University of North Dakota Joins The Summit League and Missouri Valley Football Conference

Western Illinois will welcome newest member in both conferences

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The Summit League and Missouri Valley Football Conference announced on Thursday (Jan. 26) the addition of the University of North Dakota.

Western Illinois, a founding member of both The Summit League and MVFC, will begin facing the Fighting Hawks in the 2018-19 academic year for Summit League sports and the 2020 season in football. UND will officially join the Summit League on July 1, 2018, and Missouri Valley Football Conference July 1, 2020 but will begin working immediately with the current membership on scheduling, marketing, and other conference matters.

UND will become the 10th full-time member of The Summit League and the 11th member of the MVFC.

"On behalf of Western Illinois Athletics, we welcome the University of North Dakota to the Summit League and Missouri Valley Football Conference. The addition of UND further strengthens two already competitive leagues. As a proud charter member of each conference, we look forward to a welcoming the Fighting Hawks to Macomb, effective with the 2018-19 season," said Western Illinois Athletic Director Matt Tanney.

North Dakota's Summit League membership will take effect on July 1, 2018. The Fighting Hawks, who compete in men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, women's soccer, softball, men's and women's swimming and diving, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field, men's and women's tennis, volleyball, will be immediately eligible for all Summit League Championships during the 2018-19 season. UND will begin competition in football in 2020.

"On behalf of the President's Council, I am pleased to announce the University of North Dakota as the newest member of The Summit League," said commissioner Tom Douple. "The university has a strong academic reputation and a history of successful athletics, which makes it a tremendous addition and fit for our league. This addition of UND clearly strengthens the quality and depth of The Summit League's membership."

"This is an important move for UND Athletics and for our fans," University of North Dakota President Mark Kennedy said. "We are excited to renew long-treasured rivalries in joining many of our former conference companions in The Summit League. We look forward to competitions that are closer to home, which will allow our fans to attend more away games, and we look forward to hosting our long-time rivals and their fans in Grand Forks."

North Dakota is the first institution to join the Missouri Valley Football Conference since South Dakota on July 1, 2012. UND has spent the last five years in the Big Sky Conference for football. During the NCAA Division I reclassification UND competed in the Great West Conference. Prior to that, UND had been a charter member of the now-defunct North Central Conference since 1922. The MVFC has had great success in recent years, earning a total of 14 bids to the NCAA Division I Football Championship in the past three seasons, and a league team has represented the MVFC in the national championship game in each of the past six seasons (North Dakota State in 2011, 12, 13, 14, 15; Illinois State in 2014; and Youngstown State in 2016).

"The addition of the University of North Dakota to the Missouri Valley Football Conference in 2020 will complete the league's FCS footprint in the Midwest," said MVFC Commissioner Patty Viverito. "This also will re-establish long-standing football rivalries in the Dakotas and open the way for equally satisfying new rivalries throughout the league. Most importantly, UND brings yet another nationally competitive program to the MVFC which is already, arguably, the strongest FCS conference."

"This is an important day for UND Athletics and the University as we announce new athletic conference affiliations," said UND Athletics Director Brian Faison. "The Summit League is a great fit for North Dakota geographically and competitively. Our fans are going to enjoy having past rivalries renewed, now in a league setting. And, the league will have a positive financial impact on the athletics department."

Founded in 1883, the University of North Dakota has an enrollment of 14,951 and 243 fields of study, including internationally recognized programs in aviation, aerospace and unmanned aircraft systems. The Grand Forks, N.D.-based institution has undergraduate degrees in 91 fields of study and offers 55 master's and more than 35 doctoral programs.

Information used from The Summit League and Missouri Valley Football Conference

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