UM’s Wilde among Big Sky Scholar-Athlete winners

Not long after winning the Grizzly Cup as Montana’s top overall male and female student-athletes in April, Tom Bittner and Erin Wilde earned more recognition Thursday as UM’s 2026 Big Sky Conference Scholar-Athletes for their excellence in competition and in the classroom.

The pair were two of 23 honorees from around the league, recognized for their overall success in athletics and academics. 

For Montana State, men’s basketball player Jed Miller and women’s track and field standout Caroline Hawkes were selected. 

“Putting together an entire career that would qualify you to be a Scholar Athlete in the Big Sky Conference is an incredibly impressive feat, and all 23 individuals being honored today should be very proud of themselves for what they’ve accomplished,” Commissioner Tom Wistrcill said. “This is a group that has compiled a long list of accolades for their respective sports and are now putting a bow on their stellar careers with a diploma in hand, which is truly what collegiate athletics is all about.” 

Bittner recently completed his final season at UM as the highest-ranked player in Griz tennis history, the 2026 Big Sky Conference Regular Season MVP and a three-time unanimous first-team all-conference selection. 

He is also a three-time winner of UM’s President’s Award, earning a perfect 4.0 GPA throughout his academic career. 

Wilde, a Whitefish High product, wrapped up an equally dominant career on the track in May. The Whitefish native became the first Grizzly in league history to win seven Big Sky titles in the high jump while also setting several school records. 

She earned Academic All-Big Sky honors every season of her career, collecting eight total between indoor and outdoor seasons, and graduated from UM this spring with a degree in business management and a cumulative GPA of 3.36. 

Bittner, a native of Neusaess, Germany, graduated in May with a major in Management and Information Systems as the most decorated Grizzly in both athletic and academic pursuits to ever pick up a racquet at UM, becoming the highest ranked regional player in program history three times over. 

To be eligible for the honor, a student-athlete must have exhausted their intercollegiate athletic eligibility and/or be a member of the graduating class, earned a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.2, been a participant in a Big Sky-sponsored sport, completed at least two years of intercollegiate competition at the institution and been a letterwinner. 

Miller graduated this spring with a 3.84 cumulative GPA in Business Marketing following a breakout senior season on the basketball court. 

A four-year competitor, started all 32 games for the Bobcats this past season and was unanimously named first-team all-Big Sky after averaging 14.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.6 steals in a team-high 34.5 minutes per game. 

He was a member of the Bobcats’ Big Sky title-winning teams in 2022-24 and competed in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments as a freshman and sophomore. 

Hawkes graduated in the spring with a 3.89 cumulative GPA in Food and Nutrition Science, finishing her collegiate career as one of the most decorated sprinters in program history. 

She set a combined six school records during the 2025-26 indoor and outdoor seasons and swept the Big Sky indoor and outdoor titles in the 400-meter dash and the 1,600 relay. Hawkes compiled four Big Sky titles, 16 all-conference honors, three NCAA West Regional appearances and twice qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. 

She is the school record holder in the outdoor 200, indoor and outdoor 400, outdoor 400 relay and indoor and outdoor 1,600 relay. Her long relay team also set the Big Sky record.