The MIAA announced Monday that Northeastern State will pause its membership in the MIAA in football to compete as an independent. The RiverHawks will remain in the MIAA in their other nine NCAA Division II sports. The team will technically compete as an independent for the 2024 football season. The MIAA schedule is already complete and, like Lincoln this year, the RiverHawks will play their assigned MIAA schedule with the MIAA school being given the option to either play the game as scheduled or replace the game with a nonconference opponent. The MIAA will finalize schedules for 2025 and 2026 that do not include NSU while the MIAA CEO Council will reassess the state of the program following the 2025 season to determine the program’s status for 2027 and 2028. Emporia State will begin the season hosting Washburn on Thursday, September 5 at Welch Stadium. The complete schedule for 2024 is available HERE.
