"It's bigger than sports" – McPherson Helps A Patient In Need

Back in June, Montana junior defensive linemen Sloan McPherson did something not many of us would these days: answer a phone call from an unknown number.

Fast forward to the last week of August, just as he and the Grizzlies were preparing to take on Missouri State in the season opener, he did something else not many would. And he did it for a good cause.

McPherson put the chance to play in one of the few games a college football player gets in life on hold for an opportunity to save someone's life. Someone he doesn't even know.

Earlier this summer he was flagged as a potential match for a patient in need of stem cells through the National Marrow Donor Program's "Be the Match" registry, an annual drive Grizzly Football has held each spring for the last five years. He was just one of the 235 new potential donors from the University of Montana community to sign up that day in April. And in June, his number was called.

Then last week, right before the first game of the season – a game he and his teammates work toward year-round – McPherson set football aside, flew to Boise, and donated stem cells. Potentially missing the home-opener to help save a life.

"At first, I was a little nervous for it, but when you think about it, it's just a great opportunity to change someone's life. It's bigger than sports to have a chance to save someone. So, I was really honored by it," said McPherson.

"I just figured, I signed up for it, so I made a commitment to that person and that organization, and I just wanted to be able to help out. It didn't take much thought. I just knew I was going to do it right away."

The native of Savage, got word that he was a match just as the Grizzlies were getting ready for their 4th of July break in the summer workout schedule. That's when the nearly two-month long process of becoming a donor began.

It started locally, having blood tests done in late July to make sure that he was, indeed, a match, and his stem cells would, indeed, help a patient suffering from life-threatening diseases like leukemia and sickle cell anemia.

Then in August, just as he and the Grizzlies were wrapping-up fall camp, he was scheduled to fly to Boise the next week and began a five-day series of injections and medicine cycles to prepare his body in between the team's rigorous routine.

He didn't miss a beat.

"Finding time to do it in the schedule was tough, working around practice and meetings and all that, but Coach (Bobby) Hauck was super understanding about it. I felt a little tired during fall camp but other than that it wasn't bad," McPherson added.

"The process was a lot of reading emails trying to figure out the details, but just talking with the coaches, they were good with everything and supported me in what I wanted to do."

On Sunday, Aug. 25, six days before kickoff, he boarded that plane for St. Luke's Hospital in Boise, not knowing if he would be physically able to play on Saturday. Monday was donation day, and he flew back to Missoula on Tuesday.

"They hooked me up and I sat there for six hours running blood out of one arm, through a machine that took out stem cells, and putting it back in the other arm. You get kind of sore from sitting in the chair for so long and it's a little bit uncomfortable, but it was nothing that hurt," he said.

"I definitely didn't want to miss a game. But like I said earlier, it's bigger than sports sometimes. And luckily, I made it back. I didn't feel too bad afterwards."

As the week went on and kickoff drew closer, McPherson felt better and better, eventually coming to the conclusion that he wanted to suit up against Missouri State. No one doubted he could.

"All the coaches just kept checking up on me, checking how my recovery was going, making sure I was feeling good. I was a little behind on some of the film and all that stuff, but I worked and got caught back up," said McPherson.

On Saturday night he ran out of the tunnel and took the field with his teammates. Hauck was impressed.

"I just think it shows what a quality human being he is. There's a lot of guys in our locker room that would make that same decision because they're caring people," he said.

"Sloan had to decide whether he was going to play in the first game or go donate and save a life. He chose to help someone. He missed two practices, but he came back and actually felt good enough to play, which shows his mental toughness as well."

Hauck and the Grizzlies have been supporting the NMDP "Get in the Game" program since he returned to coach Montana in 2018. It's a cause that was brought to his attention by friend and former Villanova head coach Andy Talley who partnered with the organization to help use the power of college football to increase the global donor pool and potentially help save more lives.

Since the team's first drive in 2019, Montana has helped register over 800 fellow Grizzlies around campus, soaring past the team's goal of 70 new signups each year. But the team has a longer history of helping out than that.

In 2013, running back coach Justin Green donated blood platelets and helped save the life of a nine-year-old girl. Former Grizzly wide receiver Ryan Burke also helped save a life by donating bone marrow in 2014.

In 2023, defensive end Henry Nuce, Kalispell, donated stem cells and other members of the campus community have been selected to donate as well. In early 2024, track and field athlete Brooke Stayner, Missoula, donated marrow to save the life of a 47-year-old woman with leukemia.

All told, six donors from UM have been called upon to help save a life. McPherson makes seven.

"They do a great job with this program, but when it comes down to it and you're an actual donor - rather than just trying to register people - that gets real," said Hauck.

"You're faced with tough decisions, and Sloan made the right one. It just shows what a good and decent person he is."

McPherson doesn't know who the recipient of his stem cell donation will be. There's a good chance he may never know. That's not the point.

The point for him – someone who put his personal goals and ambitions aside – was to simply abide by the golden rule.

"I just knew that it was the right thing to do. I hope that if I was in the same situation, someone be willing to do it for me. Even if I never meet him, just knowing that I could help someone out in that way is big deal to me."

The world could use a bit more of that.