Wikipedia

Midwest Conference

(Redirected from Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference)

The Midwest Conference (MWC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in the Midwestern United States in the states of Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. The Midwest Conference was created in 1994 with the merger of the Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference, which had been sponsoring men's sports since 1921, and the Midwest Athletic Conference for Women, which was formed in 1977.

Midwest Conference
FormerlyMidwest Collegiate Athletic Conference and Midwest Athletic Conference for Women
AssociationNCAA
Founded1921
CommissionerHeather Benning (since 2014)
Sports fielded
  • 20
    • men's: 10
    • women's: 10
DivisionDivision III
No. of teams9
HeadquartersGrinnell, Iowa
RegionUpper Midwest
Official websitemidwestconference.org
Locations
Location of teams in {{{title}}}

History

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Midwest Conference
 
 
100km
62miles
 
Beloit
 
Chicago
 
Cornell College
 
Illinois College
 
Lake Forest
 
Grinnell
 
Monmouth
 
Ripon
 
Lawrence
 
Knox
Location of Midwest members:   current,   affiliate

The organization of the Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC) was conceived at a meeting at Coe College on May 12, 1921. Charter members were Beloit College, Carleton College, Coe College, Cornell College, Knox College (Illinois) and Lawrence University. Hamline University and Millikin University joined the league in December 1921, but both of them later withdrew: Hamline after the 1929–30 academic year, and Millikin after the 1924–25 academic year.

Ripon College joined the conference in 1923, followed by Monmouth College in 1924, Grinnell College in 1940 and Lake Forest College in 1974. Illinois College and St. Norbert College joined in 1982 and Carroll University followed in 1992. Carleton withdrew following the 1982–83 academic year. St. Olaf College also competed in the conference from 1952 to 1974, as did the University of Chicago from 1976 to 1987. Coe and Cornell withdrew following the 1996–97 academic year with Cornell rejoining the league starting in the 2012–13 year. Macalester College joined as a football-only member starting in 2014. The University of Chicago returned as a football-only member in 2017, and added baseball to its conference membership in the 2019 season (2018–19 school year).

The MWC split into North and South divisions for football, men's and women's tennis, baseball, and softball from 2012 through 2016. Divisional play ended with the departure of Carroll after the 2015–16 school year,[1] and resumed for football only with the addition of the University of Chicago as an affiliate member for the 2017–18 season.[2] St. Norbert left in 2021 for the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference.[3]

Chronological timeline

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  • 1921: The Midwest Conference (MWC) was founded as the Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC). Charter members included Beloit College, Carleton College, Coe College, Cornell College, Knox College and Lawrence College (now Lawrence University), effective beginning the 1921–22 academic year.
  • 1922: Hamline University and Millikin College (now Millikin University) joined the MCAC, effective in the 1922–23 academic year.
  • 1923: Ripon College joined the MCAC, effective in the 1923–24 academic year.
  • 1924: Monmouth College joined the MCAC, effective in the 1924–25 academic year.
  • 1925: Millikin left the MCAC, effective after the 1924–25 academic year.
  • 1930: Hamline left the MCAC, effective after the 1929–30 academic year.
  • 1940: Grinnell College joined the MCAC, effective in the 1940–41 academic year.
  • 1941: Carleton withdrew from the conference in June 1941.[4]
  • 1946: Carleton rejoined the conference, effective for the spring 1946 track season.[5]
  • 1952: St. Olaf College joined the MCAC, effective in the 1952–53 academic year.
  • 1974: St. Olaf left the MCAC, effective after the 1973–74 academic year.
  • 1974: Lake Forest College joined the MCAC, effective in the 1974–75 academic year.
  • 1976: The University of Chicago joined the MCAC, effective in the 1976–77 academic year.
  • 1982: Illinois College and St. Norbert College joined the MCAC, effective in the 1982–83 academic year.
  • 1983: Carleton left the MCAC, effective after the 1982–83 academic year.
  • 1987: U. of Chicago left the MCAC to join the University Athletic Association (UAA), effective after the 1986–87 academic year.
  • 1992: Carroll College joined the MCAC, effective in the 1992–93 academic year.
  • 1994: The MCAC has been rebranded when the conference merged with the women's-only Midwest Athletic Conference for Women (MACW; founded since the 1977–78 school year) to become the Midwest Conference (MWC), effective in the 1994–95 academic year.
  • 1997: Coe and Cornell left the MWC, effective after the 1996–97 academic year.
  • 2012: Cornell re-joined back to the MWC, effective in the 2012–13 academic year.
  • 2014: Macalester College joined the MWC as an affiliate member for football, effective in the 2014 fall season (2014–15 academic year).
  • 2016: Carroll left the MWC to join the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW), effective after the 2015–16 academic year.
  • 2017: The University of Chicago re-joined back to the MWC, but as an affiliate member for football, effective in the 2017 fall season (2017–18 academic year).
  • 2018: The University of Chicago added baseball into its MWC affiliate membership, effective in the 2019 spring season (2018–19 academic year).
  • 2021: St. Norbert left the MWC to join the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC), effective after the 2020–21 academic year.
  • 2021: Macalester left the MWC as an affiliate member for football, effective after the 2020 fall season (2020–21 academic year).

