Iowa Conference ranks high in overall sports picture

Three Iowa Conference schools are ranked in the top 50 in the final Directors’ Cup standings for the past school year. Wartburg College finished 13th nationally in the division three all sports standings. Central College finished 33rd and Loras College is 37th.Iowa Conference commissioner John Cochrane says they feel top to bottom they’re one of the most competitive leagues in the country. He says while small college athletes don’t get the publicity of their division-one counterparts they work just as hard and want to win just as much. Upper Iowa left the conference to move to division two but Cochrane says there is no immediate need for a replacement. He says they’re comfortable with nine schools and can move forward with nine. He says they are and always have been willing to listen to schools that want to join the group.Cochrane expansion is not out of the question but it would take a school that they feel is the right fit.