The Midwest Collegiate Conference (MCC) was a

college athletic conference In college athletics in the United States, institutions typically join in conferences for regular play under different governing bodies. Varsity sports There are several national and regional associations governing the varsity teams of colleges ...

, consisting of

colleges A college ( Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

and

universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United State ...

located in

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 ...

and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. Founded in 1988, the conference's member schools competed on the NAIA level in 15 different sports.

History

When the Midwest Collegiate Conference was originally formed in 1988, it consisted of six

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

colleges and universities situated across the

Midwestern The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. Dubbed the Midwest Catholic Conference, member schools originally competed in only men's and women's basketball, women's volleyball, and men's soccer. The charter members of the conference were Clarke College,

Edgewood College Edgewood College is a private Dominican college in Madison, Wisconsin. The college occupies a campus overlooking the shores of Lake Wingra. History The Edgewood College property was bought in 1855 by Mr. Ashmead from Governor Leonard J. Farwe ...

, Marycrest University, Mount Mercy College, Mount St. Clare College and Viterbo College. Edgewood left the conference before the start of the 1989–90 season. With the inclusion of Grand View College that year, the conference changed its name to the Midwest Classic Conference.

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 ...

's basketball teams joined the conference for the 1990 season, and the school's other sports joined the MCC in 1991. Iowa Wesleyan College joined the conference for the 1995–96 season. The following year, Clarke University left the MCC to participate in

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 ...

athletics. William Penn University became a member of the Conference in 2001. Marycrest International University ceased operations after the 2001–02 season. Waldorf College joined the conference for the 2003–04 season, completing the current nine school lineup. Clarke University returned to the conference in 2007, and the conference has officially taken the name of the Midwest Collegiate Conference. Members

Ashford University The University of Arizona Global Campus, formerly Ashford University, is an online university "operated in affiliation with the University of Arizona." In 2020, Ashford University was acquired by the University of Arizona, becoming the Universit ...

and

Waldorf College 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 ...

were voted out of the conference on May 17, 2011, effective at the end of the 2011–12 season. On October 14, 2011,

Iowa Wesleyan College Iowa Wesleyan University is a private university in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. It is Iowa's first co-educational institution of higher learning and the oldest of its type west of the Mississippi River. The institution is affiliated with the United Met ...

announced they would join

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 ...

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

. On January 10, 2014,

Grand View University Grand View University is a private liberal arts university in Des Moines, Iowa. Founded in 1896 and affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the university enrolls approximately 2,000 students and is accredited by the Highe ...

and

William Penn University William Penn University is a private university in Oskaloosa, Iowa. It was founded by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in 1873 as Penn College. In 1933, the name was changed to William Penn College, and finally to William P ...

announced they would 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 ...

after the 2014–15 season. On February 5, 2015,

AIB College of Business AIB College of Business was an accredited, independent, nonprofit, baccalaureate college of business located in Des Moines, Iowa, in the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U ...

announced they would end their athletic programs as the school prepared to be coming a part of the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

Chronological timeline

* 1988 - The Midwest Collegiate Conference (MCC) was founded as the Midwest Catholic Conference (MCC). Charter members included Clarke College (now Clarke University),

, Marycrest University (later Marycrest International University), Mount Mercy College (now Mount Mercy University), Mount St. Clare College (later Ashford University) and Viterbo College (now Viterbo University), effective beginning the 1988-89 academic year. * 1989 - Edgewood left the Midwest Catholic after spending just one season, only to fully align in the

ranks of the

(NCAA) and the Lake Michigan Conference, effective after the 1988-89 academic year. * 1989 - Grand View College (now Grand View University) joined the Midwest Catholic, effective in the 1989-90 academic year. * 1989 - The MCC has been renamed as the Midwest Classic Conference (MCC), effective in the 1989-90 academic year. * 1990 - St. Ambrose College (now St. Ambrose University) joined the Midwest Classic (with the rest of their other sports joining the following season), effective in the 1990-91 academic year. * 1995 -

(now Iowa Wesleyan University) joined the Midwest Classic, effective in the 1995-96 academic year. * 1996 - Clarke left the Midwest Classic and the NAIA to join the NCAA Division III ranks and the

Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference The Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference (NIIC) was a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Divi ...

(NIIC), effective after the 1995-96 academic year. * 2001 -

joined the Midwest Classic, effective in the 2001-02 academic year. * 2002 - Marycrest International left the Midwest Classic as the school announced that it would close, effective after the 2001-02 academic year. * 2003 -

(now Waldorf University) joined the Midwest Classic, effective in the 2003-04 academic year. * 2007 - Clarke re-joined back to the Midwest Classic, effective in the 2007-08 academic year. * 2007 - The MCC has been renamed as the Midwest Collegiate Conference (MCC), effective in the 2007-08 academic year. * 2010 -

joined the Midwest Collegiate, effective in the 2010-11 academic year. * 2012 - Three institutions left the Midwest Collegiate to join their respective new home primary conferences: Ashford and Iowa Wesleyan as NAIA Independents (Iowa Wesleyan would later apply to join the NCAA Division III ranks and the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC), effective beginning the 2013-14 academic year), and Waldorf to join the

Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference The Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC) was an intercollegiate athletic conference that competed in National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. Members of the conference were located in the Midwest United States and were locate ...

