Cornell applies to join Midwest Conference

The rumors began over a year ago and were officially confirmed Friday. Cornell College wants out of the Iowa Conference.

The school has announced it is applying for membership to the Midwest Conference for the 2012-13 athletics season. Cornell has been in the IIAC since 1997, exiting the Midwest Conference then with Coe.

The Midwest Conference consists of 10 schools in Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa: Illinois College, Ripon, St. Norbert, Knox, Grinnell, Beloit, Lawrence, Monmouth, Lake Forest and Carroll. It is considered a notch below the Iowa Conference athletically.

“We already have longstanding academic relationships with the majority of schools in the Midwest Conference, so the ability to expand on those relationships and increase our visibility in areas where we have large and active groups of alumni provides a great opportunity for our program,” Cornell Director of Athletics John Cochrane said in a statement.

While Coe has flourished since joining the Iowa Conference, Cornell has struggled from a competitive standpoint in virtually every sport. The school's football program, for instance, ended 19-game overall and 34-game conference losing streaks last season and has not won a game this season.

Cornell officials spent considerable time the past couple of years attempting to create an athletics conference out of the 14-school Associated Colleges of the Midwest academic consortium of which it is a member. The ACM also includes Iowa Conference members Coe and Luther, as well as several members of the Midwest Conference.

Coe and Luther told Source Media Group last winter they were not interested in an ACM conference and wished to remain part of the IIAC.

Here is the official press release from Cornell:

Cornell College Seeks Membership in Midwest Conference