MOVING TO THE SUMMIT SERIES

July 10	Basketball (Women)
July 17	Basketball (Men)
July 24	Golf
July 31	Soccer
Aug. 7	Volleyball
Aug. 14	Tennis
Aug. 21	Track & Field/Cross Country
Aug. 28	Softball

The University of North Dakota will compete in The Summit League for all of its varsity sports (except hockey and football), beginning this season. The staff at FightingHawks.com will put together a sport-by-sport breakdown of what to expect, who the major players are, some history and stats to know as UND makes the transition. This eight-part weekly series began with the basketball teams with the women featured on July 10. Following the men's basketball feature on July 17, the men's and women's golf programs will be highlighted on July 24. 

A LITTLE HISTORY LESSON
On July 1, the University of North Dakota officially joined The Summit League for all of its varsity sports (except for football and hockey). The Summit League moved its offices from the Chicago suburbs to Sioux Falls this summer and is in its 37th season, starting as the Association of Mid-Continent Universities (AMCU) in 1982 before rebranding as the Mid-Continent Conference in 1989. In 2007, the conference changed its name to The Summit League. 

HOW MANY SCHOOLS IN THE SUMMIT LEAGUE?
There are nine schools with full membership in The Summit League, including five that are former North Central Conference foes. North Dakota rejoins conference rivalries against North Dakota State, South Dakota, South Dakota State and Omaha, all of whom transitioned to Division I following the dissolving of the NCC. Denver, Western Illinois, Purdue Fort Wayne and Oral Roberts make up the other schools in the conference.

FAMILIAR PATH
UND will be traveling plenty up and down Interstate 29 in the coming years as members of The Summit League and the men's basketball program will look to continue its success over the rivals located along that stretch. UND owns winning records against the other four The Summit League teams that are located on I-29: North Dakota State, Omaha, South Dakota and South Dakota State. 
 

Program	UND's All-Time Record	UND's Division I Record
Denver	0-2	Never met
North Dakota State	161-134	4-6
Omaha	54-36	0-2
Oral Roberts	Never met	Never met
Purdue Fort Wayne	0-2	0-2
South Dakota	99-88	5-4
South Dakota State	106-82	1-5
Western Illinois	2-3	0-2

HOW DOES THE SUMMIT STACK UP AGAINST THE BIG SKY?
Here's a look at how the Big Sky's RPI stacks up against The Summit League's RPI since the 2012-13 season when UND joined its membership. This past season was the only time that the Big Sky held an advantage in the head-to-head comparison, finishing with a 0.4800 rating, while The Summit League was top heavy with a .4765 rating. The Fighting Hawks owned a RPI of 221 last season, which would have been fifth highest in The Summit League. UND was seventh among the 12 Big Sky teams.
 
Conference RPI Rankings
Year                            Big Sky/The Summit League
2012-13                       28/19
2013-14                       25/17
2014-15                       27/21
2015-16                       27/11
2016-17                       28/18
2017-18                       17/19

WHO HAVE BEEN THE RECENT MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONS?
The Summit League regular season title has been either won or shared by a team in the Dakotas each of the past six seasons with North Dakota State (2014 & 2015), South Dakota State (2013, 2015, 2016 and 2018) and South Dakota (2017) all holding up the trophy at the end of a season at least once during that stretch. Here's a look at the champions from the past 10 seasons starting with the 2008-09 season when UND began its transition to the Division I level.

Year: Regular Season Champion(s) | Tournament Champions (Seed)
2008-09: North Dakota State (16-2) | North Dakota State (1)    
2009-10: Oakland (17-1)* | Oakland* (1)
2010-11: Oakland (17-1)* | Oakland* (1)
2011-12: Oral Roberts (17-1) | South Dakota State (2)
2012-13: South Dakota State/Western Illinois (13-3) | South Dakota State (1)
2013-14: North Dakota State (12-2) | North Dakota State (1)
2014-15: South Dakota State/North Dakota State (12-4) | North Dakota State (2)
2015-16: South Dakota State/Purdue Fort Wayne (12-4) | South Dakota State (2)
2016-17: South Dakota (12-4) | South Dakota State (4)
2017-18: South Dakota State (13-1) | South Dakota State (1)
*Oakland is no longer a member of The Summit League

WHERE IS THE SUMMIT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT?
Sioux Falls, S.D., has hosted The Summit League Tournament every year since 2008-09. The Denny Sanford PREMIER Center plays host to the three-day, eight-team championships in a neutral-court setting for both the men's and women's tournaments. 

ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIPS
Valparaiso* (8)
South Dakota State (5)
North Dakota State (3)
Oakland* (3)
Oral Roberts* (3)
Eastern Illinois* (2)
Green Bay* (2)
Missouri State* (2)
Cleveland State* (1)
IUPUI* (1)
Northern Iowa* (1)
Southern Utah* (1)
Western Illinois (1)
Wright State* (1)
* No longer a league member
 
DAUM-INATE RUN IN BROOKINGS
South Dakota State has captured the last three Tournament Championships and done so from a different seeding each time. The Jackrabbits were the No. 2 seed when they won the title in 2016, the No. 4 seed when they won it in 2017 and were the top seed when cutting down the nets last season in Sioux Falls. SDSU senior forward Mike Daum was named the Tournament MVP each of those three contests and he'll be the premier player in the conference during the upcoming 2018-19 season. He entered his name into the 2018 NBA Draft, but withdrew in time to return to Brookings for his senior season.

Daum was one of three The Summit League players to earn Lou Henson All-America honors following the 2018-18 season joining Purdue Fort Wayne's John Konchar and South Dakota's Matt Mooney. Daum, who is a two-time #SummitMBB Player of the Year after averaging 23.9 ppg a season, and Konchar (14.8 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 5.2 apg) will both be back for their senior seasons and be watched closely by NBA scouts throughout the season. Mooney will be playing his final collegiate season at Texas Tech as a graduate transfer.

Daum and Konchar, who like Daum is a three-time All-Summit League first team performer, are not the only formidable player returning to The Summit League for the 2018-19 season. Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Brandon Gilbeck (2.5 bpg) from Western Illinois returns for his senior season, Freshman of the Year David Jenkins, Jr., (17.2 ppg) from South Dakota State will also be back.
 
CURRENT UND PLAYERS VS. THE SUMMIT LEAGUE (Career Stats)
Conner Avants (6 games: 12.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg)
Billy Brown (5 games: 2.6 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.0 apg)
Cortez Seales (4 games: 5.3 ppg, 1.2 rpg)
Marlon Stewart (3 games: 17.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.0 apg)
Kienan Walter (5 games: 2.6 ppg, 1.0 rpg)