The Summit League

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The Summit League
Data
Established	1982
Members	10
Sports fielded	19 (9 men's, 10 women's)
Region	Midwest United States
States	9 - Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah
Past names	Association of Mid-Continent Universities (AMCU) 1982-1989 Mid-Continent Conference 1989-2007
Headquarters	Elmhurst, Illinois
Commissioner	Tom Douple
Locations

The Summit League (or The Summit) is an NCAA Division I college athletic conference which operates primarily in the Midwestern United States, with outlying teams in Louisiana and Utah. On June 1, 2007, the conference changed its name from the Mid-Continent Conference.

Membership

Locations of current Summit League full member institutions.

Associate members

• Eastern Illinois University (Swimming and diving)
• University of South Dakota (Swimming and diving)

Future members

• University of South Dakota - joining on July 1, 2011^[1]

Former members

Centenary will leave the Summit League in 2011 and drop down to Division III^[2]

History

Foundation

The conference was created in 1982 as the Association of Mid-Continent Universities (or AMCU or AMCU-8, pronounced Am-cue), which it was known as until 1989.^[3] The conference sponsored football from 1982 until 1984 at the Division II level, and current members North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Southern Utah, and Western Illinois have Division I FCS (formerly known as Division I-AA) football programs.

Mid-Continent Conference logo, -2007

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 University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Northern Illinois University, and Wright State University 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 Mid-American Conference in 1998 while Northeastern Illinois ceased athletic operations at that time. Oral Roberts University and Southern Utah University replaced the former pair while IUPUI and Oakland University moved into the latter duo's spots a year later.

Youngstown State University switched to the Horizon League in 2001, followed by founding member Valparaiso University in 2007, and seven of the ten current Horizon League programs are former Summit League members. Centenary College stepped into Youngstown State's place in 2003, but 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, dropping membership to seven programs.

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.^[4] The following day, North Dakota State and South Dakota State also accepted invitations to join the conference.^{[5] [6]}

The Summit League has continued its renewed expansion push with the admission of the University of South Dakota. The Coyotes will begin conference play in the 2011–2012 academic year and become eligible for all championships the following season.^[1] Centenary College subsequently announced that it will leave the Summit League following the 2010–2011 campaign.^[7] The Summit League has not announced publicly whether it will retain 10 schools or expand to 12 once that happens.

Membership timeline

Men's basketball in the NCAA tournament

† at-large bid ‡ opening round game

Conference facilities

Notes

See also

• List of The Summit League championships
• The Summit League Men's Basketball Tournament
• The Summit League Women's Basketball Tournament

External links

• Official website
• History of The Summit League