Robert Allen Stitt (born May 4, 1964) is an American football coach. He was the head football coach at the University of Montana, a job he held from 2015 until 2017.[1] He previously served in the same capacity at the Colorado School of Mines from 2000 to 2014, compiling an overall record of 108–62.
 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 4, 1964 Tecumseh, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1982–1986 | Doane |
| Position(s) | Running back |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1987 | Doane (DB) |
| 1988 | Nebraska Wesleyan (RB) |
| 1989 | Northern Colorado (GA) |
| 1990–1993 | Doane (OC/OL) |
| 1994–1998 | Austin (AHC/OC/STC) |
| 1999 | Harvard (OC/OL) |
| 2000–2014 | Colorado Mines |
| 2015–2017 | Montana |
| 2018 | Oklahoma State (OA) |
| 2019 | Texas State (OC/QB) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 129–76 |
| Tournaments | 1–3 (NCAA D-II playoffs) 1–1 (NCAA D_I playoffs) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 3 RMAC (2004, 2010, 2014) | |
| Awards | |
| 2× RMAC Coach of the Year (2004, 2010) D2Football.com SW Region Coach of the Year (2004) Division II AFCA Region 5 Coach of the Year (2004) | |
Early life
Stitt was born in Tecumseh, Nebraska. After playing football, baseball, basketball, and track at Tecumseh High School in Tecumseh, he played football as a running back at Doane College, receiving the All State College Offensive Player of the Year title in 1985.[2]
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 under Kay Dalton,[3] receiving his master's degree 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 from 1994 to 1998, serving as the assistant head coach and the coordinator of offense and special teams, before taking a job at Harvard University as the offensive coordinator, where he set Ivy League records with a fourth place in total offense.
Colorado School of 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 equivalent to the Heisman Trophy, 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 at 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 38–35 on a 1-yard run with 0:06 left on the play clock.[4]
National media appearance
Stitt became known to people outside the CSM community, when Dana Holgorsen, the head coach at West Virginia University, gave him credit for the fly sweep play his Mountaineers team used to great success in the 2012 Orange Bowl.
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Rank# | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado Mines Orediggers (Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) (2000–2014) | |||||||||
| 2000 | Colorado Mines | 2–8 | 1–7 | 9th | |||||
| 2001 | Colorado Mines | 7–4 | 4–4 | 5th | |||||
| 2002 | Colorado Mines | 7–4 | 4–4 | T–5th | |||||
| 2003 | Colorado Mines | 6–5 | 4–4 | T–4th | |||||
| 2004 | Colorado Mines | 12–1 | 8–0 | 1st | L NCAA Division II Second Round | 8 | |||
| 2005 | Colorado Mines | 6–5 | 6–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 2006 | Colorado Mines | 4–7 | 2–6 | 8th | |||||
| 2007 | Colorado Mines | 7–5 | 6–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 2008 | Colorado Mines | 8–4 | 7–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 2009 | Colorado Mines | 8–3 | 8–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 2010 | Colorado Mines | 9–3 | 8–1 | T–1st | L NCAA Division II First Round | 19 | |||
| 2011 | Colorado Mines | 8–3 | 6–3 | 3rd | |||||
| 2012 | Colorado Mines | 6–5 | 4–5 | 5th | |||||
| 2013 | Colorado Mines | 8–3 | 7–2 | 2nd | |||||
| 2014 | Colorado Mines | 10–2 | 8–1 | T–1st | L NCAA Division II First Round | 19 | |||
| Colorado Mines: | 108–62 | 83–44 | |||||||
| Montana Grizzlies (Big Sky Conference) (2015–2017) | |||||||||
| 2015 | Montana | 8–5 | 6–2 | T–2nd | L NCAA Division I Second Round | 14 | |||
| 2016 | Montana | 6–5 | 3–5 | 8th | |||||
| 2017 | Montana | 7–4 | 5–3 | T–6th | |||||
| Montana: | 21–14 | 14–11 | |||||||
| Total: | 129–76 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||