In the three years since Iowa Western joined the league, the Midwest Football Conference has survived the folding of programs at North Iowa Area Community College, Rock Valley (Ill.) and Joliet (Ill.).
Losing its reigning champion, however, is sure to hurt a lot more.
Grand Rapids (Mich.) announced Monday that it is discontinuing its football program, effective immediately. The decision left the MFC, which was initially set to be 10 members strong with the addition of IWCC, with only six teams. Only two remain in the current East Division.
The league's competitors had already been facing scheduling issues for the nonconference season prior to Monday. With each team now left with only five given opponents per season, the problem multiplies.
MFC Commissioner Thom McDonald said Monday he wasn't necessarily surprised by GRCC's decision.
"The reaction is just disappointment from everybody," he said. "We have a fantastic conference, one of the best in the country. We're at an interesting place right now."
McDonald said the presidents of the remaining MFC schools are committed to continuing to field football programs that compete at a high level. Although he had heard that Grand Rapids was considering dropping football, the league had no official word from the school before Monday.
GRCC President Steven C. Ender called the discontinuation of the program "a painful decision for all involved." He added that it was not an easy decision, but one that had to be made.
Scheduling difficulties, Title IX compliance problems and budget concerns were cited as reasons. The recent departure of coach Tony Annese for NCAA Division II Ferris State was also said to be a factor, along with "significant personal obstacles faced by GRCC student-athletes."
In early December, dozens of Grand Rapids players were evicted from off-campus housing because a landlord stated he failed to receive rent after claiming to reach a deal with the college's football coaches. The school is not allowed to pay for student-athlete housing.
GRCC has been conducting an internal investigation into the issue. The landlord claimed that he was owed tens of thousands of dollars in back rent dating to September. Roughly 30 to 40 of the 70 players still living at those properties were left homeless overnight in early December.
The housing incident came shortly after the then-No. 3 Raiders didn't receive a spot in the NJCAA national championship game despite an 11-0 record and an MFC title. In fact, unbeaten Grand Rapids did not even participate in a postseason bowl this year.
The Raiders were invited only to the Top of the Mountains Bowl in Sandy, Utah, to face then-No. 16 Snow College, but Annese said he couldn't justify the expenses to travel to play the game.
Grand Rapids handed No. 7 Iowa Western (9-2) its only losses in 2011, defeating the Reivers 56-48 during the regular season and 26-24 in the MFC championship game. In each contest, which were both played in Grand Rapids, IWCC had an opportunity to tie or win on its final series.
In the past two seasons, the Reivers and Raiders have played three memorable games (IWCC won 15-12 in 2010) that have impacted both the MFC championship and NJCAA title picture.
Reached at the American Football Coaches Association conference in San Antonio Monday, Iowa Western coach Scott Strohmeier said he was discouraged by the GRCC decision.
"The No. 1 thing is you hate it for community college football," he said. "Since we started, this is the fourth (MFC) team that had dropped. It's not good for community college football.
"As far as our league, we're having a hard time finding games for the ones we have open right now. Now, we'll have to have another one. It's tough. I don't know what's going to happen to our league."
McDonald said the presidents from the remaining MFC schools are planning to meet Wednesday to discuss the current state and future of the league. The coaches will meet at some point after that.
"We'll get everybody together and see where we go from here," McDonald said.
The league has recently been negotiating possible scheduling agreements with juco independents Georgia Military Institute, Dakota College at Bottineau and Arkansas Baptist, as well as with the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference.
The loss of a powerhouse like Grand Rapids may hurt the perception of the MFC nationally. The Raiders have gone 30-4 the past three years while finishing in the NJCAA top 10 each season.
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