MadBird
Well-known member
I've been waiting a while to throw this topic out there, didn't really want to do it in the middle of the season, especially before the Bizon game, but will toss it out there now while it's still "topical".
For context, some of you may know that the University of St. Thomas, in St. Paul, Minnesota, "involuntarily" left the DIII Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference this summer, effective at the end of the 2021 school year. UST has been dominant in many sports, its enrollment is twice as large as the next largest school, and has won the overall conference championship many times (all sports combined). The football program has become very strong, competed for but never won a national championship, and the current coach who's led the resurgence has been known to do some "unsportsmanlike" things like trick plays and 2 point conversions and onside kicks even when winning by 30-40-50 points (this is the argument that is made, not necessarily my thoughts). Some of the presidents got tired of it, felt like UST had outgrown the DIII liberal arts conference, and was prepared to vote them out. Altho a vote was never taken apparently, UST pulled out.
Soooooo . . . . .
The question becomes, what next for UST? Stay DIII and find another conference (not easy, there really isn't a good home for them)? Go DII and join the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, which is largely a Minnesota/Dakota based conference? Or go DI? Now the NCAA regs say you can't go directly from DIII to DI - you have to "prove" you can move up and give schollies by staying in DII for a few years, then petition to move to DI. UST is seeking a waiver to go directly from DIII to DI, in part apparently because of being tossed out of their conference. The Summit League has invited them to join if they get the waiver. But they still need a home for their hockey and football programs, since the Summit doesn't offer them.
Which brings us to the MVFC - the media, and fans, are saying a reasonable destination for their football is the MVFC. Several articles have been written in the Twin Cities papers saying that is on the table. On the d3football.com discussion board, which I engage on, many folks have said they could join and become competitive very quickly. I have said I don't think the MVFC would be interested in adding an "unproven" school, in Minnesota, blah blah blah. Some have argued that the Dakota schools in particular would welcome UST since they recruit Minnesota and the Twin Cities so much. I'm not so sure they would want to give UST the exposure, etc.
What do folks think, would the MVFC take in University of St. Thomas, a private religious school with about 6000+ undergrads and 3000+ grad students, without a suitable DI stadium but a pretty large endowment and presence in the Twin Cities?
Here's a pretty decent article from a week or so ago, hopefully you can access it at least once before the paywall kicks in.
http://www.startribune.com/universi...tion-to-summit-league/562174952/?refresh=true
For context, some of you may know that the University of St. Thomas, in St. Paul, Minnesota, "involuntarily" left the DIII Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference this summer, effective at the end of the 2021 school year. UST has been dominant in many sports, its enrollment is twice as large as the next largest school, and has won the overall conference championship many times (all sports combined). The football program has become very strong, competed for but never won a national championship, and the current coach who's led the resurgence has been known to do some "unsportsmanlike" things like trick plays and 2 point conversions and onside kicks even when winning by 30-40-50 points (this is the argument that is made, not necessarily my thoughts). Some of the presidents got tired of it, felt like UST had outgrown the DIII liberal arts conference, and was prepared to vote them out. Altho a vote was never taken apparently, UST pulled out.
Soooooo . . . . .
The question becomes, what next for UST? Stay DIII and find another conference (not easy, there really isn't a good home for them)? Go DII and join the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, which is largely a Minnesota/Dakota based conference? Or go DI? Now the NCAA regs say you can't go directly from DIII to DI - you have to "prove" you can move up and give schollies by staying in DII for a few years, then petition to move to DI. UST is seeking a waiver to go directly from DIII to DI, in part apparently because of being tossed out of their conference. The Summit League has invited them to join if they get the waiver. But they still need a home for their hockey and football programs, since the Summit doesn't offer them.
Which brings us to the MVFC - the media, and fans, are saying a reasonable destination for their football is the MVFC. Several articles have been written in the Twin Cities papers saying that is on the table. On the d3football.com discussion board, which I engage on, many folks have said they could join and become competitive very quickly. I have said I don't think the MVFC would be interested in adding an "unproven" school, in Minnesota, blah blah blah. Some have argued that the Dakota schools in particular would welcome UST since they recruit Minnesota and the Twin Cities so much. I'm not so sure they would want to give UST the exposure, etc.
What do folks think, would the MVFC take in University of St. Thomas, a private religious school with about 6000+ undergrads and 3000+ grad students, without a suitable DI stadium but a pretty large endowment and presence in the Twin Cities?
Here's a pretty decent article from a week or so ago, hopefully you can access it at least once before the paywall kicks in.
http://www.startribune.com/universi...tion-to-summit-league/562174952/?refresh=true