MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[hopefan]

From SLIAC.org   12/8/11  :

St. Louis, Mo. - The St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) announced today that Iowa Wesleyan College (Mt. Pleasant, Iowa) has been approved for membership in the Conference upon the institution's successful completion of the NCAA exploratory year and acceptance as a provisional member of the NCAA.

Iowa Wesleyan, currently a member of the NAIA's Midwest Collegiate Conference and Mid-States Football Conference, will begin competition in the SLIAC during the 2013-14 academic year. Iowa Wesleyan announced in October that its Board of Trustees voted to make application to the NCAA by January 15, 2012.

"As Chairman of the Presidents' Council of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, I am pleased to announce that Iowa Wesleyan College has applied for and been granted membership," said Dr. Dennis C. Golden, President of Fontbonne University. "Iowa Wesleyan has demonstrated a commitment to the same values as our members relative to intercollegiate athletics and its role in the overall experience for student-athletes. I believe that IWC will be a positive addition to the Conference and we welcome them to the SLIAC."

"We are pleased to welcome Iowa Wesleyan College as the 10th member of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Our administrators are thoroughly impressed by the knowledge of, and commitment to, Division III demonstrated by President Jay Simmons and Vice President Linda Buchanan, and their genuine belief that the NCAA and Division are the appropriate place for the Tiger athletic programs," SLIAC Commissioner William J. Wolper said. "The institution is a great fit for our Conference, academically, athletically and philosophically. They align greatly with our current members, and we are confident they will be great partners as we continue to enhance the collegiate experience of our student-athletes."

Iowa Wesleyan was chartered in 1842 as the Mount Pleasant Literary Institute, became Iowa Wesleyan University in 1855 and then Iowa Wesleyan College in 1912. To this day, Iowa Wesleyan maintains a close affiliation with the United Methodist Church. The first college level degree was awarded in 1856. Among the institution's distinguished alumni are Belle Babb Mansfield (Class of 1866), the first woman admitted to the bar in the United States; James Van Allen (Class of 1935), the discoverer of the Earth's radiation belts, and Peggy Whitson (Class of 1981), the first female commander of the International Space Station and current U.S. record-holder for days in space.

The Iowa Wesleyan College educational experience focuses on empowering students to discover their potential through individualized learning experiences, professional opportunities and service to others. Students in all majors combine classroom learning with professional workplace experience. In addition, students develop and explore their values through service projects in and out of the classroom in one of the longest-running service-learning programs in the country.

Iowa Wesleyan offers more than 30 academic majors, has full-time undergraduate enrollment of nearly 600 with an average ACT score of 20, and a 1:12 faculty-to-student-ratio.

"Iowa Wesleyan is very pleased to be approved for membership in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference," Iowa Wesleyan College President Dr. Jay Simmons said. "We believe the schools in this conference are the right partners for our institution and our athletic programs. This is an important next step in our commitment to the future of Iowa Wesleyan Tiger athletics."

Ten of Iowa Wesleyan's 14 sports align with sports in which the SLIAC sponsors a championship including baseball, basketball (men and women), cross country (men and women), men's golf, soccer (men and women), softball and volleyball. It also sponsors women's golf, football, and men's & women's track and field, the latter of which is an invitational sport within the Conference. Over one-third of the student body at Iowa Wesleyan competes in intercollegiate athletics.

Following its exploratory year with the NCAA (2012-13), Iowa Wesleyan must complete a four-year provisional process before becoming a full NCAA member. As a SLIAC member during the NCAA provisional phase, the Tigers will be eligible for Conference regular season competition and awards but will not be eligible to compete in postseason team tournaments. They are eligible to compete in championship tournaments in which the conference champion is determined (cross country and golf). Iowa Wesleyan has joined the United States Collegiate Athletic Association, a national organization that provides small colleges alternative venues for post-season competition.

"There is a long and proud tradition in Tiger athletics," Mike Hampton, Iowa Wesleyan College athletics director, said. "The move to NCAA D-III and the SLIAC provides new opportunity to continue that tradition of success. We look forward to competitive opportunities for our student-athletes in this arena."

The SLIAC was chartered in September 1989 and competition began during the 1990-91 academic year. The Conference currently conducts championships in 12 sports including baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's golf, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's tennis, and volleyball.

The nine current members of the SLIAC are Blackburn College (Carlinville, Ill.), Eureka College (Eureka, Ill.), Fontbonne University (St. Louis, Mo.), Greenville College (Greenville, Ill.), MacMurray College (Jacksonville, Ill.), Principia College (Elsah, Ill.), Spalding University (Louisville, Ky.), Webster University (St. Louis, Mo.) and Westminster College (Fulton, Mo.). Spalding was the Conference's most recent addition, joining the SLIAC in 2009. Blackburn, Fontbonne, Principia and Webster are Charter Members with MacMurray and Westminster joining the Conference before competition began in 1990.

[hopefan]

I'm becoming disappointed (again) in the service offered by the SLIAC room....   Box scores are missing from games from the beginning of this week... 4 of 7 games played yesterday are missing ....   one of the games isn't even listed (Fontbonne... Logan Chiro).... of course Fontbonne's site doesn't have a score for it  (I say facetiously but the game was played yesterday AFTERNOON).... But it was played (Greenville's site lists scores for the total tourney.. Fontbonne won 100-99 in OT)... Bet a handful of fans would love to see that Boxscore.....

All I'm saying is that it's someone's responsibility to get this data out, and whoever it is is not going the extra mile to get it done....extra mile, meaning the box is somewhere... find it and publish it on a timely basis...

