The Summit League

The Summit League
Established	1982
Association	NCAA
Division	Division I non-football
Members	10
Sports fielded	19 (men's: 9; women's: 10)
Region	Midwestern 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.

Current membership

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Enrollment	Joined	Nickname
Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne	Fort Wayne, Indiana	1917	Public	14,326	2007	Mastodons
Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis	Indianapolis, Indiana	1969	Public	27,184	1998	Jaguars
University of Missouri–Kansas City	Kansas City, Missouri	1933	Public	14,499	1994	Kangaroos
North Dakota State University	Fargo, North Dakota	1890	Public	14,186	2007	Bison
Oakland University	Rochester, Michigan	1957	Public	17,737	1998	Golden Grizzlies
Oral Roberts University	Tulsa, Oklahoma	1963	Private	3,417	1997	Golden Eagles
University of South Dakota	Vermillion, South Dakota	1862	Public	10,151	2011	Coyotes
South Dakota State University	Brookings, South Dakota	1881	Public	12,851	2007	Jackrabbits
Southern Utah University	Cedar City, Utah	1897	Public	7,509	1997	Thunderbirds and Lady Thunderbirds
Western Illinois University	Macomb, Illinois	1899	Public	13,602	1982	Leathernecks

Southern Utah and Oral Roberts will leave the Summit League in 2012 to move to the Big Sky Conference and Southland Conference, respectively.

Future members

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Enrollment	Year Joins	Nickname
University of Nebraska at Omaha	Omaha, Nebraska	1908	Public	15,448	2012	Mavericks

The University of Nebraska-Omaha has said it would switch from Division II to Division I to join the Summit League in the fall of 2012.

Locations of current Summit League full member institutions.

Associate members

• Eastern Illinois University (Swimming and diving, men's soccer)

Former members

Institution	Years	Moved To
University of Akron	1990–1992	Mid-American Conference
University at Buffalo	1994–1998	Mid-American Conference
Centenary College of Louisiana	2003–2011	American Southwest Conference (to join Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference in July 2012)
Central Connecticut State University	1994–1997	Northeast Conference
Chicago State University	1994–2006	Independent (now in Great West)
Cleveland State University	1982–1994	Horizon League
Eastern Illinois University	1982–1996	Ohio Valley Conference
University of Illinois at Chicago	1982–1994	Horizon League
Northeastern Illinois University	1994–1998	Disbanded sports
Northern Illinois University	1990–1994	Horizon League (now in Mid-American Conference)
University of Northern Iowa	1982–1991	Missouri Valley Conference
Missouri State University	1982–1990	Missouri Valley Conference
Troy University	1994–1997	TAAC (now in Sun Belt Conference)
University of Wisconsin–Green Bay	1982–1994	Horizon League
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee	1993–1994	Horizon League
Valparaiso University	1982–2007	Horizon League
Wright State University	1991–1994	Horizon League
Youngstown State University	1992–2001	Horizon League

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. 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, 1982–2007

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. The following day, North Dakota State and South Dakota State also accepted invitations to join the conference.

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. Centenary College subsequently announced that it will leave the Summit League following the 2010–2011 campaign.

The University of North Dakota had also been openly rumored to have been courted by the Summit League, but uncertainty 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, as North Dakota instead accepted an invitation to join the Big Sky Conference, along with current Summit League member Southern Utah. 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). Additionally the University of Nebraska at Omaha has announced that it will transition to Division I athletics and join the Summit League July 1, 2012. With the departures of Centenary College, to Division III at the end of the 2010-11 athletic year, Southern Utah University and Oral Roberts, for other conferences at the end of the 2011-12 athletic year, the Summit League will continue with nine institutions, all within the Midwest geographical region. The Summit League has not publicly announced its intentions to expand or to remain at 9 schools.

Membership timeline

Football

Main article: Association of Mid-Continent Universities football

Men's basketball

Men's basketball in the NCAA tournament

See also: The Summit League Men's Basketball 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	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
	Northern Iowa	14	defeated Missouri lost to Minnesota
1991	Wisconsin–Green Bay	12	lost to Michigan State
	Northern Illinois	13*	lost to St. John's
1992	Eastern Illinois	15	lost to Indiana
1993	Wright State	16	lost to Indiana
1994	Wisconsin–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

* At-large bid
** Opening round game

Conference facilities

School	Basketball arena	Capacity	Football stadium	Capacity	Baseball stadium	Capacity	Soccer stadium	Capacity
IPFW	Allen County War Memorial Coliseum (men) Hilliard Gates Sports Center (women)	13,000 2,800	Non-Football School		Outdoor Sports Complex		Hefner Soccer Complex	2,000
IUPUI	IUPUI Gymnasium	2,215	Non-Football School		Non-Baseball School		Carrol Stadium	12,100
UMKC	Municipal Auditorium Swinney Recreation Center	10,721 2,000	Non-Football School		Non-Baseball School		Stanley H. Durwood Soccer Stadium	850
UNO	Lee & Helene Sapp Fieldhouse	3,500	Non-Football School; Formerly Al F. Caniglia Field	9,500	Ballpark at Boys Town		UNO Soccer Field
North Dakota State	Bison Sports Arena	6,000	Fargodome	19,500	Newman Outdoor Field	4,600	Ellig Sports Complex
Oakland	Athletics Center O'rena	4,005	Non-Football School		OU Baseball Field	500	OU Soccer Field
Oral Roberts	Mabee Center	10,575	Non-Football School		J. L. Johnson Stadium		ORU Soccer Complex
South Dakota	DakotaDome	10,000	DakotaDome	10,000	Non-Baseball School		USD Soccer Field
South Dakota State	Frost Arena	6,500	Coughlin-Alumni Stadium	15,000	Erv Huether Field	500	Fishback Soccer Park	1,500
Southern Utah	Centrum Arena	5,300	Eccles Coliseum	11,000	Thunderbird Park		Thunderbird Soccer Field	600
Western Illinois	Western Hall	5,139	Hanson Field	17,168	Alfred D. Boyer Stadium	500	MacKenzie Alumni Field	1,000

Future members in grey. Members leaving in pink.

See also

• List of The Summit League championships
• The Summit League Men's Basketball Tournament
• The Summit League Women's Basketball Tournament
• Association of Mid-Continent Universities football

External links

• Official website