Robert Allen Stitt (born May 4, 1964) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach. He was the head football coach at the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fal ...

, a job he held from 2015 until 2017. He previously served in the same capacity at the Colorado School of Mines from 2000 to 2014, compiling an overall record of 108–62.

Early life

Stitt was born in

Tecumseh, Nebraska Tecumseh is a city in and the county seat of Johnson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,677 at the 2010 census. History Tecumseh was originally called Frances, and under the latter name was established in 1856. The label o ...

. After playing football, baseball, basketball, and track at Tecumseh High School in Tecumseh, he played football as a running back at

Doane College Doane University is a private university in Crete, Nebraska. It has additional campuses in Lincoln and Omaha, as well as online programs. History Doane College was founded on July 11, 1872, by Thomas Doane, chief civil engineer for the Burling ...

, receiving the All State College Offensive Player of the Year title in 1985.

Coaching career

Stitt is widely regarded in college football as an offensive innovator because of his modernized west-coast style offense. He first studied offense at the

University of Northern Colorado The University of Northern Colorado (UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado. The university was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has officially changed ...

under

Kay Dalton Orris Kay Dalton (May 4, 1932 – August 22, 2022) was an American former gridiron football coach. He served as the head football coach at Western State College of Colorado—now known as Western Colorado University—from 1961 to 1965 and North ...

, receiving his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

there. He then returned to Doane as its offensive coordinator for four years, coaching three NAIA Division II All-Americans and 19 All-NAIA offensive players during this time. Stitt went on to coach at

Austin College Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Sherman, Texas.Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

as the offensive coordinator, where he set Ivy League records with a fourth place in total offense.

Colorado Mines

In 2000, Stitt was hired as the head coach at Colorado School of Mines (CSM). In 2004, CSM won the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) crown. That same season, quarterback Chad Friehauf won the

Harlon Hill Trophy The Harlon Hill Trophy is an award in American college football given to the individual selected as the most valuable player in NCAA Division II. The award is named for former University of North Alabama and National Football League player Harlo ...

, the equivalent to the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

, awarded to the best player in NCAA Division II football. In both 2006 and 2008, CSM appeared in the Dixie Rotary Bowl, and they split the RMAC title in the 2010 season with the University of Nebraska Kearney.

Montana

Stitt was announced as the 36th head coach of the University of Montana Grizzlies on December 16, 2014, to resurrect the Griz football program and take them back to the winning ways under which they played under coaches Joe Glenn, Bobby Hauck, and Don Read. In Stitt's first football game as a Division I coach, Montana upset four-time defending FCS national champions

North Dakota State North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as th ...

38–35 on a 1-yard run with 0:06 left on the play clock.

National media appearance

Stitt became known to people outside the CSM community, when Dana Holgorsen, the head coach at

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

, gave him credit for the fly sweep play his Mountaineers team used to great success in the

2012 Orange Bowl The 2012 Discover Orange Bowl was a postseason college football bowl game on Wednesday, January 4, 2012, at Sun Life Stadium, now known as Hard Rock Stadium, in Miami Gardens, Florida. The West Virginia Mountaineers defeated the Clemson Tigers by a ...

Head coaching record

References

External links

Texas State profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stitt, Bob 1964 births Living people American football running backs Austin Kangaroos football coaches Colorado Mines Orediggers football coaches Doane Tigers football coaches Doane Tigers football players Harvard Crimson football coaches Montana Grizzlies football coaches Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves football coaches Northern Colorado Bears football coaches Oklahoma State Cowboys football coaches Texas State Bobcats football coaches People from Tecumseh, Nebraska Coaches of American football from Nebraska Players of American football from Nebraska