The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) announced on Wednesday that McKendree University has been admitted to the Conference as the 17th member. The addition of McKendree was unanimously approved by the GLVC Council of Presidents at the Oct. 5 meeting.
“The GLVC Council of Presidents unanimously endorsed McKendree University's application
for membership because of their strong academic and athletic profile and the tremendous
leadership provided by their President Dr. Jim Dennis,” said Dr. Thomas George, Chancellor at
the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Chair of the GLVC Council of Presidents.
It is anticipated that McKendree will be eligible for all GLVC Championships during the 2013-14
season. The Bearcats will be eligible for league championships and integrated into the schedules
for the following sports in 2012-13: football, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and
field, men's cross country, women's cross country and women's golf.
The delay in postseason eligibility coincides with the institution's eligibility for NCAA Division
II championships as determined by the institution's reclassification to Division II. McKendree is
currently affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and is in its
first candidacy year for membership in Division II. The institution is on track to become a full
NCAA Division II member for 2013-14 academic year.
“The Great Lakes Valley Conference is pleased to welcome McKendree University as the
league's 17th member,” said Jim Naumovich, GLVC Commissioner. “McKendree boasts an
outstanding academic reputation and features an athletic program that has been competitive at the
national level during their time as a NAIA member. We believe they will be great fit for the
GLVC and NCAA Division II”.
McKendree sits on a 100-acre campus in Lebanon, Ill. and will be the fourth GLVC institution
located in Illinois.
“Their geographic proximity in the current GLVC footprint is extremely advantageous and
provides us with another member institution in the St. Louis metro area,” added Naumovich.
McKendree, which currently boasts an enrollment of 1,377 undergraduate students, was
established in 1828 and is the oldest university in the state of Illinois.
The university supports an athletic department that will sponsor 19 sports for NCAA competition.
McKendree sponsors all seven of the GLVC 'core' sports (men's and women's soccer, men's
and women's basketball, volleyball, baseball and softball) in addition to men's and women's
track and field, men's and women's cross country, football, men's and women's tennis, men's
and women's golf and wrestling.
McKendree currently competes in the American Midwest Conference for the majority of its
sports and in the Mid-States Football Association. The Bearcats have finished in the top 20 of the
Learfield Sports NAIA Directors' Cup in each of the past six seasons, including a 19th-place
finish in 2009-10.
The GLVC was established in 1978 and is one of the largest NCAA Division II conferences in
the country. With the addition of McKendree, the GLVC will include 17 institutions from five
Midwestern states. The current members of the GLVC are: Bellarmine University (Louisville,
Ky.), Drury University (Springfield, Mo.), Kentucky Wesleyan College (Owensboro, Ky.), Lewis
University (Romeoville, Ill.), Maryville University (St. Louis, Mo.), Missouri University of
Science & Technology (Rolla, Mo.), Northern Kentucky University (Highland Heights, Ky.),
Quincy University (Quincy, Ill.), Rockhurst University (Kansas City, Mo.), Saint Joseph's
College (Rensselaer, Ind.), University of Illinois at Springfield (Springfield, Mo.), University of
Indianapolis (Indianapolis, Ind.), University of Missouri-St. Louis (St. Louis, Mo.), University of
Southern Indiana (Evansville, Ind.), University of Wisconsin-Parkside (Kenosha, Wis.) and
William Jewell College (Liberty, Mo).
The addition of McKendree marks the league's third expansion in the past three years. Maryville
and Illinois-Springfield joined the GLVC in 2008 and William Jewell became a member in 2009.
The expansion marks the first time in its history the GLVC has had 17 members and will make
the league the largest NCAA DII conference in the country.
The GLVC currently sponsors championships in 17 sports: 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, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's indoor track & field, men's and
women's outdoor track & field and volleyball. The GLVC will sponsor football as a
championship sport beginning in 2012.
For more information about the GLVC and each conference member, please visit
www.glvcsports.com.
