WHITEFISH -- Basketball programs from Carroll College and the University of Providence are expected to reign supreme in the upcoming 2020-21 season, according to league coaches.
The Frontier Conference basketball coaches have voted the Carroll College women and University of Providence men as the top-ranked teams in the league's preseason coaches' polls. The Providence women and Carroll men were ranked No. 2, closely behind the league favorites.
The Carroll College women won last year's regular-season conference title, while the Argos of UP won the league's tournament.
MSU-Northern and Rocky Mountain College tied for third in the preseason poll, while Montana Western and Montana Tech rounded out the votes. Former conference member Lewis-Clark State is officially a member of the Cascade Collegiate Conference this season.
The L-C State men won last year's conference tournament, defeating Carroll College in the championship game. The Fighting Saints edged Providence 69-65 in the semifinals of the tournament, but the Argos collected four first-place votes to Carroll's two this preseason.
Montana Tech, MSU-Northern, Rocky and Western round out the men's preseason poll.
The Frontier Conference released its league basketball schedules last week, with games slated to begin on Saturday, Dec. 5. Each school will play two games per week against the same opponent, though some schools may play a limited non-conference slate, as approved by the schools and local health departments.
The preseason coaches' polls can be found below. First-place votes are in parentheses.
2020-21 Frontier Conference basketball
Preseason coaches' polls
| Men | Points | Women | Points |
| University of Providence (4) | 23 | Carroll College (3) | 24 |
| Carroll College (2) | 22 | University of Providence (1) | 22 |
| Montana Tech | 17 | MSU-Northern | 14 |
| MSU-Northern | 14 | Rocky Mountain College | 14 |
| Rocky Mountain College | 9 | Montana Western | 10 |
| Montana Western | 5 | Montana Tech | 6 |
