Summit League

Summit League

Established	June 18, 1982^[1]
Association	NCAA
Division	Division I non-football
Members	9 Full (1 Associate)
Sports fielded	19 (men's: 9; women's: 10)
Region	Midwestern United States Western United States
Former names	Association of Mid-Continent Universities (1982–1989) Mid-Continent Conference (1989–2007)
Headquarters	Elmhurst, Illinois
Commissioner	Tom Douple (since 2005)
Website	thesummitleague.org
Locations

The Summit League, or The Summit, is an NCAA Division I college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. On June 1, 2007, the conference changed its name from the Mid-Continent Conference.

Member schools

Current members

Current full members

Institution	Location (Population)	Founded	Type	Enrollment	U.S. News Ranking^[2] ^#	Endowment ^[2]^[3]	Joined	Nickname	Colors
Denver !University of Denver	Denver, Colorado (649,495)	1864	Private	11,476	88 (National)	$403,466,570	2013	Pioneers	Crimson & Gold
Fort Wayne !Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne	Fort Wayne, Indiana (253,691)	1964	Public	14,326	RNP (Regional:Midwest)	$46,433,698	2007	Mastodons	Royal Blue & White
IUPUI !Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis	Indianapolis, Indiana (843,393)	1969	Public	27,184	194 (National)	$709,877,078	1998	Jaguars	Old Gold & Crimson
Omaha !University of Nebraska Omaha	Omaha, Nebraska (434,353)	1908	Public	15,448	RNP (National)	$4,550,516	2012	Mavericks	Crimson & Black
North Dakota State University	Fargo, North Dakota (113,658)	1890	Public	14,186	181 (National)	$103,000,000	2007	Bison	Green & Yellow
Oral Roberts University	Tulsa, Oklahoma (398,121)	1963	Private	3,417	46 (Regional: West)	$40,490,533	1997 ^* 2014	Golden Eagles	Vegas Gold & Navy Blue
South Dakota !University of South Dakota	Vermillion, South Dakota (10,692)	1862	Public	10,151	168 (National)	$182,335,563	2011	Coyotes	Vermillion & White
South Dakota State University	Brookings, South Dakota (22,943)	1881	Public	12,851	181 (National)	$95,961,474	2007	Jackrabbits	Blue & Yellow
Western Illinois University	Macomb, Illinois (21,516)	1899	Public	13,602	39 (Regional: Midwest)	$32,134,249	1982 ^†	Leathernecks	Purple & Gold

^* - Oral Roberts University was a previous member of the conference from 1997–98 to 2011–12, before re-joining in 2014.
^# - "RNP" is an abbreviation for "Ranked Not Published" used by U.S. News & World Report in its rankings of colleges and universities.
^† - The Mid-Con did not sponsor women's sports until 1992–93. Before that time, Western Illinois had been a member of the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference, which began as a women's-only conference and added football in 1985; WIU was a member of both sides of the conference. When the Gateway merged its women's side into the Missouri Valley Conference, WIU moved its women's sports into the Mid-Con, but has kept its football team in the Gateway (now known as the Missouri Valley Football Conference) to this day.

Current associate members

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Enrollment	Joined	Nickname	Primary Conference	Summit Sport
Eastern Illinois University	Charleston, Illinois	1895	Public	9,775	2005–06^sw.dv. 2011–12^m.soc.	Panthers	OVC	swimming and diving,^[4] men's soccer^[5]

Former members

Former full members

The Summit League has twenty-one former members.

