Playing Like a Girl: The House That Rob Built

[shoveling] (Jane Selvig) There's a generation of women that didn't have any opportunity to play sports.

There was no such thing.

(Sandy Selvig Sullivan) My oldest sister was real athletic, and she didn't get to play basketball.

Women mostly had the option of being a nurse, a teacher, or a wife.

(Anita Novak Selvig) In seventh grade, I had to play boys' basketball, because we didn't have a girls' team at the time.

(Cheri Bratt Roberts) Women's basketball was not even thought of, probably, as a sport.

[Announcer] And introducing for the University of Montana Lady Griz, Robin Selvig.

(Lucy France) Rob Selvig was a pioneer in providing opportunities for women to participate in athletics.

Women's sports were not as prominent, but, boy, the Lady Griz were prominent.

(Stacey Edwards) The expectations of Coach Selvig were the same expectations that were expected of the men that were playing.

(Tricia Bader Binford) Looking at Robin's record, it's like inventing something for the first time.

He did something that had not been done.

(Jud Heathcote) Rob, uh, reaching 865 wins is not only astounding, it's almost unbelievable.

(Colleen McNally Stone) A lot of teams underestimated us, not even knowing where Missoula, Montana, was.

They would say that they had to look us up on the map.

(Juli Eckmann) Oftentimes they thought we were a cheerleading squad.

No, we're a girls' basketball team.

(Stew Morrill) You've got to understand that women's basketball, in a lot of places, you know, they'll get two or three hundred people to their games.

Now, you go to Montana and play the Lady Griz, and guess what, you're playing in front of thousands, and they're right on top of you.

(Krista Redpath Pyron) I was part of a tradition that took many years to build, and the girls before me were the pioneers.

[Little girl] I just think it's so fun and inspirational to see, um, these amazing and talented women playing.

[Little girl #2] I, like, love their competitiveness and how much courage they have.

[Little girl #3] I like it because you can be athletic and you can, like, show what you are capable of.

[Little girl #4] I just love playing basketball, and playing on the Lady Griz is just my life.

(Skyla Sisco) Small means different things to different people.

In Eastern Montana, small can be anywhere from 200 people in the town to, you know, 3,000.

I went to a one-room schoolhouse until fourth grade.

So, when we're talking backwoods, I was it.

(Laura Cote Gundlach) If you got detention, you had to clean up poop on the football field-- bison poop, because it's a national park.

(Kristy Langton Schlimgen) Typical ranching lifestyle: changing pipes, bucking bales, feeding cows, learning how to drive when you're six.

(Jordan Sullivan) Closest mall, 4 hours.

Closest Costco, 4 hours.

We used to go to North Dakota for Walmart and a movie.

(Malia Kipp) Sports were big.

I mean, what was there to do?

We didn't have a movie theater or a mall or anything like that.

(Katie Edwards) I was always playing with the farmer down the street in his 60s, or the kid that drove 30 miles from the other town just to play five on five.

(Kristy Langton Schlimgen) I had a backboard that my dad pieced together out of some steel, that hung over our garage that didn't have a garage door, and I had a little one-by-four for my free-throw line that I nailed into the ground.

(Skyla Sisco) To be offered a scholarship at the U was just, was just a dream come true for a small-town kid.

Just a chance.

I didn't want to play for anybody else.

Like, I wanted to play for the Lady Griz and, like, Robin Selvig, like, I remember that's just, like, all I dreamt about.

(Rob Selvig) My hometown is Outlook, Montana.

Population of 75.

I had seven brothers and sisters, so you just were real active in everything.

I grew up from the time I was little with a box up above the door, and you're playing basketball with your brothers.

(Scott Hollenbeck) Robin came from a high school that barely had enough males in it to field a basketball team.

(Rob Selvig) There was 50 kids in our high school.

Fifteen in my graduating class.

(Roald Selvig) Sports were very, very important in Outlook, just like they were in all the little towns.

(Agnes Selvig) Our town was just hyper about basketball.

The whole town would shut down and take off.

Everybody went to the tournaments.

(Roald Selvig) After the games, we met at the bar, and explained to the coach what he did wrong, and so forth.

(Rob Selvig) I got recruited by the University of Montana, and to be able to go on from little old Outlook and come to big-city Missoula... chased the station wagon down the street.

When they dropped me off, I was homesick before they left.

My sophomore year's when Jud Heathcote came.

He was tough.

I wasn't used to his coaching style.

Jud is kind of considered the godfather of Montana basketball.

And obviously, Jud coached Magic Johnson and won a National Championship, and had an unbelievable career.

(Scott Hollenbeck) Jud was on him.

Jud saw his potential.

Jud saw how good he could be, especially as a defensive player.

(Rob Selvig) First of all, he told me I couldn't guard anybody, and I wasn't a good defender.

I didn't particularly like that, but I wasn't.

He should have let me take more shots, because I could shoot, too, but anyway.

(Scott Hollenbeck) There was a time and a point at which, uh, I can still recall that Jud, uh, made references to Robin playing like a girl, and Robin exceeded the challenge because he became an excellent defensive player.

(Rob Selvig) He taught me the game of basketball.

(Jud Heathcote) Rob, as a player, always listened to what the coaches said.

He was an ideal guy to coach.

He was, uh, kind of, had a charisma and a swagger about him, even though he came from, you know, Outlook, Montana, which is almost in Canada.

(Roald Selvig) I tried to listen to games on the radio, and I remember, one time, they were playing at Weber, and amongst the static, I heard the name Selvig, so, uh, stopped right there, and I listened.

