MSFA Approves 2 New Members

Findlay, Ohio -- The Mid-States Football Association, at its annual spring meeting, voted to terminate the membership of Urbana University and add two more Midwest institutions to the Association effective in 2009-2010, according to MSFA Commissioner Dr. James D. Houdeshell.

Urbana, one of the MSFA charter members, has chosen to apply for NCAA Division II membership.
The school could not commit to playing in the MSFA Mideast League through the 2009-2010
season and the organization voted unanimously to drop Urbana from the MSFA at the end of the 2008 campaign.

Urbana has only one winning season -- 6-5 in the 2005 -- since beginning play in the MSFA
in 1994. The Blue Knights are 32-104 in 13 seasons with a 16-61 record as a member of the
Mideast League.

Meanwhile, two Iowa institutions made formal applications for membership at the annual
meeting. After presentations by each school the MSFA voted unanimously to accept
Grand View College, out of Des Moines, and Waldorf College, which is located in Forest City,
as full-fledged members in 2009-2010.

While Grand View is beginning football, Waldorf is an established program and currently
has games scheduled for 2007 against MSFA members William Penn, Iowa Wesleyan and Saint
Ambrose. Waldorf finished 2006 with a 2-8 record.

To facilitate the addition of Grand View and Waldorf, two Chicago-area schools (Saint Xavier and St. Francis will move to the Mideast League in 2009-2010. The two Chicago-area schools will join
Marian, Ind., Malone, Ohio Dominican, Saint Francis, Ind., Taylor and Walsh. The Midwest League will have 8 schools.

Saint Xavier has already moved to the Mideast League for the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 campaigns
to offset the loss of another charter member, Geneva College (Pa.) which moved to NCAA Division III. SXU will battle Marian, Malone, Ohio Dominican, Saint Francis, Ind., Taylor, Urbana and Walsh for the 2007 and 2008 title.

That leaves Iowa Wesleyan, McKendree, Olivet Nazarene, Quincy, St. Ambrose, St. Francis, Ill., Trinity International and William Penn to contest for the Midwest League crown the next two seasons.