The American Midwest Conference (AMC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...

(NAIA) with 10 member institutions located in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

and

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

in the United States.

History

The conference began as the Show-Me Conference in 1986, then changed to its current name in 1994, reflecting that its footprint had expanded beyond Missouri.

Chronological timeline

* 1986 - The American Midwest Conference was founded as the Show-Me Conference. Charter members included

Columbia College of Missouri Columbia College, also known as Columbia College of Missouri, is a private college based in Columbia, Missouri. Founded in 1851 as a nonsectarian college, it has retained a covenant with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) since its incept ...

, Hannibal–LaGrange College (now Hannibal–LaGrange University), Harris-Stowe State College (now Harris-Stowe State University), Missouri Baptist College (now Missouri Baptist University), and Park College (now Park University) beginning the 1986-87 academic year. * 1987 - McKendree College (now McKendree University) joined the Show-Me in the 1987-88 academic year. * 1990 - Fontbonne left the Show-Me and the NAIA to fully align with the Division III ranks of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

(NAIA) and the

St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) is an NCAA Division III collegiate athletic conference in the Midwestern The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four cen ...

(SLIAC) after the 1989-90 academic year. * 1993 - Iowa Wesleyan College (now Iowa Wesleyan University),

Lindenwood College Lindenwood University is a private university in St. Charles, Missouri. Founded in 1827 by George Champlin Sibley and Mary Easton Sibley as The Lindenwood School for Girls, it is the second-oldest higher-education institution west of the M ...

(now Lindenwood University) and William Woods College (now William Woods University) joined the Show-Me in the 1993-94 academic year. * 1994 - Park left the Show-Me to join the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC) for most sports, while its men's basketball team had become an NAIA Independent after the 1993-94 academic year. * 1994 - The Show-Me Conference was renamed as the American Midwest Conference in the 1994-95 academic year. * 1995 - Iowa Wesleyan left the American Midwest to join the Midwest Classic Conference after the 1994-95 academic year. * 1996 - Lindenwood left the American Midwest to join the

Heart of America Athletic Conference The Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC or The Heart) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Member institutions are located in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska in ...

(HAAC) after the 1995-96 academic year. * 2001 -

Williams Baptist College Williams Baptist University is a private Baptist university in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. Founded in 1941, this institution began as a two-year school. It began granting bachelor's degrees in 1984 and master's degrees in 2017. The name of the schoo ...

(now Williams Baptist University) joined the American Midwest in the 2001-02 academic year. * 2003 - The

University of Illinois at Springfield The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) is a public university in Springfield, Illinois. The university was established in 1969 as Sangamon State University by the Illinois General Assembly and became a part of the University of Illinoi ...

joined the American Midwest in the 2003-04 academic year. * 2008 -

Stephens College Stephens College is a private women's college in Columbia, Missouri. It is the second-oldest women's educational establishment that is still a women's college in the United States. It was founded on August 24, 1833, as the Columbia Female Acad ...

joined the American Midwest in the 2008-09 academic year. * 2009 - Park re-joined back to the American Midwest in the 2009-10 academic year. * 2011 - McKendree left the American Midwest and the NAIA to join the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

ranks as an NCAA D-II Independent (which would later join the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) beginning the 2012-13 academic year) after the 2010-11 academic year. * 2011 - Benedictine University at Springfield joined the American Midwest in the 2011-12 academic year. * 2012 - Lyon College joined the American Midwest in the 2012-13 academic year. * 2013 - Freed–Hardeman University and Mid-Continent University joined the American Midwest in the 2013-14 academic year. * 2014 - Mid-Continent left the American Midwest after spending one season, as the school announced that it would close after the 2013-14 academic year. * 2014 - Lindenwood University at Belleville and the St. Louis College of Pharmacy (now the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis, a.k.a. UHSP) joined the American Midwest in the 2014-15 academic year. * 2015 - Benedictine–Springfield left the American Midwest, as the school announced that it would close after the 2014-15 academic year. * 2015 - Central Baptist College joined the American Midwest in the 2015-16 academic year. * 2017 - Calumet College of St. Joseph and Marian University joined the American Midwest as associate members for men's wrestling in the 2017-18 academic year. * 2020 - Three institutions left the American Midwest to join their respective new home primary conferences: Freed–Hardeman to join the

Mid-South Conference The Mid-South Conference (MSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Member institutions are located in Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee. The league is headquartered in Lo ...

, Lindenwood–Belleville announced that it would close, and Park to join the

(HAAC), all effective after the 2019-20 academic year. * 2020 - Marian (Ind.) left the American Midwest as an associate member for men's wrestling after the 2019-20 academic year. * 2020 - Lincoln College of Illinois joined the American Midwest as an associate member for men's wrestling in the 2020-21 academic year. * 2022 - Lyon announced that it will leave the American Midwest and the NAIA to join the NCAA Division III ranks and the

(SLIAC) after the 2022-23 academic year. Currently Lyon will compete in NCAA Division III as a provisional full independent for 2022-23. * 2022 - Cottey College joined the American Midwest from the AII/Continental ranks in the 2022-23 academic year.

