MIAA brings ‘rivalry’ format to football

Truman and Northwest Missouri State University have played each other 90 times, dating back to 1908, one of the oldest rivalry games in Div. II football. But starting in 2012, the Bulldogs and Bearcats will no longer play each other every season.

Truman's unofficial "rival", based on the finalized scheduling after the four-team conference expansion last fall, instead will be conference newcomer Lindenwood University. Truman and Lindenwood have never played each other.

The new "rivalry" format is part of the MIAA expansion scheduling that was voted on by the conference CEOs earlier this month. The CEOs also voted on women's soccer, deciding that every team will play the others in the conference once during the regular season. The volleyball schedule still is being worked on but will include two seven-team divisions.

The football format pits two teams in the MIAA against each other every year, and the other 14 opponents are scheduled on an 8-year rotating basis. The 11-game schedule will not include non-conference games.  

"The natural rivalry game is Northwest Missouri, and I know that sounds strange with where our football program is at right now, but I sure don't want to be one to not play the Hickory Stick game," said head football coach Gregg Nesbitt, who has experienced the game since the 1970s.  

Athletic Director Jerry Wollmering said the Ol' Hickory Stick game was discussed at expansion meetings, but it made more sense for Northwest to be paired with Missouri Western State University. The two schools are 45 minutes apart and have drawn large crowds in recent years.

The other pairs are Southwest Baptist—Lincoln, Nebraska-Kearney—Fort Hays, Washburn—Emporia, Missouri Southern—Pittsburg State, Nebraska-Omaha—Central Missouri and Northeastern State—Central Oklahoma.  

The new scheduling — with no conference championship — creates a situation in which two teams potentially could tie for first in the conference with no head-to-head matchup.

"I think we're just going to have to see how it plays out over a period of time," Nesbitt said.  

For women's soccer, the conference will transition back to how it was scheduled in 2000 when every team played each other once. This schedule allows for 13 conference matches and five non-conference matches — which likely would be used for regional competition from a different conference.

"I like it better," head coach Mike Cannon said. "I like it just because we get to play some different teams."

Cannon noted that with the current scheduling, Truman could play an MIAA team up to three times during a season. In 2010, 17 of Truman's 22 games were played against MIAA competition.

Less conference games also means a stronger schedule, as Truman will no longer play two games per season against comparatively weak conference foes. With four more non-conference games, Truman will have the opportunity to schedule more matches against better regional schools.

For volleyball, the two divisions will be split diagonally, from the northeast to the southwest. Truman's division will include Lindenwood, Central Missouri, Southwest Baptist, Missouri Southern, Pittsburg State and Central Oklahoma.

Wollmering said there will be 19 regular-season matches in which every school will play divisional completion twice and schools from the other division once. He said they still are deciding whether the conference schedule will last eight or nine weeks.

An eight-week schedule would allow for three tournaments throughout the season — and possibly an MIAA tournament — while a nine-week schedule allows for two tournaments.

"To do everything the coaches want to do, we have to play the eight-week schedule, but what that would create is a lot of long week-day trips which we're not in favor of," Wollmering said.

Wollmering said the next scheduling meeting is in February to finalize volleyball and begin talks about winter and spring sports.