Macalester College's football program is joining the Midwest Conference (MWC) in 2014.  The Scots have been competing as an independent football team for the past 11 years since leaving the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) in 2001.  Macalester is committed to remain an MIAC Conference member in all other sports that the conference sponsors.

Macalester's Athletic Director Kim Chandler said the choice to get back into conference play was a deliberate one.  “This was an institutional decision and one that was purposeful and measured,” she said.

The Midwest Conference began in 1921.  Today, the MWC provides championship intercollegiate competition for 11 liberal arts schools located in Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. Member schools are Beloit, Carroll, Cornell, Grinnell, Illinois College, Knox, Lake Forest, Lawrence, Monmouth, Ripon and St. Norbert.

“Being part of the MWC gives our football team a great opportunity to compete for a conference championship with schools similar to our profile,” said Lee Nystrom '73, trustee, assistant football coach and former Green Bay Packer.   “It makes a lot of sense for us to be a part of this conference.”

With the addition of Macalester, MWC Football will now consist of 12 institutions that will compete in a divisional format. Beloit, Carroll, Lawrence, Macalester, Ripon, and St. Norbert will participate in the North Division while Cornell, Grinnell, Illinois Col., Knox, Lake Forest, and Monmouth will play in the South Division. The MWC has not played divisional football since 1998, following the departure of Coe College and Cornell College. Currently the conference plays a modified round robin schedule with its 11 institutions since the return of Cornell for the 2012 season.

Schedules will consist of two non-conference games, two cross-divisional games, followed by five divisional games. The North and South Division winners will meet in the final championship week of the season to decide who will earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament while all other teams will play their divisional counterpart within the standings.

“This is a positive step for our football program as we realign ourselves into conference play,” said sixth-year head coach Tony Jennison. “The team is excited about competing annually with the same teams, developing new traditions and rivalries.”

Macalester College, founded in 1874, is a national liberal arts college with a full-time enrollment of 2,035 students. Macalester is nationally recognized for its long-standing commitment to academic excellence, internationalism, multiculturalism, and civic engagement. Learn more at macalester.edu

Midwest Conference release | Midwest Conference football website

2014 Macalester Football Schedule
Sept. 6 - Non-conference game
Sept. 13 - Non-conference game
Sept. 27 - at Grinnell*
Oct. 4 - Knox*
Oct. 11 - at Ripon*
Oct. 18 - at Beloit*
Oct. 25 - Lawrence*
Nov. 1 - Carroll*
Nov. 8 - at St. Norbert*
Nov. 15 - NWC Championship Week
*MWC game