On the same day we learned that commissioner Jim Johnson was leaving
for Pittsburg State), the MIAA sent out a release that official
invitations to join the conference have been extended to a pair of
Oklahoma schools. The University of Central Oklahoma and Northeastern
State University are both currently members of the Lone Star Conference.
The University of Central Oklahoma, located in Edmond, offers 14 sports
(baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, women’s cross country,
football, men’s and women’s golf, women’s rowing, women’s soccer,
softball, women’s tennis, women’s volleyball, women’s track & field and
men’s wrestling). UCO has an enrollment of nearly 16,000 students.
Northeastern State University fields 10 sports (baseball, men’s and
women’s basketball, football, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s
soccer, softball and women’s tennis). NSU’s main campus is located in
Tahlequah, and the university also has two other campuses in Muskogee
and Broken Arrow. NSU has an all-campus enrollment of nearly 10,000
students.
If Central Oklahoma and Northeastern State accept the invitations to
join the MIAA, work will begin in the next few weeks on timelines and
transition issues.
The MIAA is also in the process of considering an application submitted
by Lindenwood University, which was recently approved for NCAA Division
Two status and will be leaving the Heart of America Athletic Conference.
The MIAA CEO Council voted in June to actively pursue expansion to 16
conference members.