Grateful for our proud past, excited for a bright future #RollToms #ProudPast #BrightFuture, MIAC Statement: https://t.co/AhW1tRi4iSMore Information: https://t.co/hJv4Dv6nUZ pic.twitter.com/vfyy4DMZwX, — St. Thomas Athletics (@TommieAthletics) May 22, 2019. The fit: It was Summit League Commissioner Tom Douple who truly got the ball rolling on St. Thomas’ move to Division I. “We look forward to hosting St. John’s this fall at Allianz Field,” St. Thomas said. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! For the Tommies, well, they just stepped into perhaps the best conference in all of women’s hockey. The private Catholic liberal arts university has about 6,200 undergraduates, double the enrollment of the next-closest schools in the league. Related Articles The University of St. Thomas will be “involuntarily” removed from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Learn more about our varsity sports and how you can get involved as an athlete and fan. “Let’s demonstrate we can sell out our basketball arena or our football stadium,” Esten said. MIAC announces St Thomas will be ‘involuntarily removed’, University president calls decision ‘extremely disappointing’, St Paul school has been original member of league since 1920. makes U.S.T. “Tom was the first to step up and say, ‘Hey, we want St. Thomas to be a part of our future,’ ” St. Thomas athletic director Phil Esten said in Thursday’s conference call featuring the commissioners of each of the Tommies’ new conferences. Over the summer, Vice President and Director of Athletics Phil Esten, Ph.D., led an advisory committee to methodically examine several options for a new conference home. Once St. Thomas exhausted efforts last summer to remain in the MIAC, the university’s president, Julie Sullivan, appointed an 18-member task force to determine what to do next. Women’s hockey will be a member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Now, as the Star Tribune’s Patrick Reusse reported in his April 5 column, St. Thomas may be forced out of its historic athletic conference, the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference … In 2005, the university’s trustees hired an outside firm to explore a move to Division I in hockey, but the estimated costs of travel, scholarships and facilities proved prohibitive. The school was expressing its interest in the Pioneer League. “St Thomas expended tremendous effort to remain in the MIAC and stabilize the conference,” Sullivan said in a statement. “It’s an extraordinary situation,” said Esten, a former Tommies baseball player. By comparison, Augustana, a private university in Sioux Falls, S.D., that is moving to Division I from Division II with an eye on the Summit League, expects its athletic budget to rise from $10 million — double that of U.S.T. The move is the culmination of years of political maneuvering between St. Thomas and the conference, which came to a head last month. “We’re looking forward to the game with the Johnnies this year at U.S. Bank Stadium,” he said. The school’s Twin Cities location was another plus. St. Thomas would need to find a separate conference for its football team if it did join the Summit League, which does not include football. “They embrace and represent both academic and athletic excellence and are important contributors to our university’s culture. As for men’s hockey, well, that program doesn’t yet have a home. And to compete with them every weekend, it was a perfect fit for us.”. Division I Council, spurred in part by the St. Thomas application, agreed to study a potential direct pathway from Division III to Division I. “While this decision is extremely disappointing, we will continue to prioritize the welfare and overall experience of our student-athletes,” St. Thomas president Julie Sullivan said in a letter to UST stakeholders. Dear St. Thomas students, faculty and staff. That’ll be a challenge with the 2021 season fast approaching, but Esten said the school is “on a good path” to filling its schedule. St. Thomas needs a bigger hockey arena (the current one seats 1,400), and possibly expanded facilities for football (5,025) and basketball (2,000).