Last week, I published a story about the preparation for Montana State’s first home football game since 2019 from the school’s and fans’ perspective.

‘It’s right again’: Montana State’s long wait for home football game almost over

Angellica Street, a standout javelin thrower from Montana, alleged some troubling behavior from her coach at Texas A&M. The coach’s weight loss demand caused mental health issues for Street, she said, and led her to transfer to Montana State.

Dispute over weight leads Columbia Falls javelin thrower Angellica Street to transfer from Texas A&M to Montana State

Shortly before Montana State’s 2021-22 sports season began, I wrote about the state of the Bobcats after the pandemic altered (or, when it came to football, canceled) the 2020-21 season. People in the MSU athletic department felt optimistic overall about the coming season, even though the pandemic was far from over.

Montana State athletics ‘feel like we’re back to normal,’ but COVID-19 concerns linger

My first major assignment as a Montana State sports beat writer was attending the Big Sky Football Kickoff in late July. The main story I wrote from the event in Spokane, Washington, was about the Big Sky’s COVID-19 protocols, specifically the conference’s vaccine recommendation, which wasn’t too far away from a mandate.

Big Sky commissioner gives warning to lowly vaccinated football teams