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Enrollment	Joined	Left	Nickname	New Conference	Current Conference
Akron !University of Akron	Akron, Ohio	1870	Public	29,251	1990	1992	Zips	Mid-American (MAC)
Buffalo !University at Buffalo	Buffalo, New York	1846	Public	28,601	1994	1998	Bulls	Mid-American (MAC)
Centenary College of Louisiana	Shreveport, Louisiana	1825	Private	787	2003	2011	Gentlemen (men's) Ladies (women's)	American Southwest	SCAC (Div. III)
Central Connecticut State University	New Britain, Connecticut	1849	Public	11,360	1994	1997	Blue Devils	Northeast (NEC)
Chicago State University	Chicago, Illinois	1867	Public	7,131	1994	2006	Cougars	NCAA D-I Independent	WAC
Cleveland State University	Cleveland, Ohio	1964	Public	17,204	1982	1994	Vikings	Horizon
Eastern Illinois University	Charleston, Illinois	1895	Public	11,651	1982	1996	Panthers	OVC
UIC !University of Illinois at Chicago	Chicago, Illinois	1858	Public	28,091	1982	1994	Flames	Horizon
UMKC !University of Missouri–Kansas City^[6]	Kansas City, Missouri	1933	Public	16,019	1994	2013	Kangaroos	WAC
Northeastern Illinois University	Chicago, Illinois	1867	Public	11,149	1994	1998	Golden Eagles	Discontinued intercollegiate athletics
Northern Illinois University	DeKalb, Illinois	1895	Public	25,313	1990	1994	Huskies	Horizon	Mid-American (MAC)
Northern Iowa !University of Northern Iowa	Cedar Falls, Iowa	1876	Public	11,147	1982	1991	Panthers	Missouri Valley
Oakland University^[7]	Rochester, Michigan	1957	Public	19,379	1998	2013	Golden Grizzlies	Horizon
Southern Utah University	Cedar City, Utah	1897	Public	8,297	1997	2012	Thunderbirds	Big Sky
Southwest !Southwest Missouri State University	Springfield, Missouri	1905	Public	21,059	1982	1990	Bears (men's) Lady Bears (women's)	Missouri Valley
Troy State University	Troy, Alabama	1887	Public	29,689	1994	1997	Trojans	TAAC	Sun Belt
Green Bay !University of Wisconsin–Green Bay	Green Bay, Wisconsin	1965	Public	6,700	1982	1994	Phoenix	Horizon
Milwaukee !University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	1885	Public	30,502	1993	1994	Panthers	Horizon
Valparaiso University	Valparaiso, Indiana	1859	Private	4,061	1982	2007	Crusaders	Horizon
Wright State University	Fairborn, Ohio	1967	Public	17,789	1991	1994	Raiders	Horizon
Youngstown State University	Youngstown, Ohio	1908	Public	15,194	1992	2001	Penguins	Horizon

- The then-Mid-Continent Conference did not sponsor women's sports until the 1992–93 school year. Cleveland State, UIC, Northern Illinois, Valparaiso, Green Bay, and Wright State were all members of the women's-only North Star Conference until the Mid-Con began sponsoring women's sports, effectively absorbing the NSC.
- As noted before, the Mid-Con did not sponsor women's sports until 1992–93. Before that time, Eastern Illinois had been a member of the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference, which began as a women's-only conference and added football in 1985; EIU was a member of both sides of the conference. When the Gateway merged its women's side into the Missouri Valley Conference, EIU moved its women's sports into the Mid-Con, but kept its football team in the Gateway until it moved its entire athletic program into the Ohio Valley Conference in 1996.

