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Per an announcement by the Frontier Conference Thursday, the Montana State University-Northern Lights will play a five-game conference schedule starting in March with the first home game at the new Lights Stadium slated for March 20 against Montana Tech.
For now, Frontier Conference football is still a go. But, for yet another time since the coronavirus pandemic began, the conference has altered its plans.
The last announcement for a spring football season came back in October, where a seven-game conference slate starting in February was planned. This plans changed Thursday however.
The Frontier announced in a press release a plan to play a five-game spring season that wouldn't start until March 13, with official practices not allowed to begin until Feb. 15.
"These changes were the result of a tremendous amount of hard work put in by the league's athletic directors and endorsed by the league presidents and chancellors," Frontier Commissioner Kent Paulson said.
The new format addresses the following issues the conference is still facing the COVID-19 pandemic, including the goal of assuring continued student-athlete safety, weather concerns affecting outdoor sports. and upholding the desire for the utmost care regarding facilities sanitation and more, but at the same time maintaining the adaptability, creativity and flexibility for providing quality schedules, the press release said.
The first weekend of play is now Saturday, March 13. The final weekend of conference play is Saturday, April 10. The modified schedule gives Frontier Conference schools the flexibility to play up to five football games. The NAIA continues to employ a very flexible approach as it offers conferences the opportunity to craft schedules for the Frontier's various sports all the while keeping the student-athlete's well-being at the forefront in planning.
"Along with aiding the schools and athletic conferences in numerous regions of the country, the NAIA has given a great amount of leeway in competition planning, Paulson said. "That leeway will allow for conference championships, a pathway to post-season play that leads to an opportunity to win a national championship. We hope in the upcoming months to turn the corner in addressing this virus and conclude the 2020-2021 athletic year on a positive note."
The MSU-Northern Lights were set to open the season at College of Idaho Feb. 27, and the first game in Lights Stadium was slated for March 13 against Southern Oregon. Under the new schedule, the Lights will travel to C of I to open the season March 13, followed by home games against Montana Tech March 20 and Eastern Oregon March 27. The Lights will then play at Montana Western April 3 and wrap up the abbreviated spring schedule April 10 at Carroll College.
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