Member schools

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Every member in the history of the MWC and its predecessor conferences, whether full, affiliate, current, or former, has been a private school.

Current members

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The MWC currently has nine full members.

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Colors
Beloit College Beloit, Wisconsin 1846 Nonsectarian 1,358 Buccaneers 1921    
College Blue & Vegas Gold
Cornell College Mount Vernon, Iowa 1853 United Methodist 1,176 Rams 1921,
2012[a] 		   
Purple & White
Grinnell College Grinnell, Iowa 1846 Nonsectarian 1,638 Pioneers 1940    
Scarlet & Black
Illinois College Jacksonville, Illinois 1829 UCC & PCUSA 1,029 Blueboys &
Lady Blues 		1982      
Blue & Grey & White
Knox College Galesburg, Illinois 1837 Nonsectarian 1,058 Prairie Fire 1921    
Purple & Gold
Lake Forest College Lake Forest, Illinois 1857 Nonsectarian 1,395 Foresters 1974    
Red & Black
Lawrence University Appleton, Wisconsin 1847 Nonsectarian 1,489 Vikings 1921      
Blue & Grey & White
Monmouth College Monmouth, Illinois 1853 Presbyterian
(PCUSA) 		767 Fighting Scots 1924    
Red & White
Ripon College Ripon, Wisconsin 1851 Nonsectarian 766 Red Hawks 1923    
Red & White
Notes
  1. ^ Cornell left the MWC to join the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC; now known as the American Rivers Conference) after the 1996–97 school year; before re-joining back, effective in the 2012–13 school year.

Affiliate members

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The MWC currently has one affiliate member.

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined MWC
sport(s) 		Primary
conference
University of Chicago[a] Chicago, Illinois 1890 Nonsectarian 13,400 Maroons 2017–18 Football University (UAA)
2018–19 Baseball
Notes
  1. ^ Chicago had been a full member of the MWC from 1976–77 to 1986–87.

Former members

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The MWC had eight former full members.

