As a Nebraska Wesleyan alum not sure how I feel about this move with all the rivalries between the Nebraska schools. Must of been due to the affiliation with Division III and not NAIA like the other GPAC schools but now they are in an all Iowa schools conference. Sick
OT: Nebraska Wesleyan joins IIAC
- Thread starter G0B1GRED_rivals16660
- Start date
Did NWU go NCAA? (Out of the loop). That's pretty cool. It's a shame they couldn't put them in the same league as Wayne State. Would be a terrific rivalry to start up.
Some sports were still NAIA and others were Division III, it was really confusing while I was there. July 1, 2016 they will be solely NCAA Division III for all sports.
http://www.kwbe.com/news/2015/07/20...yan-joining-ncaa-division-iii-for-all-sports/
"Nebraska Wesleyan currently competes in both the NAIA and as a Division III independent, the only school in the nation to do so. "
That's pretty cool. Too bad about the in state rivalries though. I went to Peru (long ago), and when we stopped playing other in state schools it wasn't the same. We were NAIA D2, so none of us had ever heard of the schools we were playing. I think it will be different for NWU. They have pretty good fan support, right?
Nebraska Wesleyan will be more competitive in NCAA D3. They will no longer have to compete with teams like Morningside and Doane who offer 24 scholarships.
They will now be on an equal playing field. Ever few seasons NWU would watch a senior laden team go 7-3 or 6-4. Those same teams will now have the chance to be 8-2 or 9-1. D3 footbal, beyond the top 7 to 8 teams in the country is below the NAIA in terms of quality and athleticsm. The Iowa Conference in particular has one elite program in Wartburg, 2 decent programs and 5 other God Awful teams that NWU would dominate every year.
The bad news for the GPAC is teams like Doane and Concordia or Hastings will be losing some historic rivals. But with only 8 conference games, I think NWU may be able to play some non con games vs Doane or Concordia.
As for Peru State, the best thing they ever did was join the HAAC. The stability it provides is something that institution has lacked for years.
The bad news for Peru State is they will face GrandView, Mid America Nazarene, Missouri Valley, Baker, Benedictine, and William Penn this season... Aka 1/4 of the NAIA Top 25... Ouch.
They will now be on an equal playing field. Ever few seasons NWU would watch a senior laden team go 7-3 or 6-4. Those same teams will now have the chance to be 8-2 or 9-1. D3 footbal, beyond the top 7 to 8 teams in the country is below the NAIA in terms of quality and athleticsm. The Iowa Conference in particular has one elite program in Wartburg, 2 decent programs and 5 other God Awful teams that NWU would dominate every year.
The bad news for the GPAC is teams like Doane and Concordia or Hastings will be losing some historic rivals. But with only 8 conference games, I think NWU may be able to play some non con games vs Doane or Concordia.
As for Peru State, the best thing they ever did was join the HAAC. The stability it provides is something that institution has lacked for years.
The bad news for Peru State is they will face GrandView, Mid America Nazarene, Missouri Valley, Baker, Benedictine, and William Penn this season... Aka 1/4 of the NAIA Top 25... Ouch.
Dang. Have a son that's an incoming freshman on the football and track team @ NWU. So much for all games being within 2 hrs.
Wayne is NCAA D2. They are the southern most school in the Northern Sun conference FWIW.
For many sports it's a top flight conference. Win it and you are a power in that sport. Glad to see some old faces coming into nebraksa.
More conference re-alignment. IIAC just added a bunch of T.V. sets for when they get that conference network going.
Maybe this start another round of schools jumping conference.
Maybe this start another round of schools jumping conference.