Montigel: From the hardwood to the links
By Jay Zuckerman
Skiff Staff

TCU men’s golf coach Bill Montigel is proof that hard work and humility can bring success in numerous fields.

Montigel began his collegiate coaching career in 1977 as a basketball graduate assistant at Oklahoma State under Jim Killingsworth, his head coach at Idaho State. When Killingsworth accepted the head basketball coaching position at TCU, he hired Montigel as an assistant.

He became well-known among his peers as a terrific recruiter, selling athletes on a program that was 13-66 in its three previous seasons.

Jamie Dixon, a former TCU guard who is now an assistant coach at Pittsburgh, said Montigel was one of the reasons he chose TCU over schools closer to his home in Los Angeles.

“He was very easy to talk to through the recruiting process,” Dixon said. “He is a very likable person. Talking with my family and me, he did a good job selling the program.”

When Killingsworth retired in 1987, Montigel was not retained by new coach Moe Iba. However he soon learned there was a vacancy for TCU men’s head golf coach. Montigel remembered his friendship with OSU’s golf coach Mike Holder, whom he shared an office with as a graduate assistant.

“We shared recruiting stories and found that there were a lot of similarities between basketball recruiting and golf recruiting,” Montigel said.

Montigel began golfing for leisure when the NCAA forbade basketball coaches from recruiting during summertime. Since golf was his second love, he applied for the men’s golf head coach job.

Athletic Director Frank Windegger believed Montigel had the organizational skills and recruiting ability to succeed at a different sport. Though his hiring shocked many NCAA golf coaches, none of Montigel’s colleagues were surprised he was hired.

“It gets right down to (dealing with) people and relationships no matter what sport you are coaching,” said Holder, whose teams have won eight NCAA golf championships. “He is a people person who gets along well with his peers and younger people. Those skills make him a good motivator and a successful coach.”

Dixon said: “He’s very good at recognizing talent but also good at recruiting kids in getting to know their situation, doing the background work that needs to be done, and talking to the right people.”

Montigel faced difficulties rebuilding the program. The team received few invitations to tournaments because of previous poor showings in the SWC. Montigel could not attract top high school talent because they wanted to attend schools where they would play in the best tournaments. Furthermore, he had to gain credibility among his own golfers in his first year.

“I think they probably dismissed me as a ‘basketball guy,’” he said.

By Montigel’s third season, TCU reached No. 10 in the nation. He received SWC Coach of the Year honors, and has not looked back since.

His energetic personality won over many recruits to the program, establishing a golf power in the southwest. In his tenure, the team has won four conference tournaments and has reached the NCAA Championships nine times, yet Montigel remains humble.

“I don’t know why I got hired, but I know I’m very thankful and grateful that I got the job,” he said.
The TCU athletic department might be even more thankful.