UMAC expands with five new associate members for football
ST. PAUL – The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) announces the expansion of membership as five institutions have accepted an invitation to join the league as associate members participating in football only. Eureka College, Greenville College, MacMurray College, Principia College and Westminster College (Mo.) will join the UMAC beginning with the 2009 season.
The five institutions, which all remain full members of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC), will join the existing five football members of the UMAC (College of St. Scholastica, Crown College, Martin Luther College, Northwestern College and University of Minnesota, Morris) to form a ten-team football conference. Principia announced in January the suspension of their football program for the 2009 season with the intention of reinstating the program in the future. The UMAC will receive its automatic qualifier (AQ) for the NCAA Championship beginning in 2011 after the mandatory two-year waiting period is completed.
Dr. Alan Cureton, Chair of the UMAC Council of Presidents, stated, “The expansion of UMAC institutions offering football further ensures the outstanding opportunity our football student-athletes can experience at the NCAA Division III level and specifically in the UMAC. The additional members assist the league in meeting a need in a particular sport where conference sponsorship is limited. We look forward to partnering with these like-minded institutions that mirror our support of the NCAA Division III philosophy.”
Corey Borchardt, Commissioner of the UMAC, added, “We are excited to add these institutions to the UMAC as associate members first and foremost because they share a similar mission and vision as well as exhibit values that also concur with our full membership. Furthermore, the addition of the associate members will provide greater stability in scheduling with the additional conference contests and enhance the conference identity as a whole.”
Two of the UMAC’s new institutions are very familiar with the league, as Principia College and Westminster College were both UMAC football members from 2002 to 2007. Westminster won the UMAC conference championship in 2003 and 2004.
Eureka, Greenville, MacMurray and Westminster will all participate in the UMAC’s annual Dome Day in 2009, setting the stage for the 10th annual five-game marathon in the Metrodome in Minneapolis on Oct. 30.
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The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference is comprised of eight full and six associate members located throughout the Midwest. Originally formed in 1972 as the Twin Rivers Conference, the league was renamed in 1983. The UMAC is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. The conference provides its member institutions the opportunity to be recognized in the areas of academic excellence and athletic competitiveness. The UMAC awards conference championships in 16 sports.
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