LaGrange College football joins St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
March 13, 2007

LaGrange College announced today it will join the NCAA Division III St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference as a football-only affiliate beginning with the 2008 season.

"This is a big step as we continue to build our football program," LaGrange Head Coach Todd Mooney said. "It gives us a chance to play for a conference championship and gives our players many more opportunities to receive recognition for their accomplishments on the field and in the classroom. We look forward to the challenge of conference play with these respected academic institutions."

SLIAC officials announced that Huntingdon College (Ala.) will also join the conference as a football-only affiliate. The rest of the SLIAC football conference is composed of Blackburn College (Ill.), Eureka (Ill.) College, Greenville (Ill.) College, MacMurray College (Ill.), Principia College (Ill.) and Westminster College (Mo.).

Mooney said, "Our players and coaching staff are appreciative to the SLIAC for granting us membership to the conference. We are also grateful to our president, Dr. Stuart Gulley, for his leadership and hard work that made this a reality."

The 2008 season will be the first for the new football conference. Eureka, Greenville and MacMurray had been in the Illinis-Badger Conference, a football-only conference that disbanded after the 2007 season. LaGrange will be eligible for the conference championship in 2008, and the conference will have an NCAA automatic qualifier for the 2010 season.

SLIAC Commissioner Rich Meckfessel welcomed both LaGrange and Huntingdon into the conference, saying, "We are very pleased to have two institutions that are very much like our schools in size, character and commitment to the principles of NCAA Division III. They were overwhelmingly approved by our administrative council and received a unanimous vote from the presidents of our 10 schools.

"It's a wonderful opportunity for the more than 500 student-athletes of eight football-playing schools to be able to compete for a conference championship and a berth in the NCAA playoffs."

LaGrange College completed its inaugural football season in 2006.