(MCAC), all effective after the 2011-12 academic year. * 2015 - The Midwest Collegiate ceased operations as an athletic conference, effective after the 2014-15 academic year; as many schools left to join their respective new home primary conferences, effective beginning the 2015-16 academic year: Grand View and William Penn to the

(HAAC), Clarke and Mount Mercy as NAIA Independents (although both would later follow Grand View and William Penn to join the HAAC, effective beginning the 2016-17 academic year), St. Ambrose to the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC), and Viterbo to 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).

Member schools

Final members

The MCC ended with seven full members, all were

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: ;Notes:

Former members

The MCC had five former full members, all were

schools: ;Notes:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1988 till:2024 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:1988 till:2012 text: Ashford (1988–2012) bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2016 text: NAIA Ind. bar:2 color:FullxF from:1988 till:1996 text:

Clarke Clarke is a surname which means "clerk". The surname is of English and Irish origin and comes from the Latin . Variants include Clerk and Clark. Clarke is also uncommonly chosen as a given name. Irish surname origin Clarke is a popular surname i ...

(1988–1996) bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:1996 till:2006 text: N. Ill.-Iowa bar:2 color:OtherC2 from:2006 till:2007 text: NAIA Ind. bar:2 shift:(40) color:FullxF from:2007 till:2015 text:(2007–2015) bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:2015 till:2016 text: NAIA Ind. bar:2 shift:(40) color:OtherC2 from:2016 till:end text: Heart of America bar:3 color:FullxF from:1988 till:1989 text:

Edgewood Edgewood may refer to: Places Canada *Edgewood, British Columbia South Africa *Edgewood, a University of KwaZulu-Natal campus in Pinetown, South Africa United States Cities and towns *Edgewood, California *Edgewood, Florida *Edgewood, Illinois, a ...

(1988–1989) bar:3 shift:(100) color:OtherC1 from:1989 till:2006 text: Lake Michigan bar:3 color:OtherC2 from:2006 till:end text: Northern bar:4 color:FullxF from:1988 till:2002 text: Marycrest International (1988–2002) bar:5 color:FullxF from:1988 till:2015 text: Mount Mercy (1988–2015) bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:2015 till:2016 text: NAIA Ind. bar:5 shift:(40) color:OtherC2 from:2016 till:end text: Heart of America bar:6 color:FullxF from:1988 till:2015 text:

Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history ...

(1988–2015) bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:2015 till:end text:

North Star Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude tha ...

bar:7 color:FullxF from:1989 till:2015 text: Grand View (1989–2015) bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:2015 till:end text: Heart of America bar:8 color:FullxF from:1990 till:2015 text:

St. Ambrose Ambrose of Milan ( la, Aurelius Ambrosius; ), venerated as Saint Ambrose, ; lmo, Sant Ambroeus . was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promot ...

(1990–2015) bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:2015 till:end text:

Chicagoland The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hint ...

bar:9 color:FullxF from:1995 till:2012 text: Iowa Wesleyan (1995–2012) bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2013 text: NAIA Ind. bar:9 shift:(40) color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:2021 text:

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:2021 till:end text: NAIA Ind. bar:10 color:FullxF from:2001 till:2015 text:

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

(2001–2015) bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:2015 till:end text: Heart of America bar:11 color:FullxF from:2003 till:2012 text: Waldorf (2003–2012) bar:11 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2015 text: Midlands bar:11 color:OtherC2 from:2015 till:end text:

bar:12 color:AssocOS from:2010 till:2011 text: AIB (2010–2015) bar:12 color:FullxF from:2011 till:2015 text: bar:N color:green from:1988 till:1989 text:MCC bar:N shift:(20) color:blue from:1989 till:2007 text:Midwest Classic Conference bar:N color:green from:2007 till:2015 text:Midwest Collegiate Conference bar:N color:blue from:2015 till:end text:Post-MCC ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1990 TextData = fontsize:M textcolor:black pos:(0,25) tabs:(400-center) text:^"Midwest Collegiate Conference membership history" #> If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following three options (use only the colors that are used in the graphic.) Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space. <#

Sports

The Midwest Collegiate Conference oversaw the following sports: Member schools also participated in a number of sports not affiliated with the MCC, including

competitive dance Competitive dance is a popular, widespread sport in which competitors perform dances in any of several permitted dance styles—such as acro, ballet, contemporary, jazz, hip-hop, lyrical, modern, musical theatre, tap, and improv—before a ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

, men's

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

, and

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

. Several football teams from Midwest Collegiate Conference schools competed in the

Mid-States Football Association The Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the NAIA. Member institutions are located in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri. The MSFA was organized in 1993, and on-field competition b ...

References

External links

* {{NAIA conference navbox Defunct NAIA conferences Sports organizations established in 1988