Welcome back, Kansas City
Parts of this release taken from KCRoos.com
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – More than one year after Kansas City Athletics accepted an invitation, the Roos are officially a member of The Summit League once again. The Roos become the ninth member of The Summit League, a league in which the Roos held membership from 1994-2013. All 14 varsity sports will be eligible immediately for conference championships.
The Summit League has a 38-year history of Division I athletics. Kansas City joins the University of Denver; University of North Dakota; North Dakota State University; University of Nebraska Omaha; Oral Roberts University; University of South Dakota; South Dakota State University; and Western Illinois University.
“Our student-athletes, coaches, and staff have worked diligently to position Kansas City Athletics for comprehensive excellence – academic excellence, competitive success, brand enhancement, and elevating fan experience,” said Director of Athletics Dr. Brandon Martin. “The Summit League provides our athletics department with an opportunity to best achieve our collective goals and advance the mission and tenets of UMKC. We are thankful for Commissioner Tom Douple and his leadership team for this tremendous opportunity.”
The Summit League has a combined enrollment of around 100,000 at nine institutions, including four located in top 60 U.S. metropolitan populations and two land-grant universities. The Summit League has produced 15 NCAA National Champions with over 125 All-Americans and 100 Academic All-Americans including numerous student-athletes competing at the highest professional level.
“We are excited to have the Roos’ athletic programs back in The Summit League and be part of the thriving Kansas City Metropolitan area again,” said Summit League Commissioner Tom Douple. “With an enrollment of more than 16,000 students and schools of Law, Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy, the University along with its alumni base of 126,000, is a great fit with our current members.”
The Roos are coming off a 2019-20 academic year that was a banner one. The women’s basketball program earned its first NCAA Tournament berth after winning the WAC Tournament for the first time. With a 16-14 (.533) record, the men’s basketball team compiled its best winning percentage since 2010-11. The Roos also started 6-0 at home, the second-best start all-time in program history.
About Kansas City Athletics
The Kansas City Roos are the NCAA Division I teams of the
University of Missouri-Kansas City, providing energy, excitement and a rallying point for campus and community. UMKC, one of four University of Missouri universities, is a public university serving more than 16,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. UMKC engages with the greater Kansas City area to promote exceptional student success, conduct impactful research, and elevate our region’s economy and workforce while fostering an environment welcoming to all. For more information, visit KCRoos.com or follow us on social media with the handle @KCRoosAthletics. For more information about UMKC, visit
umkc.edu.
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