The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- July 5, 1999

Notes

Sports sponsorship: Kutztown University of Pennsylvania has announced that it will add women's golf as a varsity sport beginning with the 2000-01 academic year. A total of 66 Division II institutions currently sponsor women's golf, and numerous others have indicated that they will add the sport in the near future. Next year, the NCAA will conduct Division II Women's Golf Championships for the first time (previously, the Association sponsored a combined event for Divisions II and III). Kutztown is the first institution in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) to add women's golf as a varsity sport. Until there are enough women's teams to conduct a separate championship, the conference will allow women's golf programs to compete with men's teams at the PSAC championship, starting in 2000-01.

Conferences: The Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference (MIFC) merged into the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC), effective July 1. "This has been in discussion for the last two or three years," said GLIAC Commissioner Tom Brown. "It's just a natural progression for the league. Indianapolis is the only school in the league that is not already a member of the GLIAC, but with the merger, they will become an associate member of the GLIAC as a football-only school." As part of the merger agreement, the GLIAC Executive Council granted Gannon University, which currently plays nonscholarship football, a waiver until 2004 to play a full foot-ball schedule in the GLIAC. The 13 schools currently sponsoring football in the league are Ashland University, Ferris State University, University of Findlay, Grand Valley State University, Hillsdale College, University of Indianapolis, Mercyhurst College, Michigan Tech University, Northern Michigan University, Northwood University, Saginaw Valley State University, Wayne State University (Michigan) and Westminster College.