UAFS makes athletic conference change
Sports teams at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith will compete in one of the oldest conferences in the country in Division II starting in 2024.
UAFS will join the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association with full-time membership in the 2024-25 academic year.
The MIAA CEO Council approved the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith’s (UAFS) application to join the association with full membership in the fall of 2024. MIAA is a Division II college athletic conference that dates back to the early 20th century.
UAFS has 10 sports, with men playing baseball, basketball, golf, tennis, cross-country and women in volleyball, basketball, golf, cross-country and tennis.
UAFS will soon compete against Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, Rogers State University in Claremore, and the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Oklahoma, as well as other schools in Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska in the Division II conference.
Right now, UAFS competes in the Lone Star Conference.
Mike Racy, MIAA Commissioner in Kansas City, Missouri, said, “The MIAA is excited to welcome the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith as a new member beginning next summer. As the MIAA CEOs have approved a plan for steady and strategic membership growth during the next few years, UAFS provides the MIAA with an opportunity to add an outstanding public university, with great leadership and terrific athletic facilities, in a growing community in Northwest Arkansas.”
UAFS becomes the MIAA’s first full-time member in the state of Arkansas. Harding University, Ouachita Baptist University and Southern Arkansas University ― all in Arkansas and all members of the Great American Conference (GAC) ― are current associate members of the MIAA for the sport of men’s tennis. Ouachita will also become an associate member of the MIAA for the sport of wrestling beginning with the 2023-24 season.
UAFS Athletic Director Curtis Janz said, “An athletic conference should bring like-minded institutions in a geographical area to compete and allow their student-athletes to excel academically and develop life skills, and the MIAA does that for UAFS. The geographical footprint of the MIAA allows for our student-athletes to participate academically and enhance their experience as collegiate student-athletes. Our fans can travel and support our teams on the road, just as we can welcome more fans from MIAA opponents.”
Established in 1928, UAFS is a four-year public university in Fort Smith.
Other schools in the MIAA conference include: University of Central Oklahoma, University of Central Missouri, Emporia State University, Fort Hays State University, Lincoln University, Missouri Southern State University, Missouri Western State University, University of Nebraska at Kearney, Newman University, Northeastern (Tahlequah, Oklahoma) State University, Northwest Missouri State University, Pittsburg State University, Rogers State University (Claremore, Oklahoma) and Washburn College.
UAFS became a Division II athletic institution in 2010 and has been a member of the Lone Star Conference (LSC) since July 2019. Since becoming an NCAA member, the Lions have won 13 conference championships and have had 18 NCAA postseason appearances.
Terisa Riley, UAFS chancellor said, “I am excited to begin this partnership with the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. The MIAA shares our commitment to empowering student-athletes in their pursuit of academic and athletic excellence, social growth, and personal development, and I look forward to sharing these values with our fellow MIAA conference institutions.”
“Athletics hold a special place as the front porch to our institution, bringing our campus and community together through competition and camaraderie,” she said.
“The geographic makeup of this conference will provide even more opportunities our student athletes to engage with their peers, and for their families, friends and fans to show their support at home and on the road. I have no doubt that our student-athletes will continue to shine both on and off the field, representing the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith with dedication, sportsmanship, and pride,” Riley said.
The MIAA last expanded in 2019 with the addition of the Catholic school Newman University and Rogers State University as associate members. Both institutions became full-time members to begin the 2022-23 academic year.
MID-AMERICA INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS ASSOCATION
The MIAA is one of the nation’s oldest conferences and one of the most successful in NCAA Division II. The conference dates all the way back to 1912 and now has 14 full-time members. MIAA student-athletes have won 54 NCAA Division II team championships and well over 400 individual national titles. In the classroom, hundreds of student-athletes have earned Academic All-America and All-District honors.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: UAFS joins new athletic conference
