Waldorf Athletics to Join NSAA in 2015-16

By Matt Oliver, Waldorf Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations 

FOREST CITY, Iowa – Waldorf (Iowa) announced on Wednesday that its athletic programs will join the North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) at the start of the 2015-16 academic year.

"The NSAA places Waldorf in an Upper Midwest footprint where we feel most at home," said Waldorf president Dr. Bob Alsop.

The Warriors' football team completed its inaugural season in the NSAA this fall.

"As an associate member of the NSAA in football this year, we have been impressed with the leadership of the conference and direction it is going," Alsop said.

Thirteen other Waldorf programs will make the transition to the conference effective next fall, including baseball, softball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, volleyball and men's and women's indoor/outdoor track and field.

"This move to the North Star makes sense for us particularly considering that the North Star is where our football team already has conference affiliation," said Bart Gray, Waldorf director of athletics. "Our coaches feel that we will have a better Midwest identity in the North Star and that the area encompassed by the North Star institutions is where we can establish a sound recruiting base."

This spring marks Waldorf's final athletic season in the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC). The Warriors have competed in the MCAC for the last three years.

"We are very appreciative of the home we have had in the MCAC and look forward to continuing our competitive relationships with these schools as well," Gray said.

Waldorf is the seventh school to join the NSAA. The conference is comprised of two schools from South Dakota and four from North Dakota. League members include Dakota State University, Presentation College, Dickinson State University, the University of Jamestown, Mayville State University and Valley City State University. Enrollment numbers for institutions in the NSAA range from 643 to 3,129.

"The decision to join the North Star with all of our sports teams was not made in haste or without vetting all the possible ramifications," Gray said. "We did our due diligence in exploring all foreseeable outcomes and then arrived at our decision. It was very important to Dr. Alsop and the entire Waldorf athletic staff that this was a decision and move that was done with integrity and respect for all schools involved."

 Joining the NSAA, shorter road trips will reduce travel costs for Waldorf's teams while enhancing the quality of education for student-athletes.

"At the heart of our decision to change conferences is the experience of our student-athletes," Alsop said. "With this move, our student-athletes will spend less time on the road and miss fewer classes."