Sonny Lubick, still a popular Montana figure, last coached at MSU in 1981. The Cats will face the legendary Lubick and his Rams Saturday. MSU file photo.

Sonny Lubick was on the phone long-distance from Colorado to talk football. And friendships.

A writer from his home state had mentioned the names of several men from Lubick's past, and the Colorado State head coach was immediately more interested in that than anything else.

"What's Mark Fellows doing? I recruited him," said Lubick. "Kirk Timmer? What a great kid he was."

Lubick then wondered about the sports department here at the Tribune.

"How about George (Sports Editor Geise)? Is he still golfing a lot?" Lubick said. And then he told a short story.

"I was never much of a golfer," he said with a chuckle. "I played in a golf deal with George once and he hit this big long drive. I was on a different hole and had hit a lousy shot. Anyway I ended up hitting the wrong ball -- his ball -- and when I looked back George was looking all over for it. I was too embarrassed to go back and tell him I was the one who hit it."

Lubick then asked about the C.M. Russell High football team. He did not seem surprised to learn that longtime head coach Jack Johnson has the makings of another fine team.

"Give my regards to Jack," said Lubick. "He's always been a great friend."

It went this way for several minutes with Lubick, the highly successful coach whose Colorado State Rams meet the Montana State Bobcats Saturday afternoon in Fort Collins. Though he had more important things to do, he paused to shoot the breeze.

It wasn't an act.

"Sonny's a very down-to-earth guy," said Timmer, the former star linebacker at MSU who lives now in Great Falls.

"He's just a people person," added Fellows, an All-American defensive end for the Cats 20 years ago who ranches near his hometown of Choteau. "Mike Kramer's that way, too. Mike's smiling a lot, and Sonny always smiling. He's a half-full kind of guy, with a nice rosey way of looking at things. He's optimistic, and as a player I think that's infectious."

Kramer is now head coach of the Bobcats, of course. He has much in common with Lubick, for both coached MSU teams to Big Sky Conference championships.

And both were once fired by the MSU administration.
For Lubick, the ax came in 1981 following a four-year run during which the Bobcats were 21-19.

He surfaced the next year at CSU's offensive coordinator and has enjoyed nothing but success since leaving Bozeman. Stops at Stanford and the University of Miami (Fla.) led to Lubick's hiring as head coach of the Rams in 1993.

After a 5-6 season in his year at CSU, the Rams have enjoyed 10 consecutive winning season. Lubick takes a CSU record of 91-44 -- best in Rams' history -- into Saturday's game.

"The bottom line," said Timmer, "is his track record speaks for itself. Anybody involved in that decision to fire him who is being honest with themselves would have to second-guess that. People realize in Bozeman they let a good one go."

Lubick said he personally let it go a long time ago.

"I was watching film of them the other day," he said. "And I saw that Bobcat field. It almost brought tears to my eyes. I remember when they were building that stadium. It brings back a lot of memories, a heckuva lot more good than bad."

It was suggested to Lubick that the decision to fire him might rank as the worst administrative move in Montana State history.

"I don't know that," he said. "Anyway, things have worked out for our family. The hardest part about the whole thing was having to leave there, because I never ever thought I'd leave Montana. But it was a blessing in disguise to get out and see more of the world, and I've have some tremendous experiences."

Lubick is part of the amazing football coaching legacy of Butte, connected with famous names like Sam Jankovich, Jim Sweeney, Sonny Holland, Bob Petrino and Mick Dennehy.

"He has great knowledge and is very, very dedicated," said Petrino, the retired Carroll College coach who played high school football with Lubick. "He's a 12 to 14-hour-a-day guy, works very hard all the time."

Defense and recruiting, not necessarily in that order, are his forte.

"My parents loved him, and isn't that the most important thing for a recruiter?" said Fellows. "He's really got a nice way about him. He was responsible for getting me down there and I'll always be grateful for that."

Lubick's CSU staff includes several Montanans, including his son Matt and Mick Delaney, a fellow Butte native and former Great Falls High coach. Dave Arnold, another former Montana State head coach, joined the Rams' staff last spring.

Loyalty, apparently, is a big thing with Lubick.

"Mick Delaney, he's the most loyal soldier that one would ever have," said Lubick. "He's a good coach, but a better person. I can chew him one minute and he can chew me out the next, and we forget about it in 10 seconds. When it's all over and said and done, Mick's friendship is something I'll cherish forever."

Troy Timmer is Kirk's older brother, a former Montana State defensive star who will be among many ex-Bobcat players at Saturday's game. Originally given a partial scholarship by Lubick, Troy admits to a soft spot in his heart for the rugged Butte native.

But the Timmer boys and ex-Bobcats everywhere will probably be rooting against their former coaches in Fort Collins this week.

"Those guys all have a job to do," Troy Timmer said. "They're trying to beat the Bobcats and we're trying to beat them. But once the game's done, it's different. We've all been through something together, something really special, and that's something we'll have for the rest of our lives."

Lubick said it's a special weekend for him, too, more so than was the case in 1995 when the MSU Bobcats of coach Cliff Hysell came to Fort Collins.

"You get older and a little more nostalgic," Lubick said.

The last time the Bobcats made this trip, CSU played in Hughes Stadium.

Saturday's game will be at Sonny Lubick Field.

"I'm honored and flattered," Lubick said. "But I am embarrassed about it, to tell you the truth. Every time we lose a game I think I don't deserve it."

Written by Scott Mansch, Great Falls Tribune sportswriter. Used with permission. Posted 9/24/04.