The River States Conference (RSC), formerly known as the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC), is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Although it was historically a Kentucky-only conference, it has now expanded to include members in Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia, and at various times in the past has also had members in Missouri, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia.
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| Association | NAIA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1916 |
| Commissioner | Michael Schell (since March 15, 2018) |
| Sports fielded |
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| No. of teams | 12 (13 in 2025) |
| Headquarters | Middletown, Ohio |
| Region | Eastern |
| Official website | www |
| Locations | |
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History
edit
In March 2016, the KIAC announced it would change its name to the River States Conference, effective July 1, 2016, to better reflect its membership, which has expanded beyond Kentucky and now includes members in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia.[1]
Chronological timeline
edit- 1916 – The River States Conference was founded as the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC). Charter members included Berea College, Centre College, Georgetown College, Kentucky Wesleyan College, the University of Louisville, Ogden College, Transylvania University, and Western Kentucky State Teachers College (now Western Kentucky University) beginning with the 1916–17 academic year.
- 1927
- Ogden left the KIAC as the school announced that it would merge with Western Kentucky after the 1926–27 academic year.
- Eastern Kentucky State Teachers College (now Eastern Kentucky University) joined the KIAC in the 1927–28 academic year.
- 1931 – Morehead State Teachers College (now Morehead State University) joined the KIAC in the 1931–32 academic year.
- 1933 – Murray State Teachers College (now Murray State University) and Union College (now Union Commonwealth University) joined the KIAC in the 1933–34 academic year.
- 1948 – Eastern Kentucky, Louisville, Morehead State, Murray State, and Western Kentucky left the KIAC to join the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) major-college ranks and to form most of the charter members of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) after the 1947–48 academic year.
- 1951 – Bellarmine College (now Bellarmine University) joined the KIAC in the 1951–52 academic year.
- 1955
- Kentucky Wesleyan left the KIAC after the 1954–55 academic year.
- Thomas More College (now Thomas More University) joined the KIAC in the 1955–56 academic year.
- 1958 – Pikeville College (now the University of Pikeville) joined the KIAC in the 1958–59 academic year.
- 1962 – Centre (KY) left the KIAC to join the College Athletic Conference after the 1961–62 academic year.
- 1964
- Bellarmine left the KIAC after the 1963–64 academic year.
- Campbellsville College (now Campbellsville University) and Rio Grande College (now the University of Rio Grande) joined the KIAC in the 1964–65 academic year.
- 1968 – Oakland City College (now Oakland City University) joined the KIAC in the 1968–69 academic year.
- 1971
- Rio Grande left the KIAC to join the Mid-Ohio Conference (later known as the American Mideast Conference) after the 1970–71 academic year.
- Asbury College (now Asbury University) and Clinch Valley College of the University of Virginia (now formally the University of Virginia's College at Wise, and athletically branded as UVA Wise) joined the KIAC in the 1971–72 academic year.
- 1975 – Oakland City left the KIAC after the 1974–75 academic year.
- 1983 – Alice Lloyd College joined the KIAC in the 1983–84 academic year.
- 1984 – Brescia College (now Brescia University) and Lindsey Wilson College joined the KIAC in the 1984–85 academic year.
- 1991
- Thomas More left the KIAC to join the NCAA Division III ranks as an independent after the 1990–91 academic year.
- Midway College (now Midway University) joined the KIAC in the 1991–92 academic year.
- 1992
- Alice Lloyd left the KIAC to join the Tennessee Valley Athletic Conference (TVAC) after the 1991–92 academic year.
- Spalding University joined the KIAC in the 1992–93 academic year.
- 1994
- UVA Wise left the KIAC to become an independent within the NAIA (which would later join the Tennessee-Virginia Athletic Conference (TVAC) beginning the 1995–96 academic year) after the 1993–94 academic year.
- Indiana University Southeast (athletically IU Southeast or IUS) joined the KIAC in the 1994–95 academic year.
- 1995 – Campbellsville, Georgetown (KY), and Union (KY) left the KIAC to form part as charter members of the Mid-South Conference after the 1994–95 academic year.
- 1999 – Bethel College of Tennessee (now Bethel University of Tennessee) joined the KIAC in the 1999–2000 academic year.
