A little about me

Brad Huse, part of one of the great eras of Montana State’s basketball history, took control of the program’s future on April 4, 2006, when he became Montana State’s 21st head coach.

During his first season back on the Bobcat bench he began building the program using a proven blueprint for success.

A three-time conference coach of the year at the NAIA level and a Division I assistant, Huse’s first Bobcat squad compiled an 11-19 record, showing the characteristic that defines his teams – improvement through the season, and success in the conference. MSU finished 8-8 in the Big Sky in 2007.

Huse brings a broad coaching background to the Bobcat program. The Missoula native sandwiched eight highly successful years as head coach at Jamestown (N.D.) College with two-year stints as an assistant at Montana State (1994-96) and Montana (2004-06). He rolled up a 184-60 record with the Jimmies, leading that squad to championships in five of his eight years there.

“Jamestown was a great experience for me as a coach, and for my family,” Huse said after landing the Bobcat head coaching post. “We played at a high level, and were able to adapt in a way that kept us successful over a long period of time.”

Just as important as the lessons learned at the end of the bench, Huse built a strong foundation during his time a couple of seats over. His coaching tutelage began as a cager at Montana Tech, first for former Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson, and later for Rick Dessing, who would put together a highly successful coaching career in the Frontier Conference. Huse was a three-time All-Frontier Conference honoree at Tech, earning NAIA All-America honors as a senior.

After three years as an engineer – “My wife (Kelly) still tells people she married an engineer,” Huse quipped during the open forum portion of his interview for the MSU head coaching job – Huse returned to Tech to work on the Diggers’ coaching staff. After three years on Dessing’s bench, Huse joined Mick Durham’s coaching staff at Montana State in 1994.

Huse’s arrival coincided with one of the finest two-year runs in Bobcat Basketball history. MSU posted its first 20-win season in nearly a decade in 1994-95, Huse’s first as a Bobcat assistant, and the next year’s squad authored one of the memorable chapters in Bobcat history. MSU rolled up a 21-9 record, winning the Big Sky regular season title and grabbing the Big Sky tourney title amidst the Worthington Arena frenzy.

After MSU’s championship season, Huse landed the head coaching job at Jamestown (N.D.) College. After leading the Jimmies to 17-10 and 19-9 records in his first two seasons, the program took off. Jamestown won at least 20 games in each of Huse’s final half-dozen campaigns there, improving in each of the last four seasons and culminating in a 30-3 record in 2003-04. That year, Jamestown won the DAC 10 tournament and regular season titles for the third straight year, finishing 18-0 in conference play. Jamestown finished 52-2 in league play from 2002-04.

Huse’s success at Jamestown extended to the post-season, as well. He led the Jimmies to the NAIA national tournament four times. His 2003-04 squad spent the regular season ranked first in the nation, and he took one team to the Elite Eight. The three-time DAC-10 Coach of the Year also served as the school’s Athletic Director from 2000-04.

In the fall of 2004, Huse returned to his hometown to serve on Larry Krystkowiak’s first Montana coaching staff, and became part of UM’s basketball renaissance. The Grizzlies won the Big Sky Tournament in each of Huse’s two seasons, and in the spring of 2006 the Grizzlies advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a first round win over Nevada.

That proved to be Huse’s swan song with the Grizzlies. Less than two months later, Montana State tapped Huse to replace one of his mentors, the retiring Mick Durham, whose 16 years on the Bobcat bench produced the most wins in Big Sky Conference history.

The Missoula native earned All-Frontier Conference honors three times at Tech and NAIA All-America kudos as a senior. During his 15-year career as an assistant or head coach, Huse’s squad has won conference titles nine times. In addition to his engineering degree from Montana Tech, Huse holds a master’s degree in education from MSU.

Huse’s family has cut a wide swath through the Treasure State sporting scene. His father Dick, who played football at Montana, is retired after a legendary high school officiating career. One of Huse’s brothers, Thad, played football at Montana from 1988-91, and the other, Shawn, is currently Montana State University-Northern’s head men’s basketball coach. Huse’s wife Kelly (Sauvageau) volleyball at Montana Tech, and is a health and physical education teacher in Bozeman. They have three sons - Adam, Drew, and Ty.