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, and Ohio. The current conference commissioner is Larry DeSimpelare.

History

In June 2012, the conference voted to change its name to the Crossroads League, a name to better reflect the conference having grown beyond its Central Indiana roots.

Chronological timeline

* 1959 – On June 1, 1959, the Crossroad League was founded as the Mid-Central College Conference (MCCC). Charter members included Concordia Senior College, Grace College (now Grace College & Seminary), Huntington College, Indiana Institute of Technology (Indiana Tech) and Tri-State College (now Trine University), beginning the 1959–60 academic year.
* 1963 – On September 17, 1963, the MCCC joined the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) as a sponsored athletic conference, beginning the 1963–64 academic year.
* 1966 – Saint Francis College (now the University of Saint Francis of Indiana) joined the MCCC in the 1966–67 academic year.
* 1969 – On Nov. 6, 1969, Goshen College joined the MCCC, beginning the 1970–71 academic year.
* 1972 – Concordia Senior College left the MCCC after the 1971–72 academic year.
* 1973 – Marion College (now Indiana Wesleyan University) joined the MCCC in the 1973–74 academic year.
* 1978 – Indiana Tech left the MCCC after the 1977–78 academic year.
* 1979 – Grace left the MCCC after the 1978–79 academic year.
* 1980 – Tri-State announced that it would leave the MCCC on May 8, and Saint Francis (Ind.) announced the same on May 12, both effective after the 1980–81 academic year.
* 1980 – On November 5, 1980, Bethel College (now Bethel University) joined the MCCC, with Grace re-joining as well, both effective beginning the 1981–82 academic year.
* 1986 – Bethel initially withdrew from the MCCC after the 1985–86 academic year. However on August 25, 1986, Bethel was re-instated into the conference for the 1986–87 academic year.
* 1986 – Women's sports were introduced in the MCCC, beginning the 1986–87 academic year.
* 1987 – On September 14, 1987, Marian College (now Marian University) joined the MCCC in the 1987–88 academic year.
* 1994 – Taylor University joined the MCCC, with Saint Francis (Ind.) re-joining, both effective beginning the 1994–95 academic year.
* 2004 – Spring Arbor University joined the MCCC in the 2004–05 academic year.
* 2010 – On November 30, 2010, Mount Vernon Nazarene University joined the MCCC in the 2010–11 academic year.
* 2012 – On June 27, 2012, the MCCC was rebranded as the Crossroads League, beginning the 2012–13 academic year.

Member schools

Current members

The Crossroads League currently has ten full members; all are private, Christian schools:

;Notes

Former members

The Crossroads had three former full members, all were private schools:

;Notes:

Membership timeline

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Period = from:1959 till:2029
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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
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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:FullxW from:1959 till:1972 text: Concordia (1959–1972)
bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:1972 till:1977 text:Independent; closed 1977

bar:2 color:FullxW from:1959 till:1979 text:Grace (1959–1979)
bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1981
bar:2 color:FullxW from:1981 till:1986 text: (1981-present)
bar:2 color:FullxF from:1986 till:end

bar:3 color:FullxW from:1959 till:1986 text: Huntington (1959–present)
bar:3 color:FullxF from:1986 till:end

bar:4 color:FullxW from:1959 till:1978 text: Indiana Tech (1959–1978)
bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:1998 text:Independent
bar:4 color:OtherC2 from:1998 till:end text: WHAC (1998–present)

bar:5 color:FullxW from:1959 till:1981 text: Trine (1959–1981)
bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:1981 till:1992 text:Independent
bar:5 color:OtherC2 from:1992 till:2003 text: WHAC (1992–2003)
bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:2003 till:2004 text:
bar:5 color:OtherC2 from:2004 till:end text: MIAA (2004–present; Trine since 2008)

bar:6 color:FullxW from:1966 till:1981 text: Saint Francis (1966–1981)
bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:1981 till:1994 text:Independent
bar:6 color:FullxF from:1994 till:end text:(1994-present)

bar:7 color:FullxW from:1970 till:1992 text: Goshen (1970–present)
bar:7 color:FullxF from:1992 till:end

bar:8 color:FullxW from:1973 till:end text: Marion (1973–present)
bar:8 color:FullxF from:1986 till:1988
bar:8 color:FullxF from:1988 till:end text:(Indiana Wesleyan since 1988)

bar:9 color:FullxW from:1981 till:1986 text:Bethel (1981–present)
bar:9 color:FullxF from:1986 till:end

bar:10 color:FullxF from:1987 till:end text: Marian (1987–present)

bar:11 color:FullxF from:1994 till:end text: Taylor (1994–present)

bar:12 color:FullxF from:2004 till:end text: Spring Arbor (2004–present)

bar:13 color:FullxF from:2011 till:end text: Mount Vernon Nazarene (2011–present)

bar:N color:skyblue from:1959 till:2012 text:Mid-Central College Conference
bar:N color:blue from:2012 till:end text:Crossroads League

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text:^"Crossroads League membership history"

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Sports

Commissioners Cup

Each year, the member institution with the most points based on final rankings in each sport, is awarded the Commissioners Cup (formerly known as the All Sports Trophy). The current holder is Indiana Wesleyan University, which has won the last twelve cups in a row and holds the record for cups won, with eighteen.

Notable athletes

* Stevimir Ercegovac (Taylor University), 4-time national shot put champion, Olympian
*Steve Platt ( Huntington University), professional basketball player
*Steve Smith ( University of St. Francis), College Slam Dunk Champion
* Eric Stults ( Bethel College), pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers
*Justin Masterson ( Bethel College), pitcher with the Boston Red Sox
* Katie Sowers (Goshen College), first female and first openly gay coach to coach in a Super Bowl
* Addison Wiley ( Huntington University), professional distance runner

References

External links

*

{{NAIA conference navbox

1959 establishments in Indiana
Sports leagues established in 1959