Upper Iowa to GLVC Rumors

[SW_Mustang]

Both Jamestown and Dakota state are clear speculation. One of those two may make the most sense if UIU leaves, but certainly no guarantees that either would make the jump.

Oh, gotcha. I could honestly see it happening with either one at some point, but I'd peg Jamestown first.

[ctrabs74]

Upper Iowa (and St Cloud) are in the GLIAC for men's soccer. Someone could figure out the mileage for UIU to the GLVC compared to the NSIC- I would guess that it might be shorter- I just don't know how much. I could see it happen.

Glad you asked (all mileages and travel times are estimates via Google Maps):

UIU travel times/distances to current GLVC schools:

GLVC Football Schools

Indianapolis: 458 mi; 7 hr
McKendree: 376 mi; 6 hr
Missouri S&T: 393 mi; 6 hr 45 min
Quincy: 224 mi; 3 hr 45 min
Truman State: 251 mi; 4 hr 20 min
Southwest Baptist: 448 mi; 7 hr 30 min
William Jewell: 344 mi; 5 hr 30 min

GLVC Non-Football Schools

Drury: 465 mi; 7 hr 45 min
Illinois-Springfield: 318 mi; 5 hr
Lewis: 279 mi; 4 hr 45 min
Maryville: 336 mi; 5 hr 30 min
Missouri-St Louis: 342 mi; 5 hr 30 min
Rockhurst: 363 mi; 6 hr

UIU Travel Times/distances to current NSIC schools:

Southern Division:

Augustana: 310 mi; 5 hr
Concordia-St Paul: 186 mi; 3 hr 45 min
Minnesota State-Mankato: 187 mi; 3 hr 15 min
Sioux Falls: 309 mi; 5 hr
Southwest Minnesota: 308 mi; 5 hr 15 min
Wayne State (Neb.): 306 mi; 5 hr 15 min
Winona State: 100 mi; 2 hr 5 min

Northern Division:

Bemidji State: 444 mi; 7 hr 15 min
Mary: 623 mi; 10 hr
Minnesota-Crookston (non-football): 518 mi; 8 hr 15 min
Minnesota-Duluth: 335 mi; 5 hr 30 min
Minnesota State-Moorhead: 425 mi; 7 hr
Minot State: 692 mi; 11 hr 15 min
Northern State: 502 mi; 7 hr 45 min
St Cloud State (non-football): 256 mi; 4 hr 30 min

Mileage wise, it's almost a wash between the average road trip in the GLVC and the averages in the NSIC:

Average travel distance from UIU to all GLVC schools: 353.6 miles
Average travel distance from UIU to GLVC football schools: 356.3 miles
Average travel distance from UIU to GLVC non-football schools: 350.5 miles

Average travel distance from UIU to all NSIC schools: 366.7 miles
Average travel distance from UIU to NSIC Southern Division football schools*: 253.3 miles
Average travel distance from UIU to NSIC Southern Division schools (with Concordia-St Paul): 243.7 miles

* Concordia-St Paul competes in the NSIC North for football and NSIC South in most other sports

[Thunder]

So this move doesn't seem to be necessarily about the travel. There are 3 NSIC teams closer than any GLVC. Travel within the South is much better than the GLVC in total. Yes, UIU gets to avoid the long trips to Mary and Minot but those are not every year. Is this because there are more sports offered in the GLVC? Correct me if I'm incorrect, but on the whole I think the NSIC has a higher level of competition than the GLVC. I'd be interested to hear the reasons for a possible move.

[Inkblot]

The GLVC offers every team sport Upper Iowa has. UIU men's soccer and women's lacrosse compete in the GLIAC.

Interesting to note that Jamestown also has men's soccer, so they'd need a home if they go D2.

[ctrabs74]

So this move doesn't seem to be necessarily about the travel. There are 3 NSIC teams closer than any GLVC. Travel within the South is much better than the GLVC in total. Yes, UIU gets to avoid the long trips to Mary and Minot but those are not every year. Is this because there are more sports offered in the GLVC? Correct me if I'm incorrect, but on the whole I think the NSIC has a higher level of competition than the GLVC. I'd be interested to hear the reasons for a possible move.

I'm thinking that GLVC football is probably less of a grind than the NSIC, but GLVC men's basketball (at least historically) has been on par, if not slightly better than the NSIC (I could argue it's almost a wash, really). This might be a competitive issue for UIU as opposed to a geographic move, in my opinion.

[laker]

Does anyone know why UIU moved up to D2 in the first place? They already had a conference that was close geographically in D3. The only thing that I can think of was to be the only D2 school in the state of Iowa. Maybe some Peacock fan can fill us in.

[Inkblot]

Does anyone know why UIU moved up to D2 in the first place? They already had a conference that was close geographically in D3. The only thing that I can think of was to be the only D2 school in the state of Iowa. Maybe some Peacock fan can fill us in.

I recall reading this on the D3 boards a couple years ago during the St. Thomas drama:

There were concerns a couple of decades ago that three of the then-IIAC members weren't doing their best to keep up with the rest of the league (not with one specific school, mind you, vis-a-vis the MIAC) in terms of the resources that they were putting into athletics. Two of the three walked away from the IIAC -- William Penn went to the NAIA, and Upper Iowa went to D2 -- and the third, Dubuque, took the suggestion to heart and beefed up its support of athletics to the point where it became competitive across the board. This is what I've been told by people within the league.

[Stanger86]

A thought:
In D3, there's no athletic scholarships. Recruiting people to Fayette probably wasn't an easy thing, with no unique standout quality for the university.

[34blast]

UIU is in the middle of nowhere and is expensive. It can’t be easy to compete

[oldyellaHer69]

UIU would be an instant contender in every sport in that league, good for them, Stiffen up Cocks

[Peacock]

Does anyone know why UIU moved up to D2 in the first place? They already had a conference that was close geographically in D3. The only thing that I can think of was to be the only D2 school in the state of Iowa. Maybe some Peacock fan can fill us in.

Actually our programs were doing very well. Hoops made NCAA tourney twice, football was putting together winning seasons for first time in 20 years, baseball team made it to the D3 world series. League liked us fine until we started winning and competing. There were some BS excuses that we were letting in athletes just for athletics, etc...which none was true. Pressure was there to move us out and we were proactive. That really is what was up with it. I think the NSIC was a great fit as it was when we joined and we competed well. When the NCC schools moved back in it really did change the demographics quite a bit - I mean schools like Mankato, St. Cloud, et al are as big if not bigger then UNI. Not whining, just changed things. I think new conf if we get invite will make us more competitive across the board.

[Peacock]

So this move doesn't seem to be necessarily about the travel. There are 3 NSIC teams closer than any GLVC. Travel within the South is much better than the GLVC in total. Yes, UIU gets to avoid the long trips to Mary and Minot but those are not every year. Is this because there are more sports offered in the GLVC? Correct me if I'm incorrect, but on the whole I think the NSIC has a higher level of competition than the GLVC. I'd be interested to hear the reasons for a possible move.

I think it's just a matter of most of those schools are more of the same profile as UIU. Will help competition wise - we have a very good v-ball team, but will always be middle of pack in NSIC, football had some good years under Shea, but 6-5 was about as good as we were going to get even with some very good teams. Wrestling and men's basketball have competed very well and finished high in NSIC and would do same. The other sports would benefit as well from the move. Winning helps with recruiting, retainment, and overall mood on campus. A lot of those schools are private as well and same in terms of facilities and size.

[Peacock]

UIU is in the middle of nowhere and is expensive. It can’t be easy to compete

Correct, UIU has always been a special place for those that go there, but also a very tough place to recruit to. Fayette is Fayette and that isn't going to change. I've always been amazed on some of the teams and athletes we've brought here and done well. Men's hoops the last few years have been as good as anyone and built with Iowa kids for most part within a 1-2 hour distance of Fayette. Under Shea we have multiple 6-5 years in football and held our own. Wrestling has always been a contender at the national level. Volleyball has really done well under the current coach over the last 10+ years. It takes a special person to coach at UIU and players that want to be in Fayette. We are still here and have been for 150+ years. I'm a big fan of the NSIC, the best D2 conference in the nation. I have mixed emotions if we move as they gave us a home when we were looking. At the end of the day the profile of schools in the new conf would be a closer match in terms of student population, facilities, etc....and allow us to compete across many more sports.

[Peacockfan]

UIU is in the middle of nowhere and is expensive. It can’t be easy to compete

Cant do anything about the location, however, Upper Iowa had a press release last week I think it was that they are reducing tuition and fees from $33,639 to $19,000. So that is a step in the right direction to lure new prospective students. If the move to the GLVC happens, I am curious how that affects recruiting. We will be leaving one of the best conferences in the country and will now be playing football games in Missouri, Illinois and Indiana with now the option to schedule non-conference games. Surely the aspect of traveling would be appealing in my eyes. But I guess time will tell. The instability of the conference is the only thing that really concerns me. Schools coming and going seem to be a trend.

[Stanger86]

I think it's just a matter of most of those schools are more of the same profile as UIU. Will help competition wise - we have a very good v-ball team, but will always be middle of pack in NSIC, football had some good years under Shea, but 6-5 was about as good as we were going to get even with some very good teams. Wrestling and men's basketball have competed very well and finished high in NSIC and would do same. The other sports would benefit as well from the move. Winning helps with recruiting, retainment, and overall mood on campus. A lot of those schools are private as well and same in terms of facilities and size.

So the schools themselves are much smaller? Because in terms of market sizes, going to Indianapolis, St Louis, Kansas City, etc. are larger markets overall than St Paul, Sioux Falls and Fargo/Moorhead are.