The Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the
NAIA. Member institutions are located in
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...
,
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...
,
Iowa
Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...
, 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 ...
. The MSFA was organized in 1993, and on-field competition began in 1994. The MSFA is divided into two leagues, the Mideast and the Midwest.
MSFA member schools have won eight NAIA National Championships since the inception of the league in 1993. An MSFA team has played in each of the last seven championships, winning six of the seven, including each of the last three. The two MSFA division champions earn an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship Series.
History
Chronological timeline
* 1994 - The Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) was founded. Charter members included the following:
Geneva College
Geneva College is a private Christian college in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1848, in Northwood, Ohio, the college moved to its present location in 1880, where it continues to educate a student body of about 1400 traditional underg ...
,
Malone College (now Malone University),
Tiffin University
Tiffin University is a private university in Tiffin, Ohio. It was founded in 1888 and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs at the main campus in Tiffin, Ohio; the Unive ...
,
Urbana University, and
Westminster College representing the Mideast League, while the
University of Findlay,
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),
Olivet Nazarene University,
Saint Xavier University
Saint Xavier University (or SXU) is a private Roman Catholic university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1846 by the Sisters of Mercy, the university enrolls 3,749 students.
History
Saint Xavier University was founded as a women's college by ...
,
Taylor University
Taylor University is a Private university, private, Interdenominationalism, interdenominational, evangelical Christian university in Upland, Indiana. Founded in 1846, it is one of the oldest evangelical Christian universities in the country.
T ...
and
Trinity International University representing the Midwest League, effective beginning the 1994 fall season (1994-95 academic year).
* 1996 - Lindenwood left the MSFA to move its football program with its other sports when it joined 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), effective after the 1995 fall season (1995-96 academic year).
* 1996 -
Tri-State University
Trine University is a private university in Angola, Indiana. It was founded in 1884 and offers degrees in the arts and sciences, business, education, and engineering. Trine University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
History
Tri ...
(now Trine University) and
Walsh University joined the MSFA to represent the Mideast League, while
Iowa Wesleyan College (now Iowa Wesleyan University) and
St. Ambrose University
St. Ambrose University is a private Catholic university in Davenport, Iowa. It was founded as a school of commerce for young men in 1882.
History Foundation
St. Ambrose was founded as a seminary and school of commerce for young men in 1882, know ...
joined the MSFA to represent the Midwest League, effective in the 1996 fall season (1996-97 academic year).
* 1998 - Findlay and Westminster (Pa.) left the MSFA to move their football programs to the
Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference (MIFC), along with their other sports when both joined the
Division II 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 ...
(NCAA) and the
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) is a competitive college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level.
The GLIAC was founded in June 1972. Its el ...
(GLIAC), effective after the 1997 fall season (1997-98 academic year).
* 1998 - The
University of Saint Francis of Indiana joined the MSFA to represent the Mideast League, while
McKendree College (now McKendree University) joined the MSFA to represent the Midwest League, effective in the 1998 fall season (1998-99 academic year).
* 1999 - St. Ambrose left the MSFA, effective after the 1998 fall season (1998-99 academic year).
* 1999 - The
University of St. Francis of Illinois joined the MSFA to represent the Mideast League, effective in the 1999 fall season (1999-2000 academic year).
* 2000 - St. Ambrose returned back to the MSFA, effective in the 2000 fall season (2000-01 academic year).
* 2002 - Tiffin left the MSFA to join the
Independent Football Alliance (IFA), effective after the 2001 fall season (2001-02 academic year).
* 2002 -
William Penn University joined the MSFA to represent the Midwest League, effective in the 2002 fall season (2002-03 academic year).
* 2003 - Trine left the MSFA to move its football program with its other sports when it joined the
NCAA Division III
NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their ...
ranks, effective after the 2002 fall season (2002-03 academic year).
* 2003 -
Quincy University
Quincy University (formerly known as St. Francis Solanus College, and today abbreviated as QU) is a private Franciscan university in Quincy, Illinois. It was founded in 1860 and enrolls about 1,100 students.
History
A small group of Francisca ...
joined the MSFA to represent the Mideast League, effective in the 2003 fall season (2003-04 academic year).
* 2004 -
Ohio Dominican University
Ohio Dominican University is a private Dominican liberal arts university in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-mos ...
joined the MSFA to represent the Mideast League, effective in the 2004 fall season (2004-05 academic year).
* 2006 - Quincy moved to the Midwest League, effective in the 2006 fall season (2006-07 academic year).
* 2007 - Geneva left the MSFA to move its football program with its other sports when it joined the NCAA Division III ranks and the
Presidents' Athletic Conference
The Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Of its 11 current member schools, all private, liberal arts institutions of higher learning, nine are located in Western Pennsylvania. ...
(PAC), effective after the 2006 fall season (2006-07 academic year).
* 2007 -
Marian University joined the MSFA to represent the Mideast League, effective in the 2007 fall season (2007-08 academic year).
* 2007 - Saint Xavier (Ill.) moved to the Mideast League, effective in the 2007 fall season (2007-08 academic year).
