REPORTER SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY]
[CHUCKLES] Thank you.
Um, yeah. I mean, who knows what's ahead?
I got some things I can do.
ROBII was worn out, I was tired out,
um, emotionally, physically, all those things.
And I had a lot of things going on in life
that were different for me.
[VOICE BREAKING] Having a...
granddaughter has...
I mean, that's changed me a little bit.
I don't want to miss out on a lot of things with her.
HEATHCOTE: Well, you know, to remain at one school for 38 years,
is, in the coaching profession, almost unheard of.
I thought they'd have to take him out on a gurney
before they got rid of Robin at University of Montana.
STAGHe kept every assistant the same for the 38 years.
On that, people come and say,
"I can see that guy maybe 38 years.
"But those assistants are the same ones?" They can't believe it.
ROCHELEAU: Rob was always thinking about our families,
and he understood that raising kids and traveling was hard.
DUCE: Whether it was a game or a doctor's appointment,
super good about letting us attend it.
Robin was always very supportive about us bringing our kids with us on trips if we wanted.
I don't think there's a lot of places around the country
that had that kind of environment.
He let us be good moms and so forth, so that was a nice thing.
ROBIN: I was blessed to have great assistants that all played for me.
They all knew me.
They all tried to understand me.
[CHUCKLES] Don't know if they did.
[INAUDIBLE]
BINFORD: Really, he set the standard for the Big Sky Conference,
and when you think of our conference,
he's so much of the history of who we are.
I think he's challenged everybody to recruit better,
to perform better on both ends of the floor.
You look at the wins that Robin had under his belt and the very few losses.
I mean, that's a Hall of Fame resume, in my opinion.
MORRILL: I think probably what stands out to me the most
is just how he dominated the Big Sky Conference.
I mean, nobody will ever do that again.
Nobody will dominate a conference like Robin Selvig did.
HEATHCOTRob got the program going from the ground up.
He did not inherit any tradition
or, really, any players.
He built it himself.
SPELTZ: He's a Montana original.
To me, he's a little bit like John Wayne.
Only John Wayne is just reading off a script.
Robin Selvig is a real person.
He created what we have today.
So for Montana, he is an institution.
HASLAM: I don't think I'll ever see that in my lifetime.
That kind of an impact on one institution, as Robin Selvig's had.
[DOOR CREAKING]
ROBIN: You know, I was the coach
and I was big part of this program, a part of it.
But the players deserve the credit.
It's their team.
I never wanted to overshadow that.
Plus, if we lost, I wanted to blame them.
No, that's not true. [CHUCKLES]
For 40 minutes,
I think from one end of our bench to the other,
that's all the players and the coaches,
you're just in a shell.
It's a world of our own for 40 minutes.
And that intensity and that togetherness
that... you know, just striving for one thing,
which is to be our best and win that game,
it always was a family thing.
You do things together. You share things together.
Good things, bad things, wins, losses, laugh, joke.
I mean, they're just a big part of your life,
which is what your family is.
To the fans, I'd say thank you.
You made this a special place to be,
not just for me, but for all those ladies.
It wouldn't have happened, if nobody cared to come watch,
didn't make a difference how good we were.
Hey!
-You're outnumbered. -I am outnumbered.
[ALL CHEERING]
Oh!
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
We all came to wish you well in retirement.
It's pretty nice.
That's quite a curl here.
ROBISON: A lot of people think college sports
is just about the sport, just about basketball.
Rob made sure we were gonna grow into women
that would have an impact.
Rob would be devastated if all we did was say, "We played basketball."
GUNDLACIf you had made the big mosaic of all the different faces,
it makes me so proud to be one of them.
It's this sisterhood, this community,
this feeling of being very proud,
even though I'm not from Montana.
You come in as individuals, but you really leave
a part of each other and a part of each other's lives.
[ALL LAUGHING]
I hope everybody brought the kids.
