Faced with what he termed a career-changing business opportunity, Missouri State assistant football coach Bob Montgomery announced late Wednesday (Aug. 22) that he will step down from his post with the Bears’ staff next week.

The MSU tight ends and special teams coach, who joined the Bears in 2008, will be replaced on an interim basis by Rob Bolks who served on Coach Terry Allen’s staff here from 2006 until his retirement in 2010. Bolks also worked with Allen at previous stops at Northern Iowa (1985-88) and Kansas (1998-2001) and spent the 2011 season as a color analyst on Bears’ radio broadcasts.

“Bob has an incredible financial opportunity outside of coaching that will be a wonderful thing for he and his family,” said Allen. “We appreciate the time and effort he has put into our program, and we wish him nothing but the best. We are extremely fortunate to have Rob Bolks in the community and his wiliness to come out of retirement to help our program throughout the season is an incredible stroke of luck. Rob and I have coached together for over twenty years and his knowledge of our program will make this a very easy transition.”

Montgomery said his appreciation to Allen and the Missouri State community is heart-felt.

“I’m grateful to Coach Allen, Bill Rowe, Kyle Moats for the opportunity they have given me at Missouri State,” said Montgomery. “I’ve made some good friends, met some great people, and I really feel like the program and the university are headed in the right direction. The decision (to leave) was very hard, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I just cannot pass up. I feel like it is the best thing for my future and for my family.”

A 2004 graduate of Iowa State, Montgomery was a star player and academic standout for the Cyclones before entering the coaching profession. He began as an assistant at Ames (Iowa) High School in 2004-05 before coaching three years at Bryant (R.I.) University from 2005-07. His most-recent career stop in Springfield which began in 2008 with his wife Kirby was also memorable with the birth of their two daughters, Kinsley and Kollins, here.

Montgomery coached an all-conference tight end in three of his four years at MSU, including 2012 preseason All-MVFC performer Matt Thayer and Clay Harbor who was a consensus All-America pick in 2009 and is currently playing with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Bolks, also a product of Iowa State (1974), is expected to serve on the Missouri State staff for the remainder of the 2012 season.

— MSU Sports Information —

For the eighth time in program history, the Missouri State Bears have been selected to play in the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. The Bears earned the No. 3 seed in the Coral Gables (Fla.) Regional as part of the 64-team NCAA field that was announced Monday morning.

Making their first NCAA Tournament appearance in nine years, the Bears (39-20) will face UCF (43-15)–which finished second in the Conference USA regular-season race–in opening-round action Friday (June 1). Top seed and Miami (Fla.) and No. 4 seed Stony Brook make up the other half of the regional. The host Hurricanes (36-21) fell in the ACC Tournament title game and will be making their 40th consecutive NCAA Regional appearance, while the Seawolves (46-11) claimed the America East championship after going 21-3 in conference play.

In their last Championship appearance in 2003, the Bears went 3-1 against Coastal Carolina and host Nebraska to claim the Lincoln (Neb.) Regional, then swept Ohio State in the Super Regional round to advance to the school’s first Division I College World Series appearance. Missouri State is 13-15 all-time in NCAA Division I Tournament play and has won at least two games in each of their last five trips to a regional.

Missouri State was one of three Missouri Valley Conference teams selected for the NCAA Tournament, marking the first time since the 2007 season the league has earned multiple bids and the first time in 12 years the MVC has place three teams in the Championship. MVC Tournament champ Creighton (26-28) drew the No. 4 seed in the Los Angeles Regional and will face No. 2 national seed UCLA as its opening-round opponent. Additionally, league regular-season champion Indiana State (41-17) secured the third seed in the Eugene (Ore.) Regional and a date with No. 2 seed Cal State Fullerton in the first round.

Regional play continues through Sunday (June 4) with a double-elimination format. The 16 regional winners will advance to the Super Regional round, which will be contested June 8-11, with the eight winners of the three-game, head-to-head series moving on to the 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha in Omaha, Neb., June 15-26.

Tickets for the Coral Gables Regional are available through Ticketmaster or by calling 305-284-2263. Ticket packages for the entire Coral Gables Regional are $90 for field box, $60 for chairback, $45 for adult general admission and $30 for youth, seniors and students. Those packages will go on sale at 9 a.m. (Eastern) on Tuesday. Individual day passes will go on sale later this week. The UM ticket office will be open Tuesday through Friday from 9 – 5 p.m. (Eastern). Additional details pertaining to MSU’s NCAA Regional appearance, including game times, will be released as it becomes available.

