The St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) has added a pair of affiliate members for its upcoming inaugural season of Men's and Women's Wrestling. The University of Ozarks and Schreiner University will join the SLIAC as affiliate members, combining with core member schools Blackburn College, Eureka College, Fontbonne University, Lyon College, and Westminster College to give the league seven competing programs. The 2023-24 academic year will be the first year the SLIAC has sponsored wrestling championships.
"As Commissioner, I am extremely pleased about the addition of the University of the Ozarks and Schreiner University as the first two affiliates in the sports of men's and women's wrestling to the SLIAC," said SLIAC Commissioner Dick Kaiser. "With the SLIAC adding both men's and women's wrestling championships this year to the sports sponsorship of the conference, it is obviously very exciting to be able to expand the total number of participating institutions in SLIAC wrestling to seven institutions in our first year of the championships."
The University of Ozarks is located in Clarksville, Arkansas with an enrollment of 872 students. They compete full-time in the American Southwest Conference and have sponsored men's wrestling since 2014-15 and women's wrestling as a collegiate sport since 2021-22. Schreiner University, located in Kerrville, Texas, added men's and women's wrestling in the 2018-19 season and made the move to NCAA Division III competition level in 2021-22. They are a private institution with an enrollment of 1,308 students and compete full-time in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.
"Both The University of Ozarks and Schreiner University bring established wrestling programs into the SLIAC championships. The addition of both schools will provide a better quality student-athlete experience for all the competitors at the championships and will provide a true test for those individuals that ultimately end up earning individual conference championships."
The inaugural SLIAC Men's and Women's Wrestling Championships will be hosted by Eureka College on February 16, 2024 and February 17, 2024. The women's championship will be held on Friday with the men's championship on Saturday.
"Schreiner University and The University of the Ozarks are both top rated educational institutions that definitely will add to the overall excellence of the SLIAC conference membership. I anticipate both schools will definitely make their mark not only in the sports of men's and women's wrestling, but also within the high caliber type of student-athlete that will be representing their institutions throughout the year."