Member schools

Current members

The American Midwest currently has 11 full members, all but one are

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

schools. Departing members are highlighted in pink: ;Notes:

Former members

The American Midwest had ten former full members, all but one were

schools: ;Notes:

Former associate members

The American Midwest had two former associate members, both were

schools: ;Notes:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1986 till:2026 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:5 left:5 bottom:50 top:5 Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7) id:line value:black id:bg value:white id:Full value:rgb(0.7,0.9,0.8) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports id:FullxF value:rgb(0.9,0.8,0.7) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football id:AssocF value:rgb(0.9,0.7,0.8) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.8,0.9,0.7) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for another sport only id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference when the other color has already been used PlotData = width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:FullxF from:1986 till:end text: Columbia (Mo.) (1986–present) bar:2 color:FullxF from:1986 till:1990 text: Fontbonne (1986–1990) bar:2 shift:(40) color:OtherC1 from:1990 till:end text: SLIAC bar:3 color:FullxF from:1986 till:end text: Hannibal–La Grange (1986–present) bar:4 color:FullxF from:1986 till:end text: Harris–Stowe State (1986–present) bar:5 color:FullxF from:1986 till:end text: Missouri Baptist (1986–present) bar:6 color:FullxF from:1986 till:1994 text:

Park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. ...

(1986–1994) bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:1994 till:2009 text: MCAC bar:6 color:FullxF from:2009 till:2020 text:(2009–2020) bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:end text: HAAC bar:7 color:FullxF from:1987 till:2011 text: McKendree (1987–2011) bar:7 shift:(-20) color:OtherC1 from:2011 till:2012 text: D-II Ind. bar:7 color:OtherC2 from:2012 till:end text: GLVC bar:8 color:FullxF from:1993 till:1995 text: Iowa Wesleyan (1993–1995) bar:8 shift:(100) color:OtherC1 from:1995 till:2012 text: MCC bar:8 shift:(-20) color:OtherC2 from:2012 till:2013 text: D-III Ind. bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:2021 text: SLIAC bar:8 color:OtherC2 from:2021 till:end text: NAIA Ind. bar:9 color:FullxF from:1993 till:1996 text: Lindenwood (1993–1996) bar:9 shift:(70) color:OtherC1 from:1996 till:2011 text: HAAC bar:9 shift:(-20) color:OtherC2 from:2011 till:2012 text: D-II Ind. bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2019 text: MIAA bar:9 color:OtherC2 from:2019 till:2022 text: GLVC bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:2022 till:end text: OVC bar:10 color:FullxF from:1993 till:end text: Williams Woods (1993–present) bar:11 color:FullxF from:2001 till:end text: Williams Baptist (2001–present) bar:12 color:FullxF from:2003 till:2009 text: Illinois–Springfield (2003–2009) bar:12 shift:(20) color:OtherC1 from:2009 till:end text: GLVC bar:13 color:FullxF from:2008 till:end text:

Stephens Stephens is a surname. It is a patronymic and is recorded in England from 1086. Notable people with the surname include: *Alexander H. Stephens (1812–1883), Vice President of the Confederate States of America *Alison Stephens (1970–2010), Brit ...

(2008–present) bar:14 color:FullxF from:2011 till:2015 text: Benedictine–Springfield (2011–2015) bar:15 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2023 text:

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

(2012–2023) bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:2023 till:end text: SLIAC bar:16 color:FullxF from:2013 till:2020 text: Freed–Hardeman (2013–2020) bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:end text:

Mid-South Mid-South may refer to: * Mid-South (region), a region of the United States including portions of Tennessee, Mississippi, Kentucky, and Missouri * East South Central States, a region of the United States * Memphis metropolitan area, Tennessee, U ...

bar:17 color:FullxF from:2013 till:2014 text: Mid-Continent (2013–2014) bar:18 color:FullxF from:2014 till:2020 text: Lindenwood–Belleville (2014–2020) bar:19 color:FullxF from:2014 till:end text: UHSP St. Louis (2014–present) bar:20 color:FullxF from:2015 till:end text: Central Baptist (2015–present) bar:21 color:AssocOS from:2017 till:2022 text: CCSJ (2017–2022) bar:22 color:AssocOS from:2017 till:2020 text: Marian (Ind.) (2017–2020) bar:23 shift:(-60) color:AssocOS from:2020 till:2022 text: Lincoln (Ill.) (2020–2022) bar:24 shift:(-20) color:FullxF from:2022 till:end text: Cottey (2022–present) bar:N color:red from:1986 till:1994 text:Show-Me Conference bar:N color:blue from:1994 till:end text:American Midwest Conference ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1986 TextData = fontsize:M textcolor:black pos:(0,25) tabs:(400-center) text:^"American Midwest Conference membership history"

Sports

References

External links

* {{US-sport-org-stub