The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference has decided to oust the NCAA Division III league’s largest school, the University of St Thomas, for competitive purposes.

The MIAC announced Wednesday the Tommies will be “involuntarily removed” in two years by the conference they helped found in 1920. Of the current 13 members, St Thomas is one of four campuses located in the state’s capital city, St Paul.

The private Catholic liberal arts university has about 6,200 undergraduates, double the enrollment of the next-closest schools in the league. The Tommies have won 12 consecutive MIAC all-sports trophies on both the men’s and women’s side, based on conference finish in each event.

The school’s powerhouse football team has enjoyed outsized success under head coach Glenn Caruso, winning six MIAC titles since 2010 and reaching the D-III national championship game in 2012 and 2015.

“After extensive membership discussions, the University of St Thomas will be involuntarily removed from membership in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference,” the league said in a statement. “The MIAC Presidents’ Council cites athletic competitive parity in the conference as a primary concern. St Thomas will begin a multi-year transition immediately and meanwhile is eligible to compete as a full member of the MIAC through the end of spring 2021.”

University president Julie Sullivan called the decision “extremely disappointing”. The Tommies could try to join another Division III league or move to Division II.

“St Thomas expended tremendous effort to remain in the MIAC and stabilize the conference,” Sullivan said in a statement. “However, the presidents came to a consensus that the conference itself would cease to exist in its current form if St Thomas remained.”

She added: “Although our athletic conference will change, one thing will not: our commitment to continued academic and athletic excellence.”