Former associate members

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Enrollment	Joined	Left	Nickname	Primary Conference	Summit Sport
DePaul University	Chicago, Illinois	1898	Private	24,414	1992–93	1998–99	Blue Demons	Big East	softball
Howard University	Washington, D.C.	1867	Private	10,000	1996–97	1998–99	Bison	MEAC	men's soccer
C.W. Post of Long Island University	Brookville, New York	1954	Public	8,472	1994–95	1997–98	Pioneers	East Coast (ECC) (NCAA Division II)	baseball
New York Institute of Technology	New York, NY	1955	Private	13,000	1994–95	1997–98	Bears	East Coast (ECC) (NCAA Division II)	baseball
Pace University	New York, NY	1906	Private	12,772	1994–95	1997–98	Setters	Northeast-10 (NE-10) (NCAA Division II)	baseball
Quincy University	Quincy, Illinois	1860	Private	1,269	1994–95	1995–96	Hawks	GLVC (NCAA Division II)	men's soccer
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville	Edwardsville, Illinois	1957	Public	13,850	1994–95	1995–96	Cougars	OVC	men's soccer
University of South Dakota	Vermillion, South Dakota	1862	Public	10,151	2009–10	2010–11	Coyotes	Summit	swimming and diving
South Dakota State University	Brookings, South Dakota	1881	Public	12,851	2005–06	2006–07	Jackrabbits	Summit	swimming and diving
State University of New York at Oneonta	Oneonta, New York	1889	Public	5,852	1996–97	1998–98	Red Dragons	SUNYAC (NCAA Division III)	men's soccer

History

Locations of current Summit League full member institutions.

Foundation

The association was created on June 18, 1982 at the O'Hare Hilton Hotel in Chicago, Illinois^[1] as the Association of Mid-Continent Universities (or AMCU or AMCU-8, pronounced Am-cue), which it was known as until 1989.^[8] The conference sponsored football from 1982 until 1984 at the Division I-AA level (now Division I FCS), and current members North Dakota State, South Dakota, South Dakota State, and Western Illinois have FCS football programs.

Mid-Continent Conference logo, 1982–2007

Changes and the addition of women's sports

In the early 1990s, the conference saw its first changes. Southwest Missouri State departed for membership in the Missouri Valley Conference as the University of Akron and Northern Illinois University joined in 1990. Then Wright State University joined in 1991 as Northern Iowa followed Southwest Missouri State to the MVC.

Major changes came to the conference in 1992. First, Akron left for the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and was replaced by another Ohio school, Youngstown State University. More significantly, the Mid-Continent added women's sports by absorbing the North Star Conference (NSC), a women's-only league whose final seven members had all been in the Mid-Continent. All of the final NSC members except for Akron moved their women's sports into the Mid-Continent. At the same time, Eastern Illinois and Western Illinois moved their women's sports into the Mid-Continent when their former women's sports home, the Gateway Conference, merged into the Missouri Valley Conference. A year later, the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee joined the Mid-Continent.

Horizon and ECC transitions

In 1994, charter members Cleveland State University, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, as well as newer members Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Northern Illinois, and Wright State left the conference to join the Midwestern Collegiate Conference, now known as the Horizon League.

In response, the Mid-Continent absorbed Central Connecticut State University, Chicago State University, the University at Buffalo, Troy State University (now Troy University), and Northeastern Illinois University from the collapsed East Coast Conference. None of these institutions remain in the league.

Missouri-Kansas City, formerly an independent, also joined the Mid-Continent Conference in 1994.

Declining membership

Eastern Illinois moved to the Ohio Valley Conference in 1996, reducing membership to nine programs. Troy State departed for the Trans America Athletic Conference while Central Connecticut went to the Northeast Conference in 1997. Buffalo joined the MAC in 1998 while Northeastern Illinois ceased intercollegiate athletics at that time. Oral Roberts University and Southern Utah University replaced the former pair while Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and Oakland University moved into the latter duo's spots a year later.

Youngstown State switched to the Horizon League in 2001, and was replaced by Centenary College in 2003. Chicago State University announced in the spring of 2006 that it would withdraw from the conference to compete as an independent starting in the 2006-07 school year. Charter member Valparaiso University then moved to the Horizon in 2007.

