Montana State University - Billings
Encyclopedia
Montana State University Billings (or MSU Billings) is a state university
. Its main campus is located in downtown Billings, Montana
, United States
. Formerly Eastern Montana Normal School when it was founded, it was then renamed to Eastern Montana College before being renamed to its present name in 1994. It has the third largest campus population in the Montana State University System.
The university was established in 1927 and offers Associate/Bachelor/Master degrees and certificates. Today, there are over 160 degrees to choose from.
Students have access to many places in Montana, from hiking in the nearby city and state parks to sightseeing in Yellowstone National Park
to going to a concert at MetraPark.
Currently between 5,000–6,000 students attend MSU Billings.
Some of the major student organizations include:
Full List of Organizations
and compete in the NCAA
's Great Northwest Athletic Conference
and in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
. Montana State University Billings has an active athletic department, including a newly reformed baseball
program. Other sports include: men's and women's basketball
(both making appearances in conference finals over the years), cross country
, golf
, soccer, tennis
, cheerleading
, softball
, volleyball
, tennis
, indoor track, and outdoor track. The official MSUB song is the "Fight Song".
was abandoned in the late 1970s. The program, which rose to prominence during the early 1960s under coach Harry "Mike" Harkins, has lately been competitive within NCAA D–II and while a member of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC). In the past ten years the Yellowjackets have led D–II (and in some cases all of the NCAA) in three-pointers made per game. The school has finished under .500 only once in that timespan.
While Roy McPipe
remains the only former player to be drafted by the NBA
and play major professional basketball in the United States
, many former players have found pro careers in Europe or in minor leagues in the states.
to an NCAA D–II athletics program. The baseball team was re-established in 2006, enjoying its first year ever as an NCAA baseball school under manager Chris Brown in the Heartland Conference.
The 2006 season started on February 24 with a 6–3 loss to Northwest Nazarene University
. The Jackets began the year on a 16- game road trip, losing all 16 games. They started the year 0–18 before an 11–2 home win at Cobb Field
against the same Northwest Nazarene team. The Jackets finished their first NCAA season on a 15–17 run to finish 15–35. In 2007 the team completed its second season with a much improved 24–26 record.
improvements and workforce needs foresee a 2,000 student increase in the near future.
State university system
A state university system in the United States is a group of public universities supported by an individual state, or a similar entity such as the District of Columbia. These systems constitute the majority of public-funded universities in the country...
. Its main campus is located in downtown Billings, Montana
Billings, Montana
Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, and is the principal city of the Billings Metropolitan Area, the largest metropolitan area in over...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Formerly Eastern Montana Normal School when it was founded, it was then renamed to Eastern Montana College before being renamed to its present name in 1994. It has the third largest campus population in the Montana State University System.
The university was established in 1927 and offers Associate/Bachelor/Master degrees and certificates. Today, there are over 160 degrees to choose from.
Students have access to many places in Montana, from hiking in the nearby city and state parks to sightseeing in Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...
to going to a concert at MetraPark.
Currently between 5,000–6,000 students attend MSU Billings.
Student life
The school is host to a mix of traditional and nontraditional student body. Approximately 850 students live on campus in the residence halls.Some of the major student organizations include:
- The Associated Students of Montana State University Billings, also known as the student government. This organization is run by and for students, taking in concerns, advocating student issues and rights, and allocating funds.
- Student Activities Board, the organizers of many activities from comedians to current movies on campus.
- The United Campus Ministries, which include various denominations from Baha’i to non-denominational and Catholic
- Jacket Student Ambassadors, a student leadership organization on campus which hosts many new student orientations and tours of the campus.
- The Residence Hall Association, a student run residence hall associationResidence hall associationIn the United States, a Residence Hall Association is a student-run university residence hall governing body. It is usually the parent organization for individual hall governments. Their function is similar to a student government, except that most of their activities pertain to on-campus living...
that provides both social and educational programming for residents of Petro and Rimrock Hall.
