A year later, Lucia Sullivan established the "Great Falls Normal School" to educate teachers. At the time there were two schools, each operating under a different Catholic religious community. The union of the two schools was one of convenience and legality. In 1942, the institution was a single entity under the direction of the Sisters of Providence, and was renamed the Great Falls College of Education. By the early 1950s it became simply the "College of Great Falls", and in 1995 was renamed the "University of Great Falls". It was renamed "University of Providence" in July 2017.[2]
Over the years UP has been involved in several outreach education efforts. For many years, it has had a resident center on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, and in Lewistown, as well as a continuing education program at Malmstrom Air Force Base. In addition to its campus offerings, UP serves 31 sites in Montana, southern Alberta and Wyoming through its Telecom Distance Learning Program, and is able to serve students around the world. The University of Providence offers undergraduate degrees in more than 20 programs and several master's degree programs.
The U. of Providence (UP) athletic teams are called the Argonauts. The university is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Frontier Conference for most of its sports since the 1999–2000 academic year (which they were a member on a previous stint from 1974–75 to 1983–84 before discontinuing its athletics program); while its men's and women's soccer, softball and men's and women's wrestling teams compete in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC).
UP competes in 17 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, ice hockey, soccer, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and wrestling; basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, track & field (indoor and outdoor), volleyball and wrestling; and co-ed sports include the spirit squad.
Former sports include men's lacrosse (until 2019), women's ice hockey (until 2020), and men's and women's rodeo (both until 2021). The men's lacrosse team used to compete in a state rivalry tournament, known as the "Copper Cup", with the University of Montana, and Montana State University.
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