Frontier Conference

This article is about the current NAIA conference in the American West. For the previous conference with the same name that existed between 1940 and 1962, see Frontier Conference (1940–1962).

The Frontier Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The conference was founded in 1934. Member institutions are located in the U.S. states of Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota, with associate members in the states of Arizona, Idaho, and Oregon.

Frontier Conference

Formerly	Montana Small College Conference (1934–1936) Montana Collegiate Conference (1936–1966)
Association	NAIA
Founded	1934; 91 years ago (1934)
Commissioner	Dr. Scott Crawford
Sports fielded	16 men's: 8 women's: 8
No. of teams	12
Headquarters	Whitefish, Montana
Region	Western United States
Official website	fcsports.org
Locations

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 field, and women's volleyball.

History

The Montana Small College Conference (MSCC) was established in 1934 by the five smaller schools (Montana Technological University, the University of Montana Western, Montana State University–Northern, Intermountain Union College and Billings Polytechnic Institute) in the state. The MSCC was renamed as the Montana Collegiate Conference (MCC) in 1936, with the additions of Montana State University Billings and Carroll College joining. The merger of Intermountain Union and Billings Poly to become Rocky Mountain College occurred in 1947. After nearly three decades, the conference reestablished itself under its current moniker in November 1966, containing the same six schools until 1974.^[1] The University of Providence (then the College of Great Falls) joined that year, however would only stay for a decade. 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 College) and Utah (Westminster College) joining. Great Falls rejoined in 1999. Dickinson State University joined in 2012, only to leave in 2014 to join the North Star Athletic Association (NSAA). Westminster (Utah) left for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II ranks and rejoined the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) in 2015. Lewis–Clark State left for the Cascade Collegiate Conference as a full member in 2020.^[2]

Recent changes

On September 8, 2022, Arizona Christian University received an invitation to join the conference as an associate member for football, beginning the 2023 fall season of the 2023–24 academic year.^[3]

On December 12, 2023, the Frontier Conference had offered an invitation to former member Dickinson State University;^[4] while on May 21, 2024, Bellevue University, Dakota State University, Mayville State University and Valley City State University also received invitations to join the conference;^[5] and then on October 24, 2024, Bismarck State College, an institution coming from the junior college ranks, announced that it received an invitation to the conference, during its transition to the NAIA;^[6] all effective beginning the 2025–26 academic year.

On May 30, 2024, Simpson University accepted an invitation to join the conference as an associate member for football, beginning the 2025 fall season of the 2025–26 academic year.^[7]

Chronological timeline

Frontier Conference

200km
124miles

Montana Tech

Bismarck State

Bellevue

Dakota State

Mayville State

Valley City State

Dickinson State

Providence

Rocky Mountain

MSU Northern

Carroll

Montana Western

   

Location of Frontier members: current

• 1934 – The Frontier Conference was founded as the Montana Small College Conference (MSCC). Charter members included the Billings Polytechnic Institute, Intermountain Union College, Montana State Normal College (now the University of Montana Western), Montana State School of Mines (now Montana Technological University) and Northern Montana College (now Montana State University–Northern), beginning the 1934–35 academic year.
• 1936 – Carroll College of Montana and Eastern Montana Normal College (now Montana State University–Billings) joined the MSCC, which was rebranded as the Montana Collegiate Conference (MCC) in the 1936–37 academic year.
• 1947 – Billings Poly and Intermountain Union merge to form Rocky Mountain College.
• 1966 – The MCC was rebranded as the Frontier Conference, beginning the 1966–67 academic year.
• 1974 – The College of Great Falls (later the University of Great Falls, now the University of Providence) joined the Frontier in the 1974–75 academic year.
• 1980 – Montana State–Billings (MSU Billings) left the Frontier to join the Division II ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as an NCAA D-II Independent (which would later join the Great Northwest Conference, beginning the 1982–83 school year) after the 1979–80 academic year.
• 1984 – Great Falls left the Frontier as the school discontinued its athletic program after the 1983–84 academic year.
• 1998 – Lewis–Clark State College and Westminster College joined the Frontier in the 1998–99 academic year.
• 1999 – Great Falls rejoined the Frontier after 15 years without an athletics program in the 1999–2000 academic year.
• 2008 – Eastern Oregon University joined the Frontier as an affiliate member for football in the 2008 fall season (2008–09 academic year).
• 2012 – Dickinson State University joined the Frontier in the 2012–13 academic year.
• 2012 – Southern Oregon University joined the Frontier as an affiliate member for football in the 2012 fall season (2012–13 academic year).
• 2014 – Dickinson State left the Frontier to join the North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) after the 2013–14 academic year.
• 2014 – The College of Idaho joined the Frontier as an affiliate member for football in the 2014 fall season (2014–15 academic year).
• 2015 – Westminster (Utah) left the Frontier to join the NCAA Division II ranks and rejoin back to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) after the 2014–15 academic year.
• 2020 – Lewis–Clark State left the Frontier to join the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) after the 2019–20 academic year.
• 2023 – Arizona Christian University joined the Frontier as an affiliate member for football in the 2023 fall season (2023–24 academic year)
• 2025 – Bellevue University, Bismarck State College, Dakota State University, Mayville State University and Valley City State University will all join the Frontier (with Dickinson State rejoining at the same time), beginning the 2025–26 academic year. Everyone (except Bismarck State) would join from the NSAA, which would cease operations after spring 2025.
• 2025 – Simpson University will join the Frontier as an affiliate member for football, beginning the 2025 fall season (2025–26 academic year)

