2 New Schools Added to the Summit League

The University of South Dakota (USD) and the University of Nebraska-Omaha have accepted invitations to become new members of The Summit League.

USD will begin league competition during the 2011-12 academic year and will have full eligibility for all regular season and tournament championships in 2012-13.

"Today is a great day to be a Coyote. Athletically and academically The Summit League is a perfect fit for The University of South Dakota," stated USD President James W. Abbott. "The Summit League is one of the premier athletic conferences in the nation and everyone at USD is very pleased our student-athletes will have the opportunity to compete against their counterparts in this great league."

Over the past 10 years, USD has produced 15 individual National Champions, 290 All-Americans and seven National Players of the Year. In 2007-08, USD’s women’s basketball team recorded the nation’s best GPA, 3.69, and reached the NCAA Division II championship game. USD alumnus and current assistant track and field coach Derek Miles is a two-time Olympic pole vaulter and placed fourth at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games after winning the U.S. Olympic Trials earlier that summer.

Nebraska-Omaha will begin league competition during the 2012-13 academic year. When UNO begins Summit League competition in 2012-13, they will be part of a 10-member league that includes IPFW, IUPUI, UMKC, North Dakota State University, Oakland University, Oral Roberts University, the University of South Dakota, South Dakota State University and Western Illinois University.

"All of us at the University of Nebraska at Omaha are excited by our move to The Summit League and the impending competition with its outstanding member institutions," said Trev Alberts, UNO Director of Athletics. "I would like to thank the members of our committee for their insight and diligence in determining the course of action that has brought UNO to The Summit League. Our reclassification will ensure the success of Maverick athletics for many years to come."