INDIANAPOLIS - The Great Midwest Athletic Conference has admitted Northwood University as the 13th full member as announced in a release published by the league on Thursday. Northwood will enter Great Midwest membership on July 1, 2022.
Northwood, a private, NCAA Division II member, will bring all 18 intercollegiate programs to the Great Midwest. With the addition of Northwood, the Great Midwest will feature 13 full member institutions in 2022-23 and conduct 25 championships, including 24 with NCAA classification.
“The addition of Northwood as our conference’s newest member is an action we are excited to announce,” stated Great Midwest Commissioner Tom Daeger. “Northwood, as a long-standing NCAA Division II member, has a strong reputation of academic and athletic excellence and will be a valued member of the Great Midwest. The institution is an ideal fit for our alignment and I anticipate the Timberwolves' contributions across the spectrum of Great Midwest programs and competition to be immensely impactful.”
Northwood will facilitate sport sponsorship support to the league with extensive programming offerings. The Timberwolves, a member of the Midwest Region, will face familiar regional foes in the alignment of Great Midwest membership.
“We are excited about joining the Great Midwest in 2022,” said Northwood University President Kent MacDonald. “The Great Midwest gives our student-athletes the chance to compete in a small private school conference with institutions of similar size, shared values, independent philosophy, and focus on high quality academic experience. It is a great fit for us. We believe it opens new opportunities for our student-athletes, as well as increasing our institution’s footprint and reach within the country. Northwood University sees this move as a unique opportunity that aligns to our growth plans and we appreciate the Great Midwest members welcoming us.”
Northwood, founded in 1969, has retained most recent conference affiliation in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) since 1992.
The Great Midwest Athletic Conference is a NCAA Division II athletic conference with full member institutions located in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee. The conference, established in 2011, will consist of 12 private, non-profit member institutions and sponsor 25 conference championship sport offerings as of July 1, 2021. Member institutions include Ashland University (2021-22), Cedarville University (OH), University of Findlay (OH), Hillsdale College (MI), Kentucky Wesleyan College (KY), Lake Erie College (OH), Malone University (OH), Ohio Dominican University (OH), Tiffin University (OH), Trevecca Nazarene University (TN), Ursuline College (OH) and Walsh University (OH). The Conference also has five associate members in the sport of men’s lacrosse. The Conference, led by founding Commissioner Tom Daeger, is headquartered in downtown Indianapolis.