Rockhurst Sentinel

The game between Rockhurst and Central Missouri at the Sprint Center on Nov. 22 may have been more than an exhibition.

It may have been a preview.

Officials from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association will be on campus Dec. 11 to consider Rockhurst University for inclusion in the conference. The MIAA is a Division-II conference consisting of 11 universities from Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska. The close proximity of the schools in the conference to Kansas City was one of the main appeals to Rockhurst.

"Geography is a main factor in this decision for us," said Richard Konzem, athletic director at Rockhurst. "Joining the MIAA will significantly reduce team travel time."

Rockhurst is currently a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference, consisting of teams from Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and Wisconsin. In the GLVC, RU teams average 400-mile trips to games. If accepted into the MIAA, travel could be reduced to 100 miles as Rockhurst is located in the geographical center of the conference.

Shorter trips also mean fewer absences from the classroom for athletes. Student athletes at Rockhurst earned a cumulative 3.3 GPA last year, but a change of conference should help lessen their independent study load.

Closer proximity could also breed greater fan interest and rivalries for Rockhurst. Travel between schools would also be easier trips for families and students eager to support the Hawks. These same factors could lead to greater recruitment of Kansas City-area student athletes.

Joining the MIAA will bring some complications as well. The MIAA does not include men's soccer as a conference sport. This will force the men's team to become independent, creating challenges in scheduling. The team would likely continue playing several GLVC teams but may need to travel to Texas as well for additional games.

Replacing soccer in the MIAA is football, a sport Rockhurst has not held since 1949. Exploring a return to football if accepted to the MIAA is a possibility but has never progressed beyond the discussion phase.

"Money would obviously be the first obstacle, but we would also have to answer the question of 'where?' There currently is no feasible place to build the necessary facilities," explained Konzem.

Adding football would require the addition of another girls sport. Another avenue that could be explored is adding track and field, also an MIAA sport.

Konzem and the athletic department began the application process in October 2007. After presenting their plans to several groups on campus and receiving nearly unanimous support, they formally applied to acceptance in the MIAA this past spring. Lincoln University is also applying for inclusion.

MIAA officials will discuss both schools at their NCAA meetings in January. They are expected to make their decision in May. If they approve Rockhurst's application, it will be passed on to approval from the conference university presidents. If it passes through each vote, Rockhurst could be playing in the MIAA in the fall of 2010.

The conference won't be a complete surprise to the Hawks as they have played many teams, like Central Missouri, in nonconference matches.

"Our record across sports in past games against MIAA teams is nearly 50-50. We feel our teams will be competitive in this conference, as they have been for the past four years in the GLVC," said Konzem.

Current universities in the MIAA include Central Missouri, Emporia State University, Fort Hays State University, Missouri Southern State University, Missouri Western State University, University of Nebraska-Omaha, Northwest Missouri State University, Pittsburg State University, Southwest Baptist University, Truman State University and Washburn University.

The MIAA will expand to Kansas City even if they vote against Rockhurst. The conference plans to move its championships to neutral sites across K.C. in the coming years.

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