SPURS National Honor Society

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SPURS National Honor Society was a U.S. college organization for sophomores, originally for women and later open to men. It was founded in 1922 at Montana State University in Bozeman. The name SPURS comes from the five pillars: Service, Patriotism, Unity, Responsibility, and Sacrifice, with the motto “At Your Service.” Members wore blue and gold, carried a small gold spur badge, and read The Spur, the quarterly newsletter. The group celebrated Founders’ Day on February 14.

SPURS aimed to inspire loyalty to the university and to support school spirit, campus events, and traditions. Chapters often helped with freshmen orientation, tutoring, and ushering at campus activities. It began as a women-only organization and was sponsored by Mortar Board. Its male counterpart was the Intercollegiate Knights, and its juniors’ alumnae group was called Stirips. In 1976 SPURS became co-educational.

By the mid-2000s, interest declined. In October 2005, the national convention voted to dissolve SPURS, and the national organization ended on May 31, 2006. Several chapters continued as independent local societies. The Linfield College chapter remained active locally, and the University of Arizona reestablished SPURS as a club in 2017. Montana State University’s chapter merged in 2007 with the MSU Student Alumni Foundation, along with the dissolved Fangs, a branch of the Intercollegiate Knights. Alumni groups now hold SPURS and Fangs reunions and coordinate activities.

To join SPURS, sophomores were chosen for strong academic achievement, leadership, and campus involvement. A minimum GPA of 3.0 was required, and members were selected at the end of their freshman year.