[hopefan]

Was questioned about our addition of Iowa Wesleyan by a prominent writer from another room...

'Iowa Wesleyan offers more than 30 academic majors, has full-time undergraduate enrollment of nearly 600 with an average ACT score of 20, and a 1:12 faculty-to-student-ratio.

interesting point... how does this compare to the rest of the SLIAC?

[Titan Q]

Was questioned about our addition of Iowa Wesleyan by a prominent writer from another room...

'Iowa Wesleyan offers more than 30 academic majors, has full-time undergraduate enrollment of nearly 600 with an average ACT score of 20, and a 1:12 faculty-to-student-ratio.

interesting point... how does this compare to the rest of the SLIAC?

I'm not sure what resource is best for finding average ACT scores, but I used collegestate.com...

SLIAC
Principia: 25
Webster: 24
Westminster: 24
Fontbonne: 22
Greenville: 22
Blackburn: 21
Eureka: 21
MacMurray: 20
Spalding: 20

For context, compare to some neighboring D3 conferences...

IIAC
Cornell: 26
Luther: 25
Central: 24
Coe: 24
Simpson: 24
Wartburg: 24
Buena Vista: 23
Loras: 23
Dubuque: 22

CCIW
Illinois Wesleyan: 29
Wheaton: 29
Augustana: 26
North Central: 24
Carthage: 23
Elmhurst: 23
Millikin: 23
North Park: 22

MWC
Grinnell: 30
Beloit: 27
Lawrence: 27
Knox: 26
Lake Forest: 25
Ripon: 24
St. Norbert: 24
Carroll: 23
Illinois College: 23
Monmouth: 23

http://www.collegestate.com/

[y_jack_lok]

An average ACT of 20 is not very pretty.

[sac]

Good info Q, but I think that info might be a little out of date, still a good reference point.  They refer to Trine University as Tri-State.   It's been 3 or 4 years since their name change I think.

[Titan Q]

Good info Q, but I think that info might be a little out of date, still a good reference point.  They refer to Trine University as Tri-State.   It's been 3 or 4 years since their name change I think.

The data certainly could be a little old, sac, but I doubt these numbers would have changed much in that time. 

[Gregory Sager]

NPU's average ACT score is 23, FWIW.

[hopefan]

NPU's average ACT score is 23, FWIW.

Come on Greg... no fair including your score to bring up that average...

[Gregory Sager]

NPU's average ACT score is 23, FWIW.

Come on Greg... no fair including your score to bring up that average...

Thanks for the compliment. But, since I grew up in the northeast, I took the SAT rather than the ACT. The ACT wasn't offered in upstate New York high schools when I was an adolescent, and I'm pretty sure that the ACT is still less popular in upstate NY high schools than the SAT. When I came to North Park and heard people talking about their ACT scores, I thought that it was some sort of thespian recital performed by people who planned to major in theater.

[y_jack_lok]

Webster (Sunday night) and Fontbonne (last night) both lose to Austin College (Sherman, TX) in similar fashion, getting behind by 12 or 13 midway through the 2nd half, then coming back and nearly pulling it out, but falling short. Austin certainly looked sharper against Webster than against Fontbonne. Hard to pinpoint the differences in the nature of the games, but the game against Webster seemed faster paced. Roman Robinson definitely earned his Player of the Week recognition for Webster the way he played against Wash U and Austin, plus a solid game at Rust. Had to have been tough on the Gorloks to travel 5+ hours to Rust on Saturday, play a game, then turn around and drive back, only to have to play again the next evening. Still, I'm impressed with the hustle and determination of this Webster team. Should do fine in conference.

[hopefan]

This is the 2nd game in a row I've seen Fontbonne come from far behind to make things close at the end.... makes for real crowd pleasers, though some disappointment that one or two turnovers or missed shots made the difference... Coach Shaefer has already instilled a new attitude with this team, no quit, really INTO the game, rather than the sad I only care about me attitude that prevailed last season....and that attitude has stretched even to the assistants, who seem MUCH more involved...

Here's the ultimate compliment... ALL America RED...whereever you are... check this team out.... inferior talent right now, but the kind of hustle we old guys like.... Fontbonne player,,, keep up the drive, after Christmas, and you will get some wins in conference....

[hopefan]

SLIAC.org is now totally up to date with all boxscores... meaning player stats are also current.... EXCEPT for the games in the Greenville tourney against Logan Chiro.... Do these not count as games?  Are they only rated as Exhibitions?   I've put the question in to the SLIAC site hoping for an answer.....

Anyway, great job getting things up to date!!!!

[formersliaccommish]

Hopefan, it's not a GREAT job of getting the stats up-to-date; that's like congratulating someone for not beating his wife.

They should be up-to-date after every game. Some of the schools in the conference do a terrific job of supplying information but others are terrible. The SLIAC schools can't beat the Illinois Wesleyans and Washington Universitys of this world very often, but they should be able to post a score immediately after the game and have the box score posted not too long thereafter. It's not that hard.

The conference office cannot supply information it doesn't have; it's up to the schools to get it in. This is one of the great failings of some of the SLIAC schools and has been for a long time.

[hopefan]

Former sliac... 'WORDS of ENCOURAGEMENT to contra my previous CHEWING OUT"   
(However-my attitude towards the SLIAC office is that they parallel my job... I'm highly dependent on receiving timely and accurate data from a significant number of depts... IF I don't get it, believe me, all involved are faced with direct calls/emails to find out the problem and remedy it immediately... I do get my data)

Glad you're still keeping up with the old territory hope all is well down south... Casey still at Laclede....