Home sweet Mid-Con
The upcoming 2007-08 season will have a consistent look for the first time in four years.
The same schools will be facing off against the Bison now that NDSU starts play in the Mid-Continent Conference; the first time NDSU has had the luxury since membership in the North Central Conference of Division II in 2003.
Local rivalries with schools like UND and St. Cloud State are no longer running.
With several marquee wins and a move to Division I, the Bison will now have conference rivals a bit further from home.
Now NDSU will square off with the likes of Oral Roberts, Western Illinois and, of course, South Dakota State.
The Mid-Con membership will complete the Division I process that was five years in the making for the university and administration.
“We are looking forward to very competitive athletic events in the Mid-Con for years to come,” women’s athletic director Lynn Dorn said.
NDSU will bring instant credibility and stability to the Mid-Continent conference, which has seen teams come and go over the past few years.
Along with the Bison, SDSU and Indiana Purdue-Fort Wayne will also be joining the geographically expanding conference, which includes schools in Tulsa, Okla. and Michigan.
The Mid-Con allows NDSU the chance for an automatic bid in national postseason play in all sports beginning in 2008.
Many of the Bison coaches are looking forward to playing in a conference against more formidable opponents consistently.
“We are really looking forward to developing rivalries and getting to play healthy competition,” men’s basketball head coach Saul Phillips said.
The Mid-Con will be host to all athletic events except football.
Bison football will be changing its competition also, with admittance to the Gateway football conference beginning in the 2008 season.
The Gateway Conference’s admittance of NDSU and SDSU in 2008 will bring the strongest competition of football in Division I-Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA), with five Gateway members ranked in the top 25 in most postseason polls in 2006.
NDSU will be competing in their last year of Great West conference football this season.
“NDSU is really pleased with the level of competition all athletic teams will be facing in the future and look forward to strong support from our fans and students with our new conference affiliations,” Dorn said.