July 31, 2008

CEDARVILLE, Ohio - The University of Northwestern Ohio has been granted full membership into the American Mideast Conference beginning with the 2008-09 academic year. The announcement was made by the AMC Council of Presidents following a vote at their annual summer session.

UNOH, located in Lima, Ohio, resumed athletics in 2007-08 as a four-year program after previously competing at the junior college level. The Racers joined the NAIA and were part of the AMC as an associate member last year.

"We are elated that we were able to meet the needs and expectations to gain full admittance into the American Mideast Conference," stated UNOH athletic director Chris Adams. "We feel strongly that the AMC is a very good `fit' for us. We are currently supporting seven athletic teams and are hoping to grow to as many as 12 programs within the next two academic years."

The Racers currently field men's programs in basketball, golf, and tennis. They have women's teams in those same three sports as well as volleyball.

The addition of Northwestern Ohio keeps AMC membership at 16 institutions for the 2008-09 academic year. The league presidents also announced that Urbana University had withdrawn its membership effective this fall and that Ohio Dominican University would be doing the same following the academic year. Both schools have been league members since 1971.

The American Mideast Conference, an NAIA-affiliated conference, was founded in 1949 as the Mid-Ohio League and later became the Mid-Ohio Conference in 1962. The MOC changed to its current name in 1998 during it's 50th anniversary year when it expanded beyond the borders of Ohio for the first time ever to include members in New York and Pennsylvania.