(Jud Heathcote) I've always said that if he hadn't hurt his knee, he would have played professional basketball.

I thought he was that good.

(Rob Selvig) We lost a playoff game to go to the NCAAs.

Sitting in the locker room after that game, it just came upon me that, uh, basketball needed to be a part of my life.

And I couldn't play anymore, so I was going to be a basketball coach.

(Rob Selvig) In 1978, when I was 25 years old, the women's-basketball job came open at the University of Montana, and I decided to apply.

Well, it's kind of sad, because I did play here, and I don't think we were aware, even, that the women had a team.

(Rob Selvig) I was offered the job, I was excited, I was a little nervous, because it wasn't a big deal, so you didn't know if it was going anywhere.

(Scott Hollenbeck) When Rob was hired in 1978, women's basketball was not even recognized by the NCAA.

(Rob Selvig) There was starting to be some rumbling.

Title IX was definitely in the news.

It was something that there was a lot of debate about, but it was something that was coming.

In 1964, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act was passed, and the protected classes were race, color, and national origin.

Prominently, sex was not part of the protections in 1964.

Title IX was passed in 1972.

In 1975, the regulations were promulgated, and that's really where the, sort of, the rubber hits the road.

It became prescriptive on what steps you actually have to take.

It made sure that women had equal playing time, uniforms, scholarship opportunities, publicity, equipment, good facilities.

(Rob Selvig) Which seemed like a no-brainer to me.

If you're federally funded, why aren't my daughters getting the same opportunities that my sons are?

(Lucy France) The disparity in men and women's sports before Title IX was pretty drastic.

(Annette Whitaker Rocheleau) There was no equipment room.

We bought our own shoes.

We basically wore our own practice gear.

(Jill Greenfield) The locker room we had, it was a fairly small locker room.

It was down at the end of the fieldhouse.

Um, we were lucky one of the boosters carpeted our locker room the second year.

(Annette Whitaker Rocheleau) The shower didn't even work.

I mean, there was one toilet in there, and a urinal.

(Barb Kavanagh Genger) Our weight room was this little room under the stairs.

I don't even know if it's a room anymore.

(Linda Deden Smith) There were times that we ended up practicing in the old men's gym.

There isn't heat in there in the winter.

(Stew Morrill) When I got here the same year as Robin, I was assistant men's coach, and they hired me for $16,000.

Now, this was way back when.

Robin was hired as the head women's coach for $16,500, because the head women's coach had to make more than the assistant men's.

That's how backward times were.

(Rob Selvig) And I think the University of Montana moved rapidly in making progress.

And, I like to think, for the right reasons, that it was the right thing to do.

(Linda Deden Smith) Rob demanded things.

And so, it was a lot better once he got there.

(Lucy France) With respect to Montana, many of these women were from small towns.

They suddenly had scholarship opportunities.

And that's opportunities to play athletics.

But it's also the opportunity to enter college.

(Annette Whitaker Rocheleau) Going from, like, six scholarships to 15 scholarships is really what made our program.

I knew nothing about college sports in general.

(Anita Novak Selvig) Rob saw me, a 6'2" girl.

He was probably not going to ignore that at that time.

I don't know if college would have been in my future, had I not had the game of basketball.

(Lucy France) As much as we sometimes grumble about the government, um, interfering with our personal lives, in the area of civil rights, and particularly Title IX, I'm afraid that we wouldn't have seen the kinds of progress that we've seen.

It really took the regulations to, um, make sure the cultural change happened.

(Sandy Selvig Sullivan) Rob spent a lot of time watching film.

He just studied and studied and studied, because he really was dedicated, very much a scholar of the game.

(Linda Deden Smith) He's a really good fundamental coach.

We're never going to be perfect, but he has that desire for us to be perfect.

(Annette Whitaker Rocheleau) Rob was just this great, nice guy that I just loved, and then we hit practice, and that great, nice guy got so intense.

He was refining my skills, um, both offensively and defensively.

(Annette Whitaker Rocheleau) He was giving 110%.

You were going to get coached.

(Linda Deden Smith) The first game with Rob was really scary.

(Sandy Selvig Sullivan) We just got shelled, and at halftime, we were down a lot.

(Linda Deden Smith) We lost, I'm pretty sure we lost.

He would probably be able to tell you.

(Rob Selvig) We got a pretty good thumping in both of them, really good thumping at Weber State.

And, uh, I was going, "Whoa, maybe I should call high school "and see if I can get my job back."

I remember going into the locker room afterwards, and they were talking about, "Oh, I wonder where we're going to go eat after the game," and all this stuff.

And I wasn't...

I wanted to leave the impression.

I say, "What are you talking about?

We're not going to eat."

They shouldn't have been worried about where we were going to eat after that thumping, they should have been sitting there waiting to talk about, "Hey, what we gotta do better?"

(Linda Deden Smith) He coached us the way he would have coached a men's team.

There was no cushioning the blows, or anything like that.

So, the idea back then that he would treat female athletes the same as someone would treat a male basketball team, is pioneering.

There is a certain school of thought that you don't want to shout too much.

You don't want to hurt their feelings.

(Linda Deden Smith) Rob felt that an athlete is an athlete, which is a wonderful thing for a female athlete.

It elevates you.

(Annette Whitaker Rocheleau) Back in the old days, we played a lot of prelims to the men.

A lot of people wanted prelims.

(Mick Holien) For most people, if they got there, they might have got there 'cause they wanted to get an early seat, general admission for the men's game.

