The request by St. Thomas to lift Tommie sports to Division I status is finally on the NCAA’s agenda.
UST officials want to move its teams and individual sports up from Division III after the MIAC expelled the Tommies because of athletic competitive parity.
“Involuntarily removed” is the term used in a statement by presidents of the schools making up the conference that St. Thomas helped create 100 years ago.
The Tommies agreed to leave the MIAC in 2021.
Usually, when a school requests to move up from DIII, the NCAA requires a transition that includes several years in Division II.
“We’ve been told that we’re on the docket for this week,” said St. Thomas athletics director Phil Esten.
The decision had been expected during a meeting in April, but it was postponed as the NCAA dealt with several key issues, including COVID-19.
St. Thomas has received an invite from the Summit League, a DI conference that includes North Dakota, North Dakota State, South Dakota, and South Dakota State.
What the Summit League does not have is football and hockey, which would force St. Thomas to find another conference home in those sports.
Among the football-only conferences that could suit St. Thomas are the Pioneer League or the Missouri Valley Conference.
Possibilities for hockey are the Western Collegiate Hockey Association or the newly reformed Central Collegiate Hockey Association.
Earlier this year, the MIAC invited St. Scholastica in the Duluth to join the league, while Macalester agreed to return for football.