— MSU Sports Information —

Behind the efforts of five conference championships and four league runner-up finishes during the 2011-12 school year, Missouri State University has won the Missouri Valley Conference All-Sports Trophy, the MVC league office announced Monday (May 21).

It is Missouri State’s fourth MVC All-Sports Trophy title and first since 2002-03. The Bears also won the coveted honor in 1999-2000 and 2001-02.  Only three Valley schools — MSU, Illinois State and Wichita State — have won the award since 1995.

“I am very proud of our student-athletes who work so hard to represent our University, community and alumni every time they compete,” said MSU Director of Athletics Kyle Moats. “Our goal is to be a successful broad-based program in which we are competing for championships and the All-Sports Trophy every year. I know our coaches have bought in to those goals, and it was very evident this year. I commend them for their excellent work as well.”

MSU’s average finish in its 13 MVC-sponsored sports this year was 2.62, the second-highest score since the conference adopted its current scoring system in 1993-94. Illinois State posted a 2.47 average in 1996-97, and Missouri State’s previous top score was 3.28 during its winning run in 2002-03.

This year also marked the 19th time in 21 years Missouri State has finished fourth or better in the MVC All-Sports Trophy standings. MSU is coming off a second-place showing a year ago with a 3.35 average, which was second only to Wichita State’s 2.73 score. MSU joined the MVC in 1990-91, but the league did not present an All-Sports Trophy in 1992-93.

The Bears won Valley titles in women’s swimming and diving, women’s indoor track and field, women’s basketball and women’s golf this year along with a co-championship in men’s soccer. Volleyball, baseball, men’s golf and women’s soccer each finished second in their respective MVC standings, while men’s basketball tied for third place. Eleven of MSU’s sports placed in the upper division of their respective conference races.

With a 2.87 average finish, Wichita State was second in the 2011-12 MVC All-Sports Trophy competition, followed by Illinois State (3.35), Northern Iowa (4.57) and Indiana State (4.92). Scores from the 6th through 10th-place finishers in this year’s standings — Southern Illinois, Drake, Creighton, Evansville and Bradley — were not released by the conference office. Defending champion WSU had won the award six of the last eight years, while Illinois State had won two of the last four.

— MSU Sports Information —

Missouri State University has dismissed starting quarterback Trevor Wooden from its football program due to violations of team rules, head coach Terry Allen announced Thursday (May 10).

Wooden, from High Springs, Fla., was expected to be the Bears’ starter again this fall after leading the Missouri Valley Football Conference in total offense last season.

“This is obviously a very difficult situation, and it’s never easy to make a call like this,” said Allen. “But based on the circumstances, I feel it is in the best interest of our program to make a clean break and start moving forward.”

Director of Athletics Kyle Moats said he supports Allen’s decision and noted the behavioral expectations of every MSU student-athlete are clearly defined.

“We expect Missouri State student-athletes to abide by the rules set forth by the University, the athletic department and their respective teams,” Moats said. “When they fail to meet those obligations and responsibilities, there are consequences.

“I know there were a lot of people counting on Trevor to be a leader on this team and be the face of our program this fall. However, our coaches have to enforce the rules consistently regardless of whether a player is a starter or a role player. That’s the right thing to do, and I support our coaches when they have to make tough calls like this.”

On Aug. 25, 2011, Allen suspended Wooden for one game at the onset of his sophomore season for a separate violation of team rules. Wooden served the suspension during the 2011 season opener at Arkansas but went on to start the remaining 10 games.

He compiled a conference-best 2,420 yards of total offense in his only season as MSU starting quarterback. He also ranked 14th nationally among all Division I FCS signal callers in pass efficiency and earned All-MVFC honorable mention honors. As a redshirt freshman wide receiver in 2010, Wooden played in 11 games, started 10 contests and collected 21 receptions for 284 yards.

He was one of 24 returning players on the 2012 MSU roster with starting experience from last season.

The Bears will open fall camp on Aug. 2 with at least two scholarship quarterbacks in sophomore Kierra Harris (Texarkana, Ark.) and newcomer Brodie Lambert (Fr., Arlington, Texas).

