A charter member of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Upper Iowa announced Aug. 4 it will officially become an NCAA Division II provisional member Sept. 1. UIU's decision to drop to Division II will end 82 years as a member of the IIAC. The administration and the board of trustees evaluated the conference and division affiliations over the past five months and determined that NCAA Division II gives the university and the athletics teams the best possible opportunity for success.

UIU will serve a two-year provisional membership during which the institution will maintain a Division II profile. At the conclusion of the two-year period, the Peacocks will be an active member of Division II. The Peacocks will play their regular Iowa Conference schedule for the 2003-04 athletics year but will be ineligible for IIAC championships.

"Upper Iowa University has had a long-standing relationship with the Iowa Conference and we wish them the very best as they move their program to another level of competition," IIAC Commissioner John T. Cochrane said. "The departure of a conference member is never an easy process; however, we certainly anticipate a continued relationship between our institutions through non-conference competition in a number of sports."

Mike Eischeid, chair of the Athletics Committee and former Peacock All-America football player, said, "while there is a deep sense of loss in leaving the Iowa Conference, the vision for the university can be met with this move both athletically and academically. We look forward to the future of Upper Iowa with great anticipation."

Athletic director Gil Cloud said, "today is a great day for Upper Iowa University and the athletics program. We reflect on our past with admiration for all the former Peacock athletes who have contributed so much to this university and the Iowa Conference institutions, but now we look to the future."

The move leaves the IIAC with nine full members, leaving it with enough members to retain its automatic bid in football and men's and women's basketball. The move might also hasten another departure from the conference. Dubuque had been talked of as considering the less strenuous Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference and Illini-Badger Conference for football, but athletic director Dan Runkle told D3hoops.com, "our interest is staying in the Iowa Conference. We have no interest in leaving."

UIU is the second school to leave the IIAC in recent years, following William Penn, which joined the NAIA after the 2000-01 school year.