Mayville State University (MSU or MaSU) is a

public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

Mayville, North Dakota Mayville is a city in Traill County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 1,854 at the 2020 census. which makes Mayville the largest community in Traill County. Mayville was founded in 1881. The city's name remembers May Arnold, the ...

, United States. It is part of the

North Dakota University System The North Dakota University System (NDUS) is the public system of higher education and policy coordination entity in the U.S. state of North Dakota. The system includes all public institutions in the state including two research universities, f ...

History

Founded as a normal school by provision of the

North Dakota Constitution The Constitution of North Dakota is the most basic legal document in the U.S. state of North Dakota. It consists of a preamble and fourteen articles. History In recent years, North Dakota's constitution has been amended several times. Among these ...

in 1889, Mayville State was granted and organized by the first Legislative Assembly. Classes began in 1889, with funds for the current

Old Main Old Main is a term often applied to the original building present on college or university campuses in the United States. The building serves today as home to administrative offices, such as the president or provost, but in its early inception may ...

a building provided by the Second Legislative Assembly in early 1891, where classes were initially held in 1894. In 1926, the State Board of Higher Education authorized Mayville State to grant a Bachelor of Arts in education. The Mayville Normal School thus became Mayville State Teacher's College, providing general education and offering a four-year degree. Successive additions strengthened the curriculum; and as enrollment grew, new buildings appeared. In 1948, the B.A. in Education became a B.S. in Education and the first non-teaching Bachelor of Arts was offered in 1961. In 1973 and 1982, Mayville State College established programs in business administration and computer studies respectively. In the early 1980s, the Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of General Studies became available. The present name, Mayville State University, was approved by the legislature in 1987.

Campus

In 1985, multiple campus buildings were recognized by the National Register of Historic Places with the creation of the Mayville Historic District. and On April 9, 2010, the university broke ground on "the first state funded building in more than 40 years." Agassiz Hall, the largest residence hall has been remodeled to provide suite- and apartment-style living accommodations for men and women. An addition to the science and library buildings is providing a new home for the Division of Education and Psychology.

Athletics

The Mayville State athletic teams are called the Comets. The university is a member of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for higher education, colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic schola ...

(NAIA), primarily competing as a member of the

North Star Athletic Association The North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) was a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) that began play in the 2013–14 school year. The conference disbanded with six full member ...

(NSAA) as a founding member since the 2013–14 academic year. The Comets previously competed as an NAIA Independent within the Association of Independent Institutions (AII) from 2011–12 to 2012–13; and in these defunct conferences: the

Dakota Athletic Conference The Dakota Athletic Conference (DAC) was a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). As the name implies, member teams were located in the states of North Dakota and South Dakota. T ...

(DAC) from 2000–01 to 2010–11; and the

North Dakota College Athletic Conference The North Dakota College Athletic Conference (NDCAC) was a collegiate athletic conference that ceased operations following the 1999–2000 academic school year when it merged with the South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference to form the Dakota Athle ...

(NDCAC) from 1922–23 to 1999–2000. Mayville State competes in six intercollegiate varsity sports. Men's sports include baseball, basketball and football; women's sports include basketball, softball and volleyball. The Mayville State Comets men's basketball team finished runner-up at the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Tournament in 2007. This is the only men's basketball team in North Dakota history to play in a national collegiate championship game. Head coach Darren lead the team to back to back to back tournament championships. Mayville State's softball team appeared in one

Women's College World Series The Women's College World Series (WCWS) is the final portion of the NCAA Division I softball tournament for college softball in the United States and is held annually in Oklahoma City, OK. The event is held at Devon Park (stadium), Devon Park loca ...

in 1976. Mayville State volleyball made a national tournament appearance in 2021. The program has had several All-American players.

Notable alumni

* Ole Aarsvold - Member of the

North Dakota House of Representatives The North Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly and is larger than the North Dakota Senate. North Dakota is divided into between 40 and 54 legislative districts apportioned by population as ...

from the 20th district * Nick Anderson - professional baseball player * Emil R. Bedard -

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

Hank Biesiot Henry A. Biesiot (born 1945) is a former American football player and coach. He was the head football coach at Dickinson State University, a position he had held since the 1976 season before retiring following the 2013 season. Biesiot was one ...

- college football and baseball coach *

Merle Boucher Merle Boucher (born July 19, 1946) is a North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party politician who served in the North Dakota House of Representatives, representing the 9th district from 1991 to 2011. He served as Minority Leader from 1996 to 2011. Bouc ...

- Minority leader of the

from the 9th district *

Lynn Frazier Lynn Joseph Frazier (December 21, 1874January 11, 1947) was an American educator and politician who served as the 12th governor of North Dakota from 1917 until being 1921 North Dakota gubernatorial recall election, recalled in 1921 and later serv ...

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

and 12th

Governor of North Dakota The governor of North Dakota is the head of government of North Dakota and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's North Dakota National Guard, military forces. The Constitution of North Dakota specifies that "the executive power is ves ...

Curt Kreun Curtiss "Curt" Kreun is a former American politician served as a member of the North Dakota Senate from the 42nd district from 2016 to 2024 and a member of the North Dakota House of Representatives from the 43rd district from 2010 to 2014. Earl ...

- Member of the

North Dakota Senate The North Dakota State Senate is the upper house of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly, smaller than the North Dakota House of Representatives. Per the state constitution, North Dakota is divided into between 40 and 54 legislative distri ...

from the 42nd district *

Roger Moe Roger Moe (born June 2, 1944) is an American politician who served as a member and majority leader of the Minnesota Senate. He was the Democratic nominee for governor in the 2002 Minnesota gubernatorial election. Early life and education Born ...

- Majority leader of the

Minnesota Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Minnesota Legislature, Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any State legislature (Unite ...

* Mitch Ostile - Member of the

from the 12th district * Gene Roebuck - college basketball coach * David Moe - college basketball coach

References

External links

Official website

Official athletics website
{{Coord, 47, 30, 17, N, 97, 19, 24, W, format=dms, display=title, type:edu_region:US-ND Education in Traill County, North Dakota 1889 establishments in Dakota Territory Public universities and colleges in North Dakota Mayville, North Dakota Universities and colleges established in 1889