— MSU Sports Information —

Although the opportunity to play in the postseason for a third straight season was a possibility for the Missouri State University men’s basketball program, Director of Athletics Kyle Moats announced Monday (March 5), the Bears will not participate in the College Basketball Invitational or CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.

“Our coaches can immediately begin working with our returning players, focusing on recruiting and concentrating on our academic responsibilities,” Moats explained. “Investing our resources in these areas is a better fit for our current situation.”

Under first-year head coach Paul Lusk, the Bears finished the season 16-16 overall and tied for third in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 9-9 record. MSU, which was picked sixth in this year’s MVC preseason poll after returning just 38.7 percent of its scoring from the 2011 MVC championship team, is expected to return eight active players, two redshirt players and 52.1 percent of its total points for the 2012-13 campaign.

The four-man senior class includes three-time All-MVC standout Kyle Weems, the program’s No. 2 career scorer (1,868 points) and the only man in MVC history to record 1,800 points, 800 rebounds and 200 three-pointers. Caleb Patterson, who was second on the club at 12.2 points per game, Michael Bizoukas, the MVC leader in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio, and Isaiah Rhine, who played 105 career games, round out the list of 2011-12 seniors.

The Bears won the CIT in 2010 before advancing to the second round of the 2011 National Invitation Tournament a year ago.

— MSU Sports Information —

Missouri State University senior Kyle Weems (Sr., F, Topeka, Kan.) has been named to the All-Missouri Valley Conference first team, the league announced Tuesday, while teammate Anthony Downing was named to the MVC All-Newcomer squad.

The tandem were the only two MSU award winners in the league’s first round of postseason awards.

Weems, the 2011 MVC Larry Bird Player of the Year, has scored in double figures in 29 of 31 games this season and moved up to No. 2 on the Bears’ career scoring list his senior season. He earned MVC Player of the Week honors for the sixth time in his career on Jan. 2 and also claimed National Player of the Week distinction the same week after helping the Bears to a win over then-No. 19 Creighton with a 31-point outburst in the conference opener.

He is averaging team-bests 15.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game while tacking on 58 three-pointers, 44 assists, 19 steals and 18 blocks. He ranks second among all active Division I players in career double-figure scoring games (109) and is the only player in the nation — and only player in MVC history — with more than 1,800 points, 800 rebounds and 200 three-pointers in his career.

“It’s awesome,” Weems said. “It’s been great having a great group of guys to pass me the ball when I’m open as well as a great coaching staff to put me in a position to be successful. It’s just an extreme honor.”

Weems is joined on the All-MVC first team by 2012 Player of the Year Doug McDermott of Creighton, Colt Ryan of Evansville, and the Wichita State pair of Garrett Stutz and Joe Ragland.

Downing has scored in double figures in eight of the last night games headed into this week’s MVC Tournament in St. Louis. He is averaging 11.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game with 15 starts. He is shooting a team-best 83.3 percent from the free throw line.

He led the MVC in Newcomer of the Week honors this season, earning the Valley’s top rookie distinction four times. He led a cast of three talented new faces on the Missouri State roster who collectively won the MVC Newcomer of the Week award eight times, the second-highest team total in league history.

Joining Downing on the five-man All-Newcomer Team are MVC Newcomer of the Year Carl Hall of Wichita State, Tyler Brown of Illinois State, Grant Gibbs of Creighton and Seth Tuttle of Northern Iowa. All are juniors except Tuttle, a freshman. Hall won Valley Newcomer of the Week honors just once this season.

The Bears finished 9-9 in MVC play this year to finish tied for third. MSU will take on No. 3 seed Evansville in the quarterfinal round of the State Farm MVC Tournament at 8:35 p.m. Friday at Scottrade Center in St. Louis.

— MSU Sports Information —

Dwayne Lathan scored 12 points and Indiana State defeated Missouri State 59-46 Wednesday night.

Jordan Printy had 11 points, Carl Richard scored 10 and Jake Odum grabbed 10 rebounds for the Sycamores (17-12, 8-9 Missouri Valley), who never trailed.

Missouri State (16-14, 9-8), playing its home finale, trailed by 14 in the first half but got within three points early in the second half. However, Indiana State pushed the lead out to double figures with 9 minutes left and stayed there most of the way after that.

Anthony Downing scored 14 points and Jarmar Gulley had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Bears, who have lost three in a row and missed a chance to clinch the No. 3 seed in next week’s Missouri Valley Conference tournament.

— Associated Press —