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A SMALL COLLEGE. A BIG MONTANA HORIZON.

Rocky Mountain College

Rocky Mountain College is a private college of 779 undergraduates in Billings, Montana, with the Rimrocks above campus and the Beartooth Mountains an hour south. Its varsity alpine team races in the USCSA Grand Teton conference, trains at Red Lodge Mountain, and in March 2026 won both the men's and women's combined alpine national titles at the USCSA championships.

Billings, MT

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  • USCSA
  • Grand Teton · Varsity alpine
  • Men & women
Rocky Mountain CollegeBattlin' Bears · Ski team

Photo: Robstutz (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY-SA 4.0

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LevelGrand Teton
USCSA
UndergraduatesFall 2025
779
Acceptance rateFall 2025, 671 of 863 (calculated)
77.8%
Tuition and fees2026-27, standard programs
$37,006
Home hill (Red Lodge Mountain)Reported training area
Red Lodge
Drive to Red Lodge from BillingsPer Visit Montana
1 hour
USCSA racers2025-26
23
USCSA power rankscore 38.22
#1

Why Rocky Mountain College?

A closer community.Room to go further.

Rocky combines liberal arts with professional fields in a small undergraduate setting, and its USCSA varsity program has been the one to beat nationally for two seasons.

  • The Palisades area at the north end of Red Lodge Mountain ski area

    Back-to-back USCSA champions

    Rocky won both the men's and women's combined alpine team titles at the 2026 USCSA National Championships, and the men's combined title was their second in a row.(gobattlinbears.com)

  • Main street of Red Lodge, Montana, with mountains behind

    A smaller undergraduate world

    The Fall 2025 Common Data Set lists 779 undergraduates and 153 graduate students, and traditional-age first-year students live in Anderson or Widenhouse Hall.(rocky.edu)

  • The sandstone Rimrocks above Billings, Montana

    Merit aid on a published grid

    First-year applicants are automatically considered for $9,000 to $17,000 a year based on high school GPA, and the average award is $26,500 before loans.(rocky.edu)

  • Billings skyline seen from the Rimrocks

    Degrees with a practical direction

    47 undergraduate major concentrations and 38 minors across more than 20 disciplines, including aviation, education, the natural sciences and creative writing.(rocky.edu)

About the school

The honest version.

What the school is, what it is known for, and what a family should weigh before committing.

Rocky Mountain College is a private college of 779 undergraduates in Billings, Montana, with the Rimrocks above campus and the Beartooth Mountains an hour south. Its varsity alpine team races in the USCSA Grand Teton conference, trains at Red Lodge Mountain, and in March 2026 won both the men's and women's combined alpine national titles at the USCSA championships.

Know before you commit

  • USCSA, not NCAA: Rocky's titles come in the USCSA, a separate collegiate circuit; there is no path from here to the NCAA Skiing Championships without transferring.(uscsa.org)
  • Sticker price: tuition and fees are $37,006 and the estimated cost of attendance is $52,924 for 2026-27, so the merit grid and the $26,500 average award matter a great deal.(rocky.edu)
  • The training hill is not close: Red Lodge Mountain is about an hour's drive from Billings, and the team's own mountain page does not publish a drive time.(visitmt.com)
  • Completion: the six-year graduation rate for the 2019 cohort was 44.9%, and with 779 undergraduates the major list is shorter than at a university.(rocky.edu)

Feel the campus

From first tracks to final exams.

Credited archive photographs of the campus, the town and the hill; not current team photography.

5 of 5 photos shown

Ski team experience

Battlin' Bears.National-level USCSA.

Rocky's 2025-26 USCSA registration reports varsity alpine teams for men and women in the Grand Teton conference, fully funded with full travel coverage, and Red Lodge Mountain as the training area. The season runs from a January training camp at Red Lodge through USCSA meets at Winter Park, Crested Butte and Lookout Pass, regionals at Brundage and nationals at Whiteface, with FIS starts at Snow King, Bridger Bowl and Big Sky around the edges. Jerry Wolf has coached the program since 2001.

View official roster
Team athletes
23
Men / women
9 / 8
International athletes
10
Team national titles, 2025-26
6
Combined alpine national titles, 2026 (men + women)
2
Grand Teton conference
USCSA

Program overview

Rocky's 2025-26 USCSA registration reports varsity alpine teams for men and women in the Grand Teton conference, fully funded with full travel coverage, and Red Lodge Mountain as the training area. The season runs from a January training camp at Red Lodge through USCSA meets at Winter Park, Crested Butte and Lookout Pass, regionals at Brundage and nationals at Whiteface, with FIS starts at Snow King, Bridger Bowl and Big Sky around the edges. Jerry Wolf has coached the program since 2001.

  • Skiing
    USCSA · Grand Teton
  • Home venues
    Red Lodge Mountain
  • Sides
    Men & women

At the USCSA National Championships at Whiteface, Lake Placid (March 10-14, 2026), Rocky won both the men's and women's combined alpine team titles; on March 13 the men took the slalom by 0.01 seconds over Babson, with Jules Clerice second and Fredrik Straume third.(gobattlinbears.com)

Questions for the coach

No published training week for this program, so these are the questions to ask.

