the last two years.
The Montana family is well represented in the game of college basketball. Bob, the father, is now in his seventh year at the helm of Union's program, while his middle son, Todd, has been his father's assistant the last two years. John, the youngest, is a freshman at Hartwick College and a member of the Hawks cage team. The oldest Montana sibling, Robby, is a sports writer for the
Hornell Evening Tribune.
On Saturday, December 7, the trio met up at Hartwick when the Dutchmen defeated the Hawks, 74-64, in Oneonta.
“We (the Montanas) treated the game like a summer pickup game, we would compete to our fullest to help our teams win. However when it was over, we would know how much we cared for one another” said Bob Montana, who has the Dutchmen off to a 3-1 record with all four games played on the road (in fact, the Garnet's first six games are away from Memorial Field House).
“Having Todd as my assistant the last two seasons, working side by side to develop a team, has been a wonderful experience,” the elder Montana continued. “To play against Hartwick with John in an opposing jersey, well, that was difficult.”
Bob, whose varsity coaching record at Union is 87-76, is coming off a 2001-02 season that saw his Dutchmen tie the program's record for wins in a season (21), while winning both the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association's regular-season title as well as the UCAA's tournament championship. Union received its first NCAA invitation since the 1982-83 campaign and hosted the first NCAA game ever held in Memorial Field House.
He has put together a string of four consecutive winning seasons from 1998-99 through last year's record-tying campaign, and also guided the Dutchmen into back-to-back Eastern College Athletic Conference Upstate New York championship tournaments. Montana was voted as the UCAA's “Co-Coach of the Year” in his sophomore campaign of 1997-98 and again last year.
Todd, who is a 2001 graduate of Ithaca College where he spent one year on the Bombers' staff. A graduate of nearby Niskayuna High School, Montana was as two-year member of the Silver Warriors' hoop team, earning a starting position as a
senior. He was awarded the Lazarek Basketball Scholarship for “academic and athletic performance” following his senior year.
John, who played at Alfred-Almond Central School for four years, was a two-year starter for the varsity team and was named the Most Valuable Player as a junior. Captain during his senior season, John was All-League second team selection following both his junior and senior seasons. Academically, he received the Alfred-Almond Alumni for his academic and athletic success as well as for his community service. He was also the recipient of the Brace Memorial Scholarship for his academic and athletic achievements.