 | |
| Formerly | Association of Mid-Continent Universities (1982–1989) Mid-Continent Conference (1989–2007) |
|---|---|
| Association | NCAA |
| Founded | June 18, 1982; 42 years ago (1982-06-18)[1] |
| Commissioner | Josh Fenton[2] (since 2021) |
| Sports fielded |
|
| Division | Division I |
| Subdivision | non-football |
| No. of teams | 9 full (7 associates) |
| Headquarters | Sioux Falls, South Dakota |
| Region | |
| Official website | thesummitleague |
| Locations | |
 | |
TheSummit League, orThe Summit, is anNCAA Division I intercollegiateathletic conference with its membership mostly located in theMidwestern United States, from Minnesota in the east, to the Dakotas, Nebraska and Colorado to the West, and Missouri and Oklahoma to the South. Founded as theAssociation of Mid-Continent Universities in 1982,[1] it rebranded as theMid-Continent Conference in 1989,[3] then again as the Summit League on June 1, 2007.[4] The league headquarters are inSioux Falls, South Dakota.
The membership currently consists of nine full members plus seven associate members. The most recent change in the core conference membership is the 2021 arrival of theUniversity of St. Thomas, which began an unprecedented transition fromNCAA Division III to Division I.[5] A year earlier, theUniversity of Missouri–Kansas City returned as a full member after a seven-year absence with the new athletic identity of the Kansas City Roos,[6] whilePurdue University Fort Wayne left for theHorizon League.[7] A total of 32 schools have been full members; the last charter member remaining in the league,Western Illinois University, left for theOhio Valley Conference on July 1, 2023 in most sports, with men's soccer playing one more season before leaving at the conclusion of the fall 2023 season.[8]
full member
affiliate memberThe conference can trace its roots back to 1978, when theMid-Continent Athletic Association was founded as a football-only conference playing inDivision II at the time.[9] Its inaugural members were theUniversity of Akron,Eastern Illinois University,University of Northern Iowa,Northern Michigan University,Western Illinois University, andYoungstown State University;Wayne State University had also expressed interest in joining, but ultimately never did.[10] Akron left after the 1979 season, while Northern Michigan and Youngstown State left the following year; they were replaced by Southwest Missouri State (now known asMissouri State University) in 1981. The 1981 season also saw the conference as a whole move from Division II to Division I-AA; this would be the conference's final season under the name of the Mid-Continent Athletic Association.
The new association was officially created on June 18, 1982, at the O'Hare Hilton Hotel in Chicago, Illinois[1] as theAssociation of Mid-Continent Universities (orAMCU orAMCU-8, pronounced Am-cue), which it was known as until 1989.[11] Covering all men's sports now in addition to football, the new conference consisted of current MCAA members Eastern Illinois, Northern Iowa, Southwest Missouri State, and Western Illinois, along with non-football sponsoringCleveland State University,University of Illinois Chicago,Valparaiso University andUniversity of Wisconsin–Green Bay. The conference continued to sponsorfootball at the Division I-AA level, now under the new AMCU name, from 1982 until 1984, when the football sponsoring members of theMissouri Valley Conference joined with the football sponsoring members of the AMCU to form the beginnings of what is now theMissouri Valley Football Conference; current membersUniversity of North Dakota,North Dakota State University,University of South Dakota, andSouth Dakota State University continue to house their FCS football programs there to this day.
The conference saw its first changes in the early 1990s.Southwest Missouri State departed for membership in theMissouri Valley Conference as theUniversity of Akron andNorthern Illinois University joined in 1990. ThenWright State University joined in 1991 as Northern Iowa followed Southwest Missouri State to the MVC.
Major changes came to the conference in 1992. First, Akron left for theMid-American Conference (MAC) and another Ohio school,Youngstown State University, replaced it. More significantly, the Mid-Continent added women's sports by absorbing theNorth Star Conference (NSC), a women's-only league whose final seven members were in the Mid-Continent. All of the final NSC members except for Akron moved their women's sports into the Mid-Continent. At the same time, Eastern Illinois and Western Illinois moved their women's sports into the Mid-Continent when their former women's sports home, theGateway Conference, merged into the Missouri Valley Conference. TheUniversity of Wisconsin–Milwaukee joined the Mid-Continent a year later.
In 1994, charter members Cleveland State, UIC and UWGB, as well as newer members Northern Illinois, Wisconsin–Milwaukee, and Wright State left the conference to join the Midwestern Collegiate Conference, now known as theHorizon League.
