STrib: MIAC rivals plot ouster of St. Thomas

Donate To GopherHole

Staying D3 is still the most likely option.
Going d1 is only an option from a cost perspective if they drop football or play non scholarship.

Pretty sure like 6 people said this way earlier in this thread.

Shooter is probably reporting based on the first 10 pages of this thread as “little birdies”
 

Per the NCAA Division I Council June 2019 Report:
6.g.7 "Review of Reclassification Process. (Fairness/Well-Being/Operational) The Strategic Vision and Planning Committee will continue to discuss whether an institution should have an opportunity to reclassify from Division III to Division I, without first requiring that institution be a Division II member, noting the importance of ensuring preparedness for Division I membership."

Hmmm. Things are starting to make sense now.

https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/committees/d1/council/Jun2019D1Council_Report.pdf
 





Since the Big East doesn’t play football, it’s going to be tough for them.
 






They would be trying to sell themselves to the Big East as a "Twin Cities Marquette". They have roughly the same number of students and endowment as Marquette, so it is an interesting idea.

In contrast, both have far more students and a much higher endowments than Butler and Xavier. And Butler has varsity football, which plays in the Pioneer League. That would be where UST football would go, if they kept football as part of the varsity sports. I could also see them dropping it.

Hockey would be another interesting decision. Keep it at varsity and try to find a DI home, or drop it down to club. Only one member of the Big East currently has hockey, Providence.


The other interesting thing is UConn is joining the Big East next year, putting them at an uneven 11 members. They could stay at 11 members and have a 20 game round-robin basketball schedule. Or they could look at adding a 12th member. St Louis U might be another possibility, for a geographic expansion. Would "bridge the gap" between Omaha (Creighton) and the rest of the conference. Or they could look at a school like Dayton that would add more bball prowess.
 
Last edited:










I have maintained all along that they will remain DIII. I am taking them at their word that they are happy in DIII. The WIAC is a natural fit for them. I will say, if they surprise me and do anything DI - I would declare from the nearest mountain top that the MIAC shouldn't be taking any heat for cutting them loose. They had become a bad fit for the conference years ago and this would be the final obvious piece of evidence to prove that.
 

Schnauzer said:
I have maintained all along that they will remain DIII. I am taking them at their word that they are happy in DIII. The WIAC is a natural fit for them. I will say, if they surprise me and do anything DI - I would declare from the nearest mountain top that the MIAC shouldn't be taking any heat for cutting them loose. They had become a bad fit for the conference years ago and this would be the final obvious piece of evidence to prove that.
Click to expand...

Agreed.
 

Schnauzer said:
I have maintained all along that they will remain DIII. I am taking them at their word that they are happy in DIII. The WIAC is a natural fit for them. I will say, if they surprise me and do anything DI - I would declare from the nearest mountain top that the MIAC shouldn't be taking any heat for cutting them loose. They had become a bad fit for the conference years ago and this would be the final obvious piece of evidence to prove that.
Click to expand...

They might hang out at DIII for a while, perhaps like they intended to in the short term at the MIAC ... and then later make the move. They don't have to jump right away even if they intended to long term.
 


http://www.startribune.com/st-thomas-to-get-invite-to-join-division-i-summit-league/562174952/

The University of St. Thomas will announce today that the school has been invited to join the Division I Summit League, pending NCAA approval of the school’s wavier claim.

The NCAA requires a waiver to go directly from Division III to Division I without a stop at Division II. If the waiver is approved, the school will join the Summit League in 2021. The Tommies would then have two more years in the MIAC, which voted St. Thomas out of the conference earlier this year.
Click to expand...
 


Anyone could've seen this coming, *IF* you believed the idea that St Thomas had interesting in jumping to DI. That latter part was always the question.

I wasn't certain, but this settles the matter. They were, they are, and they're doing it.

In that case, the Summit League is a perfect fit. Win-win for all involved, as it gives them the Twin Cities market, gets the Dakota schools in the Cities for multiple sports, multiple times per year (lots of alumni there).


Wonder what the means, if anything, for Augustana's potential(?) move to DI. Frankly, the Summit is in no position to deny anyone.
 

