MIAA Expansion

[Randy]

Commissioner Mike Racy was interviewed by Soren Petro on Friday. He indicated that expansion to 16 will happen but had no time table. He also indicated that the additional schools would be non football. I think many of us figured this was the direction they were heading, here is confirmation from the commissioner.

Here is a link to the show's podcasts. The Mike Racy interview is the second half of the hour 2 podcast from March 08th.

http://www.810whb.com/the-program-podcasts/

[Frosty]

Re: MIAA Expansion

If only they'd have thought of that prior to Rockhust and Drury going to the GLVC ... Oh well ...

[GRIFFan_Kyle@MoWest]

Re: MIAA Expansion

Any idea which schools might be under consideration for addition? Disclaimer: I have not listened to the podcast.

[Randy]

Re: MIAA Expansion

He gave no specific schools. He said most likely from the current MIAA footprint. He did, however, leave open the possibility of Arkansas.

[FlyinLion]

Re: MIAA Expansion

For those looking to skip around, Racy interview starts at 22:00, and the expansion question is at 40:00.

[Tech Boys]

Re: MIAA Expansion

If football is no longer required and Newman and Rogers State meet all the MIAA standards and are eligible for all awards, championships, and conference voting rights why are they labeled as associate members? It seems there will be no difference between them and the current members except they don't have football. I haven't found anything that explains the distinction.

What two non-football members would you like to see added?

[Shanghai Mule]

Re: MIAA Expansion

I assume they're just considered associate members until they actually start playing in the league. I believe for Newman it starts with the fall schedule in 2019, but I'm not positive.

[Tech Boys]

Re: MIAA Expansion

I assume they're just considered associate members until they actually start playing in the league. I believe for Newman it starts with the fall schedule in 2019, but I'm not positive.

Both schools begin MIAA competition in Fall 2019.

[Donkeydamus]

Re: MIAA Expansion

If only they'd have thought of that prior to Rockhust and Drury going to the GLVC ... Oh well ...

I would imagine that jumping ship and moving to the MIAA would be very tempting for Drury and Rockhurst.

[Brandon]

Re: MIAA Expansion

I would imagine that jumping ship and moving to the MIAA would be very tempting for Drury and Rockhurst.

I think it would make sense for the league as well.

[mosoman]

Re: MIAA Expansion

If football is no longer required and Newman and Rogers State meet all the MIAA standards and are eligible for all awards, championships, and conference voting rights why are they labeled as associate members? It seems there will be no difference between them and the current members except they don't have football. I haven't found anything that explains the distinction.

What two non-football members would you like to see added?

Neither school has went through the full vetting process by the league and the membership committee yet. They're also not paying full dues yet, because of that. Once they go through that process and begin paying full dues, I'm told they will be admitted as full members.

[Randy]

Re: MIAA Expansion

I would imagine that jumping ship and moving to the MIAA would be very tempting for Drury and Rockhurst.

DUPanther in the GLVC thread on the Midwest forum said this:

[ctrabs74]

Re: MIAA Expansion

He gave no specific schools. He said most likely from the current MIAA footprint. He did, however, leave open the possibility of Arkansas.

The only Arkansas school that might "fit the mold" given the most recent additions (Newman and Rogers State) would be UA-Fort Smith. Fort Smith is closer to Kearney (579 miles) than it is to the southern-most member of the "new" Lone Star Conference, Texas A&M International in Laredo (706 miles) and some of the existing pre-merger LSC teams:

• UT-Permian Basin in Odessa is 610 miles from Fort Smith
• Angelo State in San Angelo is 532 miles from Fort Smith
• Eastern New Mexico is 562 miles from Fort Smith
• Texas A&M-Kingsville is 704 miles from Fort Smith

And that's not factoring in trips to San Antonio (St. Mary's) or Austin (St. Edward's) for existing Heartland opponents.

Contrast that with some of the distances from Fort Smith to the northern-most MIAA schools in addition to Kearney:

• Fort Hays State: 478 miles
• Emporia State: 295 miles
• Northwest Missouri: 385 miles
• Lincoln (Mo.): 336 miles

As a comparison, the western-most GAC team from Fort Smith, Northwestern Oklahoma, is 304 miles away, while Arkansas-Monticello is 246 miles from UAFS.

Unless some of the Arky GAC schools consider jumping ship - and given the prospect of trips from, say, Arkadelphia to Kearney or even Warrensburg compared to current road trips to Weatherford, Oklahoma, they might be content to stay where they are - UAFS might be the only logical candidate.

Then again, as of this season, UAFS does not sponsor softball, and I'm not sure if that's considered a "core" sport for MIAA membership.

As for Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma, the existing MIAA footprint, what other schools would even be considered a fit for MIAA expansion? The only Oklahoma schools left that are not part of the GAC or MIAA are Cameron (Lawton) and Oklahoma Christian (Metro OKC), and they'll be part of the expanded LSC. And I'm having doubts that Drury or Rockhurst are going to be inspired to move out of their comfort zone in the GLVC and the Midwest Region to enter the pressure cooker that is the MIAA and the Central Region.

[Tech Boys]

Re: MIAA Expansion

Neither school has went through the full vetting process by the league and the membership committee yet. They're also not paying full dues yet, because of that. Once they go through that process and begin paying full dues, I'm told they will be admitted as full members.

So the "associate" designation will probably be dropped by the start of the Fall 2019 season once the process is completed. Thanks for the clarification.

[Predatory Primates]

Re: MIAA Expansion

Will non football schools get a vote on things that impact football?