Montana football coach Bobby Hauck retires effective immediately

Montana football coach Bobby Hauck, the winningest coach in Big Sky Conference history, will retire effective immediately, the school announced. Wide receivers coach Bobby Kennedy will take over as coach and oversee the program moving forward.

Hauck, 61, served two stints as the Grizzlies' head coach, first from 2003 to 2009 and again from 2018 through the 2025 season. Over 14 seasons leading his alma mater, he compiled a 151-43 record with Montana, winning eight Big Sky titles, appearing in four FCS National Championship Games, earning 13 playoff berths and 20 FCS playoff wins -- the third-most in tournament history.

"There's never a convenient spot in the college football calendar to announce you're retiring, so today's as good as any," Hauck said Wednesday at a press conference. "I wasn't going to have them spread my ashes on the practice field because I dropped dead out there. There comes a juncture where it's time to do something else."

Hauck said the decision, which he added he made Monday, stemmed largely from the evolving challenges of college football and from having more days recently in which he did not enjoy coming to work.

"Dealing from my job and the head coach's desk -- this may be the most important thing I say here -- dealing with what college football has become is not always enjoyable as a head coach," Hauck said. "I just haven't been enjoying it enough. I want to enjoy my career and my job. A lot of the head coach stuff in current day Division I college football is not enjoyable. I think it's the perfect time for me to retire."

He retires as the Big Sky's all-time leader in overall wins (151) and conference victories (86). At the conclusion of the 2025 season, which ended with a 48-23 loss to rival Montana State in the semifinals of the FCS playoffs, Hauck was the winningest active FCS coach and the third-winningest active coach in all of Division I football at his current program.

Hauck's accolades include four Big Sky Coach of the Year honors, four AFCA FCS Regional Coach of the Year awards and three finalist nods for the Eddie Robinson FCS Coach of the Year Award. He also served as president of the American Football Coaches Association in 2025.

Before returning to Montana, Hauck coached UNLV from 2010-14, guiding the Rebels to their first winning season in 13 years in 2013. He then spent three seasons as special teams coordinator and associate head coach at San Diego State.