Top > Sport > 2005 > August > 2005-08-28

Western, Central Washington have new football league in `06

Western Washington and Central Washington universities will begin establishing some new football rivalries in 2006. Both have been admitted as football-only members to the North Central Conference, one of the nation",s most prestigious NCAA Division II alignments.

The Bellingham-based Vikings and the Wildcats from Ellensburg will begin playing a full slate of eight NCC games in 2006. The two schools had been competing as part of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Western and Central will continue to play GNAC schools Humboldt State and Western Oregon, but just once each season. The four GNAC football teams played one another twice last season and will do so again in 2005. In addition, the annual conference game between the Vikings and Wildcats will continue to be played at Qwest Field as the "Battle in Seattle."

Both schools will remain in the GNAC in all other sports.

The NCC, founded in 1921, currently has seven members: Augustana (S.D.), Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota State Mankato, Nebraska-Omaha, North Dakota, St. Cloud State (Minn.) and South Dakota. During the past three years, North Dakota State, South Dakota State and Northern Colorado have left the NCC to move up to NCAA Division I.