Kansas City Athletics Back in Summit League
7/1/2020 6:55:00 AM | General
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – More than one year after Kansas City Athletics accepted an invitation, the Roos are officially a member of The Summit League. Today, the Roos become the ninth member of The Summit League, a place in which the Roos held membership from 1994-2013. All 14 varsity sports will be eligible immediately for conference championships.
The Summit League will bring the Roos back into a conference with teams mostly from the Midwest. The Summit League has a 38-year history of Division I athletics. Kansas City joins the University of Denver; University of North Dakota; North Dakota State University; University of Nebraska Omaha; Oral Roberts University; University of South Dakota; South Dakota State University; and Western Illinois University.
The conference change will align major priorities of the department, student-athlete welfare, overall cost-savings competing closer to Kansas City and the ability to create regional rivalries.
"Our student-athletes, coaches, and staff have worked diligently to position Kansas City Athletics for comprehensive excellence – academic excellence, competitive success, brand enhancement, and elevating fan experience," said Director of Athletics Dr. Brandon Martin. "The Summit League provides our athletics department with an opportunity to best achieve our collective goals and advance the mission and tenets of UMKC. We are thankful for Commissioner Tom Douple and his leadership team for this tremendous opportunity."
The Summit League has a combined enrollment of around 100,000 at nine institutions, including four located in top 60 U.S. metropolitan populations and two land-grant universities. The Summit League has produced 15 NCAA National Champions with over 125 All-Americans and 100 Academic All-Americans including numerous student-athletes competing at the highest professional level.
"We are excited to have the Roos' athletic programs back in The Summit League and be part of the thriving Kansas City Metropolitan area again," said Summit League Commissioner Tom Douple. "With an enrollment of more than 16,000 students and schools of Law, Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy, the University along with its alumni base of 126,000, is a great fit with our current members."
The Roos are coming off a 2019-20 academic year that was a banner one. The women's basketball program earned their first-ever NCAA Tournament berth after winning their first-ever conference championship. With a 16-14 (.533) record, the men's basketball team compiled the best win percentage since 2010-11. The Roos also started 6-0 at home, the second-best start all-time in program history.
Kansas City Athletics depart the Western Athletic Conference after seven years in the league.
For more information on the Summit League, go to thesummitleague.org
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The Summit League will bring the Roos back into a conference with teams mostly from the Midwest. The Summit League has a 38-year history of Division I athletics. Kansas City joins the University of Denver; University of North Dakota; North Dakota State University; University of Nebraska Omaha; Oral Roberts University; University of South Dakota; South Dakota State University; and Western Illinois University.
The conference change will align major priorities of the department, student-athlete welfare, overall cost-savings competing closer to Kansas City and the ability to create regional rivalries.
"Our student-athletes, coaches, and staff have worked diligently to position Kansas City Athletics for comprehensive excellence – academic excellence, competitive success, brand enhancement, and elevating fan experience," said Director of Athletics Dr. Brandon Martin. "The Summit League provides our athletics department with an opportunity to best achieve our collective goals and advance the mission and tenets of UMKC. We are thankful for Commissioner Tom Douple and his leadership team for this tremendous opportunity."
The Summit League has a combined enrollment of around 100,000 at nine institutions, including four located in top 60 U.S. metropolitan populations and two land-grant universities. The Summit League has produced 15 NCAA National Champions with over 125 All-Americans and 100 Academic All-Americans including numerous student-athletes competing at the highest professional level.
"We are excited to have the Roos' athletic programs back in The Summit League and be part of the thriving Kansas City Metropolitan area again," said Summit League Commissioner Tom Douple. "With an enrollment of more than 16,000 students and schools of Law, Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy, the University along with its alumni base of 126,000, is a great fit with our current members."
The Roos are coming off a 2019-20 academic year that was a banner one. The women's basketball program earned their first-ever NCAA Tournament berth after winning their first-ever conference championship. With a 16-14 (.533) record, the men's basketball team compiled the best win percentage since 2010-11. The Roos also started 6-0 at home, the second-best start all-time in program history.
Kansas City Athletics depart the Western Athletic Conference after seven years in the league.
For more information on the Summit League, go to thesummitleague.org
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