Rocky Mountain College and University of Mary rekindle their rivalry in a unique neutral-site opener in tiny Glendive, Montana.
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August 27th might as well be a federal holiday as college football kicks off across the country. There is no shortage of intriguing games, but a game in a railroad town in the Northwest is arguably the most fascinating. A school from Montana and one from North Dakota will meet in the middle at a 4,810-person town in Eastern Montana. Naturally, one might ask why Rocky Mountain College and the University of Mary are descending upon little Glendive, Montana on an August Thursday night.
The short answer is conference realignment, some connections in the right places, and a desire to avoid hotel costs.
When Rocky Mountain College football head coach Randy Bandelow took the job in January, athletic director Kelly Perry gave him two assignments: design the new home jerseys and schedule a tenth game. After shopping around for an opponent, a connection with a former colleague emerged.
University of Mary defensive coordinator and assistant coach Ben Davis was the defensive line coach during Bandelow’s tenure as a graduate assistant at the school. While Bandelow forgot who reached out first, he attributed his connection with Davis as the catalyst for conversations between both schools.
Surprisingly, conference realignment nearly halted conversations. Bandelow explained that Bismarck State’s addition of football to the Frontier Conference, the Battlin’ Bears' home league, a 15-team league, prevented Rocky Mountain from scheduling a home-and-home with the University of Mary.
Bandelow explained, “We were originally talking about a home-and-home and who will go to which school [in] which year, and then logistically it didn't make sense to reschedule a game for 2027 with us adding another team to our league and getting a whole new schedule, so we didn't have the opening for a non-conference game next year. Then, it became, ‘well, they don't really want to come out here just for one trip, and we don't really want to go out there just for one trip, and home-and-home doesn't make sense.’”
Then, University of Mary head coach Shann Schillinger brought up the idea of a neutral site game. His connections to Glendive made the site ideal.
Bandelow recalled, “I'll be honest, with Coach Shillinger being the connection there to Glendive, I kind of let him take the lead. He knew the principal and the athletic director at school there, so he kind of reached out and initiated the conversation and planted the seed of, ‘What would this look like to be able to make this happen?’”
Despite its small size, Glendive is arguably the perfect site for the matchup between both schools. It is almost right in the middle of both schools, 289 miles from Rocky Mountain College, 284 miles from the University of Mary. This convenient location allows both schools to save on hotel costs, since they will drive to Glendive on the day of the game.
“Both teams plan to travel [the] day of, so now we don't have to deal with hotels. If Mary wanted to come play us, that's an overnight stay and a hotel trip. If we wanted to go play at Mary, that's an overnight trip and a hotel stay”, explained Bandelow.
Additionally, the new Oakland Athletic Complex within the picturesque confines of Glendive adds a unique element to the game.
“It's the Field of Dreams. There's a $2 million stadium in the middle of nowhere, Montana”, said Bandelow glowingly when describing the Oakland Athletic Complex.
Nonetheless, this neutral-site game still has its set of unique challenges. Two of which are hash marks and goal posts. While the Oakland Athletic Conference has adjustable goalposts to solve the discrepancy between college and high school widths, addressing the hashmarks is a more cumbersome task. Bandelow plans to accompany a crew that will paint temporary college hashmarks for the special occasion.
Still, the minor logistical hurdles pale compared to the impact the matchup could have on the city of Glendive and both fanbases.
“It's going to be the section of the crowd that's University Mary fans, it's going to be the section of the crowd that's Rocky Mountain fans, it's going to be the section of the crowd that it's a Thursday night in Glendive, and we're hosting a college game, so let's walk down to the stadium and see what happens, and I think that will provide a pretty cool atmosphere for the game.” Bandelow also described the game as an “experiment” for the town of Glendive and hinted they may look to host more college games.
Bandelow added that the rekindling of an old rivalry for a one-off neutral-site game also adds appeal. Rocky Mountain College and the University of Mary have met 14 times as conference mates since 1988, but this is the first meeting since 2005. He remarked, “It's two up-and-coming institutions that haven't played in forever, getting back after it, and I think the fact that it is kind of a one-off game makes [it] a little bit special. There's no ‘Hey, let's get our ‘get back’ next year. You get one shot at this thing.”
Although Rocky Mountain and the University of Mary will not play in a sparkling NFL stadium, it will be the only game in town on August 27th in little Glendive. The combination of a rekindled rivalry and a small town receiving an influx of first-time visitors will give the Rocky Mountain-Mary game a feel unlike any other on the opening Thursday of the college football season. Not bad for a game bred out of necessity.
