Kent Paulson Part 2: Frontier Conference Football is as good as it's ever been

For years now, when people speak of football in the Frontier Conference, they refer to the league as the SEC of the NAIA. And while the Frontier hasn't been winning as many national championships of late, from top to bottom, there's never an argument about how strong the league is.

And no one knows that better than longtime Frontier Conference Commissioner Kent Paulson, who views Frontier football as strong as its ever been.

"Football is the flagship sport of our league," Paulson said recently. "It's that way for any conference at any level, and it's certainly true of the Frontier. We've always been very proud of the football in the Frontier, and we continue to be."

Paulson should be proud, as he's helped oversee a ton of growth when it comes to Frontier football, in more ways than one.

Obviously, with Eastern Oregon, Southern Oregon and most recently, the College of Idaho, as well as a short stay by Dickinson State, Paulson has seen the Frontier grow well beyond the original Montana-only league that used to play a true round-robin schedule, where everyone played each other twice, and for a time, a league where Carroll College was rarely challenged.

Today, however, things are very, very different.

"Our associate teams love being a part of this league," Paulson said. "And they make us a stronger conference. I mean, just look at what Southern Oregon has done, winning a championship, and Eastern Oregon making a deep run in the playoffs recently.

"And now look at how far College of Idaho has come in such a short amount of time," he continued. "I was involved in them bringing back football, and it's been magical to watch what they've done with that program. And here they are, winning our league last fall and making the playoffs."

No question, the three out-of-state schools in the Frontier have only served to make an already great, and deep NAIA conference, even that much better, and much, much deeper.

"Those schools have truly enhanced our league," Paulson said. "And being in our league has certainly enhanced those school's athletic departments. So, it's a win-win for everybody."

And they do a lot of winning in the Frontier. Last season, the top four teams in the league were .600 or above, and every one of them made a case for at least being in the playoff hunt. Of course, that's the way the Frontier is every fall because, at least two or three really good Frontier teams get left out of the playoffs, though, those same teams are easily some of the best in the country.

"I know Morningside has kind of taken the mantle and run with it lately," Paulson said. "But we feel like, from top to bottom, our league is stronger than another in the NAIA. And what we see on the football field every weekend, it bears that out. I think the same holds true in basketball, and our other major sports, where we feel as though we're as strong as any league in the NAIA. But we feel that we're especially strong in football every single season."

Another area where the Frontier is getting stronger and stronger is the playing fields themselves. The facilities race in college football has trickled down to the Frontier, and the league has taken notice.

Not long ago, Montana Tech did an outstanding remodel to Alumni Coliseum, and just two years ago, both Rocky Mountain (Herb Clint Field) and Southern Oregon (Raider Stadium) did large-scale remodeling projects as well. Eastern Oregon is also upgrading Community Stadium currently, while C of I's Simplot Stadium was built brand new in conjunction with the resurrection of the program. Of course, the race started when Carroll turned its famed Nelson stadium into the gem of not just the Frontier, but all of NAIA football.

And now, Montana State University-Northern is joining the party, while Montana Western is perhaps going to do the same. Both schools have been playing at their town's respective high school stadiums, and while Havre's Blue Pony Stadium is one of the most revered in Montana high school football, Paulson is excited for Northern to have its won stadium.

"What's going on at Northern is really exciting," Paulson said. "It's a project that I think is going to obviously enhance Northern's football program, and its campus, as well as its entire athletic department. But, it's also a project that's going to help make our league even better. I think it's going to be huge for Northern to have an on-campus stadium, and I can't wait until I'm able to be there watching a Frontier Conference football game in that new stadium one day. It's just really exciting."

Northern hopes to be playing in its new stadium by October, but there's one thing that could derail that plan - the COVID-19 pandemic.

From the beginning of the coronavirus problem in America, Paulson, as a commissioner has been at the forefront. He's had to help make, or make a ton of tough decisions, like canceling the NAIA men's and women's basketball tournaments, as well as all spring sports. And, as we turn to summer, all of the tough decisions will be about fall sports in the Frontier and the NAIA.

"We have a finished schedule for football," Paulson said. "But we've also been having meetings with our ADs, and football is of course a big topic. Our start date is Aug. 29, but we understand we could have to modify that. We might have to start later in the fall, and we also have to look at, with no spring ball this year, do we need to allow our schools to start fall camp earlier if it's safe - so that we can give these teams more time to prepare because, without spring, they've been away from football now longer than they ever have."

Another potential issue for football in the fall is how different Montana's coronavirus problem is compared to Oregon or Idaho, so Paulson said, they must be ready to adapt the schedules accordingly.

"That's something we've talked about already," he noted. "What if Southern and Eastern can't play yet, but the Montana schools can, so we might have to readjust our schedules, and we'd be able to take teams who were supposed to play those two schools, and pair them up against each other. So we could be looking at some type of fluid schedule.

"And we'll continue to look at a lot of options going forward," he continued. "COVID is a very fluid situation, and it's certainly going to affect the NAIA and our fall sports in some way. We just have to be ready to make those adjustments."

The biggest issue, however, is campuses being open. That's the hottest topic in college football as May dawns. Many big schools are already preparing to play next season without fans in the stands, and that could even happen in the Frontier, but the bigger issue is, if campuses aren't open to students, will there even be sports. Or should there be?

"That's a big issue," Paulson said. "If August is still a problem, and campuses can't open up, then we have to look at pushing our seasons back. All of this is contingent on it being safe for all of our kids to be back on campuses."

Safety is the paramount issue when it comes to COVID-19, and as commissioner of the Frontier, it will be at the forefront of any decisions Paulson makes about football, and other Frontier sports moving forward. But, like how he feels about the league being strong, he also feels just as positive about sports returning the Frontier this fall.

"I wish I had a crystal ball, but I don't," Paulson said. "So I'll just say, I'm an eternal optimist, and I feel comfortable saying that I think we're get back to some kind of normal, and we'll be able to do that in a healthy and safe manner.

"At the end of the day, safety is the most important thing," he added. "The safety of our student-athletes and out staffs, and the safety of the great people of the state of Montana. So, going forward, we'll be safe, and we'll be well-prepared, and if we do those two things, I believe we'll be back to playing sports sooner rather than later."