  1. On-snow logistics
    Red Lodge is about an hour from Billings; ask how many days a week the team drives down in season and who provides the vehicles.
  2. Academic commitments
    Flight blocks, teaching placements and field courses need individual planning; ask faculty how they handle a January-to-March travel schedule.
  3. Team costs
    The registration reports full funding and full travel coverage; confirm exactly which expenses the program covers and what stays with you.
  4. FIS versus USCSA
    The schedule mixes USCSA meets with FIS races at Snow King, Bridger Bowl and Big Sky; ask which starts you would get in year one.

Coaching staff

Coaching staff not on file yet.

Academics

What you can study.

Rocky runs a semester calendar with 47 major concentrations and 38 minors across more than 20 disciplines. Some professional programs, particularly Aeronautical Science and Equestrian Studies, carry special costs and scheduling demands that matter when your winter includes race travel. Admission does not use SAT or ACT scores, and a 2.50 GPA qualifies for regular admission.

  • 779
    Undergraduates
  • 44.9%
    Six-year graduation rate

6 featured fields · full catalog

  • Aeronautical ScienceEngineering
    Professional pilot preparation combined with academic study; flight training carries separate costs and is excluded from the standard cost estimate.
  • EducationSocial science
    Elementary and secondary education options with mentored field experience.
  • BiologyScience
    Practical scientific study with research pathways.
  • GeologyScience
    Earth systems in a region with strong field context.
  • Environmental ScienceEnvironment
    Field-based study of scientific questions.
  • English / Creative WritingArts & Humanities
    English study with a creative-writing major pathway.
Explore majors

Source: rocky.edu

Admissions

Your path here.

Testing
test-optional(rocky.edu)
GPA
2.50 cumulative GPA minimum for regular admission(rocky.edu)
Application deadline
Rolling; no closing date(rocky.edu)
  1. Submit the Rocky Mountain College application for admission.
  2. Send your official high school transcript; ACT or SAT scores are accepted but not required.
  3. If your GPA is below 2.50, add an essay and two recommendation letters for the Admission Review Committee.
  4. Confirm enrollment with the $250 new student deposit and request an individual aid estimate.
Admissions details

Test scores

What admitted students scored.

Test-optional · 3% submitted

  • ACT composite17.75 – 24
  • SAT total925 – 1090

Middle 50%: a quarter scored below the low figure and a quarter above the high one. Source: rocky.edu

Acceptance rate

How selective it is.

77.8%Fall 2025: 671 admitted of 863 applicants (calculated from the Common Data Set)
  • Admitted
  • Not admitted

Rocky admits most applicants with a 2.50 GPA on a rolling basis, and applicants below 2.50 go to a review committee with an essay and two recommendations. Academic admission, a varsity roster spot and individual aid are separate conversations.

Source: rocky.edu

Cost & financial aid

What a year costs.

2026-27 published figures.

Published costs
Tuition and mandatory fees$37,006
Room, Widenhouse Hall double (two semesters)$4,914
Board, Carte Blanche meal plan (two semesters)$5,438
Total direct costs$47,358
Estimated cost of attendance$52,924

Two semesters at 12-19 credits, using a Widenhouse double and the Carte Blanche plan; the cost of attendance adds $1,400 books and $4,166 personal expenses. Aeronautical Science and Equestrian Studies require separate estimates. Rocky says the average award is $26,500 before loans, with automatic merit scholarships of $9,000 to $17,000 by GPA. The USCSA registration reports the team as fully funded, which is not the same as a tuition scholarship.(rocky.edu)

Financial aid information

Location

Campus, hill, airport.

Rocky Mountain College, Billings

A small college campus in Billings; all freshmen and sophomores are required to live on campus.

Open in Maps · source

The sandstone Rimrocks above Billings, Montana
The Rimrocks overlooking Billings, March 2007

Student life

Beyond the hill.

  • Outdoor weekends have a place here

    On virtually every weekend and holiday break students can join college-led trips or check out gear, from weekend ski trips to Red Lodge, Showdown and Bridger Bowl to floating the Yellowstone River.(rocky.edu)

  • Two years on campus

    All freshmen and sophomores are required to live on campus, and traditional-age first-year students live in Widenhouse or Anderson Hall with a meal plan.(rocky.edu)

  • A college community beyond the team

    Student activities, outdoor recreation and campus events offer a second community outside the alpine roster.(rocky.edu)

Athlete voices

Real stories.

  • “The conditions were variable all week, but our depth made the difference.”
    Jerry Wolf, head coach · source

Alumni & outcomes

What came next.

Class of 2025 employed or in further education(rocky.edu)
98%
Average starting salary, class of 2025(rocky.edu)
$53,535
Men's alpine national titles under Jerry Wolf(gobattlinbears.com)
7
All-America awards, 2025-26 season(gobattlinbears.com)
22

Related programs

You might also look at.

Sources, rights and updates

Where this comes from.

Every figure carries its reporting period and a link. Rosters and points come from official rosters and FIS or USCSA results. Photographs are Wikimedia Commons archive images under open licences, credited on each image.

26 source pages across 7 sites

Your future in skiing starts here

Ready to learn more about Rocky Mountain College?

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