Date Posted:11:46:59 06/25/06 Sun Author: 89rabbit Subject: Re: Mid-Con expansion-revisited In reply to:
Leatherface
's message, "Mid-Con expansion-revisited" on 17:21:28 05/03/06 Wed
Schools battle for Mid-Con acceptance
IPFW, S.D. State, N.D. State vying for conference spot
By LaMond Pope
The Journal Gazette
One headline screams, “We’re where the action is!”
Another proclaims, “We’re the center of attention!”
IPFW hopes that when it comes to expansion in the Mid-Continent Conference, both phrases ring true.
With the impending departures of Chicago State and Valparaiso, the Mid-Con is on the lookout for new members. And IPFW, North Dakota State and South Dakota State are among the schools on the short list.
The topic of expansion will be discussed Tuesday when the Mid-Continent Council of Presidents meets in Chicago.
The conference has kept the expansion process quiet. According to Kristina Petersen, the Mid-Con’s director of media relations, no timetable has been set to add teams. But the thought is the conference would like new members by the start of the 2007-08 season.
It’s also uncertain how many teams the conference looks to add. IPFW athletic director Mark Pope said he’s not even sure what will be announced after the meeting, although indications are site visits would soon follow. Mid-Con commissioner Tom Douple was in New Orleans this week attending the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics convention and could not be reached for comment. . . . (read more)
By Kevin Schnepf, The Forum
Published Sunday, June 25, 2006
It was a shot heard around the world.
When Bryce Drew hit a game-winning 3-point shot at the buzzer to beat Mississippi in the first round of the 1998 NCAA men’s basketball tournament, it sparked Valparaiso to a shocking run to the Sweet 16.
It gave the Mid-Continent Conference, in existence since 1982, instant notoriety and credibility as a Division I league. . . .
Tuesday in Chicago, presidents of the Mid-Con schools will focus their annual meeting on possible expansion. Even though a vote is not expected, it’s promising news for North Dakota State.
Ever since announcing its move from Division II to Division I in 2002, NDSU has struggled to find a conference. The Bison were shot down last year by the Big Sky Conference.
This week’s meeting – where Mid-Con presidents will evaluate NDSU, South Dakota State and as many as three other schools for possible membership – provides another ray of hope for the Bison athletic program.
“Our hopes are high, but you have to be cautious,” said NDSU athletic director Gene Taylor. “We’ve been down this road before.” . . .
Douple confirmed that Division I independents NDSU, SDSU, Indiana University Purdue-Fort Wayne, Texas-Pan American and Utah Valley State have submitted institutional profiles for Mid-Con officials to evaluate. . . .
Even though the five schools that hope to get into the Mid-Con are spread across the country, conference officials find them somewhat attractive because of the traveling partners that could be created.
Adding five schools would give the Mid-Con 12 members and the following traveling partners: Oakland with Indiana Purdue-Fort Wayne; Indiana Purdue-Indianapolis with Western Illinois; Missouri-Kansas City with Oral Roberts; Centenary with Texas-Pan American; NDSU with SDSU; and Southern Utah with Utah Valley State.
The difference in cost between the flight for a single game at Southern Utah and two games at Southern Utah and Utah Valley State might make such an expansion appealing to Mid-Con officials. . . .
Western Illinois athletic director Tim Van Alstine said adding NDSU, SDSU and Indiana Purdue-Fort Wayne would make the Mid-Con stronger.
“We need to give those three schools very strong consideration,” Van Alstine said. “We need to start changing the culture of our conference. We need to expect in men’s and women’s basketball that we have at least two teams in the NCAA tournament.
“I think ever since Tom Douple came on board as commissioner, there has been a strong sense of confidence among members that he is the man to take the conference to the next highest level.” . . . (read more)
Mid-Con presidents meet today
Expansion talks once again on agenda
Chris Solari
csolari@argusleader.com
June 27, 2006
As the remaining presidents of the Mid-Continent Conference meet today at a hotel in Chicago to decide the league's fate, South Dakota State's future could be on their agenda.
SDSU and North Dakota State are among a group of schools that the Mid-Continent is considering for potential expansion.
Mid-Con Commissioner Tom Douple, who spent last week at the Collegiate Commissioners Association meetings, said on June 16 that information about SDSU and NDSU had been given to the league's presidents.
"It's on the agenda to discuss expansion," Douple said. "We're still gathering up information and doing our evaluation. ... And it's a time, too, when some folks have gotten to (the information) and some have not. There's just a lot of things to try and get in their hands before the meeting." . . . (read more)
Two schools are leaving the Mid-Continent,which leaves ORU and the rest of the league pondering the future. NCAA Tournament berths are at stake as conference leaders look for replacements.
Adding members would strengthen position
Losing two schools in a 28-day span raised questions about the future of the Mid-Continent Conference.
Scattered over three time zones, is it coming apart at the seams? Is it time for Oral Roberts University to look for another conference?
"I don't see any reason for alarm," said ORU athletic director Mike Carter. "There are other schools that can be added. I think the Mid-Con is going to be stable." . . .
Without replacements, league membership would drop to seven by 2007, with only six core members -- the bare minimum to retain a conference's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Centenary, the league's seventh member, won't be considered for core purposes until completing its fifth year of Mid-Con participation in 2008.
Also at stake are the Mid-Con's automatic berths in baseball, men's tennis and men's and women's track and field. The league could have only five participating members in each sport by 2007 -- one less than required to retain an automatic bid in those sports.
NCAA access is the primary reason the Mid-Con and most other mid-major conferences were formed in the first place.
The baseball issue is of utmost importance to ORU, which has made nine straight NCAA appearances by winning the Mid-Con's postseason tournament.
League presidents are expected to start the process of expansion when they convene Tuesday in Chicago, chaired by ORU president Richard Roberts.
The presidents will examine information submitted by six schools seeking full membership -- Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne, North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Utah Valley State, Longwood (Va.) University and Texas-Pan American.
Dallas Baptist is a potential associate member in baseball -- the school's only Division I sport -- but will field a men's basketball team for the upcoming season. Central Arkansas, recently admitted to the Southland Conference, also seeks associate membership in some sports.
There is strong support within the league to add Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne, North Dakota State and South Dakota State, although the latter two are provisional Division I members, not eligible for the Mid-Con postseason tournament until 2009.
There seems to be little enthusiasm for Texas-Pan American, situated so far south (Edinburg, Texas) that it is nearer to Mexico City than Tulsa.
No up and down votes are likely Tuesday, but site teams could be formed to evaluate the candidates. The presidents are expected to consider every possibility -- up to growing into two six-team divisions.
"Every option is on the table," said Mid-Con commissioner Tom Douple. . . . (read more)
