Northwestern State is an NCAA Division I institution (FCS) and sponsors 14 varsity sports.The Demons athletic program is nationally known for producing professional talent in a wide variety of sports, especially in football, baseball and track. Many have gone on to participate in the NFL, MLB, and the Olympics. Athletics at Northwestern have also spawned generations of coaches, administrators and teachers who have made profound impacts on the lives of countless thousands of students in hundreds of schools in cities, towns, villages and communities around Louisiana and beyond.Northwestern State University of Louisiana, founded in 1884, is located in the northwest Louisiana city of Natchitoches, noted as the oldest settlement in the Louisiana Purchase Territory. The University is the oldest institution to operate in the University of Louisiana System and has an enrollment of approximately 11,000 students in programs at the undergraduate and graduate degree levels.