Frontier Conference
 | |
| Association | NAIA |
|---|---|
| Commissioner | Kent Paulson |
| Sports fielded |
|
| Region | Western United States |
| Official website | frontierconference.com |
| Locations | |
 | |
The Frontier Conference is a college athletic conference, founded in 1935 and affiliated with the NAIA. Member institutions are located in the northwestern United States, in the states of Idaho, Montana, and Oregon.
History
The Montana Collegiate Conference (MCC) was established in 1920 by the four smaller schools (Billings Poly, Carroll, Montana School of Mines, Western Montana) in the state, with Eastern Montana and Northern Montana joining once they had established athletics. The conference reestablished itself under its current moniker in November 1966, containing the same six schools until 1974.[1] Great Falls joined that year, however would only stay for a decade. Eastern Montana (now MSU-Billings) left for the first incarnation of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference in 1988, leaving the Frontier at five members for another decade. The conference opened up outside of Montana for the first time in 1998, with schools from Idaho (Lewis-Clark State) and Utah (Westminster) joining. Great Falls rejoined in 1999. Lewis–Clark State left for the Cascade Collegiate Conference as a full member in 2020.[2]
Member schools
The Frontier Conference has 5 full members with football, 1 full member without football, and 3 football-only affiliate members. Great Falls does not play football. College of Idaho, Eastern Oregon and Southern Oregon are the football-only affiliates.[3]
Current members
| Institution | Location | Founded | Type | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carroll College | Helena, Montana | 1909 | Private (Catholic) | 1,502 | Fighting Saints | 1920 (MCC) |
| Montana State University–Northern | Havre, Montana | 1929 | Public | 1,207 | Lights & Skylights |
1929 (MCC) |
| Montana Technological University | Butte, Montana | 1889 | Public | 2,694 | Orediggers | 1920 (MCC) |
| University of Montana Western | Dillon, Montana | 1893 | Public | 1,336 | Bulldogs | 1920 (MCC) |
| University of Providence1 | Great Falls, Montana | 1932 | Private (Catholic) | 800 | Argonauts | 1974; 1999 |
| Rocky Mountain College | Billings, Montana | 1878 | Private (Protestant) | 894 | Battlin' Bears | 1920 (MCC) |
- Played as an independent 1984 from 1999; known as University of Great Falls until 2017.
Affiliate members
| Institution | Location | Founded | Type | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Sport | Primary conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Oregon University | La Grande, Oregon | 1929 | Public | 3,743 | Mountaineers | 2008 | football | Cascade |
| College of Idaho | Caldwell, Idaho | 1891 | Private (Presbyterian) | 1,010 | Coyotes | 2014 | football | Cascade |
| Southern Oregon University | Ashland, Oregon | 1872 | Public | 5,696 | Raiders | 2012 | football | Cascade |
Former members
| Institution | Location | Founded | Type | Nickname | Joined | Left | Current conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dickinson State University | Dickinson, North Dakota | 1918 | Public | Blue Hawks | 2012 | 2014 | North Star |
| Lewis–Clark State College | Lewiston, Idaho | 1893 | Public | Warriors & Lady Warriors |
1998 | 2020 | Cascade |
| Eastern Montana College | Billings, Montana | 1927 | Public | Yellowjackets | 1927 | 1980 | Great Northwest (NCAA D-II) |
| Westminster College | Salt Lake City, Utah | 1875 | Private (Nonsectarian) | Griffins | 1998 | 2015 | Rocky Mountain (NCAA D-II) |
- Eastern Montana College — school name reflects that used during conference membership, now known as Montana State University Billings.
Membership timeline
Full member (all sports) Full member (non-football) Associate member (football-only)
Sports
The Frontier Conference sponsors athletic competition in men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's football, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and women's volleyball.
National Championships
- Basketball
Montana Western won the NAIA national title in Division I Women's basketball, in 2019.
Rocky Mountain won the national title in men's basketball, NAIA Division I, in 2009.
Montana State-Northern won the national title in women's basketball, NAIA Division II, in 1993.
Carroll reached the semi-finals in men's basketball in 2005, as did Lewis-Clark State in women's basketball in 2001.
- Football
Carroll has won the NAIA national championship six times: four straight, from 2002–05, also in 2007 and 2010, and has been runner-up twice.
Southern Oregon won the NAIA national championship in the 2014 season.
Montana Tech was the national runner-up in 1996.
- Wrestling
Montana State-Northern has won six wrestling titles: 1991, 1992, 1998-2000, 2004, and was runner-up in 1990, 1993, and 2002.
Montana Western was co-champion in 1994.
In 2014, the University of Great Falls was second and Montana State-Northern took third at the NAIA national wrestling championship.
- Bowling
College of Great Falls (now University of Providence) was the 1973 Men's NAIA National Bowling Champion.
See also
References
- ^ "Montana Collegiate League Changes Name". Daily Herald. Provo, Utah. United Press International. November 13, 1966. p. 20. Retrieved October 25, 2019 – via Newspapers.com
.
- ^ "Lewis-Clark State leaving Frontier Conference to join Cascade Collegiate Conference". MontanaSports.com. May 20, 2019. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
- ^ "College of Idaho football to join Frontier Conference". Idaho Press. June 27, 2012. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
