Lou "The Photo Guy" Michaels

30 January 2009
St Paul - Story by Lou Michaels

The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) is one of the oldest conferences in the nation, founded in 1920, and is recognized as one of the strongest NCAA Division III intercollegiate athletic conferences. The MIAC's top teams are consistently nationally ranked and in the hunt for NCAA championships. The MIAC's 13 private colleges are all members of the NCAA Division III and annually attract many of the nation's top student-athletes.

We recently had an opportunity to sit down with Dan McKane, MIAC Executive Director, to discuss the state of the conference.

The MIAC is a conference in which the athletes are students first, yet still have the opportunity to reach any height to which their athletic abilities take them. As a result of competing at the NCAA Division III level, no institution in the MIAC offers any athletic scholarships. Much of the conversation circled around strong academics and athletics. McKane was quick to point out that MIAC institutions focus on well-balanced educations and that student-athletes are participating in athletics for the love of the game.

McKane noted that over 70% of all student-athletes competing in the MIAC are products of Minnesota high schools. “Our student-athletes are often the top performing students in the classroom as well,” McKane added.

As McKane was named the second full time Executive of the conference, he stepped into a role that brought him great pride. McKane played soccer in the MIAC at Gustavus Adolphus College and stepped into the coaching realm after graduation, remaining with the Gusties for three seasons. Later he spent six years as the assistant in the conference office. In 2005, he was offered the Executive Director position and soon created some lofty goals. "I wanted to increase communication from our office to our member institutions, coaches and fans. Communication helps increase success. In addition, I placed a high priority on compliance education and oversight, along with tightening budgets and our office operation overall,” stated McKane. “As I complete my fourth year as Director, I feel I have met many of my goals, but am never satisfied and know we can continue to improve," he added.

When asked about challenges facing the MIAC, McKane touched on the economy and the changing face of governance in the conference. "In today's economy, we need to take a hard look at our entire operation and make all attempts to ensure a great experience for our student-athletes, while making some tough decisions on trimming budgets. In addition, Presidents of the conference have expressed a sincere desire to become more involved with governance of the MIAC, which is consistent with what is happening with increased presidential involvement on a national level as well."

The MIAC is the fourth largest conference in Division III. Currently, the conference has a moratorium on new membership. “With our size, it would not be healthy for our scheduling to expand, along with potential increased missed class time and travel expenses,” stated McKane. He added that the conference is continually evaluating its positioning and membership though.

McKane noted that the NCAA has shifted more responsibility to conference offices in the past ten years. He is extremely pleased with the current MIAC staff. “We have a staff of three employees and are able to do many positive things for our student-athletes within the conference,” said McKane.

McKane recalled his first interactions with me. He stated, "Lou, you were the pioneer of audio broadcasting over the Internet in the late 1990’s. Many thanks to you and your staff for helping showcase our great student-athletes many years ago."

The MIAC continues to have a bright outlook ahead. With a storied past and a promising future, the conference should continue to shine for many years.