BILLINGS, MT – Dr. Gary Gray, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at Montana State University-Billings, announced Wednesday that baseball will become the school’s thirteenth varsity sport beginning with the 2005 fall semester.  The Yellowjacket baseball team will begin official competition with the 2006 NCAA spring championship season. 

“MSU Billings Athletics is committed to providing quality opportunities and experiences for our student-athletes,” said Gray, “and in the past decade one of the ways we have demonstrated that commitment has been by adding sports.  Since 1996, we have added men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s golf, softball, and now baseball.  Those six sports, totaling nearly 110 student-athletes, will bring our student-athlete total to almost 200, and that is something we are very proud of.”

The Yellowjackets will compete in the Heartland Conference, which MSU Billings joined just last Thursday.  In addition to MSU Billings, the Heartland schools that play Division II baseball will be Incarnate Word, Lincoln, Panhandle State, St. Mary’s, and St. Edward’s.  Dallas Baptist will likely continue to compete in Division I for baseball.

MSU Billings last sponsored baseball in 1974 when the Yellowjackets competed in the NAIA Frontier Conference.  Baseball was dropped at the school in 1975 and MSU Billings moved up to NCAA Division II in 1979.

“The re-introduction of baseball as an official intercollegiate, Division II sport, provides another great opportunity for student-athletes at Montana State University-Billings,” said MSU Billings Chancellor Dr. Ronald Sexton.  “The Billings community has had a long and rich history in baseball – from the days of Woody Hahn, Dave McNally and Jeff Ballard in the American Legion Baseball programs to Pioneer League championships with the Billings Mustangs – and we think a college baseball program at MSU Billings is a great fit.  We also believe the baseball program will compliment the other athletic programs already in place and we look forward to many competitive seasons in the future.  The opportunity for Montana student-athletes to play collegiate baseball in Montana is a great opportunity to showcase our baseball talent from across the state and region.”

The baseball coach search committee has been reviewing applications for the head coaching position since December.  There were nearly 160 applicants from across the country, and the committee has narrowed the list to about a half dozen.  On campus interviews are scheduled to take place in the next few weeks.

Added Gray, “We want to thank Jeff Ballard and Bob Emard of the Billings American Legion Baseball program, Gary Roller of the Billings Mustangs, and Don Kearney and Gene Blackwell from the City of Billings Parks and Recreation Department for all their help and support over the past several months as we finalized our plans to add baseball.  We look forward to developing further this cooperative relationship with the City of Billings and the Billings American Legion Baseball program by sharing space and enhancing each other’s programs.”