I know there’s a few of us former MIAC athletes on here, so thought I’d post this. I went to Gustavus, and think this is a terrible look and idea for the conference. Reeks of if you can’t beat em, kick em out.
http://www.startribune.com/miac-rivals-plot-ouster-of-st-thomas/508145182/
in my 4 years we beat them more than they beat us…great rival!
Maybe they will allow the smoke and mirrors team into the league?
Reeks of if you can’t beat em, kick em out.
Totally agree. And also reeks of an attempt to stop St. Thomas from making everyone else look bad by being so good at fundraising, facilities upgrades, and coaching changes.
Love them or loathe them, St. Thomas is an absolute fundraising juggernaut. Unlike the U, all those new/upgraded buildings aren’t paid for with unlimited funds from the taxpayer’s piggy bank.
I don’t get the enrollment argument. If large enrollment made for successful sports teams, the U should be the most successful school in town as far as athletics. Everybody’s still only allowed the same number of players on the roster, doesn’t matter how big the rest of the student body is.
Grouse
The U is Public, St Thomas is Private. Thus U gets a combination of public and private funds, so I don’t think the two are comparable. I cant read the article because I have REACHED my LIMIT but I assume they are saying St Thomas has higher enrollment and thus the reason they can develop/build better and more facilities.
Although I don’t agree with the other schools stance, as a private school I can understand that the higher enrollment equates to more funds for improvements.
Everybody’s still only allowed the same number of players on the roster, doesn’t matter how big the rest of the student body is.
Same number of players on the field, MIAC schools only have a limit on players that can travel. Which is why SJU has like 200 guys on the sideline for home games. Also why UST ran up the score on away games since they only could travel 2 deep and their second string was still that much better than their opponents starters. UST’s resurgence has been great for the MIAC imo, Concordia and Bethel have done a lot more to be able to compete with them and SJU. Also, why they were able to get 37k for the Johnnie-Tommie game at Target Field, that garnered the national spotlight.
I currently attend St. John’s. If St. Thomas leaves, which two teams become the biggest MIAC rivals???? The Johnnie Tommie game is something that thousands of people come to watch. Add in the sports other than football and there becomes a lot more balanced match ups between all of the schools. I personally think it would be a bad decision to see them go.
Go Tommies!
Go Tommies!
Like go D2 or D1? Better start upping those donations Dave! 
Facility funding is not only drawn from student athlete tuition. A portion of every students tuition contributes to facility improvements, program improvement etc…
So what some are saying is new facilities give St. Thomas a advantage? If thats true why does the U still lag along being mediocre? Me thinks there must be something more.
I know there’s a few of us former MIAC athletes on here, so thought I’d post this. I went to Gustavus, and think this is a terrible look and idea for the conference. Reeks of if you can’t beat em, kick em out.
http://www.startribune.com/miac-rivals-plot-ouster-of-st-thomas/508145182/
I also went to Gustavus from 05-09 and played on BB team. That was the start of their basketball dynasty, but before that they didn’t stand out as dominant in that sport other than having random years of success and they weren’t good in football during my years there. Gustavus was the most consistently top team for basketball from the early 90’s until 2005. UST maybe have some built-in advantages from some of the other MIAC schools but things rarely stay the same and having them in the Conference makes the league more desirable overall and helps the other schools out compete athletes that would maybe go to the UMAC instead.
I think it would be a mistake to boot them out.
SJU Rat ‘78. Same thing happens in football playoffs. Mt Union and Mary Hardin are in a different stratosphere. The ND Bison are off the chain. Still the MIAC gets to the playoffs every year and goes long. I’m pleasantly surprised that some of the schools are giving the Johnnies and Tommies a run for their money. I predict a new conference football champion in the near future.
So what some are saying is new facilities give St. Thomas a advantage? If thats true why does the U still lag along being mediocre? Me thinks there must be something more.
Problems at U of MN? Start with the people hiring coaches, the board of Regents, Liberalism a muck and our climate impact the U of MN. I am sure there are more reasons. But I will start here.
In Hockey, the problems starts and stops with guys like Lou Nanne, He leverages his charitable donations and efforts on his kids and grandsons spots on the teams. The Edina Pipeline is paved by Lou. It doesn’t take much to see that young superstars will never win us a title. The players they take no use the U as a stepping stone to the next big thing. The U bows to the all mighty dollar as a result.
Meanwhile, MAankto UMD St Cloud all succeed because they recruit, and are not forced to take, kids that have a silver spoon in their mouths.
Well it’s official. What an embarrassment to the league.
http://www.twincities.com/2019/05/22/st-thomas-kicked-out-of-miac-tommies-football-university/
Wow. Just talking about it gave a bad enough look, but to actually do it just blows the mind. Your too good, goodbye.
How tough will it be for them to find a new conference? The NSIC is losing Augustana to D1 in the near future, but trying to move up to D2 in all sports might be a bad fit.