Member schools

The Frontier Conference has 12 full members with football, 3 full members without football, and 5 football-only affiliate members. Bellevue, Bismarck State, and the University of Providence do not field football teams. Arizona Christian, College of Idaho, Eastern Oregon and Southern Oregon are the football-only affiliates.^[8]

Current members

The Frontier currently has twelve full members, four are private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined[a]
Bellevue University	Bellevue, Nebraska	1966	Nonsectarian	14,476	Bruins	2025
Bismarck State College	Bismarck, North Dakota	1939	Public[b]	4,065	Mystics	2025
Carroll College	Helena, Montana	1909	Catholic (Diocese of Helena)	1,103	Fighting Saints	1935
Dakota State University	Madison, South Dakota	1881	Public	3,508	Trojans	2025
Dickinson State University	Dickinson, North Dakota	1918	Public[b]	1,453	Blue Hawks	2012; 2025[c]
Mayville State University	Mayville, North Dakota	1889	Public[b]	1,025	Comets	2025
Montana State University–Northern	Havre, Montana	1929	Public[d]	1,021	Lights & Skylights	1935
Montana Technological University	Butte, Montana	1889	Public[d]	1,622	Orediggers	1934
University of Montana Western	Dillon, Montana	1893	Public[d]	1,458	Bulldogs	1934
University of Providence[e]	Great Falls, Montana	1932	Catholic (Ursulines)	677	Argonauts	1974; 1999[f]
Rocky Mountain College[g]	Billings, Montana	1878	various[h]	991	Battlin' Bears	1947
Valley City State University	Valley City, North Dakota	1890	Public[b]	1,754	Vikings	2025

Notes

1. Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
2. Part of the North Dakota University System.
3. Dickinson State was a member of the Frontier Conference from 2012 to 2014.
4. Part of the Montana University System.
5. Formerly known as the University of Great Falls until 2017.
6. Providence (then known as Great Falls) did not have an athletics program from 1984–85 to 1998–99.
7. Rocky Mountain was formed by a merger of Intermountain Union College and Billings Polytechnic Institute since late 1935. But their athletic programs continued until the end of the 1935–36 school year.
8. Rocky Mountain has various affiliations: The Mainline Protestant, the United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the United Church of Christ.

Affiliate members

The Frontier currently has five affiliate members, three of them are private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined[a]	Frontier sport	Primary conference
Arizona Christian University	Glendale, Arizona	1960	Nondenominational	1,233	Firestorm	2023	Football	Great Southwest (GSAC)
College of Idaho	Caldwell, Idaho	1891	Presbyterian (PCUSA)	1,076	Coyotes	2014		Cascade (CCC)
Eastern Oregon University	La Grande, Oregon	1929	Public	2,798	Mountaineers	2008
Simpson University	Redding, California	1921	Christian & Missionary Alliance	907	Red Hawks	2025		California Pacific (CalPac)
Southern Oregon University	Ashland, Oregon	1872	Public	5,371	Raiders	2012		Cascade (CCC)

Notes

1. Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.

