MISSOULA — Basketball season might be in the books but for the Montana Lady Griz there is no rest.
Last week the University of Montana officially elevated Nate Harris from interim coach to head coach and on Monday it held a press conference as Harris talked about his vision for the future of the program and also reflected on the last couple of months.
In front of a crowd of staff, media, and more at the Sky Club inside the Adams Center, Nate Harris' hiring was made official for a program he'd already been leading the past few months.
Related: Full press conference as Nate Harris is introduced as Montana Lady Griz head coach
"To really sit back and think about what it means to to be the head coach of this program is wild," Harris said. "I wish I had better words. I don't. It's an honor. It's not something that we will take lightly.
"It's something we're going to work like crazy to make it really, really special again. And to make it something that people across the state can be can be proud of."
Harris took over in January when former head coach Brian Holsinger took a leave of absence and ultimately resigned. The Lady Griz went 7-7 under Harris to close out the regular season before Montana beat Idaho and Northern Arizona at the Big Sky tournament in Boise, Idaho, and narrowly fell to Montana State in the title game.
For Harris, the experience taking over was a challenge, but positives emerged as the Lady Griz made a run at the Big Sky Conference championship.
"Off the court was just trying to take as good of care of the young women in our program as possible, like in making sure that they were able to have an experience that was worthwhile and an experience that is going to positively impact them," Harris said.
"Give them better memories to end the senior year because we were going to work really hard to make this a positive thing. It just gave us this golden opportunity and this really great lesson of how important just doing the next right thing is."
Other topics addressed during the press conference was Harris' journey to this point, the all-important in-state recruiting battle for local Montana athletes, the transfer portal and the next steps in the coming months for the program.
Montana athletic director Kent Haslam said Harris' mannerisms throughout the season in the head coach's chair, his plan for the program, as well as the run in Boise all played a factor in his decision to hire Harris as the next head coach, and that the timeline began as soon as Holsinger stepped away.
"I didn't want to do it really quickly just to have it be done to meet that transfer portal (opening)," Haslam said. "I'd rather get someone that's long-term, going to be a good, solid fit. We were lucky enough to have Nate rise to the top and we were able to kind of get both things done where we could get it done quickly before the transfer portal and he's already here."
The transfer portal window for women's basketball opens Tuesday.
For Harris, the keys to the program are his now, as the Lady Griz have gone a decade without a Big Sky title, and the journey to changing that begins now.
"To be sitting here as the head coach of what I truly believe is one of the best mid-major women's basketball programs," Harris said. "That is one of the most important programs in the state of Montana. Just all of the things that go along with it is a little overwhelming and more than a little humbling."
