Originally posted by bditty:
it still says mens volleyball and wrestling will be independents. I don't mean to sound stupid but what exactly does that mean. They can compete like Aaron said in D1 tournament or what?
The plan is, after completion of the provisional period, for Newman wrester's to compete in the NCAA Division II Tournament.
The wrestling program will be independent as none of the other conferences the school's athletic programs are affiliated with sponsor wrestling.
Heartland Conference Heartland Conference News... Newman University Joins Heartland Conference -- Posted on Monday, June 5 2006
The Newman University Board of Trustees voted last week to approve application to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II and accept an invitation offered this month to join the Heartland Conference.
Located in Wichita, Kansas, Newman is currently a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Initially, Newman would serve as an administrative member of the Heartland Conference and provisional member of the NCAA for a minimum of two years, which is a prerequisite for active membership into the NCAA.
�Newman will be an outstanding addition to an outstanding conference,� said Heartland Conference Commissioner Tony Stigliano. �Newman University�s mission and emphasis on strong academics is an excellent match with the other members of the Heartland Conference.�
Newman currently sponsors 18 sports. Newman�s men�s and women�s basketball, soccer, golf, cross country and tennis teams, along with baseball, softball and women�s volleyball, would all become part of the Heartland Conference. The university�s wrestling and men�s volleyball would join the NCAA with independent status. Men�s and women�s bowling will compete in the Intercollegiate Conferences, and lacrosse will compete in the Great River Lacrosse Conference.
Founded in 1933, Newman is a private, Catholic liberal arts university with an enrollment of almost 2,200 students from 19 states and 31 countries. Dr. Aidan O. Dunleavy serves as the University�s president.
�We are extremely excited about the prospect of joining the NCAA,� said Newman Athletic Director Kevin Ulwelling. �We have studied this matter carefully over the past three years and look forward to the new opportunities such a move can have for the Newman community.�
The Heartland Conference is a NCAA Division II conference, founded in 1999, that currently consists of eight schools, four from Texas, and one each from Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. The schools comprising the Heartland Conference stretch from as far north as Billings, Montana, as far south as San Antonio, Texas, as far east as Jefferson City, Missouri, and as far west as Silver City, New Mexico. The Conference stretches over a distance of 1600 miles north to south and 1200 east to west.
The Heartland Conference sponsors championships in baseball, men�s and women�s basketball, men�s and women�s cross country, men�s and women�s golf, men�s and women�s soccer, softball, and volleyball.
In December of 2005, the Heartland Conference announced the addition of two more members. Texas A&M International University in Laredo, Texas and The University of Texas of the Permian Basin in Odessa, Texas will join the Heartland Conference effective the beginning of the 2006-2007 academic year. Both those institutions are also in the process of applying for membership in NCAA Division II.