- The Summit League
-
The Summit League 
Established 1982 Association NCAA Division Division I non-football Members 10 Sports fielded 19 (men's: 9; women's: 10) Region Midwestern United States Former names Association of Mid-Continent Universities (1982–1989)
Mid-Continent Conference (1989–2007)Headquarters Elmhurst, Illinois Commissioner Tom Douple (since 2005) Website thesummitleague.org Locations 
The Summit League (or The Summit) is an NCAA Division I college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. On June 1, 2007, the conference changed its name from the Mid-Continent Conference.
Contents
Current membership
Institution Location Founded Type Enrollment Joined Nickname Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne Fort Wayne, Indiana 1917 Public 14,300 2007 Mastodons Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis Indianapolis, Indiana 1969 Public 27,184 1998 Jaguars University of Missouri–Kansas City Kansas City, Missouri 1933 Public 14,499 1994 Kangaroos North Dakota State University Fargo, North Dakota 1890 Public 14,186 2007 Bison Oakland University Rochester, Michigan 1957 Public 17,737 1998 Golden Grizzlies Oral Roberts University Tulsa, Oklahoma 1963 Private 3,417 1997 Golden Eagles University of South Dakota Vermillion, South Dakota 1882 Public 10,151 2011 Coyotes South Dakota State University Brookings, South Dakota 1881 Public 12,851 2007 Jackrabbits Southern Utah University Cedar City, Utah 1897 Public 7,509 1997 Thunderbirds and Lady Thunderbirds Western Illinois University Macomb, Illinois 1899 Public 13,602 1982 Leathernecks Southern Utah and Oral Roberts will leave the Summit League in 2012 to move to the Big Sky Conference and Southland Conference, respectively.[1] [2]
Future members
Institution Location Founded Type Enrollment Year Joins Nickname University of Nebraska at Omaha Omaha, Nebraska 1908 Public 15,448 2012 Mavericks The University of Nebraska-Omaha has said it would switch from Division II to Division I to join the Summit League in the fall of 2012.[3]
Locations of current Summit League full member institutions.
Associate members
- Eastern Illinois University (Swimming and diving, men's soccer[4])
Former members
History
Foundation
The conference was created in 1982 as the Association of Mid-Continent Universities (or AMCU or AMCU-8, pronounced Am-cue), which it was known as until 1989.[5] The conference sponsored football from 1982 until 1984 at the Division II level, and current members North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Southern Utah, and Western Illinois have Division I FCS (formerly known as Division I-AA) football programs.
Mid-Continent Conference logo, 1982–2007Horizon and ECC transitions
In 1994, charter members Cleveland State University, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, as well as newer members University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Northern Illinois University, and Wright State University left the conference to join the Midwestern Collegiate Conference, now known as the Horizon League.
In response, the Mid-Continent absorbed Central Connecticut State University, Chicago State University, the University at Buffalo, Troy State University (now Troy University), and Northeastern Illinois University from the collapsed East Coast Conference. None of these institutions remain in the league.
Missouri-Kansas City, formerly an independent, also joined the Mid-Continent Conference in 1994.
Declining membership
Eastern Illinois moved to the Ohio Valley Conference in 1996, reducing membership to nine programs. Troy State departed for the Trans America Athletic Conference while Central Connecticut went to the Northeast Conference in 1997. Buffalo joined the Mid-American Conference in 1998 while Northeastern Illinois ceased athletic operations at that time. Oral Roberts University and Southern Utah University replaced the former pair while IUPUI and Oakland University moved into the latter duo's spots a year later.
Youngstown State University switched to the Horizon League in 2001, followed by founding member Valparaiso University in 2007, and seven of the ten current Horizon League programs are former Summit League members. Centenary College stepped into Youngstown State's place in 2003, but Chicago State University announced in the spring of 2006 that it would withdraw from the conference to compete as an independent starting in the 2006-07 school year, dropping membership to seven programs.
Renewed expansion
At the Mid-Continent Conference annual Presidents Council meeting in 2006, conference expansion was discussed at length, and Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW), North Dakota State, and South Dakota State were approved for site visits. On August 30, 2006, IPFW accepted an invitation to join the Mid-Continent Conference as a full member starting July 1, 2007.[6] The following day, North Dakota State and South Dakota State also accepted invitations to join the conference.[7][8]
The Summit League has continued its renewed expansion push with the admission of the University of South Dakota. The Coyotes will begin conference play in the 2011–2012 academic year and become eligible for all championships the following season.[9] Centenary College subsequently announced that it will leave the Summit League following the 2010–2011 campaign.[10]
The University of North Dakota had also been openly rumored to have been courted by the Summit League, but uncertainty over the Fighting Sioux nickname in all likelihood prevented UND's admission. Expectations that UND would join the Summit League came to an end on November 1, 2010, as North Dakota instead accepted an invitation to join the Big Sky Conference, along with current Summit League member Southern Utah. The University of South Dakota entered into very brief negotiations to join the Big Sky as well, rather than continuing their plans to join the Summit. However, South Dakota chose instead to remain with the more compact Summit League (along with other Dakota schools, NDSU and SDSU). Additionally the University of Nebraska at Omaha has announced that it will transition to Division I athletics and join the Summit League July 1, 2012. With the departures of Centenary College, to Division III at the end of the 2010-11 athletic year, Southern Utah University and Oral Roberts, for other conferences at the end of the 2011-12 athletic year, the Summit League will continue with nine institutions, all within the Midwest geographical region.[1] The Summit League has not publicly announced its intentions to expand or to remain at 9 schools.