The Mid-Continent absorbedCentral Connecticut State University,Chicago State University,Northeastern Illinois University, theUniversity at Buffalo, and Troy State University (nowTroy University) from the collapsedEast Coast Conference in response. None of these institutions remain in the league.
TheUniversity of Missouri–Kansas City, formerly an independent, also joined the Mid-Continent Conference in 1994.
Eastern Illinois moved to theOhio Valley Conference in 1996, reducing membership to nine programs. Troy State departed for theTrans America Athletic Conference while Central Connecticut State joined theNortheast Conference in 1997. Buffalo joined theMid-American Conference in 1998 while Northeastern Illinois ceased intercollegiate athletics at that time.Oral Roberts University andSouthern Utah University replaced the former pair whileIndiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI; its athletic program is now IU Indy) andOakland University moved into the latter duo's spots a year later.
Youngstown State switched to the Horizon League in 2001, andCentenary College replaced it in 2003. Chicago State University announced in the spring of 2006 that it would withdraw from the conference to compete as anindependent starting in the 2006–07 school year. Charter member Valparaiso then moved to the Horizon in 2007.
Conference expansion was discussed at length at the Mid-Continent Conference annual Presidents Council meeting in 2006, andIndiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW, now Purdue Fort Wayne),North Dakota State, andSouth Dakota State were approved for site visits. On August 30, 2006, IPFW accepted an invitation to join the Mid-Continent Conference as a full member starting July 1, 2007.[12] Both North Dakota State and South Dakota State also accepted invitations to join the conference the next day.[13][14]
The Summit League continued its renewed expansion push with the admission of theUniversity of South Dakota. The Coyotes began conference play in the 2011–12 academic year and become eligible for all championships the following season.[15] Centenary College subsequently announced that it would leave the Summit League following the 2010–2011 campaign.[16]
TheUniversity of North Dakota had also been openly rumored to have been courted by the Summit League, butcontroversy over the Fighting Sioux nickname in all likelihood prevented UND's admission at that time. Expectations that UND would join the Summit League came to an end on November 1, 2010, when North Dakota instead accepted an invitation to join the Big Sky Conference. The University of South Dakota entered into very brief negotiations to join the Big Sky as well, rather than continuing their plans to join the Summit. However, South Dakota chose instead to remain with the more compact Summit League (along with other Dakota schools, NDSU and SDSU). As theUniversity of Nebraska Omaha began the transition to Division I athletics in all sports, it joined the Summit League on July 1, 2012. With the departures of Centenary to Division III at the end of the 2010–11 athletic year, and Oral Roberts (Southland Conference) and Southern Utah (Big Sky Conference) for other Division I conferences at the end of the 2011–12 athletic year, the Summit League continued with nine institutions, all within the Midwest geographical region.[17]
The conference unveiled theUniversity of Denver (DU) as its tenth member on November 27, 2012, and thePioneers joined in July 2013.[18] While Denver is slightly outside The Summit's current Midwestern base, the city's status as a major air hub seemingly minimized travel issues for the other members.[18] With Denver among the eight of tenWestern Athletic Conference (WAC) members switching to other conferences, that league searched for new members. UMKC announced on February 7, 2013, that it would be one of six schools joining the WAC for the 2013–14 season,[19] dropping The Summit League back to nine member schools. Membership fell to eight schools on May 7, 2013, when Oakland announced that it was joining the Horizon League.[20] Eight of the nine then-current Horizon League programs were former Summit League members with Oakland's move (the Horizon has since added two more members that were never in The Summit League,Northern Kentucky andRobert Morris, as well as another former Summit member in Purdue Fort Wayne).
