The_Summit_League

The Summit League

The Summit League

Data
Established	1982
Members	10
Sports fielded	19 (9 men's, 10 women's)
Region	Midwest United States
States	9 - Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah
Past names	Association of Mid-Continent Universities (AMCU) 1982-1989 Mid-Continent Conference 1989-2007
Headquarters	Elmhurst, Illinois
Commissioner	Tom Douple
Locations

The Summit League (or The Summit) is an NCAA Division I college athletic conference which operates primarily in the Midwestern United States, with outlying teams in Louisiana and Utah. On June 1, 2007, the conference changed its name from the Mid-Continent Conference.

Membership

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Joined	Nickname
Centenary College of Louisiana	Shreveport, Louisiana	1825	Private/Methodist	1,017	2003	Gentlemen and Ladies
Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne	Fort Wayne, Indiana	1917	Public	11,672	2007	Mastodons
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis	Indianapolis, Indiana	1969	Public	27,184	1998	Jaguars
University of Missouri-Kansas City	Kansas City, Missouri	1933	Public	12,704	1994	Kangaroos
North Dakota State University	Fargo, North Dakota	1890	Public	12,258	2007	Bison
Oakland University	Rochester, Michigan	1957	Public	17,737	1998	Golden Grizzlies
Oral Roberts University	Tulsa, Oklahoma	1963	Private/Christian	3,417	1997	Golden Eagles
South Dakota State University	Brookings, South Dakota	1881	Public	11,995	2007	Jackrabbits
Southern Utah University	Cedar City, Utah	1897	Public	7,509	1997	Thunderbirds and Lady Thunderbirds
Western Illinois University	Macomb, Illinois	1899	Public	13,602	1982	Fighting Leathernecks and Westerwinds

Associate members

Eastern Illinois University (November 3, 2005 - swimming and diving)

Former members

Institution	Years	Moved To
University of Akron	1990-1992	Mid-American Conference
University at Buffalo	1994-1998	Mid-American Conference
Central Connecticut State University	1994-1998	Northeast Conference
Chicago State University	1994-2006	Independent
Cleveland State University	1982-1994	Horizon League
Eastern Illinois University	1982-1996	Ohio Valley Conference
University of Illinois at Chicago	1982-1994	Horizon League
Northeastern Illinois University	1994-1998	Disbanded sports
Northern Illinois University	1990-1994	Horizon League
University of Northern Iowa	1982-1991	Missouri Valley Conference
Southwest Missouri State University	1982-1990	Missouri Valley Conference
Troy University	1994-1997	Sun Belt
University of Wisconsin-Green Bay	1982-1994	Horizon League
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee	1993-1994	Horizon League
Valparaiso University	1982-2007	Horizon League
Wright State University	1991-1994	Horizon League
Youngstown State University	1992-2001	Horizon League

History

Foundation

The conference was created in 1982 as the Association of Mid-Continent Universities (or AMCU or AMCU-8, pronounced Am-cue), which it was known as until 1989. The conference sponsored football from 1982 until 1984 at the Division II level, and current members North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Southern Utah, and Western Illinois have Division I FCS (formerly known as Division I-AA) football programs.

Horizon and ECC transitions

In 1994, founding members Cleveland State University, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay as well as new members University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Wright State University left the conference to join the Midwestern Collegiate Conference, now known as the Horizon League. That same year, the Mid-Continent absorbed Central Connecticut State University, Chicago State University, the University at Buffalo, Troy State University and Northeastern Illinois University from the collapsed East Coast Conference. None of these members remain in the conference. Missouri-Kansas City, formerly an independent, also joined the conference in 1994.

Declining membership

Eastern Illinois departed for the Ohio Valley Conference in 1996. In 1997 Troy State University departed for the Trans America Athletic Conference. In 1998 Central Connecticut State University joined the Northeast Conference and the University at Buffalo joined the Mid-American Conference. Also that same year, Northeastern Illinois ceased athletic operations. Youngstown State University switched to the Horizon League in 2001, as did founding member Valparaiso University in 2007. As of 2007, seven of the ten Horizon League members are former members of the Summit League. In spring 2006, Chicago State University announced they were withdrawing from the conference and began competition as an independent for the 2006-07 school year.

Renewed expansion

At the Mid-Continent Conference annual Presidents Council meeting in 2006, conference expansion was discussed at length, and IPFW, North Dakota State, and South Dakota State were approved for site visits. On August 30, 2006, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) accepted an invitation to join the Mid-Continent Conference as a full member starting July 1, 2007. The following day, North Dakota State University and South Dakota State University also accepted invitations to join the conference.

