Sonny Holland

Allyn A. "Sonny" Holland (born c. 1938) is a former American football player and coach.[1] He was the head coach at his alma mater, Montana State University in Bozeman, from 1971 to 1977.[2][3][4] Holland led the Bobcats to two Big Sky titles (1972, 1976) and the Division II playoffs in 1976, where they won all three postseason games and were national champions.

Sonny Holland
Biographical details
Bornc. 1938 (age 81–82)
Butte, Montana
Playing career
1956–1959Montana State
Position(s)Center
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1961Bozeman HS (MT) (assistant)
1962–1964Montana State (assistant)
1965–1967Charles M. Russell HS (MT)
1968Washington State (assistant)
1969Western Montana
1970Montana State (DL)
1971–1977Montana State
Head coaching record
Overall54–24–1
Tournaments3–0 (NCAA D-II playoffs)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1 NCAA Division II (1976)
1 Frontier (1969)
2 Big Sky (1972, 1976)

A native of Butte,[5] Holland graduated from Butte High School and was a lineman at Montana State from 1956 to 1959,[6][7] where he was a small college All-American at center.[8] He was an assistant coach under Jim Sweeney at MSU and for a year at Washington State in Pullman. He was also the head coach Western Montana College in Dillon in 1969, and at Charles M. Russell High School (1965–67) in Great Falls.

At age 39, Holland stepped down as the Montana State head coach in November 1977,[3][4] and was succeeded by Sonny Lubick. The spring football game at MSU is named for Holland and a bronze statue of him was unveiled at Bobcat Stadium in September 2016.[8][9]

Head coaching record

College
Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs
Western Montana Bulldogs (Frontier Conference) (1969)
1969 Western Montana 7–05–01st
Western Montana: 7–05–0
Montana State Bobcats (Big Sky Conference) (1971–1977)
1971 Montana State 2–7–10–5–17th
1972 Montana State 8–35–11st
1973 Montana State 7–45–12nd
1974 Montana State 7–34–22nd
1975 Montana State 5–54–2T–2nd
1976 Montana State 12–16–01stW NCAA Division II Championship
1977 Montana State 6–43–33rd
Montana State: 47–24–127–14–1
Total:54–24–1
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

References
  1. "'Sonny' Holland joining Sweeney". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). January 10, 1968. p. 13.
  2. Payne, Bob (November 11, 1971). "Bobcats bother Idaho's Robbins". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 19.
  3. "Sonny Holland quits Montana State post". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 10, 1977. p. 15.
  4. "Holland resigns at Montana State". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). UPI. November 9, 1977. p. 37.
  5. "Deanna R. Holland (1937–2008)". Bozeman Daily Chronicle. (Montana). (obituary). November 15, 2008. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  6. "Parac Signs Resignation; 'Sonny' Holland Is Montana State Coach". The Daily Inter Lake. Kalispell, Montana. Associated Press. March 19, 1971. Retrieved September 15, 2016 – via Newspapers.com .
  7. Lamberty, Bill (October 15, 2010). "Sonny Holland". Montana State University. Mountains & Minds (magazine). Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  8. Bermes, Whitney (September 23, 2016). ""The greatest Bobcat of them all": Statue honoring legendary Bobcat player, coach Sonny Holland unveiled". Bozeman Daily Chronicle. (Montana). Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  9. Dawson, Ted (September 23, 2016). "Sonny Holland honored with statue at Bobcat Stadium". Montana Sports. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
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