It was boyfriends, girlfriends, family-- hardly anybody else.

(Annette Whitaker Rocheleau) He wanted people to come to see us, and I think getting away from prelims changed our identity immensely.

(Rob Selvig) Hardly anybody was coming.

Hardly anyone was interested.

It wasn't easy, because it started from a baseline of zero.

[Newscaster] This is how the program looked in the late 1970s, the early years of Robin Selvig's coaching tenure: empty stands, second-rate uniforms, and no conference on a par with the men's Big Sky League.

(Rob Selvig) The 1984 game against Oregon State was a big launching pad for our program.

Oregon State, at the time, was a big powerhouse.

(Rob Selvig) Because of the success we had that year, we were awarded a home game in the NCAA tournament.

(Cheri Bratt Roberts) We went into the locker room, and when we came back out, the janitors were pulling the stands out, because more people were coming in.

(Rob Selvig) Had no idea that 4,000 or whatever people showed up would show up.

(Jane Selvig) Just seeing people pouring in, it brought tears to my eyes, just to see people are really turning out to see these girls play.

(Cheri Bratt Roberts) And, wow.

It was really good to see that many people that wanted to come watch us play.

It was so loud that we could barely hear each other in the huddle.

(Stacey Edwards) It was like being at a college men's game, and at the time, that just didn't exist other places.

(Rob Selvig) The atmosphere in that was electric.

I mean, you have to be there to actually feel it.

It's just, uh, goosebumps and electricity in the air, and, and the deafening roar of the crowd when you do something well.

(Anita Novak Selvig) The crowd is what actually got us through that game, and, I think, the reason we won.

(Rob Selvig) Nobody thought you could ever produce revenue, you know.

"Okay, women's sports.

Nobody's going to ever come watch."

What we did, what my ladies started to do was show, "Oh, they're good, they're talented.

"Oh, they compete.

Oh, they're fun to watch."

[Newscaster] Coach Selvig with win number 224 becomes the winningest coach in Grizzly history.

(Annette Whitaker Rocheleau) Every year for the first seven or eight years, our attendance doubled.

[Newscaster] The games sold out days in advance.

But if you were lucky enough to get a ticket, you had the honor of being part of the largest crowd ever for women's basketball west of the Rockies.

[Newscaster #2] It's a tough place for the Lady Cats to play, and last time they won here, Jimmy Carter was in his second day of his presidency.

So winning in Dahlberg Arena is nothing that the Lady Cats are used to.

(Larry Frost) It has been simply a phenomenal year for the Lady Griz basketball team.

They would shatter individual scoring and attendance records.

They would remain the only major undefeated team in the country, thus establishing their national ranking at number 14.

(Rob Selvig) We took great pride in being a good defensive team.

I developed the mentality that that's how you win basketball games and win a championship.

The tough thing is you have to go, then, win the conference tournament to go to the NCAA, so not only did he dominate the regular season, he dominated by winning the conference tournament that then got him to the NCAA.

(Colleen McNally Stone) First round against Stanford, I mean, you couldn't have put another human being in here.

(Rob Selvig) The atmosphere in that game, the band playing, I mean, it was a back-and-forth.

[Newscaster] The game was over sellout capacity, and people were stacked up to the ceiling.

(Stew Morrill) Some lady grabbed me by the shoulder and said, "Did you come to see what it's supposed to be like?"

And I had to chuckle at that, because, you know, we weren't doing badly, but Robin was doing so unbelievably that, uh, we paled by comparison.

(Mick Holien) It was one of those games that was beyond belief.

Down five at the end of the game, to try and get it into overtime.

When you're doing a game up high, you can tell that the ball is going in.

I have that on video with my audio on top of it.

The ball is in the air, and I scream, "Good!"

[audience cheering] (Rob Selvig) The last shot of the game in overtime would've sent us to the Sweet Sixteen.

[Newscaster] Montana lost that night in a heartbreaker, but the tradition had been established.

And who knows where it might go next?

(Stew Morrill) Just the climate around the country was changing for women's basketball.

I think he actually took Montana and moved it ahead of the rest of the country.

It got better faster.

[Announcer] The opening tip-off between Wisconsin and Montana is just around the corner.

(Joy Anderson Kendall) It was the largest crowd women's NCAA had seen for a first-round game, ever.

I mean, for us, we were right at home.

[Man] Uh, women's basketball, you can't beat it.

[Announcer] Jodi Heinrich's in there against the Big Ten's Freshman of the Year, Barb Franklin.

The opening tip controlled by Wisconsin.

(Scott Hollenbeck) Shannon Cate was a senior and played lights-out that game.

[Announcer] Cate using a pick, coming off the pick.

And Cate has 4, the Badgers have nothing.

Cate over Williams.

Got it to drop.

Nice to have a thoroughbred like Shannon Cate in this situation.

Good defense by Williams.

(Shannon Cate Schweyen) Every time we would make a basket, just silencing the crowd.

And then the crowd would get back into it, and get back into it, and then we'd make a basket and silence the crowd.

They never truly thought Montana would come in there and beat them.

[Announcer] Runner no good.

Rebound is good.

Nice position rebound.

(Scott Hollenbeck) We handled the Badgers.

It was start to finish Lady Griz.

[Announcer] The Lady Griz have flown into Madison, and they have conquered the Badgers.

They've been led by Shannon Cate with 34 points and 11 rebounds.

And they celebrate the spoils of victory under their veteran coach, a former player at Montana.

