The Midwest Conference (MWC) is 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 ...

affiliated with the

NCAA 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 ...

's Division III. Member institutions are located in the

Midwestern United States 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. I ...

in the states of

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 ...

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 ...

. The Midwest Conference was created in 1994 with the merger of the Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference, which had been sponsoring men's sports since 1921, and the Midwest Athletic Conference for Women, which was formed in 1977.

History

The organization of the Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC) was conceived at a meeting at

Coe College Coe College is a private liberal arts college in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It was founded in 1851 and is historically affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The college is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and the Associatio ...

on May 12, 1921. Charter members were

Beloit College Beloit College is a private liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin. Founded in 1846, when Wisconsin was still a territory, it is the state's oldest continuously operated college. It is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and ...

Carleton College Carleton College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. Founded in 1866, it had 2,105 undergraduate students and 269 faculty members in fall 2016. The 200-acre main campus is between Northfield and the 800-acre Cowlin ...

Cornell College Cornell College is a private college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Originally the Iowa Conference Seminary, the school was founded in 1853 by George Bryant Bowman. Four years later, in 1857, the name was changed to Cornell College, in honor of iron tyc ...

Knox College (Illinois) , mottoeng = Truth , established = , type = Private liberal arts college , endowment = $170.2 million (2019) , president = C. Andrew McGadney , city = Galesburg, Illinois , country = U.S. , enrollment = 1,200 , faculty = 120 , cam ...

and

Lawrence University Lawrence University is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second college in the U.S. to be founded as a coeduca ...

Hamline University Hamline University is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1854, Hamline is known for its emphasis on experiential learning, service, and social justice. The university is named after Bishop Leonidas Lent Hamline ...

and

Millikin University Millikin University is a private university in Decatur, Illinois. It was founded in 1901 by prominent Decatur businessman James Millikin and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Media Decaturian The ''Decaturian'', also known as ...

joined the league in December 1921, but both of them later withdrew: Hamline after the 1929–30 academic year, and Millikin after the 1924–25 academic year. Ripon College joined the conference in 1923, followed by

Monmouth College Monmouth College is a private Presbyterian liberal arts college in Monmouth, Illinois. Monmouth enrolls approximately 900 students from 21 countries who choose courses from 40 major programs, 43 minors, and 17 pre-professional programs in a ...

in 1924,

Grinnell College Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College. Grinnell has the fifth highest endowment-to-stu ...

in 1940 and

Lake Forest College Lake Forest College is a private liberal arts college in Lake Forest, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Lind University by a group of Presbyterian ministers, the college has been coeducational since 1876 and an undergraduate-focused liberal arts in ...

in 1974.

Illinois College Illinois College is a private liberal arts college in Jacksonville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church (USA). It was the second college founded in Illinois, but the first to grant a degree ( ...

and

St. Norbert College St. Norbert College (SNC) is a private Norbertine liberal arts college in De Pere, Wisconsin. Founded in October 1898 by Abbot Bernard Pennings, a Norbertine priest and educator, the school was named after Saint Norbert of Xanten. In 1952, the c ...

joined in 1982 and

Carroll University Carroll University is a private university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Established in 1846, Carroll was Wisconsin's first four-year institution of higher learning. History Prior to its estab ...

followed in 1992. Carleton withdrew following the 1982–83 academic year.

St. Olaf College St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American pastors and farmers led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and the Patron Saint Olaf ...

also competed in the conference from 1952 to 1974, as did the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

from 1976 to 1987. Coe and Cornell withdrew following the 1996–97 academic year with Cornell rejoining the league starting in the 2012–13 year.

Macalester College Macalester College () is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1874, Macalester is exclusively an undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 2,174 students in the fall of 2018 from 50 U.S. states, four U.S te ...

joined as a football-only member starting in 2014. The

returned as a football-only member in 2017, and added baseball to its conference membership in the 2019 season (2018–19 school year). The MWC split into North and South divisions for football, men's and women's tennis, baseball, and softball from 2012 through 2016. Divisional play ended with the departure of Carroll after the 2015–16 school year, and resumed for football only with the addition of the

as an affiliate member for the 2017–18 season. St. Norbert left in 2021 for the

Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference The Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC), formerly the Northern Athletics Conference (NAC), is a college athletic conference. It participates in the NCAA's Division III and began its first season in the fall of 2006. The NACC sponso ...

