The GLIAC conference is expanding with the recent acceptance of two more Ohio schools.

The Malone University Pioneers and the Walsh University Cavaliers will bump the number of GLIAC participants from 14 to 16. Both universities will officially join the GLIAC on July 1, 2012.

Malone athletic director Charlie Grimes said the school is happy to make the jump from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) into NCAA Division II status.

“This step allows Malone to align itself with schools that have excellent reputations both in academics and athletics,” Grimes said. “We feel we relate very well with the mission and philosophy of the GLIAC membership.”

The schools can’t compete during the 2012-2013 season in GLIAC postseason championships or tournaments that require an automatic qualifier. Those include basketball, football, baseball, softball, volleyball, soccer, tennis and golf.

“All of our sports will be making some adjustments,” Grimes said. “Malone hasn’t regularly competed against public schools in the past. This will require us to be very efficient in recruiting and will challenge our coaches to be the best we can be.”

Malone will be able to compete in the GLIAC swimming and diving championships during the 2012-2013 season. The Christian university has 2,500 students and will offer 20 varsity sports.

Walsh is a Catholic university with over 2,900 students and 19 varsity sports. Vice President and Director of Athletics Dale Howard said the school has been researching the move for 10 years.

“We feel fortunate that the GLIAC institutions agreed with our assessment that this conference is a great match for our school,” Howard said. “The GLIAC is well known as one of the premier conferences in NCAA Division II, and we are simply thrilled to be associated with the institutions which comprise the conference.”
Howard also said that the school understands the challenges of playing against Division II athletics and will have to make adjustments.

“We believe that some of our programs are ready to be competitive from the onset,” Howard said. “However, we recognize that it will take some time to change our recruiting strategy to attract and retain Division II level athletes.”

Both schools are located in Canton, Ohio and are over 650 miles away from Marquette, making it the longest conference road trip for the Wildcats. The addition provides Ohio with seven GLIAC teams, while Michigan features nine.

“The fact that there are so many Ohio schools in the conference that play at such a high level will help us with media exposure as well as with recruiting,” Howard said.

With the addition of the two new GLIAC members the University of Indianapolis will no longer participate in the GLIAC for football and will join the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Grimes said Malone is eager to add to the conference.

“We are honored and excited to join the GLIAC,” Grimes said. “We are anxious to develop strong relationships with all of the fine institutions involved.”