David Dickenson

Bio

A Montana football legend, Dave Dickenson remains the Grizzlies’ all-time leading passer and still holds 28 other school records. The two-time First Team All-American becomes the second player in school history to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. The recipient of the 1995 Walter Payton Award as the top player in the FCS, Dickenson led Montana to the FCS national title that year. In the championship game, he orchestrated a 12-play, 72-yard scoring drive that culminated with the game-winning field goal as part of a come-from-behind win over Marshall. In four playoff games in 1995, Dickenson threw for 1,500 yards and 13 touchdowns, bringing his totals at the end of the season to 5,676 and 51, respectively. Although the NCAA did not recognize playoff statistics at the time, he completed the regular season with a school- and then-Big Sky Conference single-season record 4,176 passing yards. Dickenson’s 379.6 yards per game in 1995 rank fifth all-time in FCS history and still stand as a school and conference record. His record-setting senior season also extended off the field where he was named an NFF National Scholar-Athlete and earned his third consecutive Academic All-America honors. The three-time First Team All-Big Sky selection and Big Sky Offensive MVP led the Grizzlies to conference titles in 1993 and 1995, and he led the FCS in passing yards per game as a junior and senior. Dickenson finished third for the Walter Payton Award in 1994 and was an Honorable Mention All-American in 1993 after leading the team to the playoffs in both seasons. A three-time team MVP, his school-record 11,080 career passing yards are sixth in conference history, and his 33 career wins remain a program best. A member of the University of Montana’s Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame, Dickenson’s No. 15 jersey is one of only two retired jerseys at the school. After college, Dickenson played professionally for 12 seasons, most notably in the Canadian Football League for the Calgary Stampeders (1997-2000, 2008) and the BC Lions (2003-07). The 2015 CFL Hall of Fame inductee was the league’s MVP in 2000, and he won three Grey Cups (1998, 2006, 2008). Dickenson spent the 2001 and 2002 seasons in the NFL with the San Diego Chargers, Seattle Seahawks, Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions. After seven years as an assistant coach, Dickenson has served as head coach of the Calgary Stampeders since 2016, leading the team to two Grey Cup appearances in as many seasons and earning coach of the year honors after his first campaign. Active in the community, Dickenson is heavily involved with the Special Olympics in Alberta, Canada, and supports the Calgary Urban Project Society. A member of the Montana High School Association Athletic and State of Montana Football halls of fame, he was named the Big Sky Conference’s greatest-ever male athlete in 2013.

Career Highlights

• 1995 All-Conference
• 1995 Conference MVP
• 1995 Conference MVP
• 1995 First-Team All-America FCS
• 1995 NCAA Post graduate scholar
• 1995 Walter Payton Award Winner
• 1994 All-Conference
• 1994 Conference MVP
• 1994 Led nation in passing
• 1993 Academic All-America
• 1993 All-Conference
• 1993 Conference MVP
• 1993 First-Team All-America FCS