The Horizon League is a collegiate

athletic conference An athletic conference is a collection of sports teams which play competitively against each other in a sports league. In many cases conferences are subdivided into smaller Division (sport), divisions, with the best teams competing at successively ...

in the

National Collegiate Athletic Association 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. ...

(NCAA) Division I. Headquartered in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, the league's eleven member schools are located in and near the

Great Lakes region The Great Lakes region of Northern America is a binational Canadian– American region centered on the Great Lakes that includes the U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin and the Ca ...

and in part of the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

. The Horizon League founded in 1979 as the Midwestern City Conference. The conference changed its name to Midwestern Collegiate Conference in 1985 and then the Horizon League in 2001. The conference started with a membership of six teams and has fluctuated in size with 24 different schools as members at different times. The league currently has 11 members. The Horizon League currently sponsors 19 sports and is a non-football conference.

History

Foundation (1978-1979)

In May 1978,

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from ...

hosted a meeting with representatives from Bradley,

Dayton Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, Illinois State, Loyola–Chicago,

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

, and Xavier who all agreed in principle that a new athletic conference was needed. Further progress was made through a series of early 1979 meetings in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, and

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

that included participation by

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

, Creighton, Marquette, and

Oral Roberts Granville Oral Roberts (January 24, 1918 – December 15, 2009) was an American Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christianity, Christian televangelist, who was one of the first to propagate Prosperity theology, Prosperity Gospel Theo ...

. On June 16, 1979, the Midwestern City Conference (nicknamed the MCC or Midwestern City 6) was formed by charter members Butler,

Evansville Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 census, it is Indiana's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the most populous city in S ...

, Loyola,

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

, Oral Roberts, and Xavier, with Detroit joining the following year. , Detroit, now known as Detroit Mercy, is the only remaining member from the league's original members. Mcconference

Maturity (1980-1992)

In 1980, the league established its headquarters in

Champaign, Illinois Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in ...

. The MCC gained an automatic bid to the

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, or The Big Dance, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the NCAA Division I, Di ...

in 1981, followed by the announcement that

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Missi ...

would be joining the following season. The

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

joined the conference for all sports except basketball and football in 1982. The conference attained automatic qualification for the

NCAA Division I Baseball Championship The NCAA Division I Baseball Championship is held each year from May through June and features 64 college baseball teams in the United States, culminating in the eight-team College World Series, Men's College World Series (MCWS) at Charles Schwa ...

in 1984 and the conference moved its headquarters to

. Three changes occurred in the summer of 1985: Oklahoma City dropped out of the NCAA altogether; the conference name was altered slightly to Midwestern Collegiate Conference; and the conference began sponsoring women's athletics. The latter triggered Notre Dame's temporary withdrawal from the league as its women's teams were contracted to the North Star Conference.

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

began televising the MCC Championship game in 1986. In 1987, Oral Roberts left the conference while Dayton joined and Notre Dame rejoined. The conference earned its first at-large bid to the men's basketball tournament and automatic qualification to the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship in 1989. In 1991, the conference received an automatic bid to the

NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, sometimes referred to as Women's March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 women's college basketball teams from the Div ...

and lost members Marquette and Saint Louis. Duquesne and La Salle joined the MCC in 1992, the same year the conference gained an automatic berth to the

NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship The NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship refers to one of three championships in women's indoor volleyball contested by the NCAA since 1981: * NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship * NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Championship * NCA ...

. Duquesne and Dayton left the conference in 1993.

Modern era (1990-)

The largest non-merger conference expansion in NCAA history up to that time occurred on December 9, 1993, when Cleveland State, UIC,

Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois, with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by ...

