The University of Evansville joined two other Missouri Valley Conference schools today in becoming affiliate members of the Mid-American Conference in the sport of men’s swimming & diving. UE, Missouri State and Southern Illinois each signed a six-year agreement with the MAC through the 2015 school year.

The Missouri Valley Conference does not sponsor men’s swimming & diving. All three MVC institutions were members of the Sun Belt Conference in men’s swimming & diving the past three seasons.

“I am extremely pleased to welcome the addition of these three fine institutions as affiliate members of the Mid-American Conference,” said Dr. Jon Steinbrecher, Commissioner of the Mid-American Conference. “With all three joining us in a long-term relationship, we look forward to working with their fine student-athletes and athletic staff and certainly welcome them to our family of institutions.”

The addition of three new affiliate members brings the number of schools competing in men’s swimming & diving to seven, joining current MAC members Ball State, Buffalo, Eastern Michigan and Miami.

“We have always had a lot of respect for the Mid-American Conference and the schools involved in the sport of swimming & diving,” said UE Director of Athletics John Stanley. “When the opportunity arose for us to join the conference as an affiliate member of that sport, it had a lot of appeal because of the geographic proximity and other factors. Consequently, it is a great opportunity for us to compete with schools in our region along with those in the MVC that are also joining the MAC as affiliate members for swimming & diving. We are extremely grateful to the Sun Belt Conference for allowing us to be an affiliate member in this sport. The Sun Belt has outstanding swimming & diving programs and we know they will continue to do well in the future. Our membership served all parties well and now we look forward with our fellow MVC members to starting a new era of swimming & diving as an affiliate member of the MAC.”

The 2010 MAC Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships will take place March 3-5 at Eastern Michigan University.