[Woman] I think it's fun to bring my daughters to see it.

It's fun for them to see powerful, successful women, and, um, doing good things for Missoula and the university.

[Little girl] I love, like, I heart the Lady Griz a lot, lot.

Like, so much.

[Little girl #2] Lady Griz basketball is the best, and I love it.

[Woman #2] And as a fan, we are part of the team.

We're the sixth player.

[Little girl #3] I like watching them play, because they're so good, and I want to be a Lady Griz basketball player when I grow up.

[Woman #3] I missed women's basketball by about three years, and so maybe it's a, I live, I live vicariously through them, because I would like to be a bask-- I would love to be a Lady Griz.

(Stew Morrill) There aren't very many universities that the women are called something a little different than the men, and to brand "Lady Griz" different than just the Griz, I thought, was a little bit of genius.

[Newscaster] They are made in Montana.

Livingston, Kalispell, Browning, Fairfield, Havre, Miles City, Philipsburg, Malta, Stevensville, and Missoula.

This team will search for victory.

The quest will be guided by a man from Outlook.

(Rob Selvig) When we hosted UNLV in the NCAA tournament, uh, we were made up of all Montana kids, which is pretty unique.

We were really representing Montana, and we were representing Lady Griz basketball.

(Malia Kipp) How many Division I basketball teams could say that they're all from one state?

There probably hasn't been one.

(Annette Whitaker Rocheleau) Being from Montana, they're looking, thinking, "These guys got no chance."

Montana, we're still using outhouses.

It's like, do you guys fly or bus?

(Malia Kipp) To think that we were all from small towns, reservations, small ranch towns-- pretty, pretty amazing.

(Ann Lake Rausch) I remember the excitement of winning and being able to go on into the second round of the NCAAs.

(Annette Whitaker Rocheleau) It was fun to, to show that, you know, a small school from Montana can go compete with the best.

(Rob Selvig) I think the fanbase likes that we have a nucleus of Montana players.

But, believe me, they cheer and are just as proud for our Washington girls and our California girls and our Oregon girls.

Missoula became women's basketball central capital.

To have a women's basketball program at a school that's generating revenue for you through ticket sales is unusual at the Division I level.

The sport became popular here, because they won.

Make no mistake about it.

If you're not winning, people still aren't gonna come out.

You got to win.

(Tom Stage) Prior to the games, Selvig would take a ride up the Rattlesnake and listen to, you know, some opera music and be calm as heck.

(Rob Selvig) Soon as the ball went up, it was like someone hit me with a cattle prod, and all of a sudden, I was back to being Psycho Coach.

(Agnes Selvig) Watching Rob coach was fun and exciting and scary.

(Shannon Cate Schweyen) There's a picture in a lot of papers of Rob down on all fours.

(Linda Deden Smith) The sport coat comes off, it goes on the floor, and then we jump on it.

[man] Well, sometimes I was watching him and not the game, because he was different.

One time, he went to sit down and missed it, uh, chair, and got right up and didn't even know he'd missed the chair.

(Sue Habbe) One of the lines he always told me, "I made up for my lack of height with my lack of speed."

(Margaret Williams) He is like, "Williams, I sure wish I could have played you more, "but we simply could not afford to have you on the floor for us."

And it was true, they couldn't.

"We are the dumbest team in America."

(Greta Koss Buehler) "Pretend you're fast."

"Put your hands on."

I got called "Wendy Weak" a lot.

(Jane Selvig) For most of those games, I was behind the bench, and I would cringe.

(Agnes Selvig) And he said, "I knew my mother was behind the bench."

He'd calm down a little.

[Man] Uh, you know, we don't have a lot of opportunities on the reservation, so basketball around here, that's really big.

We just want to cheer on our people.

[Newscaster] One of the up-and-coming stars of the Lady Griz basketball team has already qualified for hero status, at least in the eyes of the people of Browning.

Jill Valley has more on Malia Kipp.

(Jill Valley) Malia is special as one of just a handful of Native American women in the country with a full-ride basketball scholarship at a Division I school.

She hopes her success inspires other Native American women.

[Man] You know, I remember watching her, and it just, like, gives our girls here something to look up to.

(Malia Kipp) A lot of little kids back home need good role models, and I believe that I'm a good, good role model for them.

(Malia Kipp) Growing up on the reservation, we didn't have a lot of things, um, but, I mean, everybody had a basketball.

Browning has so many strong athletes, and I just think, uh, in the past, that...you know, just Natives were overlooked.

Getting the opportunity to go to school on a Division I scholarship was amazing.

Rob called the house, and my mom hollered, "Malia, Malia, Rob's on the phone!"

He asked how I was doing, and would I be interested in playing ball for the Lady Griz?

And in my mind, I'm screaming, "Yes, finally!"

But what came out was, "Sure, yes."

(Barbara Kipp) We put a little pressure on Malia.

You got to tend to business, because then they see you as an Indian who's just another Indian that didn't make it.

(Malia Kipp) No matter how tired I was or how, um...I felt, like, maybe I couldn't do this, like, quitting was not an option.

I had too many youngsters that I needed to motivate.

"Yes, we have, we can be here.

"We can compete.

We can succeed."

(Barbara Kipp) You know, just the opportunity he gave Malia was real impactful.

Um, I think other kids looked at leaving here, and, and having people off-reservation recognize you as not only, um, capable but talented.

Sometimes people go through life, uh, feeling invisible, not being looked at, unless they're looked at with suspicion.

(Malia Kipp) Natives are resilient people, you know.

