The newest member of the Summit League: The University of St. Thomas
The Summit League has grown to 10 after the addition of Kansas City last year and St. Thomas for this year.
The St. Thomas Tommies are making a jump from NCAA Division III to Division I after being voted out of their Division III conference for competitive balance. The university had to make a special application request to reclassify in Division I as no other school has been allowed to make the jump in the past.
A majority of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference presidents made the move to remove the Tommies from the conference. St. Thomas was able to waive the 12-year reclassification process to move from Division III to Division I, and the Summit League reached out to the school.
The Tommies were approved for the move to Division I and shortly after, received a bid to join the Summit League. The Summit League is home to USD, SDSU, NDSU, UND, St. Thomas and five other Division I colleges. The conference headquarters is in Sioux Falls. St. Thomas also became the second school in Minnesota to become Division I, joining the Big10’s Minnesota.
The Coyotes and Tommies will compete against each other in 14 school sponsored sports. Since the Summit League doesn’t have football as one of its’ sponsored sports, St. Thomas joined the Pioneer League, while USD competes in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
The Coyotes will get to see the Tommies for the first time Oct. 1, when the women’s soccer teams face off at First Bank and Trust Field in Vermillion.
The Volleyball program’s home game with St. Thomas was moved from Vermillion to Sioux Falls, as the two squads will play at the Sanford Pentagon Oct. 7. The Coyotes will make the trip to the twin cities Nov. 6 to take on the Tommies.
The men’s and women’s basketball teams will face St. Thomas for the first time Jan. 22, with the women’s game in Vermillion and the men’s game at St. Thomas. The two will flip on Feb. 17.
The Tommies are competing in their first year as a Division I program after years of success in Division III, and St. Thomas will be looking to make an impact right away.
