The Summit League
By Matt Shetler
The Summit League is a ten member
Division I athletic conference that sponsors nineteen men’s and
women’s Division I sports. The Summit League operates primarily
in the Midwestern, United States, with its headquarters in
Elmhurst, Illinois. The commissioner of the Summit League is Tom
Douple.
The conference recently became the Summit League in 2007, after
changing its name from the Mid-Continent Conference, which it
held from 1989-2007. Before that, the conference originated as
the Association of Mid-Continent Universities (AMCU) from
1982-1989.
Charter members were: Western Illinois University, Cleveland
State University, Eastern Illinois University, University of
Illinois at Chicago, University of Northern Iowa, Missouri State
University, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and Valparaiso
University. Throughout the last twenty-five years, only the
western Illinois Fighting Leathernecks remain.
In addition to Western Illinois, current members include:
Centenary College of Louisiana, Indiana University-Purdue
University Fort Wayne, Indiana University-Purdue University
Indianapolis, University of Missouri-Kansas City, North Dakota
State University, Oakland University, Oral Roberts University,
South Dakota State University and Southern Utah University.
The Summit League receives an automatic bid to the NCAA
Tournament, which the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles have received
the last three seasons (as of 2008). A few league memories have
occurred along the way. In 1986, Cleveland St. earned the AMCU’s
first national recognition in the NCAA Tournament, defeating #3
seed Indiana en route to a Sweet 16 appearance.
In 1993, former member Wright State’s Brian Anderson became the
third overall selection in the MLB draft. The most recent league
memory came in 1994, when UW- Green Bay, upset future NBA Hall
of Famer Jason Kidd’s #5 seeded California Golden Bears in the
first round of the NCAA Tournament.
