There are mixed emotions among the Baker University athletic programs as they prepare for future changes in the Heart of America Athletic Conference.

New faces, same conference

The HAAC will be adding two more schools to the mix for the 2015-2016 school year. The addition of Grand View and William Penn universities will expand the conference to 12 teams – the most it has had in 43 years.

BU Athletic Director Theresa Yetmar thinks that these schools are a “good fit for our conference,” and that each will be able to match the established intensity of HAAC athletics.

“I think the competition in our conference has always been strong,” Yetmar said. “I would make an argument that we are one of the best conferences in the nation, if not the best depending on what team you’re talking about…These teams have tradition of winning and they will jump right in and the bar of competition will stay high.”

Although Baker finished above Grand View, William Penn and all other HAAC institutions in the 2012-2013 Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup, which awards points for how universities finish in up to 12 sports, Grand View currently stands two spots ahead of BU at No. 10. William Penn is now ranked No. 57. Full results will be available when spring standings are released on May 29.

Grand View is the defending national champion in football and wrestling, two sports in which Baker had post-season success.

Head football coach Mike Grossner was uneasy about the proposed changes when he first heard about them.

“As a whole, in football, we weren’t for it,” Grossner said. “We have a strong enough conference and have enough teams to make it tough, and now we’ll have to be crazy good to win this conference.”

While Grossner may feel a little uneasy about the new competition, Yetmar has faith in Baker athletics.

“I think we have a group of coaches and student-athletes that are very competitive and don’t back down from a challenge,” Yetmar said. “Even if we bring in members that are winning national championships we will go, toe-to-toe with them.”

One of Grossner’s players, sophomore Clarence Clark, is ready to take any challenge.

“When you play against a team you know you are better than, a lot of the time you’ll play down to the level of your opponent,” Clark said. “Bringing in a team like Grandview to this conference, we are going to have to bring it just about every week.”

Sophomore volleyball player Kaysha Green will be a senior when the two schools join the conference, and she said there are ups and downs to the expansion.

“It makes me nervous about not being familiar or knowing the level of competition these schools have,” Green said. “But on the other hand, adding these two schools will increase the number of bids (volleyball) get for nationals and that makes me pleased to see the change.”

While William Penn volleyball finished its season with a losing record, Grand View’s women are coming off their highest finish yet after winning five matches at the NAIA volleyball national tournament, including four upsets.

Basketball will serve as the biggest change for both Grand View and William Penn. Both schools will be transferring to the NAIA Division I level. William Penn’s men’s team played in the D-II national championship game last season and entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed.

The conference will broaden its region into Iowa with the addition of Grand View and William Penn. Graceland is the only active HAAC member that is also housed in Iowa, while the others are located in Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri.

“I was instructed over the last four to five years to expand the conference and its geographic footprint,” said current conference commissioner Larry Lady in a HAAC press release. “The addition of Grand View University and William Penn University are a great geographic addition and are both excellent institutions to join the HAAC, which we believe is one of the finest conferences in the NAIA.”

Yetmar agrees with Lady’s description of the conference, and she looks forward to working with the Grandview and William Penn athletic directors in the future.

“The two schools we are adding will only continue to enhance our national presence and getting the word out about the HAAC,” Yetmar said. “I think they certainly match our reputation as a strong conference.”

Same face, new position

On July 1, Lori Thomas will become the first female commissioner in NAIA history. Lady is handing the reigns over after his 21 years as HAAC commissioner.

Thomas has worked for the NAIA for 16 years and she currently holds the position as senior vice president for membership and character initiatives.

“I think (Thomas) is taking her position as commissioner at an interesting time,” Yetmar said. “We have seen growth in student-athlete membership and welfare. She has been on the inside of those conversations…and she will be able to hone those initiatives and put them into place for our conference.”

Yetmar speaks of Thomas in high regard, saying that the new commissioner is “very dynamic and she is never one to back down from a challenge. She has no problem engaging in conflict and being a problem solver.”

A Kansas City native, Thomas played volleyball and basketball at Johnson County Community College and Idaho State University. She went on to play professional volleyball in Belgium before beginning her assistant volleyball coaching career at Missouri State University and the University of Tulsa, respectively.<br/>

“I have a great passion for character-driven intercollegiate athletics and look forward to working closer with the institutions’ administration, coaches and student-athletes,” Thomas said in a press release. “The HAAC, with 10 member schools, expanding to 12 beginning in 2015, has a great foundation both academically and competitively. I am honored and humbled to follow Larry Lady as commissioner. His immense efforts over these past two decades have helped build the HAAC into one of the best in the nation.”

Yetmar thinks that all of the HAAC changes will be for the betterment of the conference and its member schools.<br/>

“As a conference, we can be a trailblazer out front honing initiatives,” Yetmar said. “And we can continue to be a model conference that everyone else aspires to be.”

“We are proud to be a member of the HAAC. We have a long standing tradition with the HAAC and look forward to being an active participant in its future.”