They didn't know, of course. How could they? There was a sense back in 1985, when construction first began on Washington-Grizzly Stadium, that the fortunes of the Montana football team were about to change. But this?
Since that October day in 1986, when the Grizzlies rallied for a victory over Idaho State in their first game in their new home: A pair of national championships. Seven title game appearances. Fifteen Big Sky Conference championships and 26 consecutive winning seasons.
A team that in the mid-1980s had a trophy case celebrating a pair of Big Sky championships and was mostly an afterthought to the basketball program? Three decades later it has a stadium record of 177-26, a statewide-and-beyond following and a brand that resonates from coast to coast.
Washington-Grizzly Stadium, which has undergone multiple expansions to meet the growing interest of an energized fan base, changed more than a football program. It transformed a department, a university, a city and a state.
All from the turn of a shovel on the northwest side of campus to break ground for a facility that replaced the outdated Dornblaser Stadium. The old facility could have been kept patched together for additional seasons, but finally good enough was replaced with let's see where this can go.
Dennis Washington was brought in early in the process to be among the small group of visionaries who would examine what was possible with the new facility, and why not?
Who better than the man who started with a small loan and a bulldozer in the mid-1960s, turned it into Washington Construction and eventually into the global Washington Companies? Who better than the man who built his fortune by seeing not just what was but what could be?
Three decades later, it's happening again, with a familiar -- and familial -- storyline.
A new generation of Washingtons, Dennis and Phyllis's sons Kyle and Kevin, on behalf of the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation, has gifted $7 million to the University of Montana's Department of Athletics to be used for the $14 million Washington-Grizzly Champions Center.
It is the largest gift to the Department of Athletics in its history.
The remaining $7 million will come from private sources. The project is pending approval by the Montana University System Board of Regents.
The 46,000-square-foot facility, which will be located hard against the southwest side of Washington-Grizzly Stadium, will provide the department a new football locker room and two-level weight room, which will become the training home of all 15 of Montana's teams.
Kyle Washington was a sophomore in high school when the stadium that bore his family's name opened. Like most Griz fans, he'd since believed that the behind-the-scenes facilities -- unseen to most but integral to the Montana teams' successes -- reflected the department's championship ethos.
What he and his brother discovered on a tour of those support facilities last December was just the opposite: a cramped space void of windows and energy but still charged with producing winning programs.
There was good reason former Griz football coach Bobby Hauck famously avoided showing the area to recruits.
"It was quite dilapidated. It isn't fit for a high school, quite frankly," said Kyle, today living in Vancouver and working for the Washington Companies in their shipping and transportation endeavors north of the border.
"Something new was well beyond needed. I couldn't believe that what was in place had been getting the department so far for so long."
Three decades earlier, vision was matched with Dennis Washington's motivation and means. The result changed everything.
Now something that had been stuck in the endless loop of hoped-for discussion since the early 1990s -- predating the Grizzlies' first national championship -- will soon become reality, thanks in large part to the brothers Washington.
When the Washington-Grizzly Champions Center is compete, the football locker room will expand from 2,400 square feet at its current location to 7,000. What was a space avoided immediately will become a highlight of recruiting visits.
The size of the weight room, currently a dysfunctional arrangement encompassing three different areas, will more than double, from 7,500 square feet to more than 17,000. Multiple teams will be able to train at once instead of stacked one at a time on a tight schedule that's booked from sunup to sundown.
Nobody knows now, of course. How could they? But will the Washington-Grizzly Champions Center have the same effect that Washington-Grizzly Stadium has had since it opened?
"I certainly hope so. A school with pride like Montana needs to have the facilities that help its student-athletes be at a championship level in everything they do, and that was missing. I think this is going to fill that need," said Washington, a 1996 UM graduate.
"I hope this new facility inspires Missoula and Griz fans statewide, and reinvigorates their Grizzly pride."
Kevin Washington echoed his brother's thoughts. "The Grizzlies have a strong tradition of excellence. This facility is an investment that sends a clear message to the student-athletes who give so much to the university that the tradition of excellence will continue."
The facility will be the third construction project to begin under UM Director of Athletics Kent Haslam, who was hired in 2012 after working for the department in a development role since 2006.
"It's exhilarating as an athletic director to be able to sit down with people like Kyle and Kevin, share with them a vision we have for this department and then have them, through the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation, invest in that vision," Haslam said.
Ground was broken on a new softball complex in July, and construction of a student-athlete academic center started in August. The latter is part of the Investing in Student Success initiative, which aims to raise $45 million to support scholarships, innovative programs and dynamic learning environments.
When the projects are complete, it will mark $18 million of infrastructure improvements. They will be constructed at no cost to Montana taxpayers.
"It's personally very gratifying, but much more important than that, I'm elated for our student-athletes and our coaches. This has been a long time coming, and it's something that is going to point us in a great direction," said Haslam.
Over the years the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation has been one of the university's most generous benefactors.
Among many other facilities and programs, the foundation has been a key supporter of the Phyllis J. Washington College of Education and Human Sciences, has helped establish the Phyllis J. Washington Center for Education and has provided $2.4 million to support the college-prep curriculum EdReady.
The foundation has given more than $150 million to various causes since it was established in 1988.
"The Washington family's generosity to the University of Montana has been truly remarkable," said UM President Royce Engstrom. "Their involvement in this university has been critical to our growth over the past several decades.
"Now the next generation of Washingtons is recognizing the value of the university. Their latest investment will benefit thousands upon thousands of student-athletes who will utilize the Washington-Grizzly Champions Center in the decades to come."
