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    New Nebraska Wesleyan wrestling program to join Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

    Sports programs at Nebraska Wesleyan University -- including the new wrestling program, announced earlier this month -- will be joining the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference effective in the 2016-17 school year, according to multiple media reports this week.

    With the move to the IIAC, NWU will be leaving the Great Plains Athletic Conference, which is comprised of NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) schools mostly in Nebraska, to join a conference of Iowa-based NCAA Division III schools. Presently, Nebraska Wesleyan is the only college in the U.S. to have both NAIA and NCAA Div. III sports programs; the Lincoln-based school is in the process of transitioning to all-D3 programs, including the wrestling program, which will start competing in that division in fall 2016. That transition process will be complete in July 2016.

    The major differences between Division III and the NAIA is that Division III schools do not offer athletic scholarships and are reimbursed for participation in national events, according to the Lincoln Journal-Star.

    "This is something that has been in discussions for many years and we had the opportunity to make the move to a NCAA Division III conference," said Wesleyan's athletic director Ira Zeff. "We can further enhance the student-athlete experience. We currently compete in NCAA Division III competition in track, cross country volleyball and men's golf."

    NWU president Fred Ohles said the switch from the Great Plains Athletic Conference will give NWU a "stronger opportunity to live that (NCAA Division III) out every day."

    The IIAC has been a fixture in the Iowa collegiate sports scene since 1922. Its membership includes Buena Vista University, Central College, Coe College, University of Dubuque, Loras College, Luther College, Simpson College and Wartburg College. Nebraska Wesleyan will be the Iowa Conference's first addition to its roster since Coe and Cornell College of Iowa joined in 1997. (Cornell returned to the Midwest Conference after the 2011-12 academic year.) The IIAC currently sponsors 21 sports including wrestling.

    The Journal-Star pointed out some new challenges for NWU sports programs, including a higher level of competition ... and more hours on the road for student-athletes. "Travel for NWU teams will be greatly increased from the half-hour bus rides to Concordia (Seward, Neb.) and Doane (Crete), and hour-long bus rides to Midland (Fremont). The closest IIAC school, Buena Vista in Storm Lake (Iowa), is 173 miles from Lincoln, and the farthest team is Luther in Decorah, some 390 miles from Lincoln."

    However, NWU's Zeff and Ohles both provided assurance that there would be no problem with transportation, athletes missing classes or additional expenses.
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