Overcome a lot of things in the past, and continue to overcome, and educate.

(Carl Kipp) Rob was inducted into the Indian Hall of Fame.

As of today, is probably the only non-Indian that's been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

(Malia Kipp) Rob gave Native American females an opportunity to be successful at the next level.

And I don't want to use the word "gave."

I want to say we earned it, and he recognized it.

(Tamara Guardipee) Do you remember what Rob would always say?

I meant, when he was screaming at you guys from the bench?

(Simarron Schildt Robertson) I'm the worst free-throw shooter in America-- which was almost kind of accurate at the time.

(Malia Kipp) I know when I was, that day, I was leaving, and my mom and dad were helping me bring stuff out to the car, and I was, like, "Why are you not driving me?"

I was just, like, "What, you're not gonna stay for, like, a week or so, "and, like, help me adjust?"

And it was, like, "No, you'll be okay."

That's a really good point, because, you know, the initial hurdle is going off the rez and going to school.

But it literally felt like a different continent, when I went to Missoula.

It felt huge.

I didn't want to drive my car.

I got lost.

I, like, I didn't even grow up with a stoplight, so I was afraid of stoplights.

Yeah, I think, Malia, um, being the first trailblazer.

You know, it's, like, um, something happens in your mind when you see somebody else do it.

I mean, I'm not 100% positive I would have tried to play for the Lady Griz if I wouldn't have seen her do it first.

(Tamara Guardipee) Watching Malia and Sim play, it just, uh, gave me the inspiration that I could do it, you know.

I'm Native American, she was Native American.

Um, she did it, I can do it as well, and prove to everybody that I could get off the reservation, go to college and stick it out-- not only basketball, but academics as well, you know.

I think it's super important to be a part of a sports team if you want to leave, because I feel like a lot of the times, you know, that's your ticket out.

(Simarron Schildt Robertson) And there were many times during college, when I was just, like, "Do I want to keep doing this?

", you know, um, but I would think, "Well, Malia made it, so, I can probably do this.

"You know, I can do four years.

Malia did it, "somehow I'm going to, um, try to do the same, you know."

(Malia Kipp) And you did.

(Simarron Schildt Robertson) And I did, yeah.

(Jane Selvig) I think the hardest part of Rob's job was definitely, kind of being a single parent at times.

You know, I was a teacher, and, um, I quit teaching when the boys were born, because every other weekend he would be gone for, you know, maybe Wednesday through Sunday.

(Rob Selvig) I-I would have never thought of missing a practice.

If one of the boys was sick, and Janie, she'd be the one that would stay home with them.

I was coach.

I had to go-- I had to go to work, we had practice.

And I kind of wish now... maybe I missed out on some things, which would be, like, staying at home.

(Jane Selvig) And then game days were really, really hard for him.

Really, really stressful.

You could tell he was completely stressed out.

He was zoned out.

He would feel terrible that he didn't get a player into the game, or he got a player into the game for 90 seconds.

He really felt like every player had a role on the team and an important role.

(Jeff Selvig) Growing up, my basketball role models were the Lady Griz.

Um, Marti Leibenguth, I remember.

At one point, I told my dad, you know, that is who I want to play like.

(Dan Selvig) My first memories were of great women playing basketball.

And, so, for me it always just seemed totally natural, because that's the world that I lived in.

(Jeff Selvig) The thing I liked least about my dad being a coach, growing up, was the fact that he was gone quite a bit.

I remember, he would always bring back a little souvenir or something from wherever he went, so we'd be excited, you know, waiting for him to come home.

(Jeff Selvig) My mother played a huge role behind the scenes with the team.

She was a huge part in my father's success as a coach.

(Rob Selvig) Pat Summitt, who's the real pioneer in women's basketball, talked about playing a series, and, uh, she said, "Yeah, we've never played in Montana, let's do it."

[Man] Number one in the nation coming to Missoula?

It's great.

(Skyla Sisco) We were unranked nationally.

They were ranked number one.

I'm certain, to a point, they overlooked us.

I mean, it's hard not to.

People literally laughed.

You know, they were like, "Oh, right, who's this?

"Like, Montana, whatever, a bunch of...skinny girls from Montana."

And then we'd get out there on the floor and play 40 minutes of the most intense basketball they've ever seen.

[Newscaster] You guys make it a point to come to a lot of the games?

[Woman] Yes, every game, as much as we can.

(Skyla Sisco) At one point late in the fourth, we were only down by two or three, I think, and the crowd was starting to get a sense of, like, "Oh, this could really happen.

"We could really beat a number-one-seed team in the nation!"

(Bill Speltz) It's a special connection between the fans and the players.

There's a little magic there.

There's a little mystique.

(Krista Redpath Pyron) I'm actually one of the kids that wanted to play for the Lady Griz.

Looking around the arena, thinking that, someday, I was going to play in front of this type of a crowd.

Um, it was overwhelming, it was emotional.

[Announcer] This is where you need one of those special plays to hit someone long.

[Announcer #2] Kipp to Sisco in the backboard.

One second to shoot.

She sends the long shot down, but it doesn't go.

The final score is Tennessee Lady Vols 66, Montana 61.

The Lady Griz get a standing ovation from the crowd.

[Announcer] Well, if they play that well all the time, they're, they're a good basketball team.

They're very aggressive.

Having been in the business 21 years, never have we gone on the road and played in front of almost 19,000 fans in a matter of a two-game period.

(Jud Heathcote) You know, I always thought so much of Rob, that, when I had an assistant's job open at Michigan State University, I contacted him twice to see if he had any interest.

