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CITY (NewsDakota.com) – Valley City State University and Jamestown College are among five founding members of a new athletic conference announced Monday.

The North Star Athletic Association will form for the 2013-14 season with Valley City State, Jamestown College, Mayville State, Dakota State and Presentation College as charter members according to an official press release.

Presentation College was formally accepted as an NAIA member on Monday after years of competing in NCAA Division III. The other four charter members of the NSAA are long time NAIA institutions that competed in the recently dissolved Dakota Athletic Conference.

The NAIA officially recognized the establishment of the new conference Monday during the Council of Presidents at the NAIA Convention.

“Significant efforts have been underway during the past year by our five schools in working to form a new athletic conference in the Upper Midwest,” VCSU president Steven Shirley said in the release. “The North Star Conference will be a tremendous source of pride for our institutions as well as our student-athletes, supporters, coaches, communities, and alumni.”

According to Shirley, Dickinson State has also been invited to join the conference beginning with the 2014-15 season. Dickinson State is also a former DAC member, and is currently in the Frontier Conference.

“We are excited to invite a school with such deep athletic traditions as Dickinson State University into this new conference, and will continue exploring options to welcome additional regional members as well,” said Shirley. “All of our colleges and universities are quite excited and enthusiastic about working together in the years ahead.”

The conference is expected to begin play in 2013-14 with five teams, meaning they will likely need a one-year waiver from the NAIA, which entitles them to automatic National Tournament bids.

The conference is currently advertising for a full-time commissioner who is expected to be hired in the coming months.

Jamestown College, Valley City St., Dakota St., and Mayville St., are currently NAIA Independents that compete in the A.I.I. Presentation College is moving from NCAA DIII, where they competed in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference, to NAIA.