The University of Montana Western (UMW) is a

public college A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universit ...

Dillon, Montana Dillon is a city in and the county seat of Beaverhead County, Montana, United States. The population was 3,880 at the 2020 census. The city was named for Sidney Dillon (1812–1892), president of Union Pacific Railroad. History Dillon was fo ...

. It is affiliated with the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fal ...

and part of the

Montana University System The Montana University System (MUS) was created on July 1, 1994, when the Montana Board of Regents of Higher Education restructured the state's public colleges and universities, with the goal of streamlining the state's higher education in the wak ...

. It was founded in 1893 as Montana State Normal School and was also the Western Montana College of the University of Montana before becoming part of the Montana University System in 2000. Enrollment of full-time, degree seeking students as of Fall 2018 was 1,221 students.

History

The University of Montana Western campus

The college was founded as the Montana State Normal School in 1893 to train teachers according to a model used by other states. Education was considered highly important for the state. The first term of the Montana State Normal School began on September 6, 1897, with courses in elementary education for all grades below high school which took two years to complete, a one-year professional course for all teachers with two years of prior experience, an English-Scientific course which gave students a four-year diploma, a four-year Latin course, and a graduate course. Academics at the college expanded with increased programs and had a four-year curriculum; the addition of other subjects and departments led to its being renamed as Western Montana College. It became part of the

in 2000 and its name was changed to University of Montana Western.

Athletics

The Montana–Western (UMW) athletic teams are called the Bulldogs. The college is a member of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...

(NAIA), primarily competing in the

Frontier Conference The Frontier Conference is a List of college athletic conferences in the United States, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The conference was founded in 1934. Member institut ...

since the 1933–34 academic year. Montana–Western competes in 12 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include basketball, cross country, football, rodeo and track & field (indoor and outdoor); while women's sports include basketball, cross country, rodeo, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball.

Notable alumni

* Brandon Brown (born 1989), basketball player for

Hapoel Jerusalem Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem. Today, the club's leadi ...

of the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional sports, professional competition in Israeli sports club, club basketball, making ...

References

External links

*
Official athletics website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montana Western, University of Buildings and structures in Beaverhead County, Montana Education in Beaverhead County, Montana Educational institutions established in 1893 Universities and colleges accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities University of Montana System Frontier Conference 1893 establishments in Montana

University of Montana Western The University of Montana Western (UMW) is a public college in Dillon, Montana. It is affiliated with the University of Montana and part of the Montana University System. It was founded in 1893 as Montana State Normal School and was also the Wes ...