SO IT BEGINS

There hasn't been a lot to smile about as of late. But, with the sun shining on a Havre blanketed in a late winter snow, Montana State University-Northern head football coach Andrew Rolin was all smiles Tuesday afternoon as he looked over what is no longer his practice fields on MSU-N's campus.

The reason the practice fields are gone? Because, on Tuesday, tractors and other heavy equipment were busy tearing up the area that once housed the Lights' practice fields and will eventually be home to the new football stadium at Northern.

"It's a big deal," Rolin said. "It's exciting to see it. I had to come down today and see dirt moving for myself. It's so exciting. This is going to be a game-changer for us."

Northern began stadium construction this week to no fanfare, which wasn't the original plan. The school was to hold a special ground-breaking ceremony Monday morning, but the combination of last weekend's winter storm, and the growing concerns of the coronavirus, postponed those plans.

Still, the work has begun.

And that work, which will eventually turn into a nearly 1,000-seat stadium, press box, plaza, and bowled in field that will feature state-of-the-art turf field, and a modern scoreboard with a video board.

That's Phase I of the project, and, while future phases will be even more ambitious, Rolin said Phase I of the stadium alone will forever change the face of Northern football, MSU-N athletics and the campus as a whole.

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I really believe this isn't just about football," he said. "I think this is going to change the phase of our department and our entire campus.

"I always imagine what it's going to be like on Saturday's," Rolin continued, "to have our own home. I really do love Blue Pony Stadium. Everybody loves Blue Pony. It's an amazing stadium. But it's time for Northern to have our own home, and it's very exciting."

Things will change dramatically for the Lights when the stadium is done, too, in more ways then one.

"Logistically, it does so much for us," Rolin said. "The turf field alone will be huge, for spring ball, for all the seasons. We can easily move snow off it, and in spring, that's every year. But look at our game against Tech last fall, where we had a foot of snow in September. With a turf field, we won't have to deal with those conditions like that anymore.

"Another big thing is just the location," he continued. "We have our facilities right there, our lockerrooms, weight room, training rooms, our offices, it's just going to be so much better for us as a football program, and how we operate."

Indeed, and it will do one more big thing, and it's a factor that will help Rolin change the face of Lights' football forever.

"Obviously, this is going to be a game-changer for our recruiting," Rolin said. "It's going to be huge to show kids what we have here. And even for our current team, they see us building this stadium, and it's big for morale. Like I said, it's going to transform our program in so many different ways."

There's no doubt an on-campus stadium at Northern will do just that. And while the support has been tremendous in helping get the school to the ground-breaking point it's at this week, Rolin also said, there's work to be done.

"We're still raising money," he said. "I think it's very important for people to know that. Thanks to generous support of so many people, we've raised a large amount of money, but there's still more to do."

The Lights also released their 2020 schedule Tuesday night. Northern plays its home-opener against Arizona Christian Aug. 29. For more on the schedule, stay tuned to the Havre Daily News. The Lights begin Frontier Conference play Sept. 5 against Southern Oregon, which will also be a home game for Northern.