In December 2013, The Summit League office announced thatOral Roberts University would return to the conference in all sports, effective July 1, 2014.[21]
The next changes to the conference's core membership were announced in 2017. First, on January 26, North Dakota, which had resolvedits controversy by selecting the new nickname Fighting Hawks, unveiled as a new member beginning in 2018.[22] Then, on June 28, IUPUI announced it would leave the conference to join the Horizon League effective July 1, 2017.[23]
For much of 2018, speculation involving further league expansion focused onAugustana University, a Division II school located in the Summit's headquarters city of Sioux Falls. Many of the school'sboosters have ties toSanford Health, a hospital company that has long been a major league sponsor and also owns the office complex that houses the league headquarters.[24][25] The university announced on December 14 that it would start a transition to Division I, though stating at the time that no such move would take place until at least 2021.[26] However, on May 22, 2020, the Summit League commissioner, Tom Douple, informed Augustana presidentStephanie Herseth Sandlin that the conference would not be adding more new teams "at this time."[27] The conference expanded anyway, announcing in June 2019 that UMKC would return in 2020 after a seven-year absence.[28] However, shortly thereafter, Purdue Fort Wayne announced its 2020 departure for the Horizon League, maintaining the full-time conference membership at nine schools.[7] Then, on October 4, 2019, theUniversity of St. Thomas, a Minnesota school that was set to be expelled from its longtime athletic home of theNCAA Division IIIMinnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) in 2021, announced that it received an invitation to join the Summit upon its MIAC departure.[29] St. Thomas eventually received a waiver of an NCAA rule mandating that Division III schools can only transition to Division II, allowing the school to move directly to D-I on the originally announced schedule.[30]
Shortly before St. Thomas' future conference membership was confirmed, theUniversity of Northern Colorado was announced as a baseball-only member effective in 2021–22.[31] The most recent change to the affiliate membership was announced on May 11, 2022, whenLindenwood University and theUniversity of Southern Indiana were announced as new affiliates in men's soccer plus men's and women's swimming & diving effective in 2022–23. Both institutions began transitions from Division II as new members of theOhio Valley Conference (OVC), which at the time did not sponsor any of these schools' Summit League sports, in July 2022. Southern Indiana started its swimming & diving program for both sexes in 2022–23.[32] In late March 2023, the OVC announced that it would begin sponsoring men's soccer that fall, leading toEastern Illinois, Lindenwood, and Southern Indiana moving that sport to their full-time home.[33] Eastern Illinois and Southern Indiana remain swimming & diving affiliates, while Lindenwood dropped both of its swimming & diving programs after the 2023–24 season.
In early May 2023, it was announced that founding memberWestern Illinois would be leaving the Summit League in all sports and would join theOhio Valley Conference beginning in fall 2023.[34] In mid-June, Western Illinois announced that its men's soccer team would remain in the Summit League for the fall 2023 season, and depart for the OVC after that.[35]
On April 4, 2024, both entities announced thatDelaware would be joining the conference as an associate member in men's soccer starting in 2025.[36]
On May 7, 2024, the league announced thatNorthern Colorado, who is also an affiliate in baseball, andWeber State would be joining the league for men's golf starting in the fall of 2024.[37]
On December 23, 2024, the league announced thatUMass would be joining the conference as an affiliate in men's soccer starting in the 2025 season.[38]
| Institution | Location | Founded | Joined | Type | Enrollment | Endowment[39] | Nickname | Colors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Denver | Denver, Colorado | 1864 | 2013 | Private | 14,130 | $900,300,000 | Pioneers | |
| University of Missouri–Kansas City | Kansas City, Missouri | 1933 | 1994; 2020[a] | Public | 16,017 | $152,800,000 | Roos[b] | |
| University of Nebraska Omaha | Omaha, Nebraska | 1908 | 2012 | Public | 15,328 | $110,000,000 | Mavericks | |
| University of North Dakota | Grand Forks, North Dakota | 1883 | 2018 | Public | 15,019 | $422,100,000 | Fighting Hawks | |
| North Dakota State University | Fargo, North Dakota | 1890 | 2007 | Public | 11,952 | $457,000,000 | Bison | |
| Oral Roberts University | Tulsa, Oklahoma | 1963 | 1997; 2014[c] | Private | 5,051 | $45,000,000 | Golden Eagles | |
| University of St. Thomas | Saint Paul, Minnesota | 1885 | 2021[5] | Private (Catholic) | 9,347 | $653,300,000 | Tommies | |
| University of South Dakota | Vermillion, South Dakota | 1862 | 2011 | Public | 10,619 | $328,500,000 | Coyotes | |
| South Dakota State University | Brookings, South Dakota | 1881 | 2007 | Public | 12,065 | $213,000,000 | Jackrabbits |
| Institution | Location | Founded | Joined | Type | Enrollment | Nickname | Primary conference | Summit sport(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drake University | Des Moines, Iowa | 1881 | 2017 | Private | 4,875 | Bulldogs | MVC | Men's tennis[40] |
| Eastern Illinois University | Charleston, Illinois | 1895 | 2005 | Public | 8,608 | Panthers | OVC | Swimming & diving[41] |
| Illinois State University | Normal, Illinois | 1857 | 2017 | Public | 20,233 | Redbirds | MVC | Men's tennis[40] |
| University of Northern Colorado | Greeley, Colorado | 1889 | 2021 | Public | 10,348 | Bears | Big Sky | Baseball[31] |
| 2024 | Men's golf[37] | |||||||
| University of Southern Indiana | Evansville, Indiana[a] | 1965 | 2022 | Public | 7,938 | Screaming Eagles | OVC | Swimming & diving |
| Weber State University | Ogden, Utah | 1889 | 2024 | Public | 29,914 | Wildcats | Big Sky | Men's golf[37] |
| Institution | Location | Founded | Joining | Type | Enrollment | Nickname | Primary conference | Summit sport(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Delaware | Newark, Delaware | 1743 | 2025 | Public[a] | 23,774[42] | Blue Hens | CAA (CUSA in 2025) | Men's soccer[43] |
| University of Massachusetts Amherst | Amherst, Massachusetts | 1863 | 2025 | Public | 28,635 | Minutemen | Atlantic 10 (MAC in 2025) | Men's soccer[38] |
All institutional names and nicknames used reflect those in the final school year of conference membership.
