Lindenwood head football coach Patrick Ross is ready to break out his guitar.

"I love the fact that we're going to an 11 game (all in-conference) schedule," Ross said Tuesday at the MIAA football media day at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan. "It's going to be brutal and it's going to be tough, but i feel with the preparation we have, we're going to be ready to rock and roll."

For the first time in its storied history, no MIAA team will play a non-conference game and every team in the league will play each other.

It was the talk of media day, along with the event's venue, which will host its first football game in a little more than four months -- the Division II football national championship game will be held for the next four years at Sporting Park, home of defending MLS champion Sporting Kansas City.

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Generally, coaches seemed to agree with Ross' thoughts on the move to an all-inclusive MIAA schedule. It's pretty much a no-brainer for the bottom-tier teams of the league, who are more likely to struggle to fill open dates, but coaches on the top half of the league admitted that not being able to reach outside the conference for a game or two takes away some opportunities, even as one coach put it, a "money game."

Whatever. It is what it is. For the next four years, at least. I'm not a fan, but I get it. Even my alma mater, SVSU, a perennial playoff contender in a tough GLIAC (a 15-member league that schedules only 10 conference games), has an open date on their 2014 schedule. I'd much rather play 11 games than 10, so there's that.

The bottom line is the best conference in the country just got even tougher.

"It's going to be difficult for everybody," said UCO's second-year coach, Nick Bobeck, who nailed it when he said the disconbobulation that was the MIAA schedule the last two years led to some "soft schedules."

Bobeck's Bronchos didn't really get that lucky. They were one or the few teams to play each of the top 7 teams in the conference. "It levels the playing field," Bobeck said. "It helps that everybody gets to play everybody."

The 'everybody-vs-everybody format, as any proponent of the change will tell you, also allows for a "true conference champion." When everybody plays each other, there's no dispute.... right!?

Well, yes. And no. While head-to-head is sure fun when it comes to bragging rights (and granted in some cases, reality), it won't matter if more than one team finishes with the same amount of losses. Co-champions will be crowned regardless of who beat who in any combination of teams that land on top.

That's not the end of the world, but I wouldn't doubt we see it happen at least twice in this four-year commitment the league has with this scheduling system.he

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"We are very confident that what we have in place will be good for us now and at least for four years," MIAA commissioner Bob Boerigter said Tuesday before handing the stage over to the coaches and players from the 12 teams left in the league (for football purposes). Beyond that, he added, if the teams want to continue with the format, it could continue for a longer period of time.

Boerigter wasn't afraid to tout the strength of the league.

"Every league in America thinks they're the toughest league," he pronounced. "But we've got proof behind that."

And he's right. The conference's accolades stand for themselves. But even Boerigter contends there's no telling how the all-conference schedule will be received by the NCAA playoff selection committee come November.

Confidence would be an overstatement, Boerigter said, going instead with "optimism" that the committee will continue to look favorably on the MIAA.

"We really don't know how this inclusive thing will work until the end of the season."

Good teams are left out of the playoffs every year. That's nothing new, and I don't see a significant change in the expectation that the top 2 or 3 teams in the MIAA will land in the 24-team field.

Sound off!!!

What do you think about the new conference schedule? Do you want to see a return to non-conference action?

What other storylines are you following as the 2014 MIAA football season approaches?

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