BILLINGS — In the wake of Kalispell Glacier football coach Grady Bennett’s two-game suspension stemming from a recruiting violation, Montana High School Association executive director Brian Michelotti said the focus is on education, consistency and how schools handle transfers under open enrollment.
Bennett's suspension, first reported Thursday by 406 Sports, was handed down after a protest was filed by Bigfork High School. Michelotti, during an interview with MTN Sports on Friday, said the complaint centered on alleged direct communication between Glacier’s football staff and a potential transfer — a line the MHSA says coaches are not allowed to cross.
WATCH THE VIDEO:
“Essentially, we had one of our member schools file a protest that occurred between Bigfork High School and Glacier High School,” Michelotti said. “A formal complaint was sent in by Bigfork High School. We scheduled a meeting, which actually occurred at our MHSA executive board meeting in April. We gathered information from both sides to support the challenge of what they were doing from a recruiting violation to what Bigfork had said, and also what Glacier’s response to that was.”
The hearing was held April 20 in Helena with school administrators from both Bigfork and Glacier in attendance, along with Glacier's Bennett. After hearing from both sides, the MHSA's eight-member executive board voted unanimously that Glacier had violated Bylaw 17.1, the association’s rule that explicitly prohibits recruiting.
Administrators from Glacier and Bigfork declined to comment for this story, as did Bennett, except to state via text message to MTN Sports, "Lots I could say but no point. Move forward and can’t wait for 2026 and this next group I get to coach."
Michelotti stressed that coaches are not supposed to be involved in recruiting-style conversations with prospective students. Those discussions, he said, should be handled by school administrators who can speak broadly about academics and programs without crossing the line into athletic recruiting.
There is a perception that recruiting is rampant in some areas of Montana, but perception isn't always reality.
"We do not get a ton of protests," Michelotti said. "When we do, we deal with them, and the outcome is obviously in the press today with a pretty high-profile situation."
Bennett's suspension, plus a $100 fine levied against Glacier High School, comes from what Michelotti framed as applying the muscle intentionally written into a rule that was updated when one previous case prompted the MHSA to add a minimum two-game penalty to its bylaw.
"I think by adding that penalty, it added some significant teeth to the fact that we're very serious about this situation," Michelotti said. "So hopefully that will prohibit people from not following the proper processes and put parents in contact with the right people, and not having those discussions prior to enrollment in the school."
"They can share information on their programs, their academic programs, whatever it may be," he said. "But coaches are not involved in that process, and we’re really working hard to make sure we provide good education."
Michelotti said the Glacier case has reinforced the need for clearer, uniform procedures when families inquire about transferring, particularly under Montana’s open-enrollment landscape. And that's what the MHSA will do going forward.
With 182 member schools, Michelotti said the goal is to narrow the gray area around transfers and reduce the chances that the next situation ends in protest and suspension.
“We’re kicking in a new mentoring program for all new ADs across the state of Montana,” Michelotti said. “Our board directed us that this would be a part of that intake — when an AD goes through their particular training in that mentoring program, this is a big topic that we discuss, because it causes a lot of challenges in our membership.”
Glacier is the defending Class AA state football champion. The 2026 season will be Bennett's 20th helming the Wolfpack. He has guided the program to two state championships and six title-game appearances.
For the rest of Montana’s schools, Michelotti hopes the larger point of this case will be a clearer roadmap for how to handle the issue of transfers and recruiting, such as it is, going forward.
“Families, in a lot of cases, like to move around and try to find a program that fits best for the sports needs — hopefully the academic needs — of their (kids),” he said. “We want to make sure that if that does happen, each one of our schools is doing this the exact same way.”