MORRILL: I find that utterly amazing
that that many players made it back for a celebration.
To have that kind of relationship with your players
is very unique and very, very special.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Hollie.
EDWARDS: He loved each and every one of us.
And you just wanted to make him proud.
You didn't wanna let him down.
I still don't to this day, and I'm 32 years old.
-Hey, how are you? -Good. How are you?
-Great. This is... This is amazing. -It is.
Holy smokes.
Oh!
[INAUDIBLE]
FRANCE: The early Lady Griz basketball players
inspired other generations of students,
and we take for granted that every young girl has opportunities.
But it wasn't that long ago that many people
didn't have those same opportunities.
JANE: What's amazing to me is to see these girls
have grown into confident, strong, successful women.
They have so much more confidence in themselves
than I ever dreamed, you know, for myself growing up in my era.
-Here we go. -WOMAN: Here we go.
Front row. One, two...
-Again. One, two... -[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS]
BUEHLER: It was a huge thing for me just to have somebody say,
"We believe in you,"
and that probably changed the trajectory of my life incredibly
just having that opportunity.
And I still feel as much a part of the Lady Griz as I ever did.
And it's been 35 years.
SCHLIMGEN: You know, I'll never forget the day my husband died,
the first people that showed up to my house were teammates.
And I didn't even call them, you know?
I don't know how they found out.
I don't have sisters, but these are the closest things to sisters that I have.
EDWARDS: Lady Griz is a family unit
because, like all families, it's dysfunctional at times.
But they're loyal and committed, and supportive even when things get tough.
We share, you know, our deepest, darkest, happiest, saddest moments with each other,
and it's been a true...
just true friendships that will last forever.
WOMAN: Robin asked me one day after he retired,
Rob said, "Who am I?" Who am I now?"
And I said, you are forever our coach.
[ALL CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]
ROBIN: Well, I got no chance here.
[ALL LAUGHING]
No, seriously, I got no chance here.
Um, I'll probably fall off this.
[ALL CHEERING]
I told you I was athletic, but I was just telling you.
I gotta make a joke so I don't start crying.
[VOICE BREAKING] I've, uh...
I got a great memory and a great story
from every face and everybody I see here.
I don't know. We won a lot of games. That's fine. That was fun.
But I don't...
I really don't remember that that much.
But I remember all of you.
I remember, you all, in your way, made my life better.
There was not a better decision in my life,
not a better break in my life
than that day when I got into coaching women's basketball.
'Cause you guys truly are as competitive
and talented, and athletic,
and wanting to be your best
and took advantage of that opportunity to be your best.
I couldn't, no matter what level,
no matter what... gender I was coaching,
it couldn't have been better.
And so I'm a pretty happy man and...
And you made me a lot happier tonight.
Thank you for being here. I love you.
[ALL CHEERING]
WOMAN 1: I'm a regulatory affairs specialist.
WOMAN 2: I'm a sports broadcaster.
WOMAN 3: I am an attorney.
WOMAN 4: I am a pharmaceutical sales representative.
WOMAN 5: I am a nurse.
WOMAN 6: I work as a legal assistant.
WOMAN 7: I'm a math teacher.
WOMAN 8: I am a chemistry teacher.
WOMAN 9: I am a pediatric dietician.
WOMAN 1Massage therapist.
WOMAN 11: Healthcare administrator
WOMAN 12: I'm a stay-at-home mom.
WOMAN 13: I am a commercial banker.
WOMAN 14: I am a mental health therapist.
WOMAN 15: I am a filmmaker.
WOMAN 16: I'm a women's basketball coach.
WOMAN 17: I was assistant coach for 32 years.
WOMAN 1I'm the new head coach of the Lady Griz.
ROBIN: One of the things Jud said one day in practices was I...
"You play like a girl."
And I didn't realize it at the time
he was giving me a great compliment,
which I realize today
after coaching girls
for a lot of years,
that that was
a really good compliment.
[MUSIC PLAYING]