Clarke College in Dubuque will become the ninth member of the Midwest Classic Conference. For the past couple of years Clarke has been competing as an NCAA Division III independent. Clarke A.D. Curt Long says it’s the original conference and he says they fell it will be a good fit and a great association.
The Midwest Classic Conference currently has seven schools in Iowa and one in Wisconsin. Long says the decision to join the league goes beyond athletics. He says they take into consideration all sorts of things like exposure in the state, travel as it will pull them back into the state.
With the move to a new conference Long says the school will move back to the National Intercollegiate Athletic Association. They’ll be full members pending their NAIA application in the fall of 2007.