[3][4] Atkinson was named an associate professor of agronomy at Montana State College (MSC) in 1904, and served there until 1906.
[1][3] Atkinson had the second-longest tenure as president (as of 2013) of any person at Montana State College, one which lasted 18 years (1919 to 1937).
A firm believer in his predecessor's vision for the school, Atkinson worked hard to continue the rapid expansion of the campus.
The iconic, domed Gymnasium Building (now Romney Gym) was built in 1922, replacing a dilapidated "drill hall" and giving the school's men's basketball team its first home court.
In 1922, Atkinson hired George Ott Romney and Schubert Dyche as co-head coaches of the football and men's basketball teams.
Between 1922 and 1928 (the year he departed Montana for Brigham Young University), Romney's football teams compiled a 28–20–1 record.
After Romney left, Schubert Dyche coached the "Golden Bobcats" team of 1928–29, which had a 36-2 record and won the national championship.
[6] In his seven years as basketball coach, Dyche's teams compiled a 110–93 record (this included the dismal 1932–33 and 1933–34 seasons), but won their conference championship twice.
Bozeman, Montana, had a large red-light district by 1900, alcohol was plentiful and cheap, and there was little in the way of organized entertainment such as theaters to occupy the student body.
Atkinson Quadrangle was built on the location of the "Bobcat Lair", a popular student drinking and dancing hangout, as part of this program.
But President Atkinson was strongly opposed to Roosevelt's New Deal, and refused to accept PWA funds to expand the college.
Campus growth was slow, with only Pima Hall and the James Douglas Memorial Building for Mines and Metallurgy (built with a private donation) constructed prior to World War II.
Enrollment, already low due to the Great Depression, dropped lower as young men enlisted or were drafted during World War II.
The curriculum was significantly altered to emphasize vocational skills demanded by war production, and the United States Navy took over a number of campus buildings (including Old Main) and began training men and women for military service.