Brent Montague Merit Endowed Scholarship

Using life insurance funds left by Brent Montague’s younger brother, Marc, who died in 2000, Linda and Stephen Reeves fully funded the Brent Montague Merit Scholarship Endowment in February 2014 in memory of Marc and to honor their other son, Brent.

Brent, a 1991 graduate of Marysville-Pilchuck High School in Washington State who was named to the All-Area boys’ basketball team as a senior, elected to sit out college after graduation. A year of hard labor working at a concrete company convinced him to accept a basketball scholarship offer from Skagit Valley College, a 2-year school in Mt. Vernon, Washington. In addition to being a student and a standout on the court, Brent worked almost full-time at a local tire company to further fund his college and living expenses. In 1994 Brent accepted a basketball scholarship offer from MSU Billings, drove 800 miles to Billings, Montana, and became a Yellowjacket. In 2002, his loyalty and dedication to Yellowjacket Athletics were rewarded when he was inducted into the MSU Billings Athletic Hall of Fame. He and his MSU Billings teammates established a bond of brotherhood that has grown almost exponentially to include a host of others and endures to this day. Choosing MSU Billings has had other lasting benefits for Montague, too. In the school cafeteria during his senior year, a tall blonde who was a member of the women’s basketball team caught his eye. The rest is happy history; he and the former Krista Fjelstad were married December 2000. Brent followed his MSU Billings basketball playing career with several years assistant men’s basketball coach, moved on to automotive sales, and then returned to MSU Billings where he was an integral part of the athletic department. In 1997, Montague earned his Bachelor’s Degree at MSU Billings and later become the University’s Athletics Corporate Salesperson and Director of Athletic Development for several years before moving into the private sector.

He and Krista Fjelstad, now MSU Billings’ Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, are raising their two daughters, Shayla and Allie, in Billings where Alterowitz Gymnasium is their second home. Brent’s decision to become a Yellowjacket those many years ago changed his life and continues to reward him on a daily basis. This endowed scholarship allows those rewards to be “paid forward” in perpetuity to qualified student athletes who are determined to finish their educations after the expiration of their athletic eligibility. The first scholarship was awarded in academic year 2014-2015.