, Green Bay,

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, and Wright State left the Mid-Continent Conference to join the Midwestern Collegiate Conference beginning with the 1994-95 academic year. With Evansville's departure to the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC), there were 12 league members. Xavier, Notre Dame, and La Salle withdrew the following summer of 1995, followed by Northern Illinois in 1997. The conference changed its name to the Horizon League on June 4, 2001, in part due to the initials causing confusion between the MCC and the Mid-Continent Conference, who also used the initials. That year,

Youngstown State University Youngstown State University (YSU or Youngstown State) is a public university in Youngstown, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1908 and is the easternmost member of the University System of Ohio. The university is composed of six undergrad ...

joined from the Mid-Continent Conference, and on May 17, 2006,

Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana, United States. It is an independent Lutheran university with five colleges. It enrolls nearly 2,300 students and has a campus. The university is known for its Luthe ...

announced it would do the same in 2007. In April 2013, the split of the original Big East Conference caused a ripple effect that fell to the Horizon League; Loyola announced that it would leave the Horizon League effective July 1 to join the Missouri Valley Conference, which itself lost Creighton to the reconfigured Big East. Butler also left the Horizon League. It spent a season in the Atlantic 10 before joining the Big East. The Horizon announced that

Oakland University Oakland University (OU or Oakland) is a public university, public research university in Auburn Hills, Michigan, Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1957 through a donation of Matilda Dodge Wilson and husband ...

, formerly of the Summit League, would immediately replace Loyola within a month. The next change in the Horizon League's membership came in 2015 with the arrival of Northern Kentucky University from the

Atlantic Sun Conference The Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Division I FCS level in 2022. ...

. Two more membership changes were announced near the end of the 2016-17 school year. First, Valparaiso announced on May 25, 2017, that it would leave for the MVC effective July 1. The Crusaders replaced

Wichita State Wichita State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 ...

, which announced that it would leave the MVC for the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as The American, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States, featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities that compete in t ...

. Three days before Valparaiso's departure, the Horizon League Board of Directors unanimously approved the membership of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) to replace Valparaiso, also effective July 1. IUPUI was dissolved in 2024 and replaced by separate institutions affiliated with the

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

and

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

systems. At that time, the athletic program transferred to the new Indiana University Indianapolis with an athletic brand name of IU Indy, maintaining IUPUI's Division I and Horizon League memberships. The start of the 2020s set further membership changes into motion, with the arrivals of Purdue Fort Wayne and Robert Morris from the Summit League and the

Northeast Conference The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Foo ...

(NEC), respectively, announced on August 5, 2019 and June 15, 2020. This brought the Horizon League up to 12 full-time members for the first time since the 1994-95 season. It was short-lived, however, as the UIC Flames were reported to be following many of their former conference colleagues to the MVC effective July 1, 2022. On July 6, 2022, the Horizon League and

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in partnership with ...

(OVC) jointly announced that they would merge their men's tennis leagues under the Horizon banner, effective immediately. The five OVC members that sponsored the sport became Horizon associates. At the same time, the Horizon announced that Belmont, which had just left the OVC for the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...

(which sponsors tennis only for women), would become a men's tennis associate, and Chicago State, which became a D-I independent after leaving the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

days earlier, would become an associate in both men's and women's tennis. The Horizon later lost men's associate Lindenwood after they dropped nine NCAA sports, including men's tennis, after the 2023-24 season. Men's and women's associate Chicago State also announced it would join the

, which sponsors the sport for both sexes - however, CSU announced that it would keep its tennis programs in the Horizon for one extra year before moving them to the NEC for the 2025-26 season. On February 24, 2025, multiple media reports indicated that Northern Illinois was set to rejoin the Horizon League in 2026, coinciding with NIU football becoming an affiliate member of the

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on Ja ...

. The move became official on February 27, after approval by NIU's governing board. That May, men's tennis affiliate Eastern Illinois announced it was dropping that sport effective immediately, citing issues stemming from the impending settlement of the '' House v. NCAA'' legal case. Prior to the 2023-24 academic year, the conference announced a brand refresh with the introduction of a new secondary logo. The logo is a gold stylized H that incorporates the arch of the conference's primary logo and a number one to symbolize unity. The logo was promoted to primary status ahead of the 2024-25 academic year. , eight of the 11 full Horizon League members are former members of the Mid-Con (now known as the Summit League), with the exceptions being Detroit Mercy, Northern Kentucky, and Robert Morris.

