Montana Western, University of

Bill Bennett, a native of Deer Lodge, Mont., is a 1955 graduate of Western Montana College. He was a two-sport athlete at Western lettering in both football and, track and field. 

He set the Montana Collegiate Conference (MCC) record for the 120 meter high hurdles as a freshman and was a repeat winner his sophomore and junior years.

He left Western after his senior season without graduating to serve in the U.S. Army. He returned to Western in 1955 to collect his diploma and began a long and successful career in education.

Five of his seven children are graduates of Western. His daughter Cindy is a member of the Bulldog Volleyball Hall of Fame which made a bit of history, the first father-daughter combination in the Bulldog Athletic Hall of Fame. His nephew Dinny is a member of the Football Hall of Fame.

Bennett passed away May 21, 2000.