Scouting The Other MSU

With just a few days before kickoff, we thought it would be prudent to take a peek at the other MSU - Michigan State's first FCS opponent since that sort of classification came into being.

Given the focus of this blog, however, we won't get into the nitty gritty details on Montana State's running backs or anything like that. We assume they have them, and that's about all on that point we care to get into. Instead, we figured we'd bring you a look at the university itself - your TOSSS scouting report on "the other MSU."

Montana State University

Location: Bozeman, Mont. It's a small town about two hours west of Billings, the state's largest city.

Founded: 1893

Enrollment: Montana State - Bozeman is the flagship campus of the four-campus Montana State University system. Its 2008 enrollment was 12,369, a record high.

Academics: U.S. News and World Report ranked the school as a Tier 3 national university in 2009, making it academically similar to a number of BCS schools including Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Kansas State or another MSU, Mississippi State.

Tuition: Montana State is relatively cheap for in-state students, with tuition at a hair under $6,000 a year. It's almost three times as much for out-of-state students at $17,650 a year.

Notable Alumni: Not too many names to tell you about here, in fact East Lansing High School probably has a more notable alumni roster. However, I found three Montana State alums you've probably heard of. Former Purdue football coach Joe Tiller, Arizona State football coach Dennis Erickson and former Daily Show host Craig Kilborn were all Bobcats at one point.

Fun Facts: There are a mountain of similarities between MSU and MSU - their identical initials being but one. Both schools started life as the "Aggies", before switching to their current mascots. Both schools at one point were called colleges, not universities, and carried the initials MSC.

Montana State, like Michigan State, asks its university community to read one book each summer. Both schools call it "One Book, One Community." And this year, both schools read the same book - The Soloist, by Los Angeles Times Columnist Steve Lopez.