The 13 MIAC university presidents will consider whether to expel St. Thomas from the conference on April 18, with a final vote scheduled for May.
MIAC rivals complain about the university’s relatively larger enrollment and athletic success. With 6,200 undergraduate students, its size is nearly double St. Olaf, the next largest school. Currently St. Thomas sits tenth in the Learfield IMG Director’s Cup, a ranking of all Division III athletic teams’ finishes in the country. The next MIAC school is Carleton at No. 50.
To expel St. Thomas, the MIAC schools must vote to change the conference bylaws. In the current bylaws, the only basis for expulsion would be for unethical or illegal behavior, which are not alleged. Augsburg, Hamline, St. Olaf and Carleton are pressuring Bethel, Concordia and Gustavus, which have strong football programs, to support St. Thomas’ removal. Nine votes are required.
If the MIAC successfully expels St. Thomas, the Star Tribune reported that Macalester would return to the MIAC for football. The Tommies’ first season in a new conference would be the 2021 season, one year after the 100th anniversary of the founding of the MIAC by St. Thomas, St. John’s, Hamline, Macalester and Gustavus Adolphus.
In basketball, the NCAA men’s Final Four tournament took place Saturday, April 6 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The college basketball season will end Monday night with two defensive-minded teams battling to become a first-time champion.
Texas Tech entered the national semifinals by allowing just 84 points per 100 possessions, a defensive efficiency score on KenPom that ranks as the best the advanced-stats site has tracked dating to 2002.
Virginia arrived ranked fifth nationally by surrendering 88.7 points per 100 possessions, a metric that factors out Virginia’s slower offensive pace and offers a better measure of performance than scoring averages depressed by low-possession games.
Both defenses were strong in the second half of their semifinals. Texas Tech allowed Michigan State to make 8 of 24 shots, while Auburn made just 9 of 26 shots against Virginia.
It will also be a matchup of the past two associated press men’s national coaches of the year, with Texas Tech’s Chris Beard winning this year’s award and Virginia’s Tony Bennett claiming it last season.
Mackenzie Bailey can be reached at bail7757@stthomas.edu.