Haskell Indian Nations University’s athletics conference is dissolving, leaving the Indians to compete independently for the upcoming school year, Haskell announced Thursday.

Haskell is now scheduling meetings with its athletes to survey whether they will stay at Haskell and participate in regular season play, or whether they plan to transfer to other schools with intercollegiate athletic opportunities, according to Haskell’s announcement.

It’s unclear when or if Haskell will join another intercollegiate athletic conference.

The Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference had dwindled to just three schools, and a yearlong effort to stabilize it was unsuccessful, according to Haskell. School leaders have explored membership in several conferences. However, the process is costly, can take as long as a year, and acceptance is not guaranteed.

Haskell President Venida Chenault, in a written statement, called it “a shame” that today’s system handicaps small-college athletes in their ability to successfully compete in intercollegiate sports, including post-season conference play.

“We are witnessing a point in history when student athletes at small colleges and universities are unable to compete in intercollegiate athletic conferences based on rising costs and expenses for intercollegiate athletics, the limiting requirements of athletic conferences, financial aid ratio models that place schools such as Haskell at a disadvantage, and limited operating budgets,” Chenault said.

Chenault said Haskell did not have the funding, staffing, equipment or facilities of many schools but that its athletes have “competed and excelled despite the disadvantages.”

Several Haskell athletes said Thursday that while losing their conference was disappointing, it would not spur them to transfer.

Kortney Meat, a sophomore from Kingfisher, Okla., came to Haskell for basketball. She and teammates were initially upset about the conference news because they didn’t think they’d have a chance to play for nationals — a driving force all season long.

However, she said, they were told they would still have a chance at playing for a national title, though their schedule would be different and they would be playing other independent schools.

“The goal is to get to nationals, every year,” Meat said.

Another downside of playing outside a conference would be missing out on conference honors such as scholar-athlete and honorable mention awards, Meat said.

Softball player Lacie Unah, a sophomore from Anadarko, Okla., said she would miss playing in a conference tournament but would be back next year.

“Even though we’re going independent, I’m just glad to still be playing softball,” she said.

Haskell’s football team already plays independently.

Outside linebacker Cody Anderson, a sophomore from Choctaw, Miss., said he, too, was just glad to be playing football although lacking a conference could negatively affect recruiting of some potential future players.

Haskell has men’s and women’s basketball, cross country and track and field teams, according to the Haskell Athletics website. There is also men’s football and golf, and women’s softball and volleyball, according to the website.

The Midland Collegiate Athletic Conference’s other two remaining schools, Central Christian College and the College of the Ozarks, also will have independent status next year, according to Haskell. This academic year six other schools announced they would leave the conference to join others.