(non-MVC) Realignment News

[BCPanther]

St Thomas (MN) will be joining the Summit League if their DIII to DI waiver is approved (Spoiler: It will be).

They'll start play in the Summitt League and Pioneer Football League in 2021-22. They want to be a full scholarship FCS Football team by 2030.

This avoids the Summit's Auggie problem and puts them on solid footing for Autobids and such for if/when Western Illinois drops to DII.

Just saw Mid Major Madness tweet about this. I know they've been a DIII football power for a while, but has any other school ever jumped from DIII straight to DI before?

Nope, no one has ever even applied for the waiver. However, they aren't the typical DIII. They've got a DI budget. Their league was right to ask them to move on.

[agernes]

St Thomas (MN) will be joining the Summit League if their DIII to DI waiver is approved (Spoiler: It will be).

They'll start play in the Summitt League and Pioneer Football League in 2021-22. They want to be a full scholarship FCS Football team by 2030.

This avoids the Summit's Auggie problem and puts them on solid footing for Autobids and such for if/when Western Illinois drops to DII.

Where are you getting the full scholarship info? I haven't seen it anywhere in the reports. Is this a bird whispering in your ear?

[BCPanther]

St Thomas (MN) will be joining the Summit League if their DIII to DI waiver is approved (Spoiler: It will be).

They'll start play in the Summitt League and Pioneer Football League in 2021-22. They want to be a full scholarship FCS Football team by 2030.

This avoids the Summit's Auggie problem and puts them on solid footing for Autobids and such for if/when Western Illinois drops to DII.

Where are you getting the full scholarship info? I haven't seen it anywhere in the reports. Is this a bird whispering in your ear?

Exploring MVFC. Their initial report had the 2030 date.

http://m.startribune.com/university-of- ... 562174952/

[MissouriValleyUnite]

St Thomas (MN) will be joining the Summit League if their DIII to DI waiver is approved (Spoiler: It will be).

They'll start play in the Summitt League and Pioneer Football League in 2021-22. They want to be a full scholarship FCS Football team by 2030.

This avoids the Summit's Auggie problem and puts them on solid footing for Autobids and such for if/when Western Illinois drops to DII.

Just saw Mid Major Madness tweet about this. I know they've been a DIII football power for a while, but has any other school ever jumped from DIII straight to DI before?

You’d have to go back before the waiver rule was instituted. Oral Roberts jumped NAIA>D1 in the early 90s after the school dropped down despite an Elite 8 to its name. Oklahoma City, another school with an Elite 8, probably wishes they jumped back up with ORU from NAIA back then.

St Thomas has an opportunity to carve out a niche as Minnesota’s 2nd D1 school. It’s worked for Minnesota-Duluth who has a dynastic stranglehold over college hockey right now. Tommies have strong academics, an untapped (Big Ten excepted) larger market, $500+ million endowment, & 6k+ undergrads. Throw in their D3 success and they fit the profile of a school who’ll excel as a D1 callup.

[agernes]

St Thomas (MN) will be joining the Summit League if their DIII to DI waiver is approved (Spoiler: It will be).

They'll start play in the Summitt League and Pioneer Football League in 2021-22. They want to be a full scholarship FCS Football team by 2030.

This avoids the Summit's Auggie problem and puts them on solid footing for Autobids and such for if/when Western Illinois drops to DII.

Where are you getting the full scholarship info? I haven't seen it anywhere in the reports. Is this a bird whispering in your ear?

Exploring MVFC. Their initial report had the 2030 date.

http://m.startribune.com/university-of- ... 562174952/

Gotcha thanks. Someone probably told ST to back off of suggesting a timeline. I imagine they want to have it fully mapped out before going public with it. 2030 does seem realistic though if they want to add scholarships. Gives them time to get their feet wet. And I do imagine they want to add scholarships, as football was the biggest reason they got booted.

[BCPanther]

In the end, they're going to have to choose between Hockey and Scholarship Football. Schools that size can't have both. See Dakota, North.

[VUGrad1314]

All of that success, their academic profile, and large endowment has me wondering if maybe JUST MAYBE we might be looking at a future MVC member here WAY down the line?

As for D3 to D1 I think Houston Baptist did it too and I think Western Illinois will be more likely to go to the OVC which is more travel friendly for them and would probably allow them to be more competitive in football while giving them back their rivalry with EIU before ever dropping divisions.

[Sir Sci]

St Thomas (MN) will be joining the Summit League if their DIII to DI waiver is approved (Spoiler: It will be).

They'll start play in the Summitt League and Pioneer Football League in 2021-22. They want to be a full scholarship FCS Football team by 2030.

This avoids the Summit's Auggie problem and puts them on solid footing for Autobids and such for if/when Western Illinois drops to DII.

Just saw Mid Major Madness tweet about this. I know they've been a DIII football power for a while, but has any other school ever jumped from DIII straight to DI before?

Nope, no one has ever even applied for the waiver. However, they aren't the typical DIII. They've got a DI budget. Their league was right to ask them to move on.

I knew that they are a DIII football powerhouse, but I guess I never realized that they were that much of a powerhouse to justify moving to DI. I mean, good for them. Thanks for the information.

[BCPanther]

All of that success, their academic profile, and large endowment has me wondering if maybe JUST MAYBE we might be looking at a future MVC member here WAY down the line?

As for D3 to D1 I think Houston Baptist did it too and I think Western Illinois will be more likely to go to the OVC which is more travel friendly for them and would probably allow them to be more competitive in football while giving them back their rivalry with EIU before ever dropping divisions.

I think the most likely outcome for Western Illinois is DII. They're hemorrhaging enrollment and I too though the OVC was a better geographic fit but its not. They'd be an outlier there too as that conference has really gone south and east. The only DI league they fit in geographically is the Valley and we know that's not happening. Their best geographic, and frankly competitive, fit is the Great Lakes Valley Conference with 15 members all in Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.

[VUGrad1314]

That's very possible RE: WIU. I just know that schools will probably do literally anything not to drop from D1 in most cases so that's why I threw the OVC out there as an option. As for the Summit League I don't think this necessarily precludes Augustana from joining at all. If a WIU defection is imminent they're still not really in a position to be picky about membership and you know the SL school presidents would love that extra Sanford money that would be provided if Augustana is permitted to go D1.