ST. PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) commissioner Dan McKane and Macalester College Director of Athletics Donnie Brooks have announced that the Macalester College football program will join the MIAC beginning in 2021. A charter member of the MIAC since the conference was formed in 1920, Macalester has played football in the Midwest Conference since 2014. The Scots are scheduled to play the 2020 season as a member of the Midwest Conference.

"We are excited for the opportunity to return to the MIAC in football in 2021," Brooks said. "The return to traditional rivalries and the new divisional format made the return more appealing. Without question, the MIAC is one of the top Division III conferences in the nation in all sports, and we are thrilled to re-join the conference in historically one of its strongest sports. This move also will impact our recruiting locally. As students look to attend college closer to home, our return to the MIAC in football is a reminder that Macalester offers an exceptional academic and athletic experience right here in St. Paul."

The MIAC also announced the addition of the College of St. Scholastica, located in Duluth, Minn., as a full member of the conference beginning in the fall of 2021, and the formation of two divisions for football.

"We are excited to welcome Macalester football back home to the MIAC," McKane said. "Macalester football was part of a significant portion of our history and we look forward to the Scots joining that legacy again as the conference embarks on a new era of MIAC football."

Macalester's football program left the MIAC in 2001, seeking competitive balance for a program that had not posted a winning record since 1986. From 2002 through the 2013 season, the Scots played an independent schedule which often included two to three opponents from the MIAC each season. In 2014, Macalester joined the Midwest Conference and had immediate success, compiling a program-best 9-2 record and winning the conference's championship game against Illinois College. The win resulted in the Scots' first appearance in the NCAA Division III football playoffs.

Victories and roster size have increased since the arrival of head coach Tony Jennison, who came to Macalester in 2006 as an assistant before becoming head coach in 2008. Under Jennison, the Scots have posted a 60-59 record over 12 seasons, making Jennison the program's winningest and longest tenured coach. Since 2011, Macalester is 9-9 against MIAC teams Carleton and Hamline, who the Scots play annually for the Book of Knowledge and the Paint Bucket, respectively.

"This is an exciting time for Macalester football as we go back to our historical roots and re-join the MIAC," Jennison said. "I am excited for the challenge of competing in one of the best and most prestigious athletic and academic conferences in Division III. With any challenge there comes great opportunity. Personally, I take great pride in knowing where our football program came from when I first came to Macalester, 15 years ago, to where our program is now to be able to make this move."

Macalester will play in the Skyline Division with Augsburg, Bethel, Concordia and Hamline, with the Northwoods Division consisting of Carleton, Gustavus, Saint John's, St. Olaf and St. Scholastica. The format will be similar to that of the Midwest Conference, in that teams will play four divisional games, followed by a Championship Week with teams facing the corresponding seed in the other division. The top two seeds will play for the MIAC title and the automatic bid to the NCAA Playoffs. In addition to divisional play, teams will play three crossover games against the other division.

Here's Macalester's MIAC football schedule for 2021 (two non-conference games will be added):
**edited June 5, 2020
Sept. 25 at St. Olaf
Oct. 2 vs. Carleton
Oct. 9 vs. Concordia*
Oct. 16 at Augsburg*
Oct. 23 at Bethel*
Oct. 30 vs. Hamline *
Nov. 6 at St. Scholastica
Nov. 13 MIAC Championship Week
* - Divisional game

Click here for the entire 2021 MIAC football schedule.