UVU athletics joins Great West Conference

UVU athletics has joined the Great West Conference in a move that now opens up the possibility for post-season play.

The transition to university status has been the propelling force for UVU athletics, as the program joins other schools in the transition to the previously football-only conference.

The Great West has had a very successful run in its first four years as a football-only conference, but the league
will take a giant leap forward in the coming years when it expands to include a minimum of six schools and 14 additional sports, Commissioner Ed Grom announced today.

By expanding to an all-sports league, the Great West has invited six schools, including UVU, to enter under the Great West umbrella and begin competing in several sports in the 2008-09 year.

The conference will begin full conference scheduling in team sports and conducting the full complement of championships in 2009-10.

The schools becoming members of the all-sports league alongside UVU are Houston Baptist University (HBU), New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), University of North Dakota (UND), University of South Dakota (USD), and University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA). All six schools have accepted the invitation, and additional institutions may announce their acceptance in the next few months.

The Great West Football Conference includes the University of North Dakota, the University of South Dakota, Cal Poly, UC Davis and Southern Utah. Football-only members Cal Poly and UC Davis will remain in the Big West for the balance of their athletic teams, while Southern Utah will continue to compete in the Summit League.
North Dakota and South Dakota are new football members that will begin play in the fall. The two schools, as well as Houston Baptist, are currently in their
second year of transition up to the Division I level. All three schools will become NCAA Division I counters for scheduling purposes in 2009-10.

Texas-Pan American has been a member of NCAA Division I for many years, while UVU and NJIT become active Division I members in 2009-10.