Mineral Water Bowl goes with Northeastern State to fill MIAA slot

[Aaron Heintzelman]

As I first reported Sunday night, current Division II independent Northeastern State has been tabbed to fill the MIAA's position in the Mineral Water Bowl and will play NSIC member Minnesota State, a year before Northeastern State even joins the MIAA.

The Mineral Water Bowl confirmed it Monday morning in a news release. (Click Here to Read Release)

The Mineral Water Bowl is one of two Division II bowl games affiliated (normally) with the MIAA. It and the Kanza Bowl get the two best in-conference teams who do not make the playoffs.

But the decision to go with Northeastern State instead of an MIAA team all comes down to a clause in the contract that requires the MIAA to provide the MWB, a yearly game held in Excelsior Springs, Mo., between an MIAA and NSIC team, a team that is above .500. With four MIAA teams making it into the D2 playoffs, Central Missouri was the only above-.500 team left and had the option of picking either the MWB or the Kanza Bowl, a game between an MIAA team and a LSC team.

Central picked the bowl game in Topeka, Kan., and will face West Texas A&M, who they met last year in the D2 playoffs.

Because no above-.500 teams were left in the MIAA, the organizers of the MWB, who met this week to discuss their options, could pretty much do as they pleased. The bowl games pick their teams based on conference records, so Fort Hays, at 4-7 overall and 3-6 in-conference, would have been next. Had UCM picked the Mineral Water Bowl, Hays would have been invited to the Kanza (who does not have that clause). Emporia was also 3-6 in-conference, but 5-6 overall.

My MWB source told me Hays, at 4-7 was never really an option, but Emporia was on the table as late as Sunday night shortly after the playoff field was announced.

Northeastern State finished the season at 7-4 and came a late fumble away from knocking off Midwestern State (the SR4 top seed) on Saturday. Last year, the MWB went with Pitt State, a 5-6 MIAA team over a 7-4 (also independent and soon to be MIAA) Southwest Baptist team.

I get that. Pitt is a draw no matter where they go, which is why I'm a little shocked the MWB went with Northeastern, located in Tahlequah, Okla., more than five hours from Excelsior Springs. Emporia, at just a tad over 2 hours and 20 minutes, is less than half that.

Other teams that were considered for the Mineral Water Bowl were Sioux Falls, Southwest Baptist and Lindenwood.

What do you think of the decision? Who would you have picked?

[LUFan2]

I think the close loss to Midwestern State got them in. Lindenwood was notified late last week that they would be invited if 4 MIAA teams made the playoffs and UCM chose the Kanza bowl like they thought. That all happened but they went ahead and chose NES even though LU has a better record. I'm not sure how the NES fan base travels but LU would have put some big numbers in that stadium. LU always travels well and a bowl game that close to home would have brought in a couple thousand at least.

[pittstate85]

I'd have gone with Lindenwood.

[lsnwbearcat]

Lindenwood, hands down. They are used to being in the playoffs and would have traveled well, plus they will be an MIAA team next year. I would have gone to the game if Lindenwood been chosen.