The 13 MIAC university presidents will consider whether to expel St. Thomas from the conference on April 18, with a final vote scheduled for May.

MIAC rivals complain about the university’s relatively larger enrollment and athletic success. With 6,200 undergraduate students, its size is nearly double St. Olaf, the next largest school. Currently St. Thomas sits 10th in the Learfield IMG Director’s Cup, a ranking of all Division III athletic teams’ finishes in the country. The next MIAC school is Carleton at No. 50.

“As a founding member of the conference, we are proud of our history and heritage in the MIAC, and are committed to the league and Division III ideals,” St. Thomas Athletic Director Phil Esten said in an email. “We are very interested in doing what we can to stabilize conference membership now and into the future.”

Football coach Glenn Caruso isn’t spending too much time worrying about potential change.

“For us, it’s pretty simple: if there’s not something we control then we try not to spend a whole lot of time on it,” Caruso said.

St. Thomas football junior offensive tackle Malcolm Lawson finds it hard to understand why other schools are penalizing St. Thomas for its success.

“What sets us apart from other schools in the MIAC is that the mentality is excellence,” Lawson said. “You believe in a culture, and if you are here, you’re here to work.”

To expel St. Thomas, the MIAC schools must vote to change the conference bylaws. In the current bylaws, the only basis for expulsion would be for unethical or illegal behavior, which are not alleged.

Augsburg, Hamline, St. Olaf and Carleton are pressuring Bethel, Concordia and Gustavus, which have strong football programs, to support St. Thomas’ removal. Nine votes are required.

If the MIAC successfully expels St. Thomas, the Star Tribune reported that Macalester would return to the MIAC for football.

The Tommies’ first season in a new conference would be the 2021 season, one year after the 100th anniversary of the founding of the MIAC by St. Thomas, St. John’s, Hamline, Macalester and Gustavus Adolphus.

Ava Diaz can be reached at diaz7981@stthomas.edu.

Matthew Curry contributed to this report.

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