August 26, 2025

HELENA, Mont. – The 2025 NAIA Football officially kicks off their season Thursday evening as SWX Local Sports will be broadcasting the Top 25 battle at Alumni Coliseum in Butte, Mont.

No. 5 Montana Western makes a trip to No. 11 Montana Tech in a non-conference clash with a kick-off starting at 6 p.m. (Mountain Time).  This contest is also the Copper Game, presented by Rocky Mountain FC.

The Bulldogs (West) and the Orediggers (East) are the preseason favorite to win the Frontier Conference division titles this fall.

UMW is coming off from their back-to-back Frontier Conference football regular-season outright title with a 7-1 conference record.  Montana Western advanced to the NAIA Football Championship Series (FCS) before falling to Morningside (Iowa) in the quarterfinals round, finishing with an overall record of 10-2.

MT finished their 2024 season with a tie for second place in the Frontier Conference standings with Carroll (Mont.), each team with a 6-2 conference record.  The Orediggers earned an at-large bid to the national playoffs.  Montana Tech earned a bye in the first round of the playoffs and fell to Northwestern (Iowa) in the second round in Butte.

Montana Western had won the previous three meetings with Montana Tech, most recently on Oct. 12, 2024, in Dillion.  The Bulldogs had won three straight road meetings held in Butte since 2021 (Sept. 25, 2021, Nov. 5, 2022, and Oct. 7, 2023).

UMW had won five times in the last six meetings (last Orediggers’ win was on Sept. 24, 2022, in Dillon).  MT is seeking their first home win over the Bulldogs since Oct. 12, 2019. 

Montana Western holds a series record of 31-29 since Sept. 29, 1990.

Fans can follow along with all the action at the Frontier Conference by downloading the SWX Local Sports App through the App Store or Google Play Store or by visiting their website.

The image below displays the SWX Local Sports coverage map. 
 
The next televised match-up on SWX Local Sports will be on Saturday (Aug. 30) with No. 25 ranked Carroll (Mont.) visiting MSU-Northern at 1 p.m. (MT).

Other Frontier Conference football contests on during the season opening week include (all start times in MDT):

Thursday, Aug. 28

• Judson (Ill.) @ Mayville State (N.D.) – 5 p.m.
• Valley City State (N.D.) @ #13 Dickinson State (N.D.) – 6 p.m.
• Simpson (Calif.) @ #22 Southern Oregon – 7 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 30

• #25 Carroll (Mont.) @ MSU-Northern – 1 p.m. (TV:  SWX Local Sports)
• Dakota State (S.D.) @ Dakota Wesleyan – 6 p.m.
• Eastern Oregon @ (RV) College of Idaho – 7 p.m.

Visit fcsports.org for more information on all the Frontier Conference matchups or check out the FC Sports app.