SIU dives into Mid-American Conference

By Gus Bode

The men’s swimming and diving team will face new challenges as it has agreed to leave the Sun Belt and compete in the Mid-American Conference for the next six seasons.

Swimming and diving coach Rick Walker said the switch in conferences would be great for the team.

‘The point scoring won’t be so confusing like it was in the Sun Belt Conference and our team can be more focused and know what they need to do,’ Walker said.

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The Sun Belt and Mid-American conferences will no longer affect each others scoring because the leagues will no longer compete at the same championship meet.

He said the quality of the competition in the Mid-American Conference is as good as the competition in the Sun Belt Conference. The toughest competitors would be Missouri State, Eastern Michigan and the University of Miami (Ohio), Walker said.

Sun Belt rivals Evansville and Missouri State will also make the switch to Mid-American with the Salukis.

Athletic Director Mario Moccia said there were two main reasons for the switch.

‘It makes a little more sense geographically and all the teams in the Mid-American Conference rotate being the host of the championship,’ Moccia said.

Moccia said the budget for the swimming program would not change because the additional expenses needed during the seasons when the team must travel to the championship will be offset by the savings the team will receive when it hosts the championship.

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SIU will host the Mid-American Conference Championship for the 2011 and 2013 seasons. Moccia said the championship would also be good for the local economy.

‘There will be an estimated 400-500 extra people in town during those four days, which will be good for the community,’ Moccia said.

The Salukis have been successful against Mid-American schools recently, including a 132-111 victory against Miami (Ohio) in an October 2007 dual meet in Carbondale.

Senior swimmer Jameson Kuper said he is excited about the switch to the Mid-American Conference.

‘It’s nice because the point scoring won’t be so confusing and we will have a clear goal of what we need to achieve,’ Kuper said. ‘Now that there will be less swimmers at the meets there will be less of a crowd and I can focus on having a good warm up.’

Despite the change in conferences, Walker said he knows his team will be prepared.

‘They’re hungry and they don’t care who is on the other side,’ Walker said. ‘A new conference is exciting because we’ll make it exciting. We’re going to come out and put our best foot forward.’

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