The Augsburg president said something to the effect of, “he reluctantly supports them leaving” and that they would “help them find another conference”. I am sure St. Thomas will be thankful for their “help”. What a knob.
I got the letter from the UST president via email this morning – my guess is this will be the beginning of the end for the MIAC. Either they will start to dissolve or the competition levels will be so bad no one will really care that much anymore.
I think it’s a terrible move by the MIAC and it really hurts St Johns in the long run…I think local kids want to play in that rivalry so recruiting and talent will ultimately suffer for them.
I’d like to see UST step up in divisions for the major sports. Given their resources my guess is they can compete up a level in major sports.
The primary reason cited in the star tribune is because their enrollment has swelled to more than double of any other MIAC-participating school in the conference. Simple math says that if you have more students paying enrollment, you have more revenue. I wonder if another D3 conference would accept them or if they will try to make the jump to D2. It was a majority vote by the participating schools and the majority voted in favor of them to be removed. Shoulda lobbied the other schools better!
I wonder if another D3 conference would accept them or if they will try to make the jump to D2. It was a majority vote by the participating schools and the majority voted in favor of them to be removed.
The only somewhat possible D3 conference would be the WIAC, but I highly doubt they’d want them or UST would want to go there. I’d have to think they will move up to D2 NSIC at least for a while. It was a majority vote, and unfortunately the majority of the MIAC has no interest in competing at a high level. Basically UST, SJU, GAC, Concordia and Bethel make an effort to be competitive and the rest of the MIAC could care less if they even have sports…until they lose by 60 plus continually and then they feel the need to penalize the top.
As a proud Johnnie and one that participated in several butt-kickings of the Tommies, I’m disgusted. The thing that irks me most is that the MIAC office and the presidents that voted to oust the Toms have maintained complete silence. Own up to your actions! What is this type of action teaching your students/prospective students?
I hate the Tommies, but I hope they hang triple digits on several of those schools this fall.
I think it’s a terrible move by the MIAC and it really hurts St Johns in the long run…I think local kids want to play in that rivalry so recruiting and talent will ultimately suffer for them.
I think it’s going to depend on what happens to UST. If they end up moving up a divison, it would bolster some of the better teams (SJU, Bethel) with players that might be on the scholarship bubble. When I played in the late ’90s/early ’00s, we benefitted from a number of NDSU guys that were lost in the D2 –> D1 shuffle. Also, UST was mediocre at the time, so if you wanted to win, you went to SJU or Bethel.
This is absolutely pathetic. I don’t like it one bit. Last year, we (SJU) beat UST in most big sports. That means SJU is next…
This is absolutely pathetic. I don’t like it one bit. Last year, we (SJU) beat UST in most big sports. That means SJU is next…
Not necessarily because the reason cited to remove UST was the size of their enrollment.
No, no it wasn’t, gimruis. This is directly from the MIAC press release on the topic.
Joint Statement with St. Thomas
“After extensive membership discussions, the University of St. Thomas will be involuntarily removed from membership in the
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). The MIAC Presidents’ Council cites athletic competitive parity in the conference
as a primary concern. St. Thomas will begin a multi-year transition immediately and meanwhile, is eligible to compete as a full member
of the MIAC through the end of spring 2021. St. Thomas is one of seven founding members of the MIAC and will leave the conference
in good standing with a long and appreciated history of academic and athletic success.”
This is one Johnnie who will miss the Tommies. But I figure we could play them non conference every year and still fill a stadium!
Nothing like teaching kids today that if you can’t beat them, kick them out. Don’t worry about trying to better yourself… just kick them out.
I went to UST and I’m pretty sure we lost to the Johnnies every year I was in college (about 10 years ago), and most of the games weren’t even close. Strength of sports teams ebb and flow over the years. What an embarrassing move by the MIAC to one of the MIAC’s founding schools.
No, no it wasn’t, gimruis. This is directly from the MIAC press release on the topic.
Joint Statement with St. Thomas
“After extensive membership discussions, the University of St. Thomas will be involuntarily removed from membership in the
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). The MIAC Presidents’ Council cites athletic competitive parity in the conference
as a primary concern. St. Thomas will begin a multi-year transition immediately and meanwhile, is eligible to compete as a full member
of the MIAC through the end of spring 2021. St. Thomas is one of seven founding members of the MIAC and will leave the conference
in good standing with a long and appreciated history of academic and athletic success.”
I was citing what the Star Tribune listed yesterday. Maybe they reported it incorrectly. It won’t allow me to post the link on here for it. The tribune said that their enrollment is more than double of any other school.
Yeah, some of us are more connected to the issue and have been aware of this simmering situation for quite a while.
But I figure we could play them non conference every year and still fill a stadium!
If they move up to D2 or D1, there is no way this will continue. There would be no benefit to either side.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
