MISSOULA — Football season is still a few months away, but that hasn't stopped excitement for it from ramping up. And this spring, the turf at Washington-Grizzly Stadium recently got a new facelift featuring a new partner alongside Montana Grizzly football.
"I cannot think of a better brand to be on the new turf and to be partnered with Griz athletics and Montana football, Josh, than Montana Knife Company, so thank you," UM head football coach Bobby Kennedy said Thursday during a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
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Montana Knife Company has been well known to Montanans and outdoors-people for some time, and the local company continues to expand its reach.
Following April's opening of its new facility, MKC became the first permanent on-field logo sponsor at Washington-Grizzly Stadium as it became an official partner of the Grizzly football program.
"The Montana Knife Company story fits perfectly with what we want Grizzly football to represent — resiliency, hard work, local, toughness, people focused," UM athletic director Kent Haslam said. "Really a worldwide brand but it's a brand that personifies perseverance and excellence and attention to detail."
The result of the MKC logo on the turf is thanks to an upgrade. UM recently installed the new turf this spring, which was finished ahead of schedule and features the school's slogan along the sidelines, updated and refreshed logos, colors and more.
Haslam said the new turf cost UM about $700,000.
"This logo I think means more. It's Montana," MKC owner Josh Smith said. "We could look out here and see an Amazon logo or a Walmart logo and they'd write the check and help make this program successful going into the future, but when you look at this logo, it doesn't look like some big corporate thing that got slapped on there. It looks like it belongs because we are Montana."
They celebrated the partnership and installation with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday with the project completed, and now, it's full-steam ahead to the Big Sky Kickoff at the end of July, followed by training camp in August, before UM's season opener at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Aug. 29 against Southern Utah.
