Professional sports
There are no major league sports franchises in Montana, due to the state's relatively small and dispersed population, but a number of minor league teams play in the state. Baseball is the minor-league sport with the longest heritage in the state, and Montana is currently home to four Minor League baseball teams, all members of the Pioneer Baseball League:• Billings Mustangs
• Great Falls Voyagers
• Helena Brewers
• Missoula Osprey
The Billings Outlaws are a professional indoor football team affiliated with the United Indoor Football league.
Collegiate and amateur sports
All of Montana's four-year colleges and universities field a variety of intercollegiate sports teams. The two largest schools, the University of Montana and Montana State University, are members of the Big Sky Conference and have enjoyed a strong athletic rivalry since the early twentieth century. Most of the smaller four-year schools in the state belong to the Frontier Conference.
Football and basketball are the two most popular sports at the high school level. Montana is one of the few states where the smallest high schools participate in six-man football leagues. Numerous other sports are played at the club and amateur level, including softball, rugby, and soccer. Since 1988, the Montana High School All Class Wrestling Tournament has been held in Billings at MetraPark. This event remains one of the most popular high school events each year in Montana.
There are five junior hockey teams in Montana, all affiliated with the Northern Pacific Hockey League:
• Billings Bulls
• Bozeman Icedogs
• Butte Roughriders
• Helena Bighorns
• Missoula Maulers
Ft. Shaw
In 1904 a group of young Native American women, after playing undefeated during their last season, went to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition held in St. Louis and defeated all challenging teams and were declared to be world champions. For this they received a large silver trophy with the inscription "World's Fair - St. Louis, 1904 - Basket Ball - Won by Fort Shaw Team".