The Summit League has 23 former members.
Full membersFull members (non-football)Associate members (football only)Associate member (baseball, men's soccer, softball, swimming and diving, or men's tennis)Other ConferenceOther Conference
The Summit League sponsors championship competition in nine men's and ten women's NCAA sanctioned sports.[48] Former full memberEastern Illinois is an associate member for men's and women's swimming and diving and men's soccer.Drake andIllinois State became associate members in men's tennis starting in 2017–18, and former full memberValparaiso rejoined for men's swimming and men's tennis at the same time. Valparaiso dropped men's tennis after the 2019–20 season; it remained a swimming associate until moving that sport to theMid-American Conference in 2021.Northern Colorado became a baseball associate starting in the 2022 season (2021–22 school year), andLindenwood andSouthern Indiana became associates in men's soccer plus men's and women's swimming & diving in the 2022–23 school year. Eastern Illinois, Lindenwood, and Southern Indiana moved men's soccer to their primary home of the Ohio Valley Conference in 2023–24 while remaining Summit affiliates in swimming & diving.Western Illinois elected to leave the league full time in 2023, but its men's soccer team remained in the Summit through the fall 2023 season.
| Sport | Men's | Women's |
|---|---|---|
| Baseball | 6 | – |
| Basketball | 9 | 9 |
| Cross country | 7 | 8 |
| Golf | 11 | 9 |
| Soccer | 5(7 in 2025) | 9 |
| Softball | – | 7 |
| Swimming anddiving | 8 | 8 |
| Tennis | 8 | 8 |
| Track and field (indoor) | 7 | 8 |
| Track and field (outdoor) | 7 | 8 |
| Volleyball | – | 9 |
| School | Baseball | Basketball | Cross country | Golf | Soccer | Swimming & diving | Tennis | Indoor Track & field | Outdoor Track & field | Total Summit League sports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | 5 |
| Kansas City | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 7 |
| North Dakota | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 6 |
| North Dakota State | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | 6 |
| Omaha | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | 6 |
| Oral Roberts | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8 |
| St. Thomas | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | 8 |
| South Dakota | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | 6 |
| South Dakota State | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | 7 |
| Associate members | ||||||||||
| Drake | Yes | 1 | ||||||||
| Eastern Illinois | Yes | 1 | ||||||||
| Illinois State | Yes | 1 | ||||||||
| Northern Colorado | Yes | Yes | 2 | |||||||
| Southern Indiana | Yes | 1 | ||||||||
| Weber State | Yes | 1 | ||||||||
| Future member | ||||||||||
| Delawarein 2025 | Yes | 1 | ||||||||
| UMassin 2025 | Yes | 1 | ||||||||
| Totals | 6 | 9 | 7 | 11 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 70 |
Men's varsity sports not sponsored by The Summit League which are played by member schools:
| School | Football | Ice hockey | Lacrosse | Skiing | Wrestling |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver | — | NCHC | Big East | RMISA | — |
| North Dakota | MVFC | NCHC | — | — | — |
| North Dakota State | MVFC | — | — | — | Big 12 |
| Omaha | — | NCHC | — | — | — |
| St. Thomas | Pioneer | CCHA[a] | — | — | — |
| South Dakota | MVFC | — | — | — | — |
| South Dakota State | MVFC | — | — | — | Big 12 |
| School | Basketball | Cross country | Golf | Soccer | Softball | Swimming & diving | Tennis | Indoor track & field | Outdoor track & field | Volleyball | Total Summit League sports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | 6 |
| Kansas City | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9 |
| North Dakota | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9 |
| North Dakota State | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8 |
