Last Tuesday, players, coaches, fans and alumni of the Montana State University-Billings men’s soccer program received some terrible news.
The program is going away.
After a successful run that started in 1996, the school’s administration decided that the NCAA Division II program will play no more games. The school said it will honor the scholarships of the student-athletes on the team. However, it will no longer honor their dreams to compete in soccer for the Yellowjackets.
Coach Paul Cuevas said he received word of the program’s ending about a half hour before his players. He said he had no indication that the program was in trouble.
Currently, Cuevas is working with his student-athletes to help them find a new team so they continue to chase their soccer dreams.
The coach is also not giving up hope that the decision to scrap the program can be reversed. While that seems like an uphill battle at best, Cuevas, his players, supporters and fellow Yellowjacket alumni are not ready to give up.
On Friday, I spoke with Cuevas over the telephone to hear his take on the decision and the plans moving forward. I also spoke with Kevin Petritz, a Butte High graduate who played for the Yellowjackets before coaching with the women’s program.
I reached out to Montana State University President Waded Crusado, MSUB Chancellor Stefani Hicswa and MSUB Director of Athletics Michael Bazemore. I let them know the podcast would drop on Monday. Hicswa and Bazemore said they respectfully decline comment. I have not heard back from Crusado. In her defense, her school was a little busy with the Montana-Montana State football game in Bozeman on Saturday.
Shiloh Robison of the MSUB communications and marketing department sent the following statement:
“We thank our student-athletes, coaches, and supporters who have dedicated tremendous effort and commitment to our men’s soccer program. After careful examination of the athletic department’s past, present, and projected resources, MSUB’s Department of Athletics made the difficult decision to discontinue the men’s soccer program at the end of this academic year. Our commitment to providing a quality experience for all student-athletes requires regular assessment of resources, and this decision reflects our goal of aligning department offerings with the support we have available to sustain them. This decision also supports the department’s effort to achieve alignment with Title IX compliance.
“This was a difficult decision.”
Sadly, there has not been a ton of media coverage on this decision to end the MSUB men’s soccer program. Maybe that is because of the demise of the newspaper business, and maybe it’s because this announcement came on one of the busiest weeks of the sports season in Montana.
That is why we decided to look into this decision on the ButteCast. This decision impacts a couple of players with deep ties to the Mining City, brothers Ryan and Jackson Hanley. It also impacts future soccer players in Montana looking for a place to chase their dreams after high school.
Listen in to hear Coach Cuevas’ reaction to the news. Then, listen to Petritz, a former high school girls’ soccer coach in Butte and Great Falls.
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The ButteCast with Bill Foley 
Hello Bill,
Thank you for this podcast. We enjoyed listening to it. Our boy’s Ryan and Jackson Hanley play at MSUB and have enjoyed their time there. We have 7 of their teammates that are all international student-athletes staying with us beginning this Wednesday during the holiday break. The friendships that have been made in Billings will endure the test of time and the life lessons that will come from this difficult situation will make them better men in the long run.
Montana has a special place in our hearts. My grandparents Don and Joan Hanley grew up in Butte and my two brothers Luke and Paul Hanley currently reside in Butte with their families. We visit Elk Park every summer during the 4th of July holiday and love coming up to the “Big Sky” state whenever we can.
Couple of other points I would like to share are below:
The University spent 1 million dollars on new turf and lights last August. The turf was old and there were safety concerns. The lights were added so the men’s and women’s soccer programs could play at night so they could draw larger crowds. Why spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on lights that only the women’s soccer program can now use if the men’s program was in dire straits.
The program operated in the black in 2023 and 2024 according to sources within the program
When I requested the men’s soccer financials from the MSUB Budget department last Wednesday I was told that “Legal” now has my request and will decide if they can release them to me.
I spoke to the Athletic Director Mike Bazemore last Wednesday and requested the fundraising dollar amounts that my boy’s had raised over the last four years as we have never received these totals. He told me that he did not have those amounts and would not be able to share them.
The media did start to post more stories about the lack of transparency last Friday as well as a tv news clip on KULR. I have been told that the Billings Gazette is currently working on an expose that should be out in the next week or two. More to come. This story will not be swept under the rug as they were hoping it would.
An identification camp was held on Sunday, November 10th where 16 potential Yellowjackets came to Billings to try and make a roster spot. These campers came from Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and Utah. Each paid $100 to attend the camp. According to the press release on 406 MT Sports the Athletic Director said the decision to cut the program was made in late October or first of November. If that was the case the ID camp should have been cancelled and to my knowledge none of the campers have received a refund.
All the best and Happy Thanksgiving,
Jake and Stefini Hanley
Heber City, Utah
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