| Sonny Holland | |
| Birth Date: | 22 March 1938 |
| Birth Place: | Butte, Montana, U.S. |
| Player Years1: | 1956–1959 |
| Player Team1: | Montana State |
| Player Positions: | Center |
| Coach Years1: | 1961 |
| Coach Team1: | Bozeman HS (MT) (line) |
| Coach Years2: | 1962 |
| Coach Team2: | Montana State (GA) |
| Coach Years3: | 1963–1964 |
| Coach Team3: | Montana State (line) |
| Coach Years4: | 1965–1967 |
| Coach Team4: | Charles M. Russel HS (MT) |
| Coach Years5: | 1968 |
| Coach Team5: | Washington State (OL) |
| Coach Years6: | 1969 |
| Coach Team6: | Western Montana |
| Coach Years7: | 1970 |
| Coach Team7: | Montana State (DL) |
| Coach Years8: | 1971–1977 |
| Coach Team8: | Montana State |
| Overall Record: | 54–24–1 (college) |
| Tournament Record: | 3–0 (NCAA D-II playoffs) |
| Championships: | 1 NCAA Division II (1976) 1 Frontier (1969) 2 Big Sky (1972, 1976) |
| Awards: | Montana State No. 52 retired |
Allyn A. "Sonny" Holland (March 22, 1938 – December 3, 2022) was an American football player and coach.[1] He was the head coach at his alma mater, Montana State University in Bozeman, from 1971 to 1977.[2] [3] [4] Holland led the Bobcats to two Big Sky titles (1972, 1976) and the Division II playoffs in 1976, where they won all three postseason games and were national champions.
A native of Butte,[5] Holland graduated from Butte High School and was a lineman at Montana State from 1956 to 1959,[6] [7] where he was a small college All-American at center.,[8]
Holland was an assistant coach under Jim Sweeney at Montana State and then was head coach at Charles M. Russell High School in Great Falls for three seasons, from 1965 to 1967. He rejoined Sweeney for a year at Washington State in Pullman, then was the head coach Western Montana College in Dillon in 1969. Holland returned to Bozeman in 1970 as the Bobcats' defensive line coach under Tom Parac, then was promoted to head coach after the season.
At age 39, Holland stepped down as the Montana State head coach in November 1977,[3] [4] and was succeeded by Sonny Lubick. The spring football game at Montana State is named for Holland and a bronze statue of him was unveiled at Bobcat Stadium in September 2016.[8] [9]
Holland died on December 3, 2022, at the age of 84, after suffering from Parkinson's disease.[10]