Full List of Organizations
Notable alumni
- James Franklin BattinJames Franklin BattinJames Franklin Battin was a Republican U.S. Representative from the U.S. state of Montana, and later a United States federal judge....
(Class of 1948), US Representative and federal judge - Chet BlaylockChet BlaylockChester Merle "Chet" Blaylock was a U.S. politician born in Joliet, Montana. Blaylock served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Later he was a teacher for 30 years in Laurel and Chinook, Montana. He was a delegate to the Montana state Constitutional Convention in 1972 and a member of the...
(State Senator, delegate to Montana constitutional conventionConstitutional convention (political meeting)A constitutional convention is now a gathering for the purpose of writing a new constitution or revising an existing constitution. A general constitutional convention is called to create the first constitution of a political unit or to entirely replace an existing constitution...
, Montana gubernatorial candidate) - Melony G. GriffithMelony G. GriffithMelony Ghee Griffith is an American politician who represents district 25 in the Maryland House of Delegates. -Background:On June 5, 1963, Delegate Griffith was born in Abilene, Texas to Frank F. and Mary E. Ghee and raised on Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and the Malmstrom Air Force...
, member of the Maryland House of DelegatesMaryland House of DelegatesThe Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland, and is composed of 141 Delegates elected from 47 districts. The House chamber is located in the state capitol building on State Circle in Annapolis... - Monica LindeenMonica LindeenMonica Lindeen is an American politician who was a Democratic member of the Montana House of Representatives from 1999 to 2006, representing House District 43. Born in Ogden, Utah, Monica Lindeen served as Vice Chair of the Montana Democratic Party from 1997 to -2000...
(Montana House District 43, US Congress candidate '06) - Roy McPipeRoy McPipeRoy McPipe is an American former professional basketball player.A 6'3" guard from Eastern Montana College, McPipe played professional basketball with the American Basketball Association's Utah Stars in 1975...
(Drafted by the NBANational Basketball AssociationThe National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
in '73 and '74, played with the ABA's Utah StarsUtah StarsThe Utah Stars was an American Basketball Association team based in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.Under head coach Bill Sharman the Stars were the first major professional basketball team to use a pre-game shootaround.-History:...
in 1975) - Deb Prevost (played in the WBLWomen's Professional Basketball LeagueThe Women's Professional Basketball League was a professional women's basketball league in the United States. The league played three seasons from the fall of 1978 to the spring of 1981...
from 1978-80 with the Minnesota Fillies and Milwaukee Does) - Kevin Red StarKevin Red StarKevin Red Star is a Native American artist. He was born and lives in Lodge Grass, Montana and is a member of the Crow tribe.-His Education:*San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, California*Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana...
(Native AmericanNative Americans in the United StatesNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
artist)
Petro Hall
Petro Hall is a 500-room residence hall completed in 1965. There are 8 floors, including the first floor Petro Theater and the second floor lobby. It is connected directly to the Petro Theater on the first floor, and also connected to the Student Union Building.Rimrock Hall
Rimrock Hall is 300-room residence hall completed in 1962. There are 6 floors, including the second floor lobby and the first floor Student Union Building.Athletics
The athletic teams are nicknamed the YellowjacketYellowjacket
Yellowjacket is the common name in North America for predatory wasps of the genera Vespula and Dolichovespula. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps" in other English-speaking countries...
and compete in the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
's Great Northwest Athletic Conference
Great Northwest Athletic Conference
The Great Northwest Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference which has historically operated in the Northwestern United States, but also currently includes four schools in areas not usually considered part of that region—two in Alaska , one in eastern Montana The Great Northwest...
and in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the western United States, mostly in Colorado with some members in Nebraska and New Mexico...
. Montana State University Billings has an active athletic department, including a newly reformed baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
program. Other sports include: men's and women's basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
(both making appearances in conference finals over the years), cross country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, soccer, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, cheerleading
Cheerleading
Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...
, softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
, volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, indoor track, and outdoor track. The official MSUB song is the "Fight Song".
Men's basketball
The Yellowjackets men's basketball program has been at the forefront of the MSU Billings sports offerings since footballAmerican football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
was abandoned in the late 1970s. The program, which rose to prominence during the early 1960s under coach Harry "Mike" Harkins, has lately been competitive within NCAA D–II and while a member of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC). In the past ten years the Yellowjackets have led D–II (and in some cases all of the NCAA) in three-pointers made per game. The school has finished under .500 only once in that timespan.
While Roy McPipe
Roy McPipe
Roy McPipe is an American former professional basketball player.A 6'3" guard from Eastern Montana College, McPipe played professional basketball with the American Basketball Association's Utah Stars in 1975...
remains the only former player to be drafted by the NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
and play major professional basketball in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, many former players have found pro careers in Europe or in minor leagues in the states.
Men's Baseball
The Yellowjackets baseball program had originally been dropped in 1974, 5 years before the school moved from NAIANational Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...
to an NCAA D–II athletics program. The baseball team was re-established in 2006, enjoying its first year ever as an NCAA baseball school under manager Chris Brown in the Heartland Conference.
The 2006 season started on February 24 with a 6–3 loss to Northwest Nazarene University
Northwest Nazarene University
Northwest Nazarene University is a private Christian liberal arts college located in Nampa, Idaho.-History:Eugene Emerson organized a combination grade school and Bible school in 1913 as Idaho Holiness School...
. The Jackets began the year on a 16- game road trip, losing all 16 games. They started the year 0–18 before an 11–2 home win at Cobb Field
Cobb Field
Cobb Field was a baseball park located in Billings, Montana from 1932 to 2007. It was originally named Athletic Park and opened as Cobb Field on May 4, 1948 after renovations. It was the home of the Billings Mustangs, the Pioneer League Rookie Affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, from 1948-2007...
against the same Northwest Nazarene team. The Jackets finished their first NCAA season on a 15–17 run to finish 15–35. In 2007 the team completed its second season with a much improved 24–26 record.
The College of Technology
Originally another associate-level community college, the College of Technology merged with the main campus in 1994. In the past few years, enrollment has risen to over 1,400 students (accounting for nearly one-fifth of the student body). Projections with grantGrant (money)
Grants are funds disbursed by one party , often a Government Department, Corporation, Foundation or Trust, to a recipient, often a nonprofit entity, educational institution, business or an individual. In order to receive a grant, some form of "Grant Writing" often referred to as either a proposal...
improvements and workforce needs foresee a 2,000 student increase in the near future.
The College of Professional Studies and Lifelong Learning
The downtown campus provides conference facilities, workforce and professional development, personal enrichment, kids' camps, outreach and a Senior Academy for ages 55+. Their event calendars and course listings are available online.Distance learning
MSUB Online is Montana State University Billings' Online Portal, featuring a wide array of courses (over 240 classes) and complete programs of study ranging from certificates, associate's, bachelor's, and master's degrees.Student services
Essential Departments for student service include:- Academic Support Center
- Admissions, Records and Registrar
- Advising Center
- Beezer's (formerly the Book Depot)
- Business Services (Cashier, Fee Payment)
- Campus Police
- Career Services and Cooperative Education
- Child Care & Enrichment Center
- Dining Services
- Disability Support Services
- Financial Aid and Scholarships
- Graduate Studies
- Honors Program
- Housing & Residential Life
- Information Technology
- International Studies
- Jacket Student Ambassadors
- Multicultural Student Services
- Office for Community Involvement
- Office of Research Compliance
- Parking
- Recreational Activities
- Student Government (ASMSUB)
- Student Health Services
- Student Opportunity Services/TRIO
- Student Union & Activities
- Veterans' Upward Bound