University of St. Thomas Invited to D-I After Dominance Led to D-III Removal

After being removed from Division III in May due to its dominance, the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul-Minneapolis, Minnesota, announced Friday that it received an invite to join the Division I Summit League. 

According to ESPN's Myron Medcalf, schools are not allowed to go from Division III to Division I, but the University of St. Thomas has applied for a waiver in hopes of being eligible to begin play in the Summit League in 2021.

The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference announced in May that it "involuntarily" removed St. Thomas from the conference for competitive reasons. St. Thomas had won six MIAC football championships since 2010.

St. Thomas school president Julie H. Sullivan said the following about potentially joining the Summit League:

"Joining the Summit League would be a unique and exciting opportunity for St. Thomas, allowing us to significantly expand our impact and reach. It is a strong Midwest Division I conference that includes both public and private competitors. Under the direction of Commissioner Tom Douple, the conference has grown in strength and success over the past several years."

Since the Summit League does not sponsor football, St. Thomas would be forced to look into joining another conference for football if it does get approved to join the Summit League.

Per Chip Scoggins and Joe Christensen of the Star Tribune, St. Thomas is looking into joining either the Pioneer League or Missouri Valley Conference for football while remaining in the Summit League for all other sports.

North Dakota State, Western Illinois, South Dakota and South Dakota State are all Summit League schools that play football in the Missouri Valley Conference.

The MVC has been the most successful conference in FCS football in recent years, as member North Dakota State has won seven of the past eight FCS national championships.

Medcalf noted that St. Thomas gaining admission into Division I could create a new rivalry since the University of Minnesota is currently the only Division I football team in the state of Minnesota.

St. Thomas will remain in the MIAC until 2021 before officially getting transitioned out of the conference.