- 2000
- Lindsey Wilson and Pikeville left the KIAC to join the Mid-South after the 1999–2000 academic year.
- Mid-Continent University joined the KIAC in the 2000–01 academic year.
- 2001 – Transylvania left the KIAC to join the NCAA Division III ranks and the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) after the 2000–01 academic year.
- 2003 – The St. Louis College of Pharmacy (SLCP) joined the KIAC in the 2003–04 academic year.
- 2005 – Alice Lloyd re-joined the KIAC in the 2005–06 academic year.
- 2006 – Bethel (TN) and Mid-Continent left the KIAC after the 2005–06 academic year.
- 2007
- Spalding left the KIAC to join the NCAA Division III ranks and the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) after the 2006–07 academic year.
- Indiana University East (athletically IU East) and Mountain State University joined the KIAC in the 2007–08 academic year.
- 2008 – Cincinnati Christian University joined the KIAC in the 2008–09 academic year.
- 2012
- Mountain State left the KIAC as the school announced that it would close after the 2011–12 academic year.
- Carlow University and Point Park University joined the KIAC in the 2012–13 academic year.
- 2013 – Indiana University Kokomo (athletically IU Kokomo) joined the KIAC in the 2013–14 academic year.
- 2014
- Two institutions left the KIAC to join their respective new home primary conferences: Berea left the NAIA to join the NCAA Division III ranks as an independent (which would later join the USA South Athletic Conference (USA South) beginning the 2017–18 academic year), and UHSP St. Louis to join the American Midwest Conference, both effective after the 2013–14 academic year.
- Rio Grande rejoined the KIAC in the 2014–15 academic year.
- 2015 – Ohio Christian University and West Virginia University Institute of Technology (WVU Tech or West Virginia Tech) joined the KIAC in the 2015–16 academic year.
- 2016 – The KIAC was rebranded as the River States Conference (RSC) in the 2016–17 academic year.
- 2019 – Cincinnati Christian left the RSC as the school announced that it would close at the end of the fall 2019 semester during the 2019–20 academic year.
- 2020 – Oakland City rejoined the RSC in the 2020–21 academic year.
- 2021
- Asbury left the RSC and the NAIA to join the NCAA Division III ranks as an independent as well as the Division I ranks of the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association (NCCAA) after the 2020–21 academic year.
- Ohio Valley University and Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College joined the RSC in the 2021–22 academic year.
- Ohio Valley left the RSC as the school announced that it would close at the end of the fall 2021 semester, during the 2021–22 academic year.
- 2022
- Carlow announced on July 6 that it would leave the RSC and the NAIA to join the NCAA Division III ranks and the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) after the 2022–23 academic year, starting in the 2023–24 season.[2]
- Indiana University–Purdue University Columbus (IUPUC, now Indiana University Columbus) and Shawnee State University announced they would join the RSC at the start of the 2023–24 academic year.
- 2023 – Ohio Christian announced it would leave the RSC and the NAIA to fully align with the Division I ranks of the NCCAA after the 2023–24 academic year.[3]
- 2024 – Point Park announced it would leave the RSC and the NAIA to join the NCAA Division II ranks and the Mountain East Conference after the 2023–24 academic year.[4]
- 2025 – Kentucky Christian University will join the RSC in the 2025–26 academic year.
Member schools
editCurrent members
editThe River States currently has 12 full members, with six being public schools, five being private schools, and one member that operates public and private institutions within a single entity.
- Notes
- ^ Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
- ^ Alice Lloyd left the KIAC after the 1991–92 school year, before rejoining in the 2005–06 school year.
- ^ The Brescia men's and women's basketball teams joined the RSC 25 years after becoming a full member for other sports (2009–10).
- ^ IU Columbus did not exist as a standalone institution until 2024, but traces its history through its academic and athletic predecessor of Indiana University–Purdue University Columbus (IUPUC).
- ^ a b c d Part of the Indiana University System.
- ^ IU Columbus joined the River States (RSC) as IUPUC, an extension of Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). When IUPUI was split in 2024 into separate institutions affiliated with the Indiana University and Purdue University systems, almost all of IUPUC's academic programs and its athletic program transferred to the new IU Columbus.
- ^ The IU East women's basketball team joined the KIAC/RSC seven years after becoming a full member for other sports (2014–15).
