Northern Homecoming an exciting time

Homecoming is a special time at any university. And this year's homecoming plans at Montana State University-Northern will cover the gamut of sports and entertainment.

The big homecoming show surrounds Saturday's football game between the No. 23 Lights and No. 12 Eastern Oregon Mountaineers. The game is showdown between the top two teams in the Frontier Conference at the moment and sole possession of first place will be on the line at Blue Pony Stadium.

There's also no love lost between the Lights and Mounties, especially after the two thrillers they played against each other last season. In LaGrande, Ore., EOU mounted a fourth-quarter charge and blew past the Lights to win by four points. A month later, Northern built a huge halftime lead in Havre, only to watch EOU eek out a 3-point win. So give the Lights have lost their last two games to the Mounties by a combined seven points, Saturday's game should be intense.

The game will also feature Northern's 2011 Royal Court announced at halftime as well as the crowning of the 2011 Homecoming King and Queen.

This weekend's homecoming theme is also being build as a weekend of champions, and many past Lights and Skylights will be honored throughout the festivities.

But football isn't the only sport on tap this weekend in Havre.

The Northern volleyball team is also in first place in the Frontier Conference and the Skylights will play their arch rival, UGF on Friday night at the MSU-Northern Fieldhouse. The Skylights are off to a 2-0 start in the conference as is UGF, so like the football game on Saturday, Havre will be the sight of a first-place match in volleyball on Friday night.

Then there's the annual MSU-Northern Rodeo. The three-day rodeo features performances at 7 p.m. on Friday night, 5 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. on Sunday. There will also be slack on Saturday morning. The Northern Rodeo offers Havre fans the only chance to see the Lights and Skylights in action in Havre. And the rodeo also features some of the best collegiate talent anywhere in the country as teams from Montana State in Bozeman, as well as Dawson Community College and UM-Western will be in attendance.

Northern's Homecoming is a time of pride on the campus, and the sporting events that coincide with homecoming are a big part of that pride. And this year's homecoming games are big and meaningful and they shouldn't be missed.