The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

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 Third ...

. Member institutions are located in

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

and

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. Founded as the Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference (ICAC) in 1987, it reincorporated under its current name in 1998 with the addition of several schools from Ohio. Original members of the HCAC included Anderson, Bluffton, Franklin, Hanover, Manchester, Mount St. Joseph, Wabash, and Wilmington. Of the ten current members, six were founding members of the former ICAC. Former members include DePauw (1987–1998), Taylor (1988–1991), Wabash (1987–1999), Wilmington (1998–2000), and Defiance (2000–2024).

Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology (RHIT) is a private university in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1874 and houses twelve academic departments with over thirty undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science, en ...

(1988–1998) re-joined as of July 1, 2006.

History

The Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference (ICAC) was formed in June 1987, with 1990–91 being the first full season of competition (all eight teams competing in eight varsity sports). Charter members in 1987 included Anderson University,

DePauw University DePauw University ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Greencastle, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1837 as Indiana Asbury College and changed its name to DePauw University in 1884. The college has a Methodist heritage and was ...

, Franklin College,

Hanover College Hanover College is a private college in Hanover, Indiana, United States, affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Founded in 1827 by Reverend John Finley Crowe, it is Indiana's oldest private college. The Hanover athletic teams participat ...

, Manchester College, and

Wabash College Wabash College is a private liberal arts men's college located in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Founded in 1832, by a group of Dartmouth College graduates and Midwestern leaders, the institution was originally named "The Wabash Teachers Seminary an ...

. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and

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 United Stat ...

later joined in 1988. Taylor left the conference after the 1990–91 season. The addition of three Ohio schools (

Bluffton College Bluffton University is a private Mennonite university in Bluffton, Ohio. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, with three programs that have earned programmatic accreditation: education, nursing and social work. The university has ...

, the College of Mount St. Joseph, and Wilmington College) and the departure of two Indiana schools (DePauw and Rose-Hulman) during the 1998–99 season prompted a change in name to Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. Wabash and Wilmington later departed in the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 seasons respectively.

Defiance College The Defiance College is a private college located in Defiance, Ohio, United States. Affiliated with the United Church of Christ, the campus includes eighteen buildings and access to the Thoreau Wildlife Sanctuary. The college is accredited by t ...

and

Transylvania University Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. It was founded in 1780 and is the oldest university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is Higher educ ...

joined in 2000 and 2001 respectively. Rose-Hulman re-joined the HCAC, effective for the 2006–07 season. In October 2009,

Earlham College Earlham College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Richmond, Indiana. The college was established in 1847 by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and has a strong focus on Quake ...

Richmond, Indiana Richmond () is a city in eastern Wayne County, Indiana, United States. Bordering the state of Ohio, it is the county seat of Wayne County. In the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 35,720. It is the principal c ...

was accepted as the 10th member of the conference and began competition in the fall of 2010. In the summer of 2024,

departed the HCAC to join the NAIA and the

Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference The Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), headquartered in Livonia, Michigan. The conference consists of twelve colleges and u ...

Berea College Berea College is a private liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky. Founded in 1855, Berea College was the first college in the Southern United States to be coeducational and racially integrated. It was integrated from as early as 1866 ...

joined the HCAC at the start of the 2024–25 academic year.

Chronological timeline

* 1987 – In June 1987, the HCAC was founded as the Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference (ICAC). Charter members included Anderson College (now Anderson University),

, Franklin College,

, Manchester College, and

, beginning the 1987–88 academic year. * 1988 –

and

joined the ICAC in the 1988–89 academic year. * 1990 – The ICAC began their first full season on competition, competing in eight varsity sports, beginning the 1990–91 academic year. * 1991 – Taylor left the ICAC to join the

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

(NAIA) after the 1990–91 academic year. * 1998 ** DePauw and Rose–Hulman (or Rose–Hulman Tech or RHIT) left the ICAC to join the

Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), founded in 1962, is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, and Texas. Difficulti ...

(SCAC) after the 1997–98 academic year. **

(now Bluffton University), the College of Mount St. Joseph (now Mount St. Joseph University) and Wilmington College joined the ICAC in the 1998–99 academic year. ** The ICAC has been rebranded as the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC), beginning the 1998–99 academic year. * 1999 – Wabash left the HCAC to join the

North Coast Athletic Conference The North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III which is composed of colleges located in Ohio and Indiana. It sponsors 23 ...

