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By BEN JOHNSON
Press Sports Editor
Northeastern State made it official. After exploring options outside of the Lone Star Conference, NSU found its new home: The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.
At a gathering of coaches and dignitaries in NSU's Hall of Honor on Thursday, Northeastern State announced it was leaving the Lone Star Conference to join the MIAA.
"We're really excited about the prospect of joining what we feel is the preeminent athletics conference in Division II," said Jeff Konya, NSU athletic director. "From an athletics standpoint — and a academic standpoint — we think this clearly stamps Northeastern State as a major player in collegiate athletics."
NSU, along with fellow LSC member Central Oklahoma, said it plans on notifying the Lone Star Conference of its withdrawal from the league no later than Saturday. By informing the LSC of its decision by Aug. 1, NSU meets the deadline stated in the LSC Constitution — which should allow the RiverHawks to exit the league no later than June 30, 2012.
The NSU and UCO will be the 13th and 14th members to join the MIAA — a Kansas City, Mo.-based league, formed in 1912, with schools in Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. In addition to adding NSU and UCO, the MIAA has also explored options to become a 16-team league, expressing interest in bringing Lindenwood University (in St. Charles, Mo.) and Nebraska-Kearney on board.
The MIAA expanded from 11 to 12 teams on July 1. Lincoln University, in Jefferson City, Mo., joined the league, increasing the number of Missouri schools to seven. The other Missouri institutions include Central Missouri, Missouri Southern, Missouri Western, Northwest Missouri, Southwest Baptist and Truman State while Emporia State, Fort Hays State, Pittsburg State and Washburn represent Kansas. Nebraska-Omaha is currently the only Nebraska school in the league.
NSU President, Don Betz, weighed in on the announcement, expressing gratitude toward the MIAA.
"We are pleased to receive and accept an invitation to join the MIAA and its institutional members," said Betz in a statement released by the university. "The MIAA enjoys an exceptional reputation nationally for the quality of both its athletics and academic programs."
Betz was pleased to find out that UCO would be making the move with the RiverHawks.
"We are also delighted that we will be entering the MIAA together with our friends at the University of Central Oklahoma," he said. "They are one of our greatest rivals in athletics, but one of our appreciated partners as we collaborate in academics, operations and regional service."
A key factor in NSU making the switch was geography. The RiverHawks will eliminate long bus trips in Texas and New Mexico, which Konya said was a very important consideration.
"It presents a nice geographic footprint for us to operate," said Konya, whose school will no longer have to travel to south Texas (Kingsville), west Texas (Canyon) or eastern New Mexico (Portales). "The fact is that two of the closest MIAA institutions, Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State, are really in our backyard.”
While the RiverHawks will still venture to Omaha, Neb., suburban St. Louis and western Kansas, Konya reiterated the fact that those trips are relatively easy to make.
"It really does make sense from a travel perspective," he said. "It also makes sense for easy travel, and by that I mean it's predominately interstate through Missouri and up to Nebraska."
The summer months have been filled with plenty of activity in the college ranks. In Division I, Nebraska announced it was leaving the Big 12 Conference to join the Big 10 while Colorado declared its intention to join the Pac-10. Utah will join the Buffaloes out west while Boise State will fill the void left by Utah in the Mountain West.
Following the Division I shakeup, Division II got in on the act. Six Arkansas schools vacated the Gulf South Conference, joining forces with three Oklahoma schools — East Central, Southeastern Oklahoma and Southwestern Oklahoma — in an effort to form a new league.
"The landscape in all divisions of collegiate athletics has seen a dramatic change over the past few months," Konya said in the school's press release.
While Konya described Thursday as a "historic day for Northeastern State and the RiverHawks," he balked at the notion of NSU ever reaching out to ECU, SWOSU and SEOSU to form an all Oklahoma/Arkansas conference.
"I think we've been focused on the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association as a primary option for over a year," he said. "...And it was clear where we had our sights set."
With the RiverHawks still set to compete in the Lone Star Conference this upcoming season, NSU women's basketball coach Randy Gipson said it's hard to elaborate on the move until it finally gets here.
"It's just hard for me as a coach to talk about something that is two years out," said Gipson, whose team lost to the MIAA's Emporia State — the eventual national champion — in the Sweet 16 in March. "But obviously the Mid-American Conference is one of the great Division II conferences in the country."
