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Lopers Ready to Move to MIAA

Posted: 7:50 PM Jun 26, 2012
Reporter: Dan Koob

The UNK Lopers time in the RMAC Conference is over.

"There's much more money in it for us (to go to the MIAA)," said UNK Athletic Director Jon McBride.

Which allows flexibility for more scholarships in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

Something head football coach Darrell Morris admits they need.

"Football is a game of attrition. I don't think we're very well prepared in that regard. I'm pretty comfortable with the first 22 guys we have. The guys behind them, we'll see."

Needed depth in the new conference will be key, but will also take time.

"The MIAA is the SEC of division two football," said Morris. "It helps recruiting because I can call a kid in Arizona or California and he can name schools in the MIAA."

The football team will have 2 televised games on the MIAA network, but the gain in exposure and competition is not just in football.

"We just have to keep working hard and we have to be ready for the challenge," said Loper Senior basketball player Jon Henderson. "There's no drop off in this league so you have to bring it every night."

McBride will tell you there is much to do still. Removing all RMAC signs and emblems is one of those things.

Long after they're all gone, the work on the court and field will be on-going.

"You'll probably see more people in the stands from back in our NAIA days, people will embrace those rivalries. The (geography) is much better for us in this conference," he said.

The closest RMAC conference member school to UNK, said McBride, is five and a half hours from Kearney.