Member schools

Current full members

;Notes:

Future members

Associate members

Former full members

Nicknames and school names reflect those used in the last school year of conference membership. ;Notes:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1979 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:1979 till:1985 text:

(1979–1985) bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:1985 till:1986 bar:1 color:OtherC2 from:1986 till:end text: SAC (NAIA) bar:2 color:FullxF from:1979 till:1987 text:

(1979–1987) bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:1987 till:1989 text: D-I Ind. bar:2 color:OtherC2 from:1989 till:1991 text: NAIA Ind. bar:2 shift:(10) color:OtherC1 from:1991 till:1997 text: D-I Ind. bar:2 color:OtherC2 from:1997 till:2007 text: Mid-Con bar:2 color:OtherC2 from:2007 till:2012 text:

Summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...

bar:2 shift:(-10) color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2014 text: Southland bar:2 color:OtherC2 from:2014 till:end text:

bar:3 color:FullxF from:1979 till:1994 text:

(1979–1994) bar:3 color:OtherC1 from:1994 till:end text: MVC bar:4 color:FullxF from:1979 till:1995 text: Xavier (1979–1995) bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:1995 till:2013 text: A-10 bar:4 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:end text:

Big East The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

bar:5 color:FullxF from:1979 till:2012 text:

(1979–2012) bar:5 shift:(-5) color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2013 text: A-10 bar:5 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:end text:

bar:6 color:FullxF from:1979 till:2013 text: Loyola Chicago (1979–2013) bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:2022 text: MVC bar:6 color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:end text: A-10 bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1980 text: D-I Ind. bar:7 shift:(25) color:FullxF from:1980 till:1990 text:

(1980–1990) bar:7 color:FullxF from:1990 till:end text: Detroit Mercy (1990–present) bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1981 text: Metro bar:8 color:FullxF from:1981 till:1991 text:

(1981–1991) bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:1991 till:1995 text: GMC bar:8 color:OtherC2 from:1995 till:2005 text:

C-USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern United States, Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Associ ...

bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:end text: A-10 bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1982 text: D-I Ind. bar:9 color:FullxF from:1982 till:1986 text: Notre Dame (1982–1986; 1987–1995) bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:1986 till:1987 bar:9 color:FullxF from:1987 till:1995 bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:1995 till:2013 text:

bar:9 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:end text: ACC bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1987 text: D-I Ind. bar:10 color:FullxF from:1987 till:1993 text:

(1987–1993) bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:1993 till:1995 text: GMC bar:10 color:OtherC2 from:1995 till:end text: A-10 bar:11 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1988 text: D-I Ind. bar:11 color:FullxF from:1988 till:1991 text: Marquette (1988–1991) bar:11 shift:(60) color:OtherC1 from:1991 till:1995 text: GMC bar:11 shift:(10) color:OtherC2 from:1995 till:2005 text:

bar:11 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:2013 text:

bar:11 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:end text:

bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1992 text: A-10 bar:12 color:FullxF from:1992 till:1993 text: Duquesne (1992–1993) bar:12 shift:(100) color:OtherC1 from:1993 till:end text: A-10 bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1983 text: ECC bar:13 color:OtherC2 from:1983 till:1992 text: MAAC bar:13 color:FullxF from:1992 till:1995 text: La Salle (1992–1995) bar:13 shift:(50) color:OtherC1 from:1995 till:end text: A-10 bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1986 text: MAC bar:14 color:OtherC2 from:1986 till:1990 text: D-I Ind. bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:1990 till:1994 text: Mid-Con bar:14 color:FullxF from:1994 till:1997 text:

