OT - St. Thomas invited to go D-1

[The Lens]

Following its removal from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC), the University of St. Thomas has been offered an opportunity to join the Summit League, which is a Division 1 athletics conference.

The Summit League is primarily a Midwest organization based in Sioux Falls that includes North Dakota State, South Dakota State, the University of North Dakota and the University of South Dakota.

In an announcement issued Friday, President Julie Sullivan said an advisory committee considered options for a new conference for the university's athletics programs. After the Board of Trustees approved an application submission, the unversity was offered the invitation to the Summit League late Thursday.

The incorporation of the university into the Summit League will require approval from the National Collegiate Athletic Association, according to Sullivan. A waiver seeking exemption from the rule that a Division 3 school can only reclassify to Division 2 has been submitted.

"Joining the Summit League would be a unique and exciting opportunity for St. Thomas, allowing us to significantly expand our impact and reach," Sullivan said in a statement. "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."

The biggest question now: what does this mean for Tommies hockey and football? The Summit League doesn't include those sports. Included in the league are baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field, and volleyball.

School athletics officials said their goal is to start competing in the Summit League in fall 2021.

https://kstp.com/sports/st-thomas-receives-invitation-to-join-division-1-athletics-conference/5515170/?cat=1

[Uncle Rico]

https://kstp.com/sports/st-thomas-receives-invitation-to-join-division-1-athletics-conference/5515170/?cat=1

Someone tell them their sports programs are doomed

[Jay Bee]

If only there was a board for OT posts...

PS- FCS for football

[MUBurrow]

South Dakota State, South Dakota, and North Dakota St all play football in the Missouri Valley, which is an FCS conference along with the likes of Northern Iowa, Western Illinois and Indiana State. That would seem a pretty natural step for a school looking to upgrade their sports but that probably doesn't have an intention of trying to hang FBS football budgets. And Missouri Valley football just sort of seems to be a cobbled together marriage of convenience anyway, so other than perhaps some scheduling oddities, I don't see why they wouldn't be willing to tack on another school to go from 10 to 11 if they think the Tommies could compete in a couple years.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

South Dakota State, South Dakota, and North Dakota St all play football in the Missouri Valley, which is an FCS conference along with the likes of Northern Iowa, Western Illinois and Indiana State. That would seem a pretty natural step for a school looking to upgrade their sports but that probably doesn't have an intention of trying to hang FBS football budgets. And Missouri Valley football just sort of seems to be a cobbled together marriage of convenience anyway, so other than perhaps some scheduling oddities, I don't see why they wouldn't be willing to tack on another school to go from 10 to 11 if they think the Tommies could compete in a couple years.

They could also keep their football non-scholarship and join the Pioneer League, which has an automatic invite to the FCS playoffs now. 

[Galway Eagle]

Screw it, bring em to the BE!

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

I'm trying to figure out why St. Thomas should be given a pass to D1 when there is a perfectly good D2 conference available in the Northern Sun.  That conference plays football as well.

[dgies9156]

Leave them where they belong -- playing UW Superior, UW Stout, UW Platteville etc.

If they're good little Tommies, they can play UMD and Minnesota-Morris.

[mu_hilltopper]

Going the wrong direction (at least for basketball.)   It's silly to have 340 D1 teams in the same league, the disparity is grand-canyon large. 

Should move the bottom 200 teams to D2-D3- D'Ocho.

[The Lens]

If only there was a board for OT posts...

PS- FCS for football

They have aspirations of joining the Big East, seems relevant.  Next time I'll put OT in the header and better describe what the post is about so you won't be troubled to click and find out.

[real chili 83]

https://kstp.com/sports/st-thomas-receives-invitation-to-join-division-1-athletics-conference/5515170/?cat=1

Curious why this hit your radar?

[GooooMarquette]

They have aspirations of joining the Big East, seems relevant.  Next time I'll put OT in the header and better describe what the post is about so you won't be troubled to click and find out.

Wait - seriously?

[duanewade]

I have aspirations of time traveling too but think this pipe dream is as relevant and realistic as St. Norbert err I mean St Thomas’ pipe-dream of being relevant in anything.

The Big East should and will remain “Big” in their focus and will remain with the status quo unless something very compelling comes around/transpires. 

[Marcus92]

There's a sideline on the St. Thomas situation here:

https://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=58833.msg1147587#msg1147587

[GooooMarquette]

There's a sideline on the St. Thomas situation here:

https://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=58833.msg1147587#msg1147587

Interesting. I hadn't caught that.

Still, as per duanewade's comments, the gap between the long-term aspiration and reality is immeasurably huge. Schools like MU and Creighton got into the BE in large part because D-1 hoops was a big-crowd reality long before the explosion in college basketball's popularity. If any schools should be asking "why not us?", it ought to be the likes of Loyola and such.

That said, I wish them luck. Because if they can ever get to the point where the BE would even remotely consider them, the Twin Cities would be a nice market for the conference.

[MU82]

Going the wrong direction (at least for basketball.)   It's silly to have 340 D1 teams in the same league, the disparity is grand-canyon large. 

Should move the bottom 200 teams to D2-D3- D'Ocho.

I'd have absolutely no problem with this. Makes sense.

[GooooMarquette]

Going the wrong direction (at least for basketball.)   It's silly to have 340 D1 teams in the same league, the disparity is grand-canyon large. 

Should move the bottom 200 teams to D2-D3- D'Ocho.

That’s a great idea. So who does the BE grab when DePaul gets demoted?

[#UnleashSean]

That’s a great idea. So who does the BE grab when DePaul gets demoted?

And st johns

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

And st johns

In the tournament last year.

[GooooMarquette]

In the tournament last year.

And in 2016-17, their RPI was 140...and in 2015-16, it was 245.

If it was a snapshot of a single moment in time, and if the moment in time was last season, St. John's would make the cut. If it was an average of the last few, they'd be in jeopardy.