Notes

Former members

The Frontier had four former full members, only one was a private school:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined[a]	Left[b]	Subsequent conference(s)	Current conference
Lewis–Clark State College	Lewiston, Idaho	1893	Public	3,706	Warriors & Lady Warriors	1998	2020	Cascade (CCC) (2020–present)
Eastern Montana College[c]	Billings, Montana	1927		4,092	Yellowjackets	1933	1980	various[e]	Great Northwest (GNAC)[d] (2007–present)
Westminster College[f]	Salt Lake City, Utah	1875	Nonsectarian	1,214	Griffins	1998	2015	Rocky Mountain (RMAC)[d] (2015–present)

Notes

1. Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
2. Represents the calendar year when spring sports competition ends.
3. Currently known as Montana State University–Billings since 1994. Eastern Montana was the school name that reflected its use during conference membership.
4. Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.
5. Eastern Montana (now Montana State–Billings) had joined the following subsequent conferences: as an NCAA D-II Independent from 1980–81 to 1981–82; the Pacific West Conference^[d] (PacWest) from 1982–83 to 2004–05 (originally known as the Great Northwest Conference from 1982–83 to 1991–92); and the Heartland Conference^[d] from 2005–06 to 2006–07.
6. Currently known as Westminster University since 2023.

Membership timeline

 Full member (all sports)   Full member (non-football)   Associate member (football-only) 

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.

University of Providence reached finals in women's basketball in 2024, Providence defeated Carroll College in the semi finals.This marked the first time two Frontier teams meet in the national tournament.

Football

Carroll has won the NAIA national championship six times: four straight, from 2002 to 2005, 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.

Conference champions

Football

By team

Team	Conference
	Titles	Last title
Carroll	39	2022
Montana Western	21	2024
Montana Tech	15	2016
Rocky Mountain	11	2021
MSU Billings	11	1975
College of Idaho	4	2022
Southern Oregon	2	2017
Eastern Oregon	1	2020

By year

Year Team 1935 Montana Western 1936 Montana Tech Montana Western 1937 Rocky Mountain 1938 Rocky Mountain 1939 Montana Tech 1940 Caroll 1941 Caroll 1942 No games, WWII 1943 No games, WWII 1944 No games, WWII 1945 No games, WWII 1946 Montana Western 1947 Montana Western 1948 MSU Billings 1949 Montana Western 1950 Carroll 1951 Carroll 1952 Carroll 1953 Carroll 1954 Carroll 1955 Rocky Mountain 1956 Rocky Mountain 1957 MSU Billings 1958 MSU Billings 1959 Carroll MSU Billings 1960 MSU Billings Rocky Mountain

Year Team 1961 Montana Western 1962 Montana Western 1963 Montana Western 1964 MSU Billings 1965 MSU Billings 1966 MSU Billings 1967 Montana Western 1968 MSU Billings 1969 Montana Western 1970 Montana Tech 1971 MSU Billings 1972 Carroll Montana Tech 1973 Carroll 1974 Carroll 1975 MSU Billings 1976 Carroll 1977 Montana Western 1978 Carroll 1979 Montana Tech 1980 Carroll Montana Western 1981 Carroll 1982 Carroll Montana Western 1983 Montana Tech 1984 Rocky Mountain 1985 Carroll

Year Team 1986 Carroll 1987 Carroll 1988 Carroll 1989 Carroll 1990 Carroll 1991 Rocky Mountain 1992 Montana Tech 1993 Carroll Montana Western 1994 Montana Western 1995 Montana Western 1996 Montana Tech 1997 Montana Tech 1998 Rocky Mountain 1999 Rocky Mountain 2000 Carroll 2001 Carroll 2002 Carroll Montana Western 2003 Carroll 2004 Carroll Montana Tech Montana Western 2005 Carroll 2006 Carroll 2007 Carroll 2008 Carroll 2009 Carroll 2010 Carroll

Year Team 2011 Carroll 2012 Montana Tech Southern Oregon 2013 Carroll 2014 Carroll 2015 Montana Tech 2016 Montana Tech 2017 Southern Oregon 2018 Rocky Mountain 2019 College of Idaho 2020 Carroll College of Idaho Eastern Oregon 2021 College of Idaho Montana Western Rocky Mountain 2022 Carroll College of Idaho 2023 Montana Western 2024 Montana Western

^[9]

See also

• 2012 Frontier Conference football season