With the imminent dissolution of the Mid-South D1A Conference, a new conference will be formed for the 2023-24 collegiate season.
The Midwest Rugby Conference will include Lindenwood, Davenport, Adrian, and McKendree in a slightly more geographically compact competition. Lindenwood (St. Charles, Mo.) and Davenport (Grand Rapids, Mich.) move from the Mid-South and will be joined by former NCR D1 teams Adrian College (Adrian, Mich.) and McKendree University (Lebanoon, Ill.).
Lindenwood Head Coach Josh Macy has been spearheading the effort and added that the key goals of the conference are to drive student experience, and play more better rugby, and create a foundation for others to join.
"At least in the Mid-South, we could have done a better job with student experience," said Macy. "We didn't have a trophy; no events; and only did an all-conference team as awards. Competitively, Adrian and McKendree have a clear message that they are aiming high and want to set themselves apart from the myriad of new varsity teams who are maybe slow-playing themselves in terms of the level where they compete."
