(Bloomington, MN) — Scheduling changes in football and basketball and a new four-year strategic plan are among the numerous adjustments and initiatives approved by Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) coaches and administrators ahead of the 2024-25 academic year.
The 2024 football season will be the final fall of the MIAC’s divisional structure. Beginning in 2025 and into 2026, MIAC football teams will play an eight-game conference schedule featuring seven regularly scheduled in-conference contests and one Championship Week game. After the seventh conference game, teams will be seeded 1-10, with the top two teams (based on in-conference record) playing for the MIAC championship on the home field of the No. 1 seed. The remaining Championship Week matchups will include No. 4 at No. 3, No. 6 at No. 5, No. 8 at No. 7, and No. 10 at No. 9.
Beginning in 2027, the MIAC will return to a traditional, single-round robin schedule with every MIAC team playing every other MIAC team once. Each team will play nine in-conference games and one non-conference game. The 2025 and 2026 seasons will bridge the divisional structure and nine-game format, allowing institutions to honor current non-conference agreements while establishing a clear transition period with a defined endpoint.
Conference coaches and administrators have also approved a shift in basketball scheduling philosophy beginning with the 2024-25 season. As part of a four-year trial, MIAC basketball teams will now play a round-and-a-half conference schedule, instead of the previous double round-robin format. The eleven MIAC men’s teams will now play 16 conference games, while the 12 women’s teams will play 18 conference contests. In addition, those games will be played in a doubleheader format. The men’s games will be played first (5:30 p.m. on weeknights, 1:00 p.m. on weekends) followed by the women’s games (7:30 p.m. on weeknights, 3:00 p.m. on weekends) for the first nine weeks of the 2024-25 season. The doubleheader order will flip on the tenth play date, with the women’s games being played first followed by the men’s game for the remainder of the season. For the 2025-26 season, doubleheaders will only be played on the weekend. Genders will play at opposite sites during the week, matching the previous scheduling philosophy. Tiebreakers for seeding can be found on the men’s and women’s playoff pages.
The reduced conference schedule is intended to provide better scheduling flexibility for teams to add quality non-conference games to match the needs of their programs while also allowing coaches to maintain increased autonomy over their schedules. The philosophy will be assessed by coaches and administrators midway through the four-year trial.
Scheduling philosophy will be a key component of the conference’s new strategic plan, which administrators approved in May. In addition to competition-related items, MIAC membership will also focus discussions on health & safety standards, student-athlete experience, among eight key areas of focus identified by MIAC administrators for the conference’s new strategic plan, which was approved by membership in May. In addition to competition-related items, MIAC membership will also have focused discussions on health & safety standards, student-athlete experience, event management, new revenue generation, council review, and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
Several other policy changes have been adopted by MIAC membership for the upcoming academic year:
General Code
Playoff Adjustments: All playoff contests will be cashless in 2024-25 with admission conducted through HomeTown Ticketing. HomeTown Ticketing has a “HomeTown Fan” app available for download on mobile devices. Ticket prices for playoff games are set at $12 for adults and $3 for students.
Field Playability: When situations require, the host AD (or designated administrator) shall determine if play should begin.
Basketball
Pregame Protocol: Match NCAA Championships pregame introduction order and timing.
Football
Travel Roster: Visiting team travel rosters will expand to 75. Host institutions are required to communicate facility constraints.
Golf
Championship Weekends: The MIAC men’s and women’s championships will rotate annually, scheduled for the fifth and sixth weekends (defined as Saturday and Sunday playable weekends) of the fall segment.
Soccer
Playoff Dates: Quarterfinals will be played the Monday following the regular season finale. Semifinals are set for Thursday after the regular season finale and the championship game will be played the Saturday after the last regular season game.
Tiebreakers: Men’s soccer tiebreakers were updated by removing outdated criteria and adding a goal differential with a cap of three-goal difference.
Tennis
Fall Conference Matches: The previous two-year trial for conference matches to be played in the fall segment was voted into permanent code. Conference matches may be played in the fall with mutual coaches’ agreement.
Future MIAC postseason dates, hosts, and venues for the next three years have also been approved and can be viewed here.
(info courtesy of MIAC)
