DICKINSON - From the Dickinson State president's suite overlooking the Badlands Activities Center, officials from the Dakota Athletic Conference and Frontier Conference sat down to discuss potential partnership possibilities.

While no decisions were made Wednesday afternoon, officials from the two NAIA leagues said they discussed positive and negative aspects of both a potential merger and an avenue in which they would remain separate leagues but have a scheduling agreement.

"I don't think we made any solid decisions other than the fact that we want to explore further what our options are," Carroll College Athletic Director Bruce Parker said.

Representatives from all four remaining DAC schools - DSU, Jamestown College, Mayville State and Valley City State - attended the meeting along with Parker, Frontier commissioner Kent Paulson and Frontier Conference President Michael Mace, the president of Rocky Mountain College. NAIA President and CEO Jim Carr and DSU football coach Hank Biesiot were also at the meeting.

Numerous officials from the other Frontier schools participated via conference call.

DICKINSON - From the Dickinson State president's suite overlooking the Badlands Activities Center, officials from the Dakota Athletic Conference and Frontier Conference sat down to discuss potential partnership possibilities.

Paulson said neither conference came to the meeting with an agenda, but each put ideas on the table.

"I think that was a good move on both conferences' part, was to not come in with an agenda," Paulson said. "But again, you can't talk about issues unless you have at least done some things on paper to see what it might look like."

DAC Commissioner Lavern Jessen and DAC President Dr. Steve Shirley said officials left the meeting with ideas as to how they could possibly form schedules and figure out ways to get around obvious geographic hindrances that either a merger or scheduling agreement would undoubtedly bring.

"Geographic distance, no matter how many times you look it, there's only so many solutions," Shirley said. "That just continues to be a major challenge. Depending on how far east, or how far west you are, it's more of an issue.

"But I thought there were some creative, new ways of looking at some things that I think probably some of the folks around the table hadn't thought of."

If a merger were to happen, the new league would likely have to split up into divisions.

Shirley said ideas were raised regarding an East and West divisions as well as a three-division plan that drew compliments.

"We have to look at some scheduling options that would be somewhat outside of the box because of distance, but we'll pursue that," Jessen said.

Shirley said the major issues raised with extended travel was missed school time. If the conferences were to either merge or create a scheduling agreement, schools would be looking at trips that were more than 1,000 miles - one way.

Officials from the two conferences plan to meet separately in September to discuss whether or not to go forward with the discussions. If they do, Paulson said another meeting will likely be held in October at a site in Montana.

DAC officials met separately with Carr for about 30 minutes after Frontier officials left. They discussed the conference's future if left with only four teams as well as recent events, including the sudden decision by Dakota State to move to NAIA Independent status next year.

Carr said he came to provide a sounding board and outside insight to the situation.