FARGO, North Dakota Representatives from at least six Division I wrestling schools are working on a new conference.
North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Northern Iowa, Utah Valley State, Northern Colorado and Wyoming are expected to send representatives to the Fargodome on Thursday. Fresno State (Calif.) and Air Force Academy also have indicated a commitment.
“We want to get it up and running in some form by next year,” Northern Colorado head coach Jack Maughan said.
Maughan said the schools will discuss conference affiliation, a target starting date and NCAA Division I tournament automatic qualifiers.
The proposed new league “which does not yet have a name “has been approached by the five wrestling schools in the Big 12 Conference about a possible merger.
The Big 12 has 36 automatic qualifiers among Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, would like more.
“If we pair up with them, we would get like 80 to 85 and that would be an advantage for everybody,” Maughan said. “The bad thing is, you’re wrestling five of the best schools in the country. The good thing is you’re wrestling five of the best schools in the country.”
An affiliation with five elite college programs could help with recruiting.
The Thursday meeting will be the fourth between prospective league members. They last met at the Division I Championships in March.
All nine schools are wrestling independents. Maughan said six schools are committed for next season and the other three would join when former Division II schools NDSU, UNC and SDSU become eligible for the Division I tournament in 2006-07. Utah Valley, which is making the jump from junior college to Division I, has a longer reclassification period.
Some names being mentioned are the Western Wrestling League, the Great West Conference and the Mountain Intercollegiate Wrestling Conference.
“That’s tremendous, since they’ll be a qualifier after this year,” said NDSU athletic director Gene Taylor. “It would be huge.”
Wrestling and volleyball will be Division I tournament eligible in 2006-07 because of an NCAA exemption. All other NDSU sports will be eligible in 2008-09.
The Bison will still be independent in all other sports except football, which is a member of the Great West Football Conference.
None of the possible league affiliations for NDSU “most notably the Mid-Continent Conference or the Big Sky Conference “sponsor wrestling.
“They would have to find something, anyway,” Taylor said.
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