FARMINGTON, Utah — The Big Sky Conference announced its 2025 hall of fame class on Thursday, with the 10-member group featuring individuals from five different institutions and headlined by a pair of track and field Olympians.
The 2025 class will be officially inducted on July 19 as part of the Big Sky Kickoff weekend at the Northern Quest Resort & Casino outside of Spokane, Wash. The 2025 inductees are:
- Cass Bauer-Bilodeau, Women’s Basketball, Montana State
- Charles “Chip” Dunn, Football, Portland State
- Tim Hauck, Football, Montana
- David McNeill, Men’s Cross Country/Track and Field, Northern Arizona
- Ida Nilsson, Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field, Northern Arizona
- Johanna Nilsson, Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field, Northern Arizona
- Doug Nussmeier, Football, Idaho
- Dan O’Brien, Men’s Track and Field, Idaho
- Naseby Rhinehart, Athletic Trainer, Montana
- Arnie Sgalio, Administrator, Big Sky Conference
Cass Bauer-Bilodeau – Montana State
Women’s Basketball, 1990-94
Cass Bauer-Bilodeau played women’s basketball for Montana State from 1990-94… Was instrumental in sending the Bobcats to the NCAA Tournament in 1993, when they beat Montana twice in eight days to win the Big Sky for the first time… Earned Kodak All-America Honorable Mention accolades in both 1993 and 1994… Named Big Sky Player of the Year in 1993, as well as Tournament MVP… Voted First Team All-Conference honoree three times (1992, 19993, 1994)… Named to the All-Tournament Team in 1994… Won eight Big Sky Conference Player of the Week titles… Played in the WNBA and won an American Basketball League Championship.
Charles “Chip” Dunn – Portland State
Football, 1997-2000
Charles “Chip” Dunn played football for Portland State from 1997-2000… Was named First Team All-America by three different publications after the 2000 season… Two-time National Player of the Week… Finished fourth in Walter Payton Award voting in 2000… Named First Team All-Big Sky three times (1998, 1999, 2000)… Voted Big Sky Newcomer of the Year and Second Team All-Big Sky in 1997… A five-time Defensive Player of the Week honoree in the Big Sky… Led the Big Sky in rushing with 162.9 yards per game in 2000… Named Big Sky Player of the Week five times…. Dunn ranks second in Big Sky history in total rushing yards with 6,007 and is one of only two players ever to surpass the 6,000-yard mark… Voted 35th on the list of the Big Sky’s 50 Greatest Male Athlete… Set 16 different school records while competing for Portland State.
Tim Hauck – Montana
Football, 1987-89
Tim Hauck played football for Montana from 1987-89… Currently on the Montana coaching staff, which is his second stint with the program in that capacity… Named an Associated Press and Kodak All-American after both the 1988 and 1989 season… Voted Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Year in both 1988 and 1989, along with First Team All-Conference those same two seasons… Walter Paytton Award Finalist in 1989, the first in Montana history… Holds still-standing Montana and Big Sky Conference records in single season blocked extra points with four in 1988… Slotted No. 46 on the Big Sky’s list of 50 Greatest Male Athlete… Played 13 seasons in the NFL, appearing in 183 games for seven different franchises… Totaled 284 career tackles in the NFL, with four forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries, 13 pass deflections, and one interception.
David McNeill – Northern Arizona
Men’s Track & Field/Cross Country, 2007-10
David McNeill was a distance runner for Northern Arizona from 2007-10… He was a two-time NCAA National Champion, winning both the indoor 5,000-meter and outdoor 5,000-meter in 2010… Earned nine All-American titles across all three disciplines… Was a three-time Big Sky Cross Country individual champion… Slotted No. 10 on the Big Sky’s Top 50 Greatest Male Athlete list… Qualified for the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games representing Australia… At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he competed in the 5,000-meter, in 2016 he ran the 10,000-meterand in 2020 he once again ran the 5,000-meter on the world’s biggest stage. Ranked 10th on the Big Sky Conference’s list of 50 Greatest Male Athletes.’
Ida Nilsson – Northern Arizona
Women’s Track & Field/Cross Country, 2001-05
Ida Nilsson was a distance runner for Northern Arizona from 2001-05… Claimed a pair of National Championships, winning the outdoor 3,000-meter in 2004 and the indoor 5,000-meter in 2025… Earned 11 All-American designations across all three disciplines… Became the first female to win four straight Big Sky Cross Country individual titles… Won 15 Big Sky titles in total, with six indoor and five outdoor in addition to cross country… Finished her career with three school records… Voted No. 3 on the Big Sky’s Greatest Female Athletes list… Sister of fellow 2025 Big Sky Hall of Fame inductee, Johanna.
