Qualla: Montana State University

Montana State University: Introduction

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit R. L. Polk and Co, Public domain. Bozeman wanted to be the capital of Montana. When Helena won that prize in 1889, the state legislature offered a consolation: the new state's land-grant college. Gallatin County donated half of its poor farm, rancher Nelson Story contributed $1,500, and on February 16, 1893, eight students gathered in borrowed rooms at the county high school to begin classes. The Agricultural College of the State of Montana had a horticulturist, a business instructor, and a mission to turn frontier children into farmers. What it became was something entirely different.

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Image: R. L. Polk and Co | Public domain

Montana State University: Racehorse Basketball

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown Montana State University, Public domain. The 1920s transformed Montana State College into a basketball powerhouse through a revolutionary approach to the game. Coach Ott Romney, a Montana native, pioneered what he called racehorse basketball, an up-tempo style built around the fast break. Players Cat Thompson, John Bric...

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Image: Unknown Montana State University | Public domain

Montana State University: The M on the Mountain

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Montana State University, CC BY 4.0. In 1916, students climbed the side of Mount Baldy in the foothills of the Bridger Range and laid out a giant letter M in whitewashed rocks. That icon still watches over the campus, visible for miles across the Gallatin Valley. Below it, the university grew through both prosperity...

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Image: Montana State University | CC BY 4.0

Montana State University: Dinosaurs and Discovery

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Kelly Gorham, Director of Visual Media, Montana State University, CC BY-SA 4.0. Research defines modern Montana State. The university ranks in the top three percent nationally for research expenditures, regularly exceeding $100 million annually. The Museum of the Rockies houses the largest collection of North American dinosaur fossils in the United States, i...

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Image: Kelly Gorham, Director of Visual Media, Montana State University | CC BY-SA 4.0

Montana State University: A University Takes Shape

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Tim1965, CC BY-SA 3.0. Today more than 16,700 students attend Montana's largest university, choosing from 60 undergraduate fields, 68 master's programs, and 35 doctoral degrees across nine colleges. The campus spreads across the south side of Bozeman, anchored by Montana Hall where presidents have work...

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Image: Tim1965 | CC BY-SA 3.0