Membership timeline
Football
Main article: Association of Mid-Continent Universities footballMen's basketball
Men's basketball in the NCAA tournament
Year Team Seed Results 1983 none 1984 none 1985 none 1986 Cleveland State 14* defeated Indiana
defeated Saint Joseph's
lost to Navy1987 Southwest Missouri State[11] 13 defeated Clemson
lost to Kansas1988 Southwest Missouri State 13 lost to UNLV 1989 Southwest Missouri State 14 lost to Seton Hall 1990 Southwest Missouri State 9 lost to North Carolina Northern Iowa 14 defeated Missouri
lost to Minnesota1991 Wisconsin–Green Bay 12 lost to Michigan State Northern Illinois 13* lost to St. John's 1992 Eastern Illinois 15 lost to Indiana 1993 Wright State 16 lost to Indiana 1994 Wisconsin–Green Bay 12 defeated California
lost to Syracuse1995 none 1996 Valparaiso 14 lost to Arizona 1997 Valparaiso 12 lost to Boston College 1998 Valparaiso 13 defeated Ole Miss
defeated Florida State
lost to Rhode Island1999 Valparaiso 15 lost to Maryland 2000 Valparaiso 16 lost to Michigan State 2001 Southern Utah 14 lost to Boston College 2002 Valparaiso 13 lost to Kentucky 2003 IUPUI 16 lost to Kentucky 2004 Valparaiso 15 lost to Gonzaga 2005 Oakland 16 defeated Alabama A&M**
Lost to North Carolina2006 Oral Roberts 16 lost to Memphis 2007 Oral Roberts 14 lost to Washington State 2008 Oral Roberts 13 lost to Pittsburgh 2009 North Dakota State 14 lost to Kansas 2010 Oakland 14 Lost to Pittsburgh 2011 Oakland 13 Lost to Texas * At-large bid
** Opening round gameConference facilities
School Basketball arena Capacity Football stadium Capacity Baseball stadium Capacity Soccer stadium Capacity IPFW Allen County War Memorial Coliseum (men)
Hilliard Gates Sports Center (women)13,000
2,800Non-Football School Outdoor Sports Complex Hefner Soccer Complex 2,000 IUPUI IUPUI Gymnasium 2,215 Non-Football School Non-Baseball School Carrol Stadium 12,100 UMKC Municipal Auditorium
Swinney Recreation Center10,721
2,000Non-Football School Non-Baseball School Stanley H. Durwood Soccer Stadium 850 UNO Omaha Civic Auditorium 9,300 Non-Football School; Formerly Al F. Caniglia Field 9,500 Ballpark at Boys Town UNO Soccer Field North Dakota State Bison Sports Arena 6,000 Fargodome 19,500 Newman Outdoor Field 4,600 Schlanser Track Oakland Athletics Center O'Rena 4,005 Non-Football School OU Baseball Field 500 OU Soccer Field Oral Roberts Mabee Center 10,575 Non-Football School J. L. Johnson Stadium ORU Soccer Complex South Dakota DakotaDome 10,000 DakotaDome 10,000 Non-Baseball School USD Soccer Field South Dakota State Frost Arena 6,500 Coughlin-Alumni Stadium 15,000 Erv Huether Field Fishback Soccer Park 1,500 Southern Utah Centrum Arena 5,300 Eccles Coliseum 11,000 Thunderbird Park Thunderbird Soccer Field 600 Western Illinois Western Hall 5,139 Hanson Field 17,168 Alfred D. Boyer Stadium 500 MacKenzie Alumni Field 1,000 Future members in grey. Members leaving in pink.
See also
- List of The Summit League championships
- The Summit League Men's Basketball Tournament
- The Summit League Women's Basketball Tournament
- Association of Mid-Continent Universities football
References
- ^ a b http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=5753330&campaign=rss&source=NCBHeadlines
- ^ http://www.oru.edu/news/oru_news/20111025_oru_athletics_southland.php
- ^ http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/yb/156765564
- ^ Eastern Illinois men's soccer joins Summit League , The NCAA News, March 26, 2010
- ^ The Spectrum - www.thespectrum.com
- ^ Press Release. IPFW accepts invitation to join Mid-Continent Conference, Mid-Continent Conference, August 30, 2006.
- ^ Press Release. North Dakota State University accepts invitation to join Mid-Continent Conference, Mid-Continent Conference, August 31, 2006.
- ^ Press Release. South Dakota State University accepts invitation to join Mid-Continent Conference, Mid-Continent Conference, August 31, 2006.
- ^ http://www.usdcoyotes.com/sports/news/release.asp?release_id=5059
- ^ http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20090708/SPORTS02/907080313/1026/SPORTS02
- ^ MSU was known as Southwest Missouri State University until 2005.
External links
The Summit League Full members IPFW Mastodons • IUPUI Jaguars • North Dakota State Bison • Oakland Golden Grizzlies • Oral Roberts Golden Eagles • South Dakota Coyotes • South Dakota State Jackrabbits • Southern Utah Thunderbirds (leaving in 2012) • UMKC Kangaroos • Western Illinois Leathernecks
Future full member Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks (2012)
Affiliate member Eastern Illinois Panthers (men's soccer, swimming and diving)
Championships & awards Categories:- The Summit League
- Organizations based in Illinois
- Sports in the Midwestern United States
- Organizations established in 1982
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