Published: April 21, 2007 11:41 pm         

Mountain State University to join NAIA’s KIAC

Looking to the near future, Mountain State University announced it will join the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, beginning this fall.

MSU will participate in all sports in the NAIA Division II conference with the exception of basketball.

“The Kentucky Athletic Conference is a very competitive conference,” MSU athletic director Bob Bolen said. “This gives our programs a blueprint for competing at the national level. It’s a traditionally strong conference and it’s a well-established conference. This helps Mountain State in the future development of our athletic program.”

Member schools include Berea, Spalding, Asbury, IU Southeast, Alice Lloyd and SLCOP.

“The impact this will have on all of our other sports will be immediate and positive,” Bolen said. “Our soccer, volleyball and softball coaches are extremely excited by this move. It gives us a home.”

Men’s soccer coach John Birkelbach, the school’s assistant athletic director, is one of those.

“It’s something that will benefit the school and the players,” Birkelbach said. “It gives us something to work for and goals to achieve during the season.

“My players will be rewarded. They can compete for player of the week, all-conference teams, and regular-season and tournament championships. Those can add trophies to the wall and let you see your success.”

Softball coach Tim Berry agreed.

I’m real excited about going to the KIAC,” Berry said.

“I have asked for years about the college supporting us going into the conference. I felt like as an independent we didn’t have the avenues to get somewhere the other sports did.

“I’ve played many of their teams and I’m familiar with the coaches. I think we’ll be a perfect fit and a great addition to the KIAC as an institution. MSU has grown and in the next 10 years the growth of this institution will be phenomenal. I think the KIAC will never regret bringing us in.”

Bolen said the school will add two sports in men’s and women’s play for the 2008-09 season. Among the sports considered will be golf, tennis and cross country.

MSU currently competes in basketball and soccer on the men’s side and volleyball, softball and soccer (beginning this fall) in women’s sports.

The men’s basketball team, which has qualified for nine consecutive NAIA Division I national tournaments, will remain an independent.

“We really don’t need a (conference) home,” Bolen, also the men’s basketball coach, said. “We wanted to stay (NAIA) Division I because you can give more scholarship money. We’ve had some success over the last nine years (including the 2004 national championship).”

There is another Division I member, Brescia, which competes in the conference in all sports except basketball. Brescia is also an independent in Division I basketball.

Bolen sees it as a big move for the school.

“The impact it’s going to have on our athletic program is going to be tremendous,” Bolen said.

— Register-Herald sports writer Dan Stillwell

contributed to this story.