* 2008 - Urbana left the MSFA to move its football program with its other sports when it joined the NCAA Division III ranks and the
Presidents' Athletic Conference
The Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Of its 11 current member schools, all private, liberal arts institutions of higher learning, nine are located in Western Pennsylvania. ...
(PAC), effective after the 2007 fall season (2007-08 academic year).
* 2009 - Ohio Dominican left the MSFA to move its football program with its other sports when it joined the NCAA Division II ranks, effective after the 2008 fall season (2008-09 academic year).
* 2009 -
Grand View University and
Waldorf University
Waldorf University is a private for-profit university in Forest City, Iowa. It was founded in 1903 and associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and its predecessors. In 2010, it was sold to Columbia Southern University and beca ...
joined the MSFA to represent the Midwest League, effective in the 2009 fall season (2009-10 academic year).
* 2009 - Olivet Nazarene and Trinity International moved to the Mideast League, effective in the 2009 fall season (2009-10 academic year).
* 2011 - Three institutions left the MSFA to move their football programs with their other sports when they joined the NCAA Division II ranks: Malone and Walsh to the GLIAC, and McKendree to the
Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC), effective after the 2010 fall season (2010-11 academic year).
* 2011 -
Concordia University Ann Arbor joined the MSFA to represent in the Mideast League, effective in the 2011 fall season (2011-12 academic year).
* 2011 - Quincy returned back to the Mideast League, while Olivet Nazarene and Trinity International returned back to the Midwest League, effective in the 2011 fall season (2011-12 academic year).
* 2012 - Two institutions left the MSFA to move their football programs with their other sports when they joined the NCAA ranks: Quincy to D-II and the GLVC, and Iowa Wesleyan to D-III, effective after the 2011 fall season (2011-12 academic year).
* 2012 -
Siena Heights University joined the MSFA to represent in the Mideast League, effective in the 2012 fall season (2012-13 academic year).
* 2013 -
Robert Morris University Illinois
Robert Morris University Illinois, formerly Robert Morris College, was a private university with its main campus in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1965 but its oldest ancestor was the Moser School founded in 1913. It changed its name t ...
joined the MSFA to represent in the Mideast League, effective in the 2013 fall season (2013-14 academic year).
* 2013 - Saint Xavier (Ill.) returned back to the Mideast League, while Saint Francis (Ill.) moved to the Midwest League, effective in the 2013 fall season (2013-14 academic year).
* 2014 - Waldorf left the MSFA to join the
North Star Athletic Association
The North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) that began play in the 2013–14 school year. The conference currently has eight full member ...
(NSAA) as an affiliate member for football, effective after the 2013 fall season (2013-14 academic year).
* 2015 - Grand View and William Penn left the MSFA to move their football programs with their other sports when both joined the HAAC, effective after the 2014 fall season (2014-15 academic year).
* 2015 -
Lindenwood University – Belleville
The Belleville Learning Center, previously known as Lindenwood University–Belleville and Lindenwood Belleville, is a defunct satellite campus of Lindenwood University. It offered evening postgraduate and undergraduate classes for about 300 stu ...
and
Missouri Baptist University
Missouri Baptist University (MBU) is a private Southern Baptist university in Creve Coeur, Missouri. It is one of three universities of the Missouri Baptist Convention. The main campus is located on a 68-acre site near Creve Coeur and Town and C ...
joined the MSFA to represent the Mideast League, effective in the 2015 fall season (2015-16 academic year).
* 2015 - Saint Francis (Ill.) returned back to the Mideast League, effective in the 2015 fall season (2015-16 academic year).
* 2018 - Lindenwood–Belleville left the MSFA, effective after the 2017 fall season (2017-18 academic year).
* 2019 - Robert Morris (Ill.) left the MSFA, effective after the 2018 fall season (2018-19 academic year).
* 2019 -
Indiana Wesleyan University and
Lawrence Technological University
Lawrence Technological University (LTU) (Lawrence Tech) is a private university in Southfield, Michigan. It was founded in 1932 in Highland Park, Michigan, as the Lawrence Institute of Technology (LIT) by Russell E. Lawrence. The university mov ...
joined the MSFA to represent the Mideast League, effective in the 2019 fall season (2019-20 academic year).
* 2019 - Missouri Baptist moved to the Midwest League, effective in the 2019 fall season (2019-20 academic year).
* 2020 -
Madonna University joined the MSFA to represent the Mideast League, while
Roosevelt University joined the MSFA to represent the Midwest League, effective in the 2020 fall season (2020-21 academic year).
* 2021 -
Judson University joined the MSFA to represent the Midwest League, effective in the 2021 fall season (2021-22 academic year).
* 2022 - Two institutions announced that they will leave the MSFA to move their football programs with their other sports: Roosevelt to D-II and the GLIAC, and Missouri Baptist to the HAAC, effective after the 2022 fall season (2022-23 academic year).
National Championship appearances
Member schools
Current members
The MSFA currently has 16 member schools, all of them 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. In 2021, Madonna began conference play as a member of the Mideast League, and Judson has competed in the Midwest.
