Montana Panthers (2001)

Semi-pro football league set

Butte, Helena, Great Falls and Bozeman will have franchises this spring in the Big Sky division of the North American Football League.

The semipro league has 62 teams nationwide and is considered a second chance for college-caliber players to get noticed by pro football scouts. Gene Woodson, head coach of the Montana Panthers of Butte said the league gives players a chance to keep playing and improve their skills in hopes of getting a look.

Canadian Football League and National Football League scouts are expected to look at the division, he said.

The Panthers, the Helena Knights, the Great Falls Gladiators and the Bozeman Kodiaks are scheduled to play in late May with spring combines starting next month. The teams are expected to bring in about 12 players from out-of-state, but the rest will be made up of local and regional talent.

We are looking for some local guys to come in and impress us, Woodson said.

Woodson says the program is serious. Players will practice in the evenings after work Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with film Monday and games Saturday.

Owner leaves for Kansas, Coach arrested in Phillipsburg.

NAFL pulls franchse when neither coach nor owner respond to calls. Marlar claims to have left the team in Woodson's hands to return to Kansas for a family emergency, while Woodson denied having any financial responsibilities or business dealing on behalf of the team.

Apr 8, 2001 - Missoulian

Butte football team folds

BUTTE (AP) - The Butte franchise of the North American Football League is defunct.

Big Sky Division commissioner Kyle Campbell notified the Montana Panthers organization Friday morning that the North American Football League will rescind its membership after head coach Gene Woodson and owner P.G. "Greg" Marlar, left Montana.

The franchise's failure raises questions about where the money has gone from about 50 people who applied for tryouts as players and cheerleaders. The fee was $40 for players.

The team also had a number of local businesses lined up as sponsors, but it is unclear how much money, if any, they might have paid the team.

The remaining members of the Big Sky Division - Helena, Great Falls, Bozeman and Wasatch in Salt Lake City - will fill the open spots left by the Panthers on the 2001 schedule with games against Idaho teams.

Gene Woodson formerly claimed to Butte press that he coached the Austin Rattlers, the 2000 NAFL Champions, however he served as part of the office staff and game day ball organizer, not as a coach. According to the owner of the Rattlers, the closest Woodson got to coaching was "standing by the huddle drying the balls".

Ads placed in Montana newspapers for marketing professionals claimed commissions for the same jobs with the Rattlers earned $55,000-$75,000.

Marlar resigned from the team on April 5 after he learned the NAFL was removing the franchise, and an Apr 25, 2001 Montana Standard article announced a criminal investigation into Woodson following an April 3 arrest going back to various theft claims in a Texas warrant and reports filed by Butte area players who paid fees to play on the team that now no longers exists. Woodson had violated probation by leaving Texas.