(1994–1997) bar:14 shift:(80) color:OtherC1 from:1997 till:2026 text: MAC bar:14 color:FullxF from:2026 till:end text:(2026–future) bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1982 text: D-I Ind. bar:15 color:OtherC2 from:1982 till:1989 text: AMCU bar:15 color:OtherC2 from:1989 till:1994 text: Mid-Con bar:15 color:FullxF from:1994 till:end text: Cleveland State (1994–present) bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1981 text: CCAC (NAIA) bar:16 color:OtherC2 from:1981 till:1982 bar:16 shift:(35) color:OtherC1 from:1982 till:1989 text: AMCU bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:1989 till:1994 text: Mid-Con bar:16 color:FullxF from:1994 till:2022 text: UIC (1994–2022) bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:2022 till:end text: MVC bar:17 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1981 text: D-II Ind. bar:17 shift:(15) color:OtherC2 from:1981 till:1982 text: D-I Ind. bar:17 shift:(35) color:OtherC1 from:1982 till:1989 text: AMCU bar:17 color:OtherC1 from:1989 till:1994 text: Mid-Con bar:17 color:FullxF from:1994 till:end text: Green Bay (1994–present) bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1980 text: D-I Ind. bar:18 shift:(25) color:OtherC2 from:1980 till:1985 text: D-III Ind. bar:18 shift:(-5) color:OtherC1 from:1985 till:1987 text: NAIA Ind. bar:18 color:OtherC2 from:1987 till:1990 text: D-II Ind. bar:18 shift:(-5) color:OtherC1 from:1990 till:1993 text: D-I Ind. bar:18 shift:(-20) color:OtherC2 from:1993 till:1994 text: Mid-Con bar:18 color:FullxF from:1994 till:end text:

(1994–present) bar:19 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1987 text: D-II Ind. bar:19 color:OtherC2 from:1987 till:1991 text: D-I Ind. bar:19 color:OtherC1 from:1991 till:1994 text: Mid-Con bar:19 color:FullxF from:1994 till:end text: Wright State (1994–present) bar:20 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1981 text: D-II Ind. bar:20 color:OtherC2 from:1981 till:1988 text: OVC bar:20 color:OtherC1 from:1988 till:1992 text: D-I Ind. bar:20 color:OtherC2 from:1992 till:2001 text: Mid-Con bar:20 color:FullxF from:2001 till:end text: Youngstown State (2001–present) bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1982 text: D-I Ind. bar:21 color:OtherC2 from:1982 till:1989 text: AMCU bar:21 color:OtherC2 from:1989 till:2007 text: Mid-Con bar:21 color:FullxF from:2007 till:2017 text: Valparaiso (2007–2017) bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:2017 till:end text: MVC bar:22 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1997 text: GLIAC (D-II) bar:22 shift:(-20) color:OtherC2 from:1997 till:1998 text: D-I Ind. bar:22 color:OtherC1 from:1998 till:2007 text: Mid-Con bar:22 color:OtherC1 from:2007 till:2013 text:

bar:22 color:FullxF from:2013 till:end text:

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

(2013–present) bar:23 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1985 text: D-II Ind. bar:23 color:OtherC2 from:1985 till:2012 text: GLVC (D-II) bar:23 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2015 text: A-Sun bar:23 color:FullxF from:2015 till:end text:

Northern Kentucky Northern Kentucky is an urban area in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky consisting of the southern part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. The three main counties of the area are Boone County, Kentucky, Boone, Kent ...

(2015–present) bar:24 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1993 text: NAIA Ind. bar:24 color:OtherC2 from:1993 till:1998 text: D-II Ind. bar:24 color:OtherC1 from:1998 till:2007 text: Mid-Con bar:24 color:OtherC1 from:2007 till:2017 text:

bar:24 color:FullxF from:2017 till:2024 text: IUPUI (2017–2024) bar:24 color:FullxF from:2024 till:end text: IU Indy (2024–present) bar:25 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1981 text: D-III Ind. bar:25 shift:(10) color:OtherC2 from:1981 till:1984 text: D-II Ind. bar:25 color:OtherC1 from:1984 till:2001 text: GLVC (D-II) bar:25 color:OtherC2 from:2001 till:2007 text: D-I Ind. bar:25 color:OtherC1 from:2007 till:2020 text:

bar:25 color:FullxF from:2020 till:end text: Purdue Fort Wayne (2020–present) bar:26 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1981 text: D-I Ind. bar:26 color:OtherC2 from:1981 till:1988 text: ECAC Metro bar:26 color:OtherC2 from:1988 till:2020 text:

NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered at the NEC Supertower in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It provides IT and network solutions, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), Inte ...

bar:26 color:FullxF from:2020 till:end text: Robert Morris (2020–present) bar:N color:orange from:1979 till:1985 text: Midwestern City Conference bar:N shift:(20) color:redorange from:1985 till:2001 text: Midwestern Collegiate Conference bar:N color:orange from:2001 till:end text:

Horizon League The Horizon League is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the league's eleven member schools are located in ...