- ^ The IU Kokomo women's basketball team joined the KIAC/RSC a year after becoming a full member for other sports (2014–15).
- ^ a b This institution was a women's college, but has since then been a co-educational institution, therefore it does compete in some men's sports (Midway since 2016–17[5]).
- ^ Oakland City[6] had been a member until after the 1974–75 school year, during the conference's KIAC era.
- ^ Rio Grande consists of a public community college and a private, nonsectarian four-year university. The community college is part of the University System of Ohio.
- ^ Rio Grande left the KIAC after the 1970–71 school year, before rejoining in the 2014–15 school year.
- ^ Part of the West Virginia University System.
Future members
edit| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joining[a] | Current primary conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky Christian University | Grayson, Kentucky | 1919 | Christian | 689 | Knights | 2025 | Appalachian (AAC) |
- Notes
- ^ Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
Former members
editThe River States has thirty former full members, all but six were private schools. School names and nicknames reflect those used in the final school year each institution was a conference member:
- Notes
- ^ Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
- ^ Represents the calendar year when spring sports competition ends.
- ^ a b c d e f Currently an NCAA Division III athletic conference.
- ^ Currently known as Bellarmine University since 2000.
- ^ a b c d e f Currently an NCAA Division I athletic conference.
- ^ Currently known as Bethel University since 2009.
- ^ Currently known as Campbellsville University since 1996.
- ^ Currently known as the University of Virginia's College at Wise (UVA Wise) since 1999.
- ^ UVA Wise dropped "Highland" from its nickname in 2017.
- ^ a b c d Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.
- ^ Cincinnati Christian closed at the end of the 2019 fall semester, without completing the rest of the 2019–20 school year.
- ^ Currently known as the University of the Cumberlands since 2005.
- ^ Cumberlands (Ky.) changed its nickname to Patriots in 2002.
- ^ Later renamed as Eastern Kentucky State College immediately after leaving the KIAC, and currently known as Eastern Kentucky University since 1966.
- ^ Kentucky Wesleyan moved to its current campus in Owensboro, Kentucky in 1956.
- ^ Later renamed as Morehead State College immediately after leaving the KIAC, and currently known as Morehead State University since 1966.
- ^ Mountain State was a non-basketball member school on the women's side during its tenure in the KIAC/RSC.
- ^ The Mountain State men's basketball team joined the KIAC/RSC two years after becoming a full member for other sports (2009–10).
- ^ Later renamed as Murray State College immediately after leaving the KIAC, and currently known as Murray State University since 1966.
- ^ Ogden was merged into Western Kentucky University in 1927.
- ^ Ohio Valley closed at the end of the 2021 fall semester, without completing the rest of the 2021–22 school year.
- ^ Currently known as the University of Pikeville since 2011.
- ^ Currently known as the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis, and athletically branded as UHSP since 2020.
- ^ Currently known as Thomas More University since 2018.
- ^ Currently known as Union Commonwealth University since 2024.
- ^ Later renamed as Western Kentucky State College immediately after leaving the KIAC, and currently known as Western Kentucky University since 1966.
Membership timeline
edit
Full member (non-football) Associate member (sport) Other conference
Conference sports
editThe River States Conference currently sponsors 17 sports (8 men's and 9 women's).
| A divisional format is used for men's & women's basketball, and women's volleyball. | |
East
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West
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| Sport | Men's | Women's |
|---|---|---|
| Baseball |  |
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| Basketball | |
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| Cross Country | |
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| Golf | |
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| Soccer | |
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| Softball |
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| Tennis | |
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| Track & Field Indoor | |
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| Track & Field Outdoor | |
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| Volleyball |
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References
edit- ^ "KIAC announces River States Conference as new name, unveils new logo". March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- ^ "Carlow University Athletics to join AMCC, NCAA Division III". Carlow Celtics. July 6, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
- ^ "Ohio Christian University Announces NAIA to NCCAA DI Transition". 28 February 2023.
- ^ "Point Park invited to join Mountain East Conference, will pursue athletics in NCAA Division II". January 9, 2024. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
- ^ "Midway University Trustees vote to accept men into its daytime undergraduate programs" (Press release). Midway University. May 16, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
- ^ "NAIA Approves Five Institutions for Membership". NAIA. March 31, 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2020.