LA GRANDE – Beginning with the Fall 2004 sports season, student athletes at Eastern Oregon University will only be playing with one set of rules.

EOU President Dixie Lund has announced that the university has selected the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for its sole athletics affiliation. The school already participates in the Cascade Conference of the NAIA with most of its teams, including men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball, baseball, soccer, softball, cross-country and track and field.

EOU will apply to the NAIA’s Frontier Conference for participation in football because the Cascade Conference does not sponsor that sport.

“We have been working with the issue of dual affiliation with the NCAA Division III and NAIA since 1996. The main issue is that playing within the restrictions of dual affiliation does not afford our student athletes the best possible intercollegiate athletic experience we can offer,” Lund said.

Over the past several months, university leadership has been engaged in a complete review of athletic affiliations and met with students, faculty, alumni, Foundation members, boosters and others, presenting the issues and asking for input before making a final decision.

“I just want to play by the same set of rules as the other schools in the Cascade Conference,” said Trevor Exline, a senior captain on the EOU men’s basketball team from Austin, Nev.

With dual affiliation, the Mountaineers were required to abide by NCAA rules for all teams, even though they were competing in an NAIA conference, and for NAIA championships. By moving to a single affiliation, EOU plans to offer its teams a more level playing field. Legislation governing the two different organizations often times conflicted with one another.

EOU expects to hear from the Frontier Conference on football participation before the end of the year. Participation in the Cascade Conference will continue as scheduled. during winter and spring terms.