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MIAC Announces Member Additions, Football Changes For 2021

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) will look a little different in 2021.

On Wednesday, the conference announced that the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth will be joining the MIAC as a full member next year. In addition, Macalster College Football is returning to the MIAC in 2021.

The conference is also adopting a 10-team, 2-division format in 2021; the top teams in each division will play at season's end for the NCAA Playoffs auto-qualifier.

MIAC Commissioner Dan McKane said that it felt like the right time to move to the new 2-division format.

In the fall of 2019, St. Thomas made the move from the Division III MIAC league to the Division I Summit League, leaving an opening for another team to join the MIAC.

McKane said the reasoning behind the two-division format was to achieve greater parity in competition; currently, football is the only sport without a playoff.

The divisions, called Northwoods and Skyline, were determined with the parity in mind.

As it is, the playoff game will happen on campus, but they're open to exploring other sites such as U.S. Bank Stadium and Allianz field, since they know a MIAC football game has the potential to draw large attendance.

This is a developing story, please check back for updates.

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