Frustrated by the delays in getting his building, Knepper leased space in downtown Lewiston and opened for classes on January 6, 1896.

Thus, “teachers assumed responsibility for shaping a district's entire educational policy.”[6] The First World War certainly impacted the nation's normal schools, but not as much as it did conventional institutions.

Generally, male students were in the majority at regular colleges, many of which experienced brutal enrollment losses.

The school experienced a painful crisis on December 5, 1917, when the Administration Building suffered severe damage in a fire, [9][10] later determined to be arson by a student.

[7][8] Its cupola collapsed into the gutted interior of the main structure and the older east wing was totally destroyed.

Supporters also fought an ongoing battle just to keep the school open; some legislators still wanted to close the Normals to save money.

In 1943, the Board of Education raised the school to full four-year status and became North Idaho Teachers College (NITC).

That promise proved disastrously wrong: In just three years, the state found itself issuing nearly 40% more provisional teaching certificates than it had in 1951.

The ongoing need for teachers, a developing shortage of nurses, and a new push for vocational education from the federal government combined to rescue the school from oblivion.

The college is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) since autumn 2020.

[37][38][39][40] Since 1984, the team has won nineteen NAIA national championships;[41] sixteen were under head coach Ed Cheff, who retired after 34 years in 2010.