(NCAC) after the 1998–99 academic year. Its football program later left after the 1999 fall season (1999–2000 school year). * 2000 ** Wilmington left the HCAC to join the

Ohio Athletic Conference The Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. All member institutions are located in Ohio. Formed in 1902, it is the third oldest athletic conference in the United States ...

(OAC) after the 1999–2000 academic year. **

joined the HCAC in the 2000–01 academic year. * 2001 –

joined the HCAC in the 2001–02 academic year. * 2006 – Rose–Hulman rejoined the HCAC in the 2006–07 academic year. * 2010 –

joined the HCAC in the 2010–11 academic year. * 2024 ** Defiance left the HCAC to join the NAIA and the

(WHAC) after the 2023–24 academic year. **

joined the HCAC at the start of the 2024–25 academic year.

Member schools

Current members

The HCAC currently has ten full members, all

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 recorded ...

schools: ;Notes:

Former members

The HCAC has five former full members, all were

schools: ;Notes:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1987 till:2029 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph, use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<# Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7) id:line value:black id:bg value:white id:Full value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports id:FullxF value:rgb(0.551,0.824,0.777) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football id:AssocF value:rgb(0.98,0.5,0.445) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.5,0.691,0.824) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in some sports, but not all (consider identifying in legend or a footnote) id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference where OtherC1 has already been used, to distinguish the two PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:FullxF from:1987 till:1989 text: Anderson (Ind.) (1987–present) bar:1 color:Full from:1989 till:end bar:2 color:FullxF from:1987 till:1989 text: DePauw (1987–1998) bar:2 color:Full from:1989 till:1998 bar:3 color:FullxF from:1987 till:1989 text: Franklin (Ind.) (1987–present) bar:3 color:Full from:1989 till:end bar:4 color:FullxF from:1987 till:1989 text:

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

(1987–present) bar:4 color:Full from:1989 till:end bar:5 color:FullxF from:1987 till:1989 text: Manchester (Ind.) (1987–present) bar:5 color:Full from:1989 till:end bar:6 color:FullxF from:1987 till:1989 text: Wabash (1987–1999) bar:6 color:Full from:1989 till:1999 bar:6 color:AssocF from:1999 till:2000 bar:7 color:FullxF from:1988 till:1989 text: Rose–Hulman Tech (RHIT) (1988–1998) bar:7 color:Full from:1989 till:1998 bar:7 color:Full from:2006 till:end text:(2006–present) bar:8 color:FullxF from:1988 till:1989 text:

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) ** List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) ...

(1988–1991) bar:8 color:Full from:1989 till:1991 bar:9 color:Full from:1998 till:end text: Bluffton (1998–present) bar:10 color:Full from:1998 till:end text: Mount St. Joseph (1998–present) bar:11 color:Full from:1998 till:2000 text: Wilmington (Oh.) (1998–2000) bar:12 color:Full from:2000 till:2024 text:

Defiance Defiance may refer to: Film, television and theatre * ''Defiance'' (1952 film), a Swedish drama film directed by Gustaf Molander * ''Defiance'' (1980 film), an American crime drama starring Jan-Michael Vincent * ''Defiance'' (2002 film), a ...

(2000–2024) bar:13 color:FullxF from:2001 till:end text:

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

(2001–present) bar:14 color:Full from:2010 till:2018 text: Earlham (2010–present) bar:14 color:FullxF from:2018 till:end bar:15 color:FullxF from:2024 till:end text:

Berea Berea may refer to: Places Greece * Beroea, a place mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, now known as Veria or Veroia * Veria, historically spelled and sometimes transliterated as Berea and site of the ancient city of Beroea Lesotho * Berea D ...

(2024–present) bar:N color:green from:1987 till:1998 text:Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference bar:N color:yellow from:1998 till:end text:Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1987 TextData = fontsize:L textcolor:black pos:(0,25) tabs:(400-center) text:^"Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference membership history"

Sports

Member teams compete in women's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, cross country,

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

, swimming and diving and

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 Summ ...

and men's

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

, cross country,

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, swimming and diving and

References

External links

* {{NCAA Division III football conference navbox Sports in Indianapolis Organizations based in Indianapolis