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Left Current
conference
Carleton College Northfield, Minnesota 1866 Nonsectarian 2,105 Knights 1921–22
1946 		1941
1982–83 		Minnesota (MIAC)
Carroll University Waukesha, Wisconsin 1846 Presbyterian (PCUSA) 2,789 Pioneers 1992–93 2015–16 Illinois–Wisconsin (CCIW)
University of Chicago[a] Chicago, Illinois 1890 Nonsectarian 7,559 Maroons 1976–77 1986–87 University (UAA)
Coe College Cedar Rapids, Iowa 1851 Presbyterian (PCUSA) 1,355 Kohawks 1921–22 1996–97 American Rivers (ARC)
Hamline University St. Paul, Minnesota 1854 United Methodist 1,944 Pipers 1922–23 1929–30 Minnesota (MIAC)
Millikin University Decatur, Illinois 1901 Presbyterian (PCUSA) 2,200 Big Blue 1922–23 1924–25 Illinois–Wisconsin (CCIW)
St. Norbert College De Pere, Wisconsin 1898 Catholic
(Premonstratensians) 		2,095 Green Knights 1982–83 2020–21 Northern (NACC)
St. Olaf College Northfield, Minnesota 1874 Lutheran ELCA 2,900 Oles 1952–53 1973–74 Minnesota (MIAC)
Notes
  1. ^ Chicago has rejoined the MWC as an affiliate member for football and baseball.

Former affiliate members

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The MWC had one former affiliate member.

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Left MWC
sport 		Primary
conference
Macalester College Saint Paul, Minnesota 1874 Presbyterian (USA) 2,221 Scots 2014–15 2020–21 football Minnesota (MIAC)

Membership timeline

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Macalester CollegeCarroll UniversitySt. Norbert CollegeIllinois CollegeUniversity of ChicagoLake Forest CollegeSt. Olaf CollegeGrinnell CollegeMonmouth CollegeRipon College (Wisconsin)Millikin UniversityHamline UniversityLawrence UniversityKnox College (Illinois)Cornell CollegeCoe CollegeCarleton CollegeBeloit College

Sports

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As of 2021, the MWC sponsors the following sports:

Conference sports
Sport Men's Women's
Baseball
 Y
Basketball
 Y
 Y
Cross country
 Y
 Y
Football
 Y
Golf
 Y
 Y
Indoor track
 Y
 Y
Outdoor track
 Y
 Y
Soccer
 Y
 Y
Softball
 Y
Swimming & Diving
 Y
 Y
Tennis
 Y
 Y
Volleyball
 Y

Conference facilities

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School Football field Capacity Basketball arena Capacity Baseball field
Beloit Strong Stadium 3,000 Flood Arena 2,500 Ballpark at Strong Stadium
Chicago Stagg Field 1,650 Member only in football and baseball J. Kyle Anderson Field
Cornell Ash Park Stadium 2,500 Multi-Sport Center 2,000 Ash Park Field
Grinnell Rosenbloom Field 5,000 Darby Gym 1,250 Grinnell Baseball Diamond
Illinois College England Stadium 3,000 Sherman Gymnasium 1,600 Joe Brooks Field
Knox Knosher Bowl 4,000 Memorial Gym 3,000 Blodgett Field
Lake Forest Farwell Field 1,000 Lake Forest Sports Center 1,200 No Baseball Team
Lawrence Banta Bowl 5,255 Alexander Gym 1,280 Whiting Field
Macalester Macalester Stadium 4,000 Football-only member
Monmouth Bobby Woll Memorial Field 2,000 Glennie Gymnasium 1,600 Glasgow Field
Ripon Ingalls Field 3,500 Willmore Center 1,200 Francis Field

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Carroll University leaving Midwest Conference for CCIW". www.jsonline.com.
  2. ^ "Football Season Preview". Midwest Conference. Retrieved 2017-08-30.
  3. ^ "NACC Welcomes St. Norbert College as Full Member in 2020-21" (Press release). Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. April 3, 2019. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  4. ^ McHugh, Roy (July 24, 1941). "Carleton Still At Odds With Midwest". Cedar Rapids Gazette. Cedar Rapids, Iowa. p. 11. Retrieved March 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com  .
  5. ^ "Carleton Returns To Midwest Loop In All Athletics". Cedar Rapids Gazette. Cedar Rapids, Iowa. March 16, 1946. p. 3. Retrieved March 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com  .
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