NAIA's Big Dance coming to Billings

For the past three seasons, fans that were lucky enough to be able to follow the Montana State University-Northern Skylights to the NAIA Division I National Women's Basketball Tournament had to go a long way to do so.

However, if the Skylights make it back to the big dance in either of the next two seasons, the travel will be pretty darn easy.

Wednesday, Janie Adams, the NAIA Associate Director of Championship Events, announced that Billings was awarded the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championships for 2017 and 2018. The announcement came during an early afternoon press conference at Rimrock Auto Arena, the site of the tournament.

"This is a great thing for the state of Montana, for the Frontier Conference and for Rocky Mountain College," said Northern head coach Chris Mouat, who's guided the Skylights to four trips to the national tournament in his career. "There are six NAIA teams in this state, and any one of them can get to the national tournament. So, to have that in Billings, it's a great thing. It's going to put the spotlight on women's basketball in our state and in our conference, and that's really exciting."

The NAIA National Tournament will bring 31 teams to Billings. Rocky Mountain College receives an automatic berth being the host school. The Battlin' Bears last played in the tournament in 1988. The 2017 tournament will be March 15-21, while the 2018 tournament will be March 14-20.

The Billings bid was a collaborative effort between Visit Billings and Rocky Mountain College.

"This was a tremendous group effort," said Bruce Parker, the Battlin' Bears athletic director, at Wednesday's press conference. "We want to make this a great experience for the student-athletes and their fans so they want to come back every year."

Adams, along with Alan Grosbach of the NAIA, toured Billings in August, checking Rimrock Auto Arena, hotel space and possible practice venues for visiting teams.

"I know that Rocky Mountain College and Billings will put on a great tournament," Mouat said. "The Metra is a great venue for basketball. And I know Bruce (Parker) will do a great job with it."

Billings had originally bid for the tournament in 2014 but it was awarded to Independence, Mo. The tournament became available when Independence declined to pick up the option to host again.

Montana has hosted NAIA national events 11 times. The most recent was in 2004 when the NAIA wrestling national championships were finishing a three-year run in Great Falls. The NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships were held at the same MetraPark facility in Billings, 1968-1972. This is the first time a basketball championship will be in Montana.

The Rocky men's basketball team won the NAIA Division I title in 2009, while the then Northern Montana College women won the Division II national basketball championship in 1993.

The Skylights have went to the last three national tournaments, and, two years ago, they made it all the way to the Elite 8. Of course, with Rocky receiving an automatic bid, the race for the Frontier title, and at-large berths to the 2017 and 2018 tournaments will be tightly contested, in what is already a loaded league.

Last year, four teams from the Frontier Conference – Carroll College, the University of Great Falls, Northern and Lewis-Clark State – played in the national tournament.

"It's going to really amplify our league," Mouat said. "Our league is already so good, but, with the national tournament being in Billings, it's going to make it that much more competitive. It's going to be a battle every single night."

And though having the host school of the national tournament in your conference may make it harder for other teams to secure at-large bids, the fact that Montana and the Frontier Conference has Mouat excited for a number of reasons.

"It's really exciting for Rocky Mountain College," Mouat said. "They are going to get a ton of support. Where the national tournament has been recently, sometimes, the host school was from as far away as 50-100 miles. So, this is different, and it's really big for Rocky.

"But it's exciting for everybody in our league and in our state," he continued. "It's going to put such a spotlight on our conference and that's a great thing. And I think the people of Billings will come out and support this tournament. I think they'll do a great job of supporting it, no matter who is playing. So, this is a really exciting thing for all of us in our league, and really, for every women's basketball fan in Montana."

The Skylights begin their quest to reach Billings, and a fourth straight berth in the national tourney next month.