KC Smurthwaite is a consultant for Athletics Admin, specializing in revenue generation, licensing, marketing, and higher education. He has almost two decades of experience in collegiate athletics and the sports and entertainment industry. Smurthwaite is a fractional employee of several athletic departments across the country. He also teaches sports management and journalism as an adjunct professor. Follow him on Twitter or connect on LinkedIn. Smurthwaite can also be reached at [email protected].
Stability: the quality, state, or degree of being stable: such as
a. the strength to stand or endure: firmness
b. the property of a body that causes it, when disturbed from a condition of equilibrium or steady motion, to develop forces or moments that restore the original condition
From the junior college ranks to Division III football, realignment — the domino effect, so to speak — is impacting everyone. From Diego Pavia to Saint Francis (and yes, more schools will be joining them before July 1, 2025), it’s changing how schools recruit, grow, and maintain. Even if a specific school or conference isn’t directly affected, there’s a larger undertone at play: stability.
Stability to stand and endure the ever-changing tides of realignment.
Stability, as the definition says, to steady the motion of developing forces.
For some schools and conferences, it’s the word of the summer — rivaled only by “the portal.”
One keen reader from my last article pointed out the “rumored relationship between the Summit League and the Missouri Valley Football Conference.” If you’ve been paying attention, there’s long been overlap between the two. I won’t go too deep here, but I’ll say this: It’s always been an informal partnership. Over the last several months, however, sources indicate that a more formal relationship — a memorandum of agreement — is coming.
With the highly successful commissioner Patty Viverito set to retire after this academic year, that won’t be the only change within MVFC ranks. The Summit League will take on a more significant role in decision-making but will still operate under the leadership of the MVFC’s next commissioner.
Previously, Summit leaders were never in the room for decisions. Conference leadership relied on its membership to be informed. The Summit will serve as an ex-officio to the MVFC, with members making up the voting delegation. Now, they’ll not only be in the room but also have a voice. Final details are being ironed out, but this conversation has been ongoing for about a year. However, it is expected to be finalized in the coming weeks.
Here comes the kicker: within the MOA, any Summit League member that sponsors football will automatically become a member of the MVFC. It’s built into the agreement. There will be caps if membership numbers are hit; as of now, there is no indication of what those numbers would be.
Talk about a massive leverage point — or better yet, stability — for any team considering the Summit League during realignment. Yes, I’m looking at a few select members of the United Athletic Conference. Want to join one of, if not the top FCS (or should I say JV Football — see what I did there?) conferences in the country?
Your TL;DR, the Summit League office will have more say when it comes to the MVFC and will be armed with an automatic football home for any of their potential expansion targets.
Current Summit League members are Denver, Kansas City, North Dakota, North Dakota State, Omaha, Oral Roberts, St. Thomas, South Dakota, and South Dakota State. The UND, NDSU, USD, and SDSU football teams play in the MVFC, while St. Thomas is a part of the Pioneer Football League. MVFC members Illinois State, Indiana State, Murray State, Northern Iowa, and Southern Illinois play their Olympic sports in the Missouri Valley Conference, while Youngstown State is in the Horizon League.
There’s been buzz on social media about the Summit considering Tarleton State, Abilene Christian, and UT Arlington. I’ll also add Utah Valley, Utah Tech, and Southern Utah to that list. I separated those sentences for a reason — I don’t see a scenario where all six join. When it comes to Texas or Utah schools, it’ll likely be one group or the other. Not both.
Mind you, UVU doesn’t have football — despite the pipe dreams of many, it’s not happening for the green and white (Yes, they do have an awesome and clean helmet design but only used it for fun or donor gifts). However, UT Arlington has real momentum: a proposed student fee, growing support from football alumni, and plenty of smoke. The flames are being stoked.
While the Summit is in a strong position, it also means they can be selective. Where does it land? Who knows. But if I had to guess, the Summit’s potential football partnership makes them a major player to watch. Pairing Texas institutions into the Summit — err, I mean MVFC — would strengthen the league even more and expand recruiting pipelines in the process.
Or take the route of the Utah schools — some of the fastest-growing in terms of enrollment, campus development, and athletic programs. If you haven’t looked at the population growth in St. George, UT — driven by spillover from Vegas and California over the last decade — go look it up. UVU now has the largest enrollment in the state of Utah, and Southern Utah has seen some success on the football field over the past ten years.
The positioning is already happening — the positioning for stability.
That’s the question every stakeholder needs to answer.
