| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1938-03-22)March 22, 1938 Butte, Montana, U.S. |
| Died | December 3, 2022(2022-12-03) (aged 84) |
| Playing career | |
| 1956–1959 | Montana State |
| Position(s) | Center |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1961 | Bozeman HS (MT) (line) |
| 1962 | Montana State (GA) |
| 1963–1964 | Montana State (line) |
| 1965–1967 | Charles M. Russel HS (MT) |
| 1968 | Washington State (OL) |
| 1969 | Western Montana |
| 1970 | Montana State (DL) |
| 1971–1977 | Montana State |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 54–24–1 (college) |
| Tournaments | 3–0 (NCAA D-II playoffs) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1NCAA Division II (1976) 1Frontier (1969) 2Big Sky (1972, 1976) | |
| Awards | |
| Montana State No. 52 retired | |
Allyn A. "Sonny"Holland (March 22, 1938 – December 3, 2022) was anAmerican football player and coach.[1] He was the head coach at his alma mater,Montana State University inBozeman, from 1971 to 1977.[2][3][4] Holland led theBobcats to twoBig Skytitles (1972, 1976) and theDivision II playoffs in1976, where they won allthree postseason games and werenational champions.
A native ofButte,[5] Holland graduated fromButte High School and was alineman at Montana State from 1956 to 1959,[6][7] where he was a small collegeAll-American atcenter.,[8]
Holland was an assistant coach underJim Sweeney at Montana State and then was head coach atCharles M. Russell High School inGreat Falls for three seasons, from 1965 to 1967. He rejoined Sweeney for a year atWashington State inPullman, then was the head coachWestern Montana College inDillon in 1969. Holland returned to Bozeman in1970 as the Bobcats' defensive line coach underTom Parac, then was promoted to head coach after the season.
At age 39, Holland stepped down as the Montana State head coach in November 1977,[3][4] and was succeeded bySonny Lubick. The spring football game at Montana State is named for Holland and a bronze statue of him was unveiled atBobcat Stadium in September2016.[8][9]
Holland died on December 3, 2022, at the age of 84, after suffering fromParkinson's disease.[10]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Montana Bulldogs(Frontier Conference)(1969) | |||||||||
| 1969 | Western Montana | 7–0 | 5–0 | 1st | |||||
| Western Montana: | 7–0 | 5–0 | |||||||
| Montana State Bobcats(Big Sky Conference)(1971–1977) | |||||||||
| 1971 | Montana State | 2–7–1 | 0–5–1 | 7th | |||||
| 1972 | Montana State | 8–3 | 5–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1973 | Montana State | 7–4 | 5–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1974 | Montana State | 7–3 | 4–2 | 2nd | |||||
| 1975 | Montana State | 5–5 | 4–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1976 | Montana State | 12–1 | 6–0 | 1st | WNCAA Division II Championship | ||||
| 1977 | Montana State | 6–4 | 3–3 | 3rd | |||||
| Montana State: | 47–24–1 | 27–14–1 | |||||||
| Total: | 54–24–1 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
.