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:750 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1982 till:2008 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:30 left:0 bottom:50 top:5

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 width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s

 bar:1  color:orange from:1982 till:1994 text:Cleveland State University (1982-1994)

 bar:2  color:orange from:1982 till:1996 text:Eastern Illinois University (1982-1996)

 bar:3  color:orange from:1982 till:1994 text:University of Illinois at Chicago (1982-1994)

 bar:4  color:orange from:1982 till:1991 text:University of Northern Iowa (1982-1991)

 bar:5  color:orange from:1982 till:1990 text:Southwest Missouri State University (1982-1990)

 bar:6  color:orange from:1982 till:1994 text:University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (1982-1994)

 bar:7  color:orange from:1982 till:2007 text:Valparaiso University (1982-2007)

 bar:8  color:orange from:1982 till:end  text:Western Illinois University (1982-present)

 bar:9  color:orange from:1990 till:1992 text:University of Akron (1990-1992)

 bar:10 color:orange from:1990 till:1994 text:Northern Illinois University (1990-1994)

 bar:11 color:orange from:1991 till:1994 text:Wright State University (1991-1994)

 bar:12 color:orange from:1992 till:2001 text:Youngstown State University (1992-2001)

 bar:13 color:orange from:1993 till:1994 text:University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (1993-1994)

 bar:14 color:orange from:1994 till:1998 text:University at Buffalo (1994-1998)

 bar:15 color:orange from:1994 till:1998 text:Central Connecticut State University (1994-1998)

 bar:16 color:orange from:1994 till:2006 text:Chicago State University (1994-2006)

 bar:17 color:orange from:1994 till:1998 text:Northeastern Illinois University (1994-1998)

 bar:18 color:orange from:1994 till:1997 text:Troy University (1994-1997)

 bar:19 color:orange from:1994 till:end  text:University of Missouri–Kansas City (1994-present)

 bar:20 color:orange from:1997 till:end  text:Oral Roberts University (1997-present)

 bar:21 color:orange from:1997 till:end  text:Southern Utah University (1997-present)

 bar:22 color:orange from:1998 till:end  shift:(-135,-5) text:Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (1998-present)

 bar:23 color:orange from:1998 till:end  text:Oakland University (1998-present)

 bar:24 color:orange from:2003 till:end  shift:(-140,-5) text:Centenary College of Louisiana (2003-present)

 bar:2  color:red    from:2005 till:end  text:Eastern Illinois University (2005-present) ASSOCIATE MEMBER (Swim & Dive)

 bar:26 color:orange from:2007 till:end  shift:(-303,-5) text:Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (2007-present)

 bar:27 color:orange from:2007 till:end  shift:(-209,-5) text:North Dakota State University (2007-present)

 bar:28 color:orange from:2007 till:end  shift:(-209,-5) text:South Dakota State University (2007-present)

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1982

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  fontsize:L

  textcolor:black

  pos:(175,30) # tabs:(0-center)

  text:"Membership History"

Men's basketball in the NCAA tournament

Year	Team	Seed	Results
1983	none
1984	none
1985	none
1986	Cleveland State	14†	defeated Indiana defeated Saint Joseph's lost to Navy
1987	Southwest Missouri State	13	defeated Clemson lost to Kansas
1988	Southwest Missouri State	13	lost to UNLV
1989	Southwest Missouri State	14	lost to Seton Hall
1990	Southwest Missouri State	9	lost to North Carolina
1990	Northern Iowa	14	defeated Missouri lost to Minnesota
1991	Wisconsin-Green Bay	12	lost to Michigan State
1991	Northern Illinois	13†	lost to St. John's
1992	Eastern Illinois	15	lost to Indiana
1993	Wright State	16	lost to Indiana
1994	UW-Green Bay	12	defeated California lost to Syracuse
1995	none
1996	Valparaiso	14	lost to Arizona
1997	Valparaiso	12	lost to Boston College
1998	Valparaiso	13	defeated Ole Miss defeated Florida State lost to Rhode Island
1999	Valparaiso	15	lost to Maryland
2000	Valparaiso	16	lost to Michigan State
2001	Southern Utah	14	lost to Boston College
2002	Valparaiso	13	lost to Kentucky
2003	IUPUI	16	lost to Kentucky
2004	Valparaiso	15	lost to Gonzaga
2005	Oakland	16	defeated Alabama A&M‡ Lost to North Carolina
2006	Oral Roberts	16	lost to Memphis
2007	Oral Roberts	14	lost to Washington State
2008	Oral Roberts	13	lost to University of Pittsburgh

† at-large bid ‡ opening round game

Conference facilities

School	Basketball arena	Capacity	Football stadium	Capacity	Baseball stadium	Capacity	Soccer stadium	Capacity
Centenary	Gold Dome	3,000	Non-Football School		Shehee Stadium		Mayo Field	500
IPFW	Allen County War Memorial Coliseum (men) Hilliard Gates Sports Center (women)	13,000 2,800	Non-Football School		Outdoor Sports Complex		Hefner Soccer Complex	2,000
IUPUI	IUPUI Gymnasium	2,000	Non-Football School		Non-Baseball School		Carrol Stadium	12,100
UMKC	Municipal Auditorium	9,287	Non-Football School		Non-Baseball School		Bourke Field
North Dakota State	Bison Sports Arena	8,000	Fargodome	19,500	Newman Outdoor Field	4,600	Schlanser Track
Oakland	Athletics Center O'Rena	4,005	Non-Football School		OU Baseball Field	500	OU Soccer Field
Oral Roberts	Mabee Center	10,575	Non-Football School		J.L. Johnson Stadium		ORU Soccer Complex
South Dakota State	Frost Arena	8,500	Coughlin-Alumni Stadium	16,000	Bob Shelden Field		Fishback Soccer Park	1,500
Southern Utah	Centrum Arena	5,300	Eccles Coliseum	8,500	Thunderbird Park		Thunderbird Soccer Field	600
Western Illinois	Western Hall	5,139	Hanson Field	17,168	Alfred D. Boyer Stadium	500	MacKenzie Alumni Field	1,000