Political Quotes

“I rise today to echo what is probably on the mind of everybody who ever attended school at the University of Montana, and every Grizzlies fan in my home State. Coach Don Read, the football coach of the last 10 or 11 years, is retiring. He told us all Monday that he was retiring in order to spend more time with his wife, Lois, and the rest of the family, and to move in a new direction. We are losing a legend in Missoula. We are saddened by that, even a little bit stunned, because Coach Read is the winningest coach in the history of the University of Montana. When he arrived in Missoula 10 years ago, he recruited heavily, ushering in the ``Read Era'' of UM, an era that culminated in the university's first-ever Division One-double- A national championship just this past season. It was a thrilling ride for every one of us in Montana, and we cannot help but think of what is ahead for the Griz because of the foundation and the base that Coach Read has laid. Mr. President, Vince Lombardi, the legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers, said ``winning is a habit.'' No one typified the winning habit more than Coach Read. Since taking over the University of Montana football program in 1986, he has never had a losing season. His overall record there was 85 and 36. That is a winning average of better than 70 percent, the best any coach at UM and the sixth best in the history of the Big Sky Conference.”