The George Bandy Memorial Conference All-Sports Award

The George Bandy Memorial Conference All-Sports Award is Presented annually in the spring to the conference school who has amassed the most points awarded based on league finish in each sport.

Members of the Frontier Conference include Carroll College in Helena, Montana; Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho; Montana Tech in Butte, Montana; Montana State-Northern in Havre, Montana;  Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana. University of Great Falls in Great Falls, Montana ; University of Montana-Western in Dillon, Montana; Westminster College of Salt Lake City, Utah. Eastern Oregon joins the conference in football only in 2006.

Frontier athletes compete in football, men’s and women’s basketball, women’s volleyball and men’s and women’s golf.

The All-Sports trophy is named in honor of the first Commissioner of the Frontier Conference, George Bandy, his Cheryl Ann and their eight-year-old son Michael, whom they had just adopted two weeks earlier. The family died tragically in a boating accident in the summer of 1982 when their 14-foot sailboat overturned in high winds on Canyon Ferry Reservoir of Helena.

The majority of Mr. Bandy’s 52 years of life was devoted to education.  A native of Sacramento, California, he graduated in 1944 from Folsom High School in Folsom, Calif. and immediately entered the U.S. Navy serving two years.  Mr. Bandy earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Sacramento State College in 1950 and 1953, respectively.  He earned his doctorate in the education from the University of Montana in 1967.

Mr. Bandy began his teaching career at Grant Union High School in Sacramento and in 1952 he moved to the Treasure State to coach and teach at Belgrade High School.

He then joined the faculty of Northern Montana College in 1956 where he became the Light’s first football coach and over the years served as athletic director, student teaching director, graduate school director, dean of education and vice president.  In July 1975, Mr. Bandy was named acting president.

One year later, Mr. Bandy went to Western Montana College (now the University of Montana-Western) as interim president until July 1978.  He left Western to accept the position of Chief Deputy Commissioner of Higher Education.  Bandy served as acting commissioner from September 1978 to the end of June 1979 when he retired.  A physical fitness advocate, Bandy also was a long-distance runner who took up running 26-mile marathons after the age of 50.

The George Bandy memorial Frontier Conference All-Sports Award was first presented following the 1982-83 sports season.  Western’s Bulldogs captured the award the first two years. Northern took their first.1984-85 and 1991-92 and shared the award with Carroll in 1986, which won the award in 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997.  Montana Tech harnessed its first award in 1987-88, and also in 1989-90 and 1992-93.  Rocky Mt. College won its first award in 1997-98 and repeated in 1998-99. Conference newcomer Lewis-Clark won their first Bandy for the 99-00 season.

Bandy Award Winners - Years