HELENA, Mont. – Former Carroll College head football coach Bob “Putter” Petrino will be awarded the Ron “Swede” Kenison Memorial Award at Saturday’s Carroll football game against the University of Montana-Western by Frontier Conference commissioner Kent Paulson.
The two opponents for Saturday’s matchup are fitting for the honoring of Petrino. The Butte native played college football and baseball for the Bulldogs before beginning his coaching career in high school football in Montana.
He took the helm at Carroll in 1971 and in 28 years, he guided the Saints to a 163-90-2 career record, a .644 winning percentage.
During his tenure, Carroll garnered 17 Frontier Conference gridiron championships and appeared in nine NAIA national post-season playoffs.
Four of Petrino’s teams went undefeated during the regular season, and three others appeared in the national playoff semi-finals.
Coach Petrino’s teams posted winning records in 24 of his 28 seasons, and he mentored 17 All-Americans.
He was named the Frontier Coach of the Year 13 times, is a member of five Hall of Fames, including the NAIA National Hall of Fame, the Montana Coaches Hall of Fame, the Butte Athletic Hall of Fame, the Carroll College Hall of Fame, and the Helena Sports Hall of Fame.
Petrino’s success laid the foundation of success that the tradition of Carroll football has been established. His example was followed by his two sons. Paul is the head football coach at the University of Idaho and Bobby who is the head football coach at the University of Louisville.
The Ron “Swede” Kenison Memorial Award is the highest honor that the Frontier Conference awards. It is reserved for those that have made outstanding contributions to the Frontier Conference over an extended period of time.
Past winners include Barb Kenison (Swede’s wife), Casey Keltz (Western Montana College) and Frank Mathews (Rocky Mountain College) and Sonny Holland (Frontier Conference commissioner).