USIU’s Bid for Conference Is Put on Hold

SAN DIEGO — U.S. International’s bid to form the American Conference, an NCAA Division I independent basketball conference for the 1991-92 season, was put on hold during planning meetings Sunday and Monday in Marco Island, Fla.

According to Al Palmiotto, USIU athletic director, no formal commitment was made for the new conference, but the schools in attendance did agree to play each other in the early months of 1991, the most difficult time for independents to fill their schedules.

“All we really did was make the commitment in playing the round-robin schedule in those months, and come up with a structure that would be more cost effective,” Palmiotto said.

According to Palmiotto, athletic directors from six of the 10 schools originally considering membership--USIU, Cal State Northridge, Southern Utah State, Chicago State, Northeastern Illinois and Missouri-Kansas City--have said they want to join, and two others, Wright State and Sacramento State, are undecided. The schools had a June 7 deadline, but Palmiotto said several schools simply needed more time.

“Obviously, we would have liked to agree that the conference is the best idea,” he said. “We haven’t ruled that out. But the faculties, presidents, board of trustees didn’t have enough time to see the ramifications of a new conference.”

The next meeting will be Jan. 8-11 in Nashville, Tenn., in conjunction with the NCAA meetings. Then, Palmiotto said, the schools will have a better idea of what the NCAA is planning to do with independents in terms of budgeting, scholarships and scheduling.