ST. PAUL – North Central University has accepted an invitation to join the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) as an associate member for 16 of its sports for the 2012-2013 academic year. The Rams, who already competed for conference championships in seven sports, will participate in each of the UMAC’s 17 sports with the exception of football.
North Central, a former UMAC full member institution throughout the 1980s and mid-1990s, has continually rebuilt its athletics department and its sport offerings throughout the last several years, adding more on-campus coaching positions and improving its practice and game day facilities. Student enrollment has also grown on the Rams’ 12.5 acre campus in downtown Minneapolis, reaching 1,200 in the fall of 2012. North Central, who formerly competed as an independent NCAA Division III member, has already made its mark in the UMAC in the sport of men’s golf, winning the conference tournament in each of the last three years. The Rams have earned the league’s only two automatic qualifiers into the Division III Tournament, participating in both the 2011 and 2012 NCAA postseasons.
Upon application to UMAC and an institutional review, the league’s council of presidents extended an invitation for associate membership to North Central in late March, 2012. Future consideration to North Central’s membership status will be addressed by the UMAC presidents during the 2012-2013 year.