Murray State will join the Missouri Valley Conference, a separate entity, in all other sports (except rifle) next summer.
The article mentions the possibility of the conference then splitting into two geographic aligned sub-divisions. Can't imagine they could add a conference championship, like most of the FBS conferences do because of scheduling playoff games, but it might save on costs if you play all the teams in your division, then a few in the other division, which would provide a steady source of opponents. Easier than hunting for out of conference teams whose open dates match yours.