| Omaha | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 10 |
| Oral Roberts | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8 |
| St. Thomas | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 10 |
| South Dakota | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 10 |
| South Dakota State | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9 |
| Associate members | |||||||||||
| Eastern Illinois | Yes | 1 | |||||||||
| Southern Indiana | Yes | 1 | |||||||||
| Totals | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 84 |
Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Summit League which are played by member schools:
| School | Equestrian | Gymnastics | Ice hockey | Lacrosse | Skiing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver | — | Big 12 | — | Big East | RMISA |
| St. Thomas | — | — | WCHA | — | — |
| South Dakota State | United Equestrian Conference & National Collegiate Equestrian Association | — | — | — | — |
*At-large bid
**First Four game
| School | Conference | Tournament | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Titles | Last title | Titles | Last title | |
| Valparaiso | 9 | 2003–04 | 8 | 2004 |
| South Dakota State | 9 | 2023–24 | 7 | 2024 |
| Oral Roberts | 7 | 2022–23 | 5 | 2023 |
| Missouri State | 4 | 1989–90 | 2 | 1989 |
| North Dakota State | 4 | 2019–20 | 5 | 2020 |
| Oakland | 3 | 2010–11 | 3 | 2011 |
| Cleveland State | 3 | 1992–93 | 1 | 1986 |
| Western Illinois | 2 | 2012–13 | 1 | 1984 |
| Green Bay | 2 | 1993–94 | 2 | 1994 |
| Purdue Fort Wayne | 1 | 2015–16 | 0 | N/A |
| South Dakota | 1 | 2016–17 | 0 | N/A |
| IUPUI | 1 | 2005–06 | 1 | 2003 |
| Illinois-Chicago | 1 | 1983–84 | 0 | N/A |
| Northern Illinois | 1 | 1990–91 | 0 | N/A |
| Omaha | 1 | 2024–25 | 1 | 2025 |
| Southern Utah | 1 | 2000–01 | 1 | 2001 |
| Eastern Illinois | 0 | N/A | 2 | 1992 |
| Wright State | 0 | N/A | 1 | 1993 |
| Northern Iowa | 0 | N/A | 1 | 1990 |
Italics indicate a school no longer a part of the Summit League.
| School | Conference | Tournament | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Titles | Last title | Titles | Last title | |
| South Dakota State | 11 | 2024–25 | 12 | 2025 |
| Western Illinois | 6 | 2016–17 | 2 | 2017 |
| Youngstown State | 5 | 1998–99 | 3 | 2000 |
| South Dakota | 5 | 2021–22 | 4 | 2022 |
| Oakland | 3 | 2006–07 | 2 | 2006 |
| Northern Illinois | 2 | 1993–94 | 1 | 1993 |
| Valparaiso | 2 | 2001–02 | 2 | 2004 |
| Oral Roberts | 2 | 2010–11 | 5 | 2008 |
| Buffalo | 1 | 1994–95 | 0 | N/A |
| Troy | 1 | 1996–97 | 1 | 1997 |
| Green Bay | 0 | N/A | 1 | 1994 |
Italics indicate a school no longer a part of the Summit League.
Future members in gray
On August 10, 2023, the Summit League announced the signing of a new three-year media rights deal that would tie the league withCBS Sports Network and even closer ties withMidco Sports through the 2025–26 academic year.[60][61] The new deal transfers the Summit League's men's/women's basketball championship game rights over to CBS Sports Network fromESPN, and adds a guaranteed six regular-season men's basketball games on the network with an option of six more men's or women's basketball games during the season. For the 2024 tournament, CBS Sports Network will also broadcast the women's basketball tournament semifinal. In 2025 and 2026 there will remain an option to have the men's and women's tournaments semifinals on CBS Sports Network if scheduling allows.
The Midco contract will now expand to the creation of a new all-league media platform calledThe Summit League Network. It will provide access to all nine member institutions' live streams of every home game, both non-conference and in-conference, as well as interviews and other league info. This expansion will preserve the local media rights given out at select institutions, as the provider for the university will supply Midco with that broadcast/live stream to be simulcast on the Summit League Network.