Renewed expansion

At the Mid-Continent Conference annual Presidents Council meeting in 2006, conference expansion was discussed at length, and Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW), North Dakota State, and South Dakota State were approved for site visits. On August 30, 2006, IPFW accepted an invitation to join the Mid-Continent Conference as a full member starting July 1, 2007.^[9] The following day, North Dakota State and South Dakota State also accepted invitations to join the conference.^[10]^[11]

The Summit League has continued its renewed expansion push with the admission of the University of South Dakota. The Coyotes began conference play in the 2011–12 academic year and become eligible for all championships the following season.^[12] Centenary College subsequently announced that it would leave the Summit League following the 2010–2011 campaign.^[13]

The University of North Dakota had also been openly rumored to have been courted by the Summit League, but controversy over the Fighting Sioux nickname in all likelihood prevented UND's admission. Expectations that UND would join the Summit League came to an end on November 1, 2010, when North Dakota instead accepted an invitation to join the Big Sky Conference. The University of South Dakota entered into very brief negotiations to join the Big Sky as well, rather than continuing their plans to join the Summit. However, South Dakota chose instead to remain with the more compact Summit League (along with other Dakota schools, NDSU and SDSU). As the University of Nebraska Omaha began the transition to Division I athletics in all sports, it joined the Summit League on July 1, 2012. With the departures of Centenary to Division III at the end of the 2010-11 athletic year, and Southern Utah and Oral Roberts for other Division I conferences at the end of the 2011-12 athletic year, the Summit League continued with nine institutions, all within the Midwest geographical region.^[14]

The conference unveiled the University of Denver (DU) as its 10th member on November 27, 2012, and the Pioneers joined in July 2013.^[15] While Denver is slightly outside The Summit's current Midwestern base, travel issues for the other members were seemingly minimized by the city's status as a major air hub.^[15] Then, with Denver among the eight of ten WAC members switching to other conferences, that league was searching for new members, and on February 7, 2013, it was announced that UMKC would be one of six schools joining the WAC for the 2013-14 season,^[6] dropping the Summit league back to nine member schools. On May 7, 2013, membership fell to eight schools, when Oakland announced that it was joining the Horizon League.^[7] With Oakland's move, eight of the nine then-current Horizon League programs were former Summit League members (the Horizon has since added a second member that was never in The Summit League, Northern Kentucky).

In December, 2013, The Summit League office announced that Oral Roberts University was returning to the conference in all sports, effective July 1, 2014.^[16]

Membership timeline

Full members Full members (non-football) Associate member (baseball, men's soccer, softball, or swimming and diving)

Southwest Missouri State adopted its current name of Missouri State University in 2005.
The two former members that are part of the University of Wisconsin System, namely UW–Green Bay and UW–Milwaukee, now brand themselves for athletic purposes as "Green Bay" and "Milwaukee".
Troy State adopted its current name of Troy University in 2004.

**Teams in Summit League competition**
Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	6	–
Basketball	9	9
Cross country	7	8
Golf	9	9
Soccer	7	9
Softball	–	7
Swimming and diving	6	7
Tennis	7	7
Track and field (indoor)	6	8
Track and field (outdoor)	6	8
Volleyball	–	9

School	Baseball	Basketball	Cross Country	Golf	Soccer	Swimming & Diving	Tennis	Indoor Track & Field	Outdoor Track & Field	Total Summit League Sports
Denver	N	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	5
Fort Wayne	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	N	5
IUPUI	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
North Dakota State	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	Y	Y	6
Omaha	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	N	Y	N	N	5
Oral Roberts	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	8
South Dakota	N	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	N	Y	Y	6
South Dakota State	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Western Illinois	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Totals	6	9	7	9	6+1*	5+1*	7	6	6	61+2

School	Football	Ice Hockey	Lacrosse	Skiing	Volleyball	Wrestling
Denver	—	NCHC	Big East	RMISA	—	—
Fort Wayne	—	—	—	—	MIVA	—
North Dakota State	MVFC	—	—	—	—	Big 12
Omaha	—	NCHC	—	—	—	—
South Dakota	MVFC	—	—	—	—	—
South Dakota State	MVFC	—	—	—	—	Big 12
Western Illinois	MVFC	—	—	—	—	—

