One of the cool things about starting Sports Guys Iowa for us has been getting plugged into the news releases from the Conferences that support the Iowa Colleges and Universities that we cover.
Late last week the A-R-C made a big announcement that was newsworthy with the announcement of a new strategic plan which includes the establishment of an A-R-C Championships Committee
The Championships Committee will focus on enhancing postseason opportunities for student-athletes. Its charge includes leading the implementation of a planned football bowl game, as well as coordinating a one-time championships festival that will bring multiple sports from the same season together at a neutral location. The committee will also oversee event planning, game operations, and execution in alignment with the broader strategic plan.
Planned Football Bowl Game
This was exciting to see as these DIII bowl games have started to take off the past few years. The Isthmus Bowl between two of the top DIII conferences in the US. The CCIW is home of National Champion North Central and the WIAC is home to the UW Power Football teams. These conferences in Illinois and Wisconsin have built a successful bowl game since 2021.
It’s well-sponsored and played near Madison, WI (I mean, the Isthmus Bowl has the Butter Burger backing them) and brings together the top teams in the two conferences that do not make the NCAA Division III Playoffs. Both these conferences will place two or more teams in the playoffs, so the second-place or third-place team that doesn’t make the playoffs are very strong football teams.
The Midwest Conference, which Grinnell and Cornell are part of, has started a Lakefront Bowl with the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) which is played near Milwaukee.
Who might the A-R-C partner with for a football bowl
The DIII Conferences in Wisconsin and Illinois are already involved in bowl games so a top conference just to the north of Iowa the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) which is home to powerful teams like St. John’s, Bethel, and nine other teams all based in Minnesota.
The other conference that might be a fit is the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Teams. I personally think the MIAC makes great sense and would be good fit for bowl partner.
What would we call it? There is only one choice for the SGI guys. The bowl needs to hosted in Austin, Minnesota. In 2026, we could have the first SPAM Bowl sponsored by Hormel. By writing it, maybe we can make that fun idea, become a reality.
The bowl and the A-R-Cs efforts to also build a one-time championships festival that will bring multiple sports from the same season together at a neutral location are big deals for the conference and the athletes.
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