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Urbana, Cedarville help form league

Unnamed league looks to add schools to possibly become NCAA D-II conference in 2013.

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By David Jablonski, Staff Writer 11:38 PM Tuesday, June 7, 2011

SPRINGFIELD — Cedarville University announced Tuesday it will team with Urbana University, Notre Dame College and Ursuline University to form a new NCAA Division II athletic conference.

The conference does not yet have a name, Cedarville Athletic Director Dr. Alan Geist said, because the goal is to add more schools to the conference. They don’t want to put Ohio in the name because schools from outside Ohio may eventually join.

Urbana is already a full-fledged NCAA D-II school, while the others are in the process of making the transition from NAIA Division II. Ursuline competes only in women’s athletics.

“Forming a conference is a big deal,” Geist said. “We’ve been involved with our NAIA conference (American Mideast) for a long time. It’s always served us well. As we make this move, we’re hoping others will join us.”

Other schools in Ohio, such as Walsh and Ohio Dominican, also are making the transition to NCAA D-II. The NCAA is not allowing any new D-II conferences until 2013. The four schools in the unnamed conference hope to organize, add more schools and be ready when the moratorium is lifted. Geist said the goal is to have 10 universities in the conference.

“There are other independents coming,” Geist said, “and usually being independent is not a good thing.”

There are many obvious benefits to being part of a conference.

“One of the biggest reasons is scheduling,” Geist said, “and the opportunities for student athletes to play for conference championships.”

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