School	Basketball	Cross Country	Golf	Soccer	Softball	Swimming & Diving	Tennis	Indoor Track & Field	Outdoor Track & Field	Volleyball	Total Summit League Sports
Denver	Y	N	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	N	N	Y	6
Fort Wayne	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	8
IUPUI	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
North Dakota State	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	8
Omaha	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	9
Oral Roberts	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
South Dakota	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
South Dakota State	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Western Illinois	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Totals	9	8	9	9	7	6+1^{[w 1]}	7	8	8	9	80+1

School	Equestrian	Gymnastics	Lacrosse	Skiing
Denver	—	Big 12	Big East Conference	RMISA
South Dakota State	United Equestrian Conference & National Collegiate Equestrian Association	—	—	—

Football

Main article: Association of Mid-Continent Universities football

Men's basketball

Men's basketball in the NCAA tournament

Year	Team	Seed	Results
1983	none
1984	none
1985	none
1986	Cleveland State	14*	defeated Indiana defeated Saint Joseph's lost to Navy
1987	Southwest Missouri State^[18]	13	defeated Clemson lost to Kansas
1988	Southwest Missouri State	13	lost to UNLV
1989	Southwest Missouri State	14	lost to Seton Hall
1990	Southwest Missouri State	9*	lost to North Carolina
1990	Northern Iowa	14	defeated Missouri lost to Minnesota
1991	Green Bay	12	lost to Michigan State
1991	Northern Illinois	13*	lost to St. John's
1992	Eastern Illinois	15	lost to Indiana
1993	Wright State	16	lost to Indiana
1994	Green Bay	12	defeated California lost to Syracuse
1995	none
1996	Valparaiso	14	lost to Arizona
1997	Valparaiso	12	lost to Boston College
1998	Valparaiso	13	defeated Ole Miss defeated Florida State lost to Rhode Island
1999	Valparaiso	15	lost to Maryland
2000	Valparaiso	16	lost to Michigan State
2001	Southern Utah	14	lost to Boston College
2002	Valparaiso	13	lost to Kentucky
2003	IUPUI	16	lost to Kentucky
2004	Valparaiso	15	lost to Gonzaga
2005	Oakland	16	defeated Alabama A&M** Lost to North Carolina
2006	Oral Roberts	16	lost to Memphis
2007	Oral Roberts	14	lost to Washington State
2008	Oral Roberts	13	lost to Pittsburgh
2009	North Dakota State	14	lost to Kansas
2010	Oakland	14	lost to Pittsburgh
2011	Oakland	13	lost to Texas
2012	South Dakota State	14	lost to Baylor
2013	South Dakota State	13	lost to Michigan
2014	North Dakota State	12	defeated Oklahoma lost to San Diego State
2015	North Dakota State	15	lost to Gonzaga

* At-large bid
** Opening round game

Facilities

School	Soccer stadium	Capacity	Basketball arena	Capacity	Baseball field	Capacity	Softball field	Capacity
Full members
Denver	CIBER Field at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium	2,000	Magness Arena	7,200	Non-baseball school		Non-softball school
IPFW	Hefner Soccer Complex	2,000	Hilliard Gates Sports Center	1,800*	Mastodon Field	200^[19]	IPFW Softball Field	500
IUPUI	Carroll Stadium	12,111	Fairgrounds Coliseum	8,200	Non-baseball school		IUPUI Softball Complex	500
North Dakota State	Dacotah Field^[20]	2,600^[21]	Bison Sports Arena	5,830^[22]	Newman Outdoor Field	4,600	Ellig Sports Complex^[23]	450
Omaha	Al F. Caniglia Field^[24]	3,097	Baxter Arena^[25]	7,898	Ballpark at Boys Town	N/A	Westside Field at Westbrook	300^[26]
Oral Roberts	Case Soccer Complex	1,000	Mabee Center	10,575	J. L. Johnson Stadium	2,418	Non-softball school
South Dakota	USD Soccer Field	N/A	DakotaDome	10,000	Non-baseball school		Nygard Field	500^[27]
South Dakota State	Fishback Soccer Park	1,500	Frost Arena	6,500	Erv Huether Field	600	Jackrabbit Softball Stadium	200
Western Illinois	MacKenzie Alumni Field	1,000	Western Hall	5,139	Alfred D. Boyer Stadium	500	Mary Ellen McKee Softball Stadium	500
Associate members
Eastern Illinois	Lakeside Soccer Field	1,000^[28]	Soccer-only member