And he turned me down both times.

(Rob Selvig) There's no way I could say, "Ladies, I'm gonna move up to the men's."

That wasn't a step up to me.

We were a team.

I mean, I'm part of a team.

(Tricia Bader Binford) Rob could have coached anywhere, but he chose to stay there, because it was a place that he had helped create.

Out of all of the things he's accomplished, I think I admired that the most, is the fact that he made that his home, and no other place could take him away.

(Stew Morrill) You look at how many of us coached at Montana on the men's side, and then something would come along, and we just thought we had to take it, because we were fortunate enough, we'd get a so-called bigger job, a so-called better job.

There's no bigger and better job than Montana to Robin Selvig.

(Shannon Cate Schweyen) He could take a lineup every year, and, uh, 15 girls, and mold them into this championship team.

He just had a niche for finding what worked and, uh, making them believe.

(Kristy Langton Schlimgen) At first, it was a little bit hard, because his level of intensity and competitiveness was something I hadn't experienced before.

He pushed me to a level of competitiveness that I didn't know I had.

(Annette Whitaker Rocheleau) Everybody on the team had a role and knew their role.

And, I think, most of all, he taught them how basketball can be fun.

You can work really, really hard, but it's going to be fun, too.

He wouldn't let you get away with those little mistakes every practice.

He'd hold you accountable.

(Sherri Brooks McWilliams) The first time I dribble-entered I wouldn't, like, dribble far enough.

So, then, we'd have to stop the play for everybody, and then I would dribble again, and then I wasn't, like, passing at the right angle.

And I swear, he did that to me, like, ten times in a row, and I was so frustrated.

But those are the things that he did that made me better, because, um, I really learned how to execute that the way it should be executed.

(Trish Olson Duce) Other places, you know, they might have three All-Americans on their team.

It's a little easier, I think, to coach if you have three All-Americans versus, every year, figuring out how you're going to do it with some girls who might not be quite as athletic.

(Skyla Sisco) He really had an incredible ability to get the most out of every single player.

He knew who he could push far, and who he had to be a little bit more delicate with.

Truly, one of his great strengths, knowing when he was about to cross that line, where he would break a player, but not crossing it, so the end result was getting them to their absolute max potential.

And it was amazing that he really found that gray area with nearly every player he had.

(LeAnn Montes) Having a child in high school was a really big challenge.

From that point on, it was no longer about me.

I know Rob was taking a risk with bringing me on, which I'm really grateful for.

It would have been easier for me to stay on the reservation.

I had my family, was, uh, was there.

(Rob Selvig) There's some really good Native American basketball teams in this state, men's and women's high-school teams.

Now, I never recruited anybody I didn't think was good enough to play here.

(LeAnn Montes) There was a lot of times where I just wanted to be the normal college student without much responsibilities, other than to get up, go to class, and then go to basketball practice, but unfortunately, that wasn't my lifestyle.

You know, my daughter went to school in the mornings, and then she went to the YMCA in the afternoons.

And then, I would go to school all morning, go to practice late in the afternoon.

Rob basically held my hand throughout that entire first year, and reassured me that I would be continuing on with the program the second year.

He takes the time to, uh, get to understand his players, their background, what they're about, uh, what kind of responsibilities they have on and off the court.

I was getting ready to graduate from undergrad.

I had an option of whether or not to continue and pursue a master's through the University of Montana or to actually go to New Mexico and obtain a law degree.

I remember asking Rob, you know, "What should I do, "you know, what am I supposed to do?"

And he looked at right at me, and he was like, [scoffs] "Go to law school."

My desire was always, after graduating from New Mexico, was to move home, take the Montana State bar and practice for my tribe, and fortunately, that's exactly what I'm doing.

I currently am the attorney general for the Chippewa Cree Tribe.

(Hollie Tyler Short) My junior year, we hosted the first round of the NCAAs here, and we played Louisiana Tech.

It was sold out.

There wasn't an empty seat in the house.

(Brooklynn Lorenzen) I've never felt the level of energy and excitement amongst my team and from the fans.

(Rob Selvig) We started out, they jumped on us.

I think we were behind 8, 10-nothing, and then we got rolling.

(Brooklynn Lorenzen) I remember passing the ball up-court to Katie Edwards, and she hit this tremendous three-pointer.

[Announcer] Katie Edwards does it, the sophomore out of Lewistown, Montana.

(Brooklynn Lorenzen) And, literally, all the fans stood up, and I could feel the vibrations on the floor.

I could, literally, feel it, but I couldn't hear anything, because it was so loud that it was silent.

I did my first ever fist-pump, that I'm still really embarrassed about, and they caught it on camera.

So, it was in the paper the next day, and I was humiliated.

(Rob Selvig) Julie Deming, always comes back to thinking about her, because she was having the game of her life, a senior.

[Announcer] Reversal pass to Deming on the weak side of the floor.

She made them pay for it.

(Rob Selvig) She's a young lady we lost in a car accident a few years ago.

[Announcer] ...to this ball game, keep those, uh, people spread apart from each other.

[Announcer #2] There's Julie Deming setting her career high.

She just exploited the lane.

(Amy Midgett) Kinda the closer you get to the end of the game it was like, "Oh, my gosh, they might pull this out."

(Rob Selvig) We had the crowd going crazy.

We were shooting it in, we were-- Both teams were playing hard, but, all of a sudden, they're coming up with steals, and they make some big plays in front of our crowd, where we're going crazy.