;Notes:
Former members
;Notes:
Membership timeline
DateFormat = yyyy
ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20
Period = from:1994 till:2030
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
PlotArea = right:5 left:5 bottom:40 top:5
Colors =
id:line value:black
PlotData =
width:15 textcolor:darkblue shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s
bar:1 color:yelloworange from:1994 till:1998 text:Findlay (1994–1998)
bar:2 color:redorange from:1994 till:2007 text:Geneva (1994–2007)
bar:3 color:yelloworange from:1994 till:1996 text:Lindenwood (1994–1996)
bar:4 color:redorange from:1994 till:2011 text:Malone (1994–2011)
bar:5 color:yelloworange from:1994 till:2009 text:Olivet Nazarene (1994–2009)
bar:5 color:redorange from:2009 till:2011 text:(2009–2011)
bar:5 shift:(20) color:yelloworange from:2011 till:end text:(2011–present)
bar:6 color:yelloworange from:1994 till:2007 text:Saint Xavier (IL) (1994–2007)
bar:6 color:redorange from:2007 till:2013 text:(2007–2013)
bar:6 color:yelloworange from:2013 till:end text:(2013–present)
bar:7 color:yelloworange from:1994 till:2002 text:Taylor (1994–2002)
bar:7 color:redorange from:2002 till:end text:(2002–present)
bar:8 color:redorange from:1994 till:2002 text:Tiffin (1994–2002)
bar:9 color:yelloworange from:1994 till:2009 text:Trinity International (1994–2009)
bar:9 color:redorange from:2009 till:2011 text:(2009–2011)
bar:9 shift:(20) color:yelloworange from:2011 till:end text:(2011–present)
bar:10 color:redorange from:1994 till:2008 text:Urbana (1994–2008)
bar:11 color:redorange from:1994 till:1998 text:Westminster (PA) (1994–1998)
bar:12 color:yelloworange from:1996 till:2012 text:Iowa Wesleyan (1996–2012)
bar:13 color:yelloworange from:1996 till:1999 text:St. Ambrose (1996–1999)
bar:13 shift:(30) color:yelloworange from:2000 till:end text:(2000–present)
bar:14 color:redorange from:1996 till:2003 text:Trine (1996–2003)
bar:15 color:redorange from:1996 till:2011 text:Walsh (1996–2011)
bar:16 color:yelloworange from:1998 till:2011 text:McKendree (1998–2011)
bar:17 color:redorange from:1998 till:end text:Saint Francis (IN) (1998–present)
bar:18 color:yelloworange from:1999 till:2013 text:St. Francis (IL) (1999–2013)
bar:18 color:redorange from:2013 till:2015 text:(2013–2015)
bar:18 shift:(20) color:yelloworange from:2015 till:end text:(2015–present)
bar:19 color:yelloworange from:2002 till:2015 text:William Penn (2002–2015)
bar:20 color:redorange from:2003 till:2006 text:Quincy (2003–2006)
bar:20 shift:(30) color:yelloworange from:2006 till:2011 text:(2006–2011)
bar:20 color:redorange from:2011 till:2012 text:(2011–2012)
bar:21 color:redorange from:2004 till:2009 text:Ohio Dominican (2004–2009)
bar:22 color:redorange from:2007 till:end text:Marian (2007–present)
bar:23 color:yelloworange from:2009 till:2014 text:Waldorf (2009–2014)
bar:24 color:yelloworange from:2009 till:2015 text:Grand View (2009–2015)
bar:25 color:redorange from:2011 till:end text:Concordia–Michigan (2011–present)
bar:26 color:redorange from:2012 till:end text:Siena Heights (2012–present)
bar:27 color:redorange from:2013 till:2015 text:Robert Morris (2013–2015)
bar:27 shift:(90) color:yelloworange from:2015 till:2019 text:(2015–2019)
bar:28 color:redorange from:2015 till:2018 text:Lindenwood–Belleville (2015–2018)
bar:29 color:redorange from:2015 till:end text:Missouri Baptist (2015–2019)
bar:29 shift:(50) color:yelloworange from:2019 till:end text:(2019–present)
bar:30 color:redorange from:2019 till:end text:Indiana Wesleyan (2019–present)
bar:31 color:redorange from:2019 till:end text:Lawrence Tech (2019–present)
bar:32 color:redorange from:2020 till:end text:Madonna (2020–present)
bar:33 color:yelloworange from:2020 till:end text:Roosevelt (2020–present)
bar:34 color:yelloworange from:2021 till:end text:Judson (2021–present)
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1994
TextData =
fontsize:M
textcolor:black
pos:(0,25) tabs:(400-center)
text:^"Mid-States Football Association membership history"
Sports
The MSFA sponsors teams only in
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
. For other sports, MSFA-member schools are affiliated with a variety of other conferences; including the
American Midwest Conference, the
Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference
The Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Its 14 members are located in the Midwestern United States. In many sports, the ...
, the
Crossroads League
The Crossroads League (formerly the Mid-Central College Conference) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Its members are private Christian colleges in Indiana, Michigan, a ...
, and the
Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference.
References
External links
*
{{College football
Sports in the Midwestern United States
Sports organizations established in 1993
1993 establishments in the United States
Articles which contain graphical timelines