Coming soon after Notre Dame’s Big Ten decision, Saint Mary’s campaign for permanent membership in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association may have been overshadowed.

But the spring decision by the MIAA President’s Council to accept the College as a permanent member brings Saint Mary’s into an academic and athletic spotlight.

The election ended Saint Mary’s two-year provisional membership in the oldest collegiate conference in the United States.

Other MIAA members include Adrian, Albion, Alma, Calvin, Hope, Kalamazoo and Olivet Colleges.

The decision provides Saint Mary’s an advantage for recruiting and competition opportunities within the conference, according to acting athletic director Jini Cook.

“Coaches recruiting for their sports can offer a stable conference, a stable schedule and strong competition to incoming freshman athletes,” Cook said.

Prospective students also are attracted to the strong academic reputations Saint Mary’s and the MIAA offer.

With two academic All-American teams last year, Saint Mary’s ranks near the top academically in the conference.

“We compete in the classroom and we compete on the field,” Cook said. “Several MIAA colleges had academic All-American teams last year, as we did. Saint Mary’s is definitely a positive addition because of that academic reputation.”

The move to the MIAA conference also shows recruits and current students that athletics is a priority for Saint Mary’s.

“We are serious about athletics,” said Michelle Samreta, Saint Mary’s MIAA representative for 1998-99. “This is not some high school girls gym class. The move to the MIAA will make athletes appreciate that.”

Recruiting already is benefiting from conference membership.

“We have several strong freshmen coming in who will make an immediate impact in every sport,” she said.

Stronger and more effective recruiting efforts may improve team rankings within the MIAA.

As provisional members, volleyball and tennis finished third, golf fourth, soccer, softball and track fifth, swimming sixth, cross country eighth and basketball ninth during the 1998-99 seasons.

“Every sport should see improvement athletically and academically this year,” Cook said. “I think that we have proven that we are real contenders in this conference, and we aren’t here to be anyone’s doormat.”

The move will also force athletic teams to rise to higher levels of competition, Samreta said.

“This will force us to keep to a standard,” Samreta said. “Because it offers us more competition, we will be able to develop competitive rivalries with other schools. It will definitely make all of us better athletes.”

Permanent membership should also help sports become a bigger priority for the College. Six new tennis courts are part of this year’s plans.

“The students, the administration and prospective students are creating this demand,” Cook said. “We need renovations to our equipment, office space, locker room and more. We need these things upgraded so that we can be a contender for a MIAA championship down the road.”

Defiance College, which also completed two years as a provisional member in the MIAA, will not become a permanent member.

Defiance accepted membership in the Heartland Conference for the 1999-2000 seasons.

Defiance teams will compete in fall and winter sports in the MIAA.