INDIANAPOLIS – The page has officially turned towards the 2021-22 academic year with Ashland University starting full membership in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference on Thursday, July 1.
 
The Eagles had initially declared their intention to move from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) back in May of 2020.
 
Ashland has already made a splash as an associate member in the sport of wrestling, capturing a conference title at the Great Midwest Championship event held in Owensboro, Ky., in its first attempt.
 
“We are very pleased to officially welcome Ashland University as a full participating member of the Great Midwest as we enter our 10th year as a conference on July 1, said Great Midwest Commissioner Tom Daeger. “We also look forward to working with the athletics department staff and incorporating the Eagles into all conference championship opportunities. The addition of Ashland to the Great Midwest is an exciting way to open the 2021-22 academic year.”
 
The Great Midwest will feature 25 different conference championship offerings in the 2021-22 academic year, including the most recent addition of men’s and women’s bowling in collaboration with Conference Carolinas.
 
"This marks a new chapter in Ashland University Athletics," said Al King, Ashland Director of Athletics. "We're excited to join the Great Midwest, and all of us at Ashland will do everything possible to contribute to the health of the conference. Over the last 10 years, the Great Midwest has shown consistent growth, and that's a credit to the conference office and the administrators and coaches in the league.”
 
Established in the 2011-12 academic year, the Great Midwest enters its 10th year as an active Division II conference with 12 private institutions including Ashland, Cedarville, Findlay, Hillsdale, Kentucky Wesleyan, Lake Erie, Malone, Ohio Dominican, Tiffin, Trevecca Nazarene, Ursuline and Walsh. Northwood University will also join the conference as a full member on July 1, 2022.
 
Great Midwest associate member institutions also include Alderson Broaddus, Davis & Elkins, Mercyhurst, Seton Hill and Wheeling, all in the sport of men’s lacrosse.