[Announcer] Two seconds left, and a foul cannot be called, and so the twelve-seed Lady Griz of Montana fall.

[Newscaster] In college basketball, the yardstick of success is simple.

The NCAA tournament, to play, perchance to win, but the odds of winning it all are long, and, so, successful, even historic seasons, end in defeat.

(Rob Selvig) I have more memories, precious memories of locker rooms after tough losses, I think, than I do after big victories.

(Rob Selvig) Who, in life, has not had setbacks?

Everybody has.

You quickly become a failure in sports if you can't handle setbacks, because you give up.

We lose a game, we can't get it back.

We can't dwell on that.

What you have is the next one.

(Shadra Robison) As much as you think, those first couple of years of playing college basketball, that it's about the wins and the losses, it's about the person you become.

(Laura Cote Gundlach) My dad died September of my sophomore year, and I went home for the funeral.

And I remember the very packed church, and there were two extra rows that were, like, right behind my family, and I was like, "Well, who are those for?"

It's like, "Your team is coming," and, like, very last minute in the snow, in walks all of them, like, my coaches.

And they... just, they all came and were so supportive.

(Julie Tonkin) And Rob made sure that every Lady Griz on that team went to Gardner to be with Laura.

(Laura Cote Gundlach) I know that I didn't play very well that year.

That was just a very difficult year.

Um...but they were there-- I wasn't injured physically, bu it was, you knew that they wanted the best for me, and that they would take care of me, and they all did.

(Bill Speltz) 2015, they're in the Big Sky Conference tournament final.

Montana's playing Northern Colorado.

Tough game.

Down 14 with 15 minutes left.

(Carly Selvig) We were down, and it was just painful to watch.

(McCalle Feller) Rob is on the floor, is like, kicking and screaming.

Energy's up, you know.

I remember our seniors started making shots.

[cheering] (Bill Speltz) Montana comes back and wins that game on grit and, and hustle.

That's when you believe there's something more here than just Xs and Os and making adjustments.

There's a belief that there's, uh, something special.

[cheering] (Rob Selvig) Just think about it.

Had that been in an empty gym, would it have been quite as special?

No, 'cause things that are special, are special, because you get to share them.

[Newscaster] The KPAX 5:30 news starts right now, in high definition.

Good afternoon, I'm Jill Valley.

And I'm Dennis Bragg.

We begin with breaking news from the University of Montana.

Legendary Lady Griz basketball coach Robin Selvig announces today that he's retiring after nearly 40 years.

(Kent Haslam) This is a day that we knew, eventually, would come.

A day that, uh, certainly didn't look forward to.

It's never a good time to lose Robin Selvig.

(Rob Selvig) For 42 years, I've actually been a basketball coach.

Now I'm going to be something else.

I know I'm not going to do anything for a while.

Thank you.

Um, yeah, I mean, who knows what's ahead?

I got some things I can do.

(Rob Selvig) I was worn out.

I was tired out.

Emotionally, physically, all those things.

And I had a lot of things going on in life that were... were different for me.

Having a... a granddaughter has, I mean, that's changed me a little bit.

I don't want to miss out on, uh, a lot of things with her.

(Jud Heathcote) Well, you know to remain at one school for 38 years is, in the coaching profession, almost unheard of.

I thought they'd have to take him out on a gurney, before they got rid of Robin at University of Montana.

(Tom Stage) He kept every assistant in the same for the 38 years.

I've had people come and say, "I can see that guy maybe 38 years, but those assistants?

"The same ones?"

They can't believe it.

(Annette Whitaker Rocheleau) Rob was always thinking about our families, and, and he understood that raising kids and traveling was hard.

(Trish Olson Duce) Whether it was a game or a doctor's appointment, super good about letting us, um, attend it.

(Shannon Cate Schweyen) Robin was always very supportive about us bringing our kids with us on trips, if we wanted.

I don't think there's a lot of places around the country that have that kind of environment.

(Trish Olson Duce) He let us be good moms and so forth, so, uh, that was a nice thing.

(Rob Selvig) I was blessed to have great assistants that all played for me.

They all knew me.

They all tried to understand me.

Don't know if they did.

[no audible dialog] (Tricia Bader Binford) Really, he set the standard for the Big Sky Conference.

And when you think of our conference, he's so much of the history of who we are.

I think he's challenged everybody to recruit better, to perform better, uh, on both ends of the floor.

You look at the wins that Robin had under his belt and the very few losses.

I mean, that's, that's a Hall of Fame resume, in my opinion.

(Stew Morrill) I think probably what stands out to me the most, is just how he dominated the Big Sky Conference.

I mean, nobody will ever do that again.

Nobody will dominate a conference like Robin Selvig did.

(Jud Heathcote) Rob got the, the program going from the ground up.

He did not inherit any, uh, tradition or really any players.

He built it himself.

(Bill Speltz) He's a Montana original.

To me, he's, um, a little bit like John Wayne.

Uh, only John Wayne is just reading off his script.

Robin Selvig is a, is a real person.

(Linda Deden Smith) He created what we have today.

So, for Montana, he is an institution.

(Kent Haslam) I don't think I'll ever see that in my lifetime, that kind of an impact on one institution, as Robin Selvig's had.

(Rob Selvig) You know, I was the coach.

And I was a big part of this program-- a part of it.

But the players deserve the credit.

It's their team.

I never wanted to overshadow that.

Plus, if we lost, I wanted to blame them.

No, that's not true.

