diff --git a/django_mongodb_engine/base.py b/django_mongodb_engine/base.py
index 12ddd2e1..108a3ef2 100644
--- a/django_mongodb_engine/base.py
+++ b/django_mongodb_engine/base.py
@@ -269,7 +269,7 @@ def pop(name, default=None):
             self.database = self.connection[db_name]
         except TypeError:
             exc_info = sys.exc_info()
-            raise ImproperlyConfigured, exc_info[1], exc_info[2]
+            raise ImproperlyConfigured(exc_info[1], exc_info[2])
 
         if user and password:
             if not self.database.authenticate(user, password):