Cornell has applied for readmission to the Midwest Conference, the
school announced this week. A founding member of the conference,
Cornell left, along with archrival Coe, to join the Iowa
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 1997.
"We already have long-standing academic relationships with the majority of schools in the Midwest Conference," said Cornell athletic director John Cochrane, formerly commissioner of the IIAC, "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 has struggled in the IIAC in football, finishing over .500 in the league just once in the past 12 seasons. The Rams have lost 16 of their past 17 games overall and have gone 1-36 in IIAC football play in the past five seasons.
The IIAC said in a news release that the school had informed the conference of its plans, saying, "Other members of the Iowa Conference are committed to remaining in the conference and are awaiting Cornell’s final decision to see how it will impact future scheduling within the IIAC."
The current Midwest Conference members are Beloit, Carroll, Grinnell, Illinois College, Knox, Lake Forest, Lawrence, Monmouth, Ripon and St. Norbert. Only Grinnell is located in Iowa.