IPFW has one game scheduled at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum for the 2014-2015 season.

References

1 2 "Valpo to join Conference". Green Bay, Wisconsin: The Rochester Sentinel. 19 June 1982. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
1 2
↑ http://www.nacubo.org/Documents/research/2011NCSEPublicTablesEndowmentMarketValues319.pdf
↑ http://www.thesummitleague.org/RecordBook/SwimmingDiving.pdf
↑ Eastern Illinois men's soccer joins Summit League , The NCAA News, March 26, 2010
1 2 "UMKC Heading to the Western Athletic Conference - UMKC Athletics". Umkckangaroos.com. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
1 2 "Oakland University to Join". Horizon League. May 7, 2013. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
↑ The Spectrum - www.thespectrum.com
↑ Press Release. IPFW accepts invitation to join Mid-Continent Conference, Mid-Continent Conference, August 30, 2006.
↑ Press Release. North Dakota State University accepts invitation to join Mid-Continent Conference, Mid-Continent Conference, August 31, 2006.
↑ Press Release. South Dakota State University accepts invitation to join Mid-Continent Conference, Mid-Continent Conference, August 31, 2006.
↑ "University of South Dakota Official Athletic Site - University of South Dakota". Usdcoyotes.com. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
↑ "Centenary to leave Summit League". July 7, 2009. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
↑ "North Dakota, Southern Utah joining Big Sky Conference - ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. November 1, 2010. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
1 2 "Denver Becomes The Summit League's Newest Member" (Press release). The Summit League. November 27, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
↑ http://www.thesummitleague.org/sports/articles/2013-14/releases/120413-orujoins
↑ "The Summit League". The Summit League. June 27, 2013. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
↑ MSU was known as Southwest Missouri State University until 2005.
↑ http://www.gomastodons.com/sports/2010/7/16/GEN_0716100628.aspx
↑ http://www.gobison.com/sports/2014/4/30/SOC_0430140340.aspx?tab=dacotahfield
↑ http://gobison.com/documents/2014/7/24/NDSU_Soccer_2014_QuickFacts.pdf
↑ http://www.gobison.com/sports/2013/4/19/bsa.aspx?tab=bisonsportsarena
↑ http://gobison.com/documents/2014/1/17/2014NDSUSoftballPreseason.pdf
↑ Caniglia Field
↑ Baxter Arena
↑ "Omaha 2013-14 Division I Softball". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
↑ "South Dakota 2013-14 Division I Softball". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
↑ http://www.eiupanthers.com/custompages/msoc/2014/2014MSOC-QF.pdf

External links

Official website

Summit League

Full members	Denver Pioneers IPFW Mastodons IUPUI Jaguars North Dakota State Bison Omaha Mavericks Oral Roberts Golden Eagles South Dakota Coyotes South Dakota State Jackrabbits Western Illinois Leathernecks

Affiliate members	Eastern Illinois Panthers (men's soccer, men's and women's swimming and diving)

Championships and awards	Conference championships

NCAA Division I non-football conferences

America East Conference Atlantic Sun Conference Atlantic 10 Conference Big East Conference Big West Conference Coastal Collegiate Sports Association Horizon League Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Missouri Valley Conference Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Summit League Western Athletic Conference West Coast Conference Independents

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