From the president of UST Julie Sullivan via the alumni email network:

“Four months ago, it was announced that St. Thomas would be involuntarily removed from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC), which we have called home for nearly 100 years. Since then, we have thoughtfully considered several options for the future.

Over the summer, Vice President and Director of Athletics Phil Esten, Ph.D., led an advisory committee to methodically examine several options for a new conference home. The top priority in this process is maintaining our student-centered focus. We are proud of our strong record of athletic performance and even prouder that our student-athletes are recognized for their great work as scholars in the classroom and as good citizens in our community. Those values will remain paramount no matter which athletics conference we ultimately join.

I am pleased to update you that late yesterday, following a decision by our Board of Trustees to submit an application, St. Thomas officially received an invitation to join the Summit League, a Division I athletics conference.

Our membership in the Summit League will require an approval from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). We have submitted a request for a waiver to the NCAA from their current rules, which state that Division III schools can only reclassify to Division II. Our waiver seeks an exception to this rule and requests permission to enter the NCAA Division I reclassification process directly from Division III.

Joining the Summit League would be a unique and exciting opportunity for St. Thomas, allowing us to significantly expand our impact and reach. It is a strong Midwest Division I conference that includes both public and private competitors. Under the direction of Commissioner Tom Douple, the conference has grown in strength and success over the past several years.

If the NCAA ultimately grants the waiver request, St. Thomas will begin competing in the Summit League in fall 2021, after two full final years in the MIAC.

Answers to some questions about this update can be found here. As more information about the process becomes available, we will share it with our alumni, benefactors and other key stakeholders.

Regardless of the outcome, I want to assure you that our core university mission and convictions will continue to guide us through the transition process.

Our Tommie Network of over 115,000 alumni and more than 10,000 generous benefactors positions us with great strength to pursue this opportunity. The future is bright, and I am grateful to have so many loyal Tommies and friends of St. Thomas supporting us on this journey.”


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
They've been invited ... do they want to go?

Also they don't have football?
Click to expand...

Summit does not have football.

There are essentially three choices for ST to consider:
1) by far the most costly, and hardest to achieve in the Title IX sense: go for full-scholarship, nationally competitive FCS football in the Missouri Valley Football Conf. This is the route that obviously Curuso would advocate for. It would require HUGE money backers. It will be entirely up to them (the donors/backers) if they want to attempt to finance this.
2) far less costly, and far less difficult to meet Title IX: non-scholarship football in the Pioneer League. This is what Drake, Butler, and others do. It's still varsity, it's still technically FCS, but it's run the same as a DIII program. If they want to keep varsity football, this is the "easy button".
3) drop varsity football. The easiest option, but could be very unpopular. They have to weigh all factors before pulling this trigger.


The other decision is what to do about varsity hockey, particularly women's. Very expensive sports, and DI certainly doesn't reduce the cost. Would need to upgrade their facility a bit (probably?). This is one I could see them dropping, for the sake of cost. Not as popular as football. But again, if the $$$ donors/backers are willing to pay for it, anything is possible.
 

Schnauzer said:
I have maintained all along that they will remain DIII. I am taking them at their word that they are happy in DIII. The WIAC is a natural fit for them. I will say, if they surprise me and do anything DI - I would declare from the nearest mountain top that the MIAC shouldn't be taking any heat for cutting them loose. They had become a bad fit for the conference years ago and this would be the final obvious piece of evidence to prove that.
Click to expand...

I took them at their word, and now the second part of my post above needs to be smacked over the head of every person that went with the "The MIAC is a bunch of snowflakes" angle. St. Thomas had become a bad fit for the MIAC many years ago but for some reason they just hung around until the league itself took action. Now, within months, they are destined for D1. The collection of small private liberal arts colleges were somehow supposed to buck up, suck it up, and play on the same ballgame with what had become a larger regional university.
 

Now just waiting for Some Guy, who is no doubt booking his plane ticket to Indy as we speak, and preparing drafts of his letters demanding that the NCAA urgently reject ST's waiver application.
 

MnplsGopher said:
Now just waiting for Some Guy, who is no doubt booking his plane ticket to Indy as we speak, and preparing drafts of his letters demanding that the NCAA urgently reject ST's waiver application.
Click to expand...

What?
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom