NCC To Remain Strong Despite UND Move 

The University of North Dakota announced today that it plans to become a full member at the NCAA Division I level beginning in the 2008-09 school year. UND will use the 2007-08 school year as their "exploratory" year under NCAA guidelines, which includes full eligibility for North Central Conference and national championships.

"The North Central Conference is, and remains, a strong NCAA Division II conference," said NCC commissioner Roger Thomas. "We are disppointed that North Dakota has decided to pursue membership in NCAA Division I. We know that this decision was not taken lightly and we wish UND the very best in the future. It is sad to see a charter member of the league leave the NCC. UND has a history of being a valuable member of our league and will continue to be for the next two years."

"We are dedicated to keeping the NCC strong and are agressively pursuing additional institutions to join the league. For 85 years the North Central Conference has come to symbolize strong NCAA Division II competition and we don't expect that to end. UND's announcement at this time for the 2008-09 year will give us the opportunity to have other institutions join the NCC and keep the league strong."

The North Central Conference, a NCAA Division II conference, is comprised of Augustana College, University of Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota State University, Mankato, University of Nebraska-Omaha, University of North Dakota, St. Cloud State University and University of South Dakota. NCC member Nebraska-Omaha captured the NCAA Division II Championships in soccer and wrestling during the 2005-06 year.