Story Courtesy of Jim Henry, The Morning Sun
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – MIAA Commissioner Mike Racy sported a cane at the MIAA Football Media Day on Tuesday in Kansas City.
Just two weeks earlier he underwent knee replacement surgery, and in his words, he "kept it in the family" since the doctor was a former Northwest Missouri football player.
Racy said he felt fine, and he certainly feels fine about the MIAA as another school year approaches.
"I feel really good about where we're at," he said. "We continue to have success on the field. Last year we won three national championships (Pittsburg State men's indoor and outdoor track and field and Central Oklahoma wrestling). We've won nine NCAA championships since 2021.
"But the thing I'm really impressed with our conference is we're not just kind of sitting on that. We're continuing to find ways to get better, to improve, maybe even to grow.
"It's a great environment to work in right now. Our presidents seem to all be on the same page. Our (athletics directors) leadership group seems to be on the same page. They want to be progressive. They want to be leaders in Division II. I think it's an exciting time to be part of the MIAA."
INSTANT REPLAY
The MIAA certainly was a Division II leader a year ago when it experimented with instant replay for football.
It basically was a last-minute decision, less than a month before the season began after finally getting approval from the NCAA. And it was a roaring success.
According to Racy, there were 45 coaches' challenges in the 2022 season, and 11 of them were successful. One decided the outcome of a game as replay showed Missouri Southern successfully forced and recovered a fumble to stop a Fort Hays State drive near the goal line in the final minute.
Targeting calls resulted in an automatic replay review, and among nine targeting calls last season, seven were overturned, meaning the player could continue to play. Before replay, a targeting penalty meant a player disqualification for the rest of the game and part of the next game.
Thanks to the MIAA's experiment last year, instant replay can be used this season all over the country.
"This past spring, the NCAA did approve the MIAA process," Racy said. "Our instant replay process is a new rule in NCAA football for all three divisions. Any institution or conference not using a replay booth that wants to have instant replay will follow what the MIAA put in place last year."
One change to the MIAA replay system is there will be three camera angles this year instead of two. The exact location of the third camera has not been decided.
EXPANSION
Lincoln is leaving the conference after this upcoming school year, but Arkansas-Fort Smith is coming aboard in the fall of 2024.
"That northwest corridor in Arkansas is an important area," Racy said. "We have a lot of schools with alumni and boosters and recent graduates. It's an area of the country that a lot of our coaches recruit. So to have a school in Fort Smith, Arkansas, planting the MIAA flag and being a member starting in the fall of '24 I think is a big deal.
"As we looked at Fort Smith, its institution looks a lot alike our current MIAA schools, a regional, public university. It's in a growing area. They are growing in enrollment. I think they are going to have resources where their sports can continue to improve, maybe even adding some sports. I think they'll quickly be a very competitive and good member of the MIAA."
EXPANSION (PART 2)
Lincoln's departure leaves the MIAA with 11 football-playing schools, and the league wants to get that number to 12 as soon as possible.
"Within the next few years — and I don't know whether that's two years or five — the goal is to get to 16 (league schools)," Racy said. "That would be adding a football school and a non-football school. If we do that, it would take us to 12 football members and four without football. I think for all of our sports, that would provide a good number for us to build schedules."
And, it might not stop at 16.
"I think there are some in our presidential leadership that are comfortable going even beyond that, 18 members, 20 members," Racy said. "I'm not sure we're there yet. I think we would be in two divisions as a conference, a North and a South division. We may go North-South even if we get to 16.
"There are still a lot of discussions to have, but I think certainly the environment is one that we want to get bigger. We want to continue to grow."
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JIM HENRY is sports editor of the Morning Sun and receives correspondence at jhenry@morningsun.net.
Follow him on Twitter at @Jim_Henry53