Best Coaches per team In Big Sky History

Recently, Bleacher Report ran a slideshow about the best coaches in the history of each of the current FBS schools.  Here is the same treatment for the current Big Sky Conference schools.

Cal Poly

Joe Harper coached the Mustangs from 1968 to 1981.  He amassed a 96-43 record with 9 conference championships and the 1980 Division II National Championship.

UC Davis

Jim Sochor coached at UC Davis from 1970 to 1988.  He was 155-42-5 and UC Davis was the only school where he was a head coach.  His teams won 18 conference titles.

Eastern Washington

Dave Holmes was in Cheney for only 5 seasons where he was 38-14-1.  He won three consecutive conference championships and led the Eagles to the National Championship game in 1967 where they lost by one score.

Of course, take nothing away from current coach Beau Baldwin who is 33-16 and has a National Championship

Idaho State

Babe Caccia was 80-37-2 when he coached in Pocatello from 1952 to 1965.  During that time, the Bengals won 5 conference championships.

Montana

There have been many good coaches at Montana, but Don Read was the one who started it all.  The former Oregon head coach worked 10 seasons at Montana from 1986 to 1995 and was 85-36.  He only won 1 conference championship, but coached when Boise State, Idaho and Nevada were still in the Big Sky.  He was also at the helm when Montana won their first National Championship in 1995.  He was the first of 5 consistent winners that have walked the sidelines at Montana.  Mick Dennehy, Joe Glenn, Bobby Hauck and Robin Pflugard all deserve credit for keeping it going.

Montana State

The legendary Jim Sweeny had his first head coaching gig at Montana State.  In 5 seasons he was 31-20 and led the Bobcats to 3 conference championships.

North Dakota

Whitey Helling coached NDU from 1957 to 1967.  He was 60-35-3 and helmed 3 conference champions.

Northern Arizona

Max Spilsbury coached the Lumberjacks from 1956 to 1964 with a 57-26-5 record.  During that time, NAU won 7 conference championships.

Northern Colorado

Joe Glenn walked the sidelines in Greeley for 11 seasons from 1989 to 1999.  He was 99-34 and his teams earned 4 conference championships and 2 Division II national championships.

Portland State

Pokey Allen coached the Vikings from 1986 to 1992.  He was 63-26-2 and helmed 5 conference champions.

Sacramento State

Bob Mattos is the only coach to leave Sacramento with a +.500 record at 84-72-2.  He was there from 1978 to 1992 and his teams won 2 conference championships.

Southern Utah

Jack Bishop coached the Thunderbirds from 1978 to 1995 and earned a 80-74-4 record.  He led the T-Birds from the NAIA, to NCAA Division II to NCAA FCS and was consistent at every level.

 Weber State

Sark Arslanian stopped in Ogden from 1965 to 1972.  His teams were 50-26-2 and won 2 conference championships.  His son, Dave Arslanian, also coached at Weber State from 1989 to 1997 and his teams were 53-47.  But give the edge, in this case, to his dad.