Chronological timeline

* 1921 - The Midwest Conference (MWC) was founded as the Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC). Charter members included

, Knox College and

Lawrence College Lawrence University is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second college in the U.S. to be founded as a coeducation ...

(now Lawrence University), effective beginning the 1921-22 academic year. * 1922 -

and

Millikin College Millikin University is a private university in Decatur, Illinois. It was founded in 1901 by prominent Decatur businessman James Millikin and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Media Decaturian The ''Decaturian'', also known as ...

(now Millikin University) joined the MCAC, effective in the 1922-23 academic year. * 1923 - Ripon College joined the MCAC, effective in the 1923-24 academic year. * 1924 -

joined the MCAC, effective in the 1924-25 academic year. * 1925 - Millikin left the MCAC, effective after the 1924-25 academic year. * 1930 - Hamline left the MCAC, effective after the 1929-30 academic year. * 1940 -

joined the MCAC, effective in the 1940-41 academic year. * 1952 -

joined the MCAC, effective in the 1952-53 academic year. * 1974 - St. Olaf left the MCAC, effective after the 1973-74 academic year. * 1974 -

joined the MCAC, effective in the 1974-75 academic year. * 1976 - The

joined the MCAC, effective in the 1976-77 academic year. * 1982 -

and

joined the MCAC, effective in the 1982-83 academic year. * 1983 - Carleton left the MCAC, effective after the 1982-83 academic year. * 1987 - U. of Chicago left the MCAC to join the

University Athletic Association The University Athletic Association (UAA) is an American athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division III. Member schools are highly selective universities located in Georgia, Illinois, M ...

(UAA), effective after the 1986-87 academic year. * 1992 -

Carroll College Carroll College is a 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 ''P ...

joined the MCAC, effective in the 1992-93 academic year. * 1994 - The MCAC has been rebranded when the conference merged with the women's-only

Midwest Athletic Conference for Women The Midwest Conference (MWC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in the Midwestern United States in the states of Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. The Midwest Conference was ...

(MACW; founded since the 1977-78 school year) to become the Midwest Conference (MWC), effective in the 1994-95 academic year. * 1997 - Coe and Cornell left the MWC, effective after the 1996-97 academic year. * 2012 - Cornell re-joined back to the MWC, effective in the 2012-13 academic year. * 2014 -

joined the MWC as an affiliate member for football, effective in the 2014 fall season (2014-15 academic year). * 2016 - Carroll left the MWC to join the

College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin The College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) is a college athletic conference which competes in the Division III level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). CCIW schools have accounted for 50 national championships ...

(CCIW), effective after the 2015-16 academic year. * 2017 - The University of Chicago re-joined back to the MWC, but as an affiliate member for football, effective in the 2017 fall season (2017-18 academic year). * 2018 - The University of Chicago added baseball into its MWC affiliate membership, effective in the 2019 spring season (2018-19 academic year). * 2021 - St. Norbert left the MWC to join the

(NACC), effective after the 2020-21 academic year. * 2021 - Macalester left the MWC as an affiliate member for football, effective after the 2020 fall season (2020-21 academic year).

Member schools

Every member in the history of the MWC and its predecessor conferences, whether full, affiliate, current, or former, has been a

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 ...

school.

Current members

The MWC currently has nine full members. ;Notes

Affiliate members

The MWC currently has one affiliate member. ;Notes:

Former members

The MWC had eight former full members. ;Notes:

Former affiliate members

The MWC had one former affiliate member.

Membership timeline

Sports

, the MWC sponsors the following sports:

Conference facilities

References

External links

* {{NCAA Division III football conference navbox