Johanna Nilsson – Northern Arizona
Women’s Track & Field/Cross Country, 2002-06
Johanna Nilsson was a distance runner for Northern Arizona from 2002-06… Claimed four NCAA National Championships during the course of her career… First National Championship came in 2003, when she won the indoor 1,500-meter… In 2005, she won the NCAA Cross Country Individual Championship, becoming only the second athlete in Big Sky history to accomplish that feat, joining fellow Hall of Famer Angela Chalmers (1986)… Claimed two more National Championships in 2006, winning the indoor mile and 3,000-meter… Named NCAA Women’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Year in 2006… Claimed nine Big Sky Conference Championships during her career… Finished her time at NAU with four school records… Voted No. 2 on the Big Sky’s Greatest Female Athletes list… Sister of fellow 2025 Big Sky Hall of Fame inductee, Ida.
Doug Nussmeier – Idaho
Football, 1989-93
Doug Nussmeier played football for the University of Idaho from 1989-93… Named Walter Payton Award Winner and Consensus All-American following the 1993 season… Voted Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year in 1992… Selected as All-American Honorable Mention in 1991… Idaho all-time record holder for passing yards with 10,824 yards and touchdown passes with 91… Drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the Fourth Round of the 1994 NFL Draft… Played six years in the NFL… Member of 2000 Grey Cup Champion BC Lions… Transitioned to coach in 2001, and currently serves as the Offensive Coordinator for the New Orleans Saints… Part of coach staff that won Super Bowl LIX for the Philadelphia Eagles over the Kansas City Chiefs… Joins fellow alum John Friesz as Idaho Vandal quarterbacks to be inducted into the Big Sky Conference Hall of Fame.
Dan O’Brien – Idaho
Men’s Track & Field, 1985-86, 89
Dan O’Brien competed track and field for the Idaho Vandals from 1985-86, and then again in 1989… Claimed Decathlon Gold Medalist honors at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta… Still holds the Big Sky Conference record for the Decathlon with a 7.988… Set the Decathlon World Record in 1992 and would hold the mark until 1999… Became an internationally recognized star during the leadup to the 1992 Barcelona Olympics because of the Famous Dan and Dave Reebok commercials… Member of the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame… Claimed All-American honors in 1989 for the indoor 55-meter hurdles… Held six World No. 1 Rankings in the Decathlon, and won three World Decathlon Championships… Member of the Idaho Athletics Hall of Fame, and the outdoor track and field complex on campus is named in his honor.
Naseby Rhinehart – Montana
Athletic Trainer, 1935-82
Naseby Rhinehart served as the head athletic trainer at the University of Montana from 1935-82, the first in the history of the department… Named to Helms Athletic Foundation Hall of Fame for Athletic Trainers, 1967… Honored with a spot in the Montana Football Hall of Fame in 2017… Member of the MTATA, NWATA & NATA Halls of Fame… Inducted into UM’s Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame in 1993 as a founding member… Earned nine varsity letters in football, basketball and track… Named Honorable Mention All-American for football in 1935, and is a member of Montana’s All-Time Football Team… Served as an athletic trainer at the 1972 Olympics in Munich for USA Track & Field… Athletic Treatment Center at UM named in his honor, and Naseby and Evelyn Rhinehart Scholarships awarded each year to this day… Earned the UM Distinguished Service Award in 1974.
Arnie Sgalio – Big Sky Conference
Administrator/Sports Information, 1979-95
Arnie Sgalio served in the Big Sky Conference office from 1979-94… Orchestrated the league’s first regional television contract for football… Secured the Big Sky’s first sponsorship of the basketball tournament, inking Coors Light to a deal… Launched an internship program that proved to be a launching point for many careers in college athletics… Served as the President of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) in 1989-90, becoming only the fourth conference information director to serve in that capacity to that point… Managed the league’s summertime Skywriters Tour to promote football in the conference, then transitioned that into the ongoing Big Sky Summer Kickoff event… At the 2014 Big Sky Summer Kickoff in Park City, Utah, the league awarded Arnie Sgalio the first Big Sky Conference Distinguished Service Award.
