VERMILLION, S.D., Nov. 4 (UPI) -- The University of South Dakota said Thursday it will join the Missouri Valley Football Conference effective the 2012-13 academic year.
South Dakota was extended an invitation to join the MVFC Wednesday. It will complete in the Summit League, which it will join July 1, in other sports. The Coyotes, who are in the third year of a move to NCAA Division I status, are currently members of the Great West Conference.
The four other football members of the Great West -- California-Davis, Cal Poly, North Dakota and Southern Utah -- previously announced plans to move to the Big Sky Conference.
"To join a league as strong as the Missouri Valley Football Conference is a great step forward for South Dakota athletics and the university as a whole," Athletic Director David Sayler said. "The MVFC is an established group with regional ties to some exciting rivalries and that is what college football is built on."
Other members of the MVFC are Illinois State, Indiana State, Missouri State, North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, Southern Illinois, Western Illinois and Youngstown State.
