NFF National Scholar-Athletes
Dante Olson, LB – University of Montana
3.90 GPA - Business Administration/Management
Head Coach: Bobby Hauck | Athletics Director: Kent Haslam
Faculty Athletics Representative: Charles Palmer
A First Team All-American on the field with a 3.90 GPA in the classroom, Dante Olson is a shining example of what a scholar-athlete can achieve. The Medford, Oregon, native is Montana’s fifth NFF National Scholar-Athlete.
A 2018 FCS ADA Academic All-Star, Olson is on track to graduate in December with a degree in business administration/management and a minor in entertainment management. A three-time Academic All-Big Sky Conference selection, he has been named to the President’s Honor Roll four times and the Dean’s List three times. Olson is also a two-time recipient of Montana’s William Robertson Memorial Scholarship.
This season, Olson has guided Montana to the No. 8 national ranking while leading the Grizzlies and the Big Sky with 99 tackles, which ranks second in the FCS. He also leads the team with six tackles for loss while boasting one sack, one interception and one forced fumble. The team captain’s 317 career tackles rank seventh all-time in Grizzlies history
A First Team All-American in 2018, Olson led the all of Division I (FBS and FCS) with 13.7 tackles per game while his 151 tackles established a new single-season Montana record. He was named the 2018 FCS Defensive Player of the Year by Phil Steele while finishing in the top three for the FCS Buck Buchanan Award. The 2018 Phil Steele Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year has twice earned all-conference honors, including first team accolades as a junior and second team recognition as a sophomore. The 2018 team MVP has twice been named the Grizzlies’ Hauck Family Special Teams Player of the Year in his career (2016 and 2017).
A member of the 2019 AFCA Good Works Team, Olson has served as a pen-pal mentor for nearly two years to a class of underprivileged children in Northern California, encouraging them to pursue a college education as part of the No Excuses University program. He has also helped organize Montana’s “Be the Match” bone marrow registration drive, and he is an avid anti-bullying advocate, speaking to numerous students and providing his own testimony through the “Fields of Faith” initiative.