For 40 minutes, I think, from one end of our bench to the other, that's all the players and the coaches, you're just in a shell.

It's a world of our own for 40 minutes.

Um, and that intensity and that togetherness and that, that, you know, just striving for one thing, which is to be our best and win that game.

It always was a family thing.

You do things together.

You share things together: good things, bad things, wins, losses, laugh, joke.

I mean, it's just a big part of your life, which is what your family is.

To the fans, I'd say, "Thank you.

"You made this a special place to be, "not just for me but for all those ladies.

"It wouldn't have happened if nobody cared to come watch, "doesn't make a difference how good we were."

[Man] You're outnumbered.

(Rob Selvig) I am outnumbered.

[cheering] (Rob Selvig) Boy, what a crew here.

Hollie!

[Former player] We all came to wish you well in retirement.

(Rob Selvig) Pretty nice.

(Rob Selvig) That's quite a crew here.

(Shadra Robison) A lot of people think college sports is just about the sport, just about basketball.

Rob made sure we were going to grow into women that would have an impact.

Rob would be devastated if all we did was say we played basketball.

(Laura Cote Gundlach) Like, if you had made the big mosaic of all the different faces, it, it makes me so proud to be one of them.

(Jamie Fariss) It's this sisterhood, this community, this feeling of being very proud, even though I'm not from Montana.

(Karen Wilken) You come in as individuals, but you, really, leave a part of each other and a part of each other's lives.

(Rob Selvig) Brooklynn!

I hope everybody brought their kids!

(Stew Morrill) I find that utterly amazing that, that many players made it back for a celebration.

To have that kind of relationship with your players is, is very unique and very, very special.

(Rob Selvig) Hollie.

(Katie Edwards) He loved each and every one of us, and you just wanted to make him proud.

You didn't want to let him down.

I still don't to this day, and I'm 32 years old.

(Rob Selvig) How are you?

[Former player] Good, how are you?

(Rob Selvig) Great.

This is, this is amazing.

[Former player] It is.

(Rob Selvig) Holy smokes.

Oh... (Lucy France) The early Lady Griz basketball players inspired other generations of students, and we take for granted that, that every young girl has opportunities.

But it wasn't that long ago, that many people didn't have those same opportunities.

(Jane Selvig) What's amazing to me is to see these girls have grown into confident, strong, successful women.

And they have so much more confidence in themselves, um, than I ever dreamed, you know, for myself, growing up in my era.

[Photographer] Here we go.

Front row, one, two, again.

One, two, okay.

(Greta Koss Buehler) It was a huge thing for me, just to have somebody say, "We believe in you," and...boy, that probably changed the trajectory of my life incredibly, just having that opportunity.

(Barb Kavanagh Genger) And I still feel as much a part of the Lady Griz as I ever did, and it's been 35 years.

(Kristy Langton Schlimgen) I, you know, I'll never forget the day my husband died, the first people that showed up to my house were teammates, and I-I didn't even call them.

You know, I don't know how they found out.

(Amy Phillips O'Reilly) I don't have sisters, but these are the closest things to sisters that I have.

(Katie Edwards) The Lady Griz is a family unit, because, like all families, it's dysfunctional at times, but they're loyal and committed, and supportive, even when things get tough.

(Cheryl Keller Carr) We share, you know, our deepest, darkest, happiest, saddest moments with each other, and it's been a true, just true friendships that'll last forever.

(Jeanne McNulty King) Robin asked me one day after he retired, Rob said, "Who am I?

Who am I now?"

And I said, "You are forever our coach."

[cheering] (Rob Selvig) Well, I've got no chance here.

[laughter] Um, well, seriously, I've got no chance here.

I'll probably fall off this.

I told you I was athletic, but I was just telling you.

Um, I've got to make a joke, so I don't start crying, um.

I've, uh...

I got a great memory and a great story from every face and everybody I see here.

I don't know, we won a lot of games, that's fine.

That was fun.

But, uh, I don't, I really don't remember that much, but I remember all of you.

And I remember you all, in your way, made my life better.

There was not a better decision in my life, not a better break in my life, than that day when I got into coaching women's basketball, because you guys, truly, are as competitive, and talented, and athletic, and wanting to be your best, and took advantage of that opportunity to be your best.

I couldn't, no, no matter what level, no matter what gender I was coaching.

It couldn't have been better, and so, I'm a pretty happy man, and, uh, and you made me a lot happier tonight.

Thank you for being here.

I love you.

[cheering] [Former player] I'm a regulatory affairs specialist.

[Former player #2] I am a sports broadcaster.

[Former player #3] I am an attorney.

[Former player #4] I am a pharmaceutical sales representative.

[Former player #5] I am a nurse.

[Former player #6] I work as a legal assistant.

[Former player #7] I'm a math teacher.

[Former player #8] I am a chemistry teacher.

[Former player #9] I'm a pediatric dietitian.

[Former player #10] Massage therapist.

[Former player #11] Healthcare administrator.

[Former player #12] I'm a stay-at-home mom.

[Former player #13] I'm a commercial banker.

[Former player #14] I'm a mental-health therapist.

[Former player #15] I am a filmmaker.

[Former player #16] I'm a women's basketball coach.

[Former player #17] I was assistant coach for 32 years.

[Former player #18] And I am the new head coach of the Lady Griz.

(Rob Selvig) One of the things Jud said one day in practice was, well, uh, "You play like a girl."

And I didn't realize it at the time, he was giving me a great compliment, which I realize today, after coaching girls for a lot of years, that that was, uh, a really good compliment.