Athletic success for the Bobcats spells success for MSU as a whole

BOZEMAN, Mont. - After Thursday night’s win against Northern Arizona, Bobcats men’s basketball is headed to March Madness. 

Sunday Selection this weekend will reveal which other teams are joining the Big Dance and the first round will be on March 14 and 15. 

MSU athletics has had a great couple years, not only for basketball but for most other sports, as well. This is the second year in a row men’s basketball has won the Big Sky Tournament, the football team went to the playoffs for the second year in a row. Men’s hockey is headed to nationals for their third straight year starting March 17 after automatically qualifying in their regular season. 

Last spring, the Big Sky Conference awarded MSU with the Big Sky Men’s All-Sports Trophy for playing well across so many sports. 

ASMSU President Lucas Oelker said when there is growth in sports, it is easy to see that growth reflected across the rest of the school. 

According to MSU, the school has their second largest freshmen class in history this year. There were 3,752 new, first-time college students, and a total 16,688 students, making MSU the first university in the state to surpass 16,000 students. 

Every time the school has a winning team or a team that does well, it builds school spirit, Oelkers said. Everyone at MSU loves sports, the student section at football games always sells out, and students are super excited for the men’s basketball team and all their success.