Montana State University-Northern Athletics

Montana State Northern competes in the NAIA, which sits between NCAA Division II and Division III in terms of competition level and recruiting. The Lights and Skylights (men's and women's teams) offer 11 varsity sports with $700,921 in athletic scholarships spread across 175 student-athletes. That means about 22% of the 787 students play varsity sports, creating a tight-knit athletic community where everyone knows the players. NAIA schools like Northern focus more on regional competition than national exposure, but still take athletics seriously enough to offer meaningful scholarship money. The school competes in the Frontier Conference against other small Montana and regional schools. With only 375 housing spots on campus, game days can feel like community events where a good chunk of the student body shows up to support their classmates.