Northern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

The Northern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference is an independent college athletic conference. The NIAC is made up of ten schools in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Manitoba. The NIAC sponsors men's and women's basketball for member institutions.

Northern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
ConferenceIndependent
Founded1983
CommissionerDan Hovestol
Sports fielded
  • basketball
No. of teams10
RegionUpper Midwest
Official websiteNIAC website

The conference features five Christian colleges (Canadian Mennonite, Free Lutheran Bible, Oak Hills Christian, Providence and Trinity Bible) as well as four Native American schools: Leech Lake Tribal (Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe), Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College (Three Affiliated Tribes), Sisseton Wahpeton College (Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate) and Turtle Mountain (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa).

History

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Leech Lake Tribal and Red Lake Nation joined the NIAC in 2013.[1]

Canadian Mennonite[2] and Cankdeska Cikana were added to the league for the 2016–17 season.

Expansion for 2017-18 included Providence University College, Red River College and Sisseton Wahpeton College bringing the member total to ten.[3]

Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College was admitted to the NIAC for the 2019–20 season.

Member schools

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Institution Location Founded Enrollment Nickname
Canadian Mennonite University Winnipeg, Manitoba 1999 1,750 Blazers
Free Lutheran Bible College Plymouth, Minnesota 1966 140 Conquerors
Leech Lake Tribal College Cass Lake, Minnesota 1990 267 Lakers
Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College New Town, North Dakota 1973 300 Storm
Oak Hills Christian College Bemidji, Minnesota 1927 175 Wolfpack
Providence University College Otterburne, Manitoba 1925 464 Pilots
Red River College Winnipeg, Manitoba 1938 32,000 Rebels
Sisseton Wahpeton College Sisseton, South Dakota 1979 250 Mustangs
Trinity Bible College Ellendale, North Dakota 1948 333 Lions
Turtle Mountain Community College Belcourt, North Dakota 1972 630 Mighty Mikinocks

Former members

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Champions

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Year Men's Champion Score Men's Runner up Host City Women's Champion Score Women's Runner up
2006 Providence
2007 Providence
2008 St. Cloud Technical
2009 St. Cloud Technical St. Cloud Technical
2010 St. Cloud Technical Trinity Bible
2011 Crossroads Trinity Bible
2012 Trinity Bible Trinity Bible
2013 Turtle Mountain Trinity Bible
2014 Trinity Bible 95-81 Turtle Mountain Bemidji, MN Trinity Bible 75-57 Turtle Mountain
2015 Trinity Bible 87-78 AFLBS Ellendale, ND Turtle Mountain 74-33 Leech Lake Tribal
2016 Turtle Mountain 80-70 Trinity Bible Belcourt, ND Trinity Bible 65-57[4][5] Turtle Mountain
2017 Trinity Bible 98-72 AFLBS Bemidji, MN Turtle Mountain 74-67 Trinity Bible
2018 Leech Lake Tribal 95-81 Providence Fort Toten, ND Sisseton Wahpeton 88-86 Canadian Mennonite
2019 Sisseton Wahpeton 103-85 Leech Lake Tribal Sisseton, SD Providence 73-60 Trinity Bible
2020 Red River 91-82 Sisseton Wahpeton Bemidji/Cass Lake Canadian Mennonite 72-71 Providence

References

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  1. ^ "Area tribal colleges to start hoops programs, join Oak Hills in NIAC". Bemidji Pioneer. 20 April 2013.
  2. ^ "Shooting Two: CMU Basketball Adds New US College Conference Affiliation". CMU Blazer Athletics. 31 May 2016.
  3. ^ "Providence and Red River College basketball joining NIAC in 2017-2018 Season". MCAC Athletics. 26 May 2017.
  4. ^ "Lions Win NIAC Conference Tournament". Trinity Bible College. 20 February 2016.
  5. ^ "Trinity Bible nabs NIAC awards". Aberdeen News. 26 February 2016.
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