MIAC fires St. Thomas

The talk was not bluster. The MIAC went and did the thing; St. Thomas has been kicked out of the conference it helped found nearly 100 years ago.

The Tommies, who were tersely and writerly “involuntarily removed” from the MIAC, have until the end of Spring 2021 to transition away from the league.

The MIAC release regarding today’s ouster comprises a fewer number of words than the number of years St. Thomas was in the conference. The entirety of the release:

After extensive membership discussions, the University of St. Thomas will be involuntarily removed from membership in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). The MIAC Presidents’ Council cites athletic competitive parity in the conference as a primary concern. St. Thomas will begin a multi-year transition immediately and meanwhile is eligible to compete as a full member of the MIAC through the end of spring 2021.

St. Thomas is one of seven founding members of the MIAC and will leave the conference in good standing with a long and appreciated history of academic and athletic success.

Woah. Pick your favorite website for the latest on this long-discussed possibility that today became a reality. The takes are coming in at a brisk pace across the spectrum of opinions regarding this development, which is a thing that actually happened.

-Ricky Nelson

North Park appears to shed Sopocy’s interim tag

Michael Sopocy, who had been listed as North Park’s interim coach since Natalie Dietz stepped down in January, no longer has a qualifying label preceding his head coach position on the Vikings website.

I did not see a release, but I take the website edits as an announcement. Sopocy is also NPU’s head men’s volleyball coach.

-Ricky Nelson