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1980 TextData = fontsize:M textcolor:black pos:(0,30) tabs:(400-center) text:^"Horizon League membership history" #> If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following six 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. <# ;Notes: * *

Broadcasting rights

In 2006, the conference launched the Horizon League Network (HLN) as the centerpiece of a revamped web portal. The digital network aired over 200 live events free on the league's official website at the time. The Horizon League and WebStream Productions launched a completely redesigned HLN website in September 2009. The site serves as a portal to hundreds of live and on-demand videos while giving its users the ability to interact on an array of social media platforms. The Horizon League Network migrated to

ESPN3 ESPN3 (formerly ESPN360 and ESPN3.com) is an internet, online streaming media, streaming service owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) an ...

in 2014, and over 700 events streamed live in 2015–16. Horizon League coverage was absorbed into

ESPN+ ESPN+ is an American over-the-top subscription video streaming service available in the United States, owned by ESPN Inc., which is a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communicati ...

, along with other mid-major conferences, in 2018. The conference extended its deal with ESPN in 2021. Over 500 events are aired on ESPN+ annually, along with select men's basketball games airing on

ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially ...

and

ESPNU ESPNU is an American multinational digital cable and satellite sports television channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remain ...

and the men's and women's basketball championships airing on

and ESPNU. Basketball games not selected for broadcast on national linear television are often televised by

regional sports network A regional sports network (RSN) in the United States and Canada is a television channel that presents sports programming to a local media market or geographical region. Such channels often focus on one or a few teams who currently play in Major L ...

s and over-the-air channels within the teams’ home markets. In recent years, WMYD Detroit,

Marquee Sports Network Marquee Sports Network is a regional sports network operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group and the Chicago Cubs, launched on February 22, 2020. It replaced a trio of channels (cable channel NBC Sports Chicago and broadcast partners WLS-TV and WGN S ...

, Bally Sports Ohio, Bally Sports Great Lakes, Bally Sports Wisconsin, and SportsNet Pittsburgh have broadcast multiple men's and women's basketball contests.

Men's basketball

Horizon League men's basketball tournament champions

Historic

From 1995 to 2011, the Horizon League sent an impressive 24 qualifiers (7 At-Large berths) to the Men's NCAA basketball tournament, making the Horizon League one of the most prolific mid-major (non-power 6) conferences in all of college basketball. Even more impressively, those 24 clubs produced 22 wins in that span, including five "Sweet 16" appearances, making the Horizon League the only non-BCS conference to have Sweet 16 participants in five NCAA tournaments during that span (2003, 2005, 2007, 2010 and 2011). Four schools from the conference have produced "modern-day" Sweet 16 appearances – Loyola (

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

), Xavier (

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

), Butler (

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

and

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

), and Milwaukee (

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

). The Horizon League also compiled a 19–12 record in the NCAA tournament from 2003 to 2011, ranking tops among all 32 NCAA Division I conferences for winning percentage (.613) in March Madness during that span. This historic stretch of conference dominance was thanks to NCAA Tournament wins from Butler (15), Milwaukee (3), and Cleveland State (1) . Butler appeared in the men's national championship game in both

and

. Since the NCAA began seeding teams in 1979, Loyola's 4 seed in the 1985 tournament is the best for a Horizon League team. The Horizon League currently holds the best winning percentage among non- BCS conferences in the men's NCAA basketball Tournament (.488, 7th overall amongst the 32 Division I conferences). One former Horizon League member claims a national championship from the era before the league's creation. In the 1963 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, Loyola defeated two-time defending champ

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. Before post-season tournaments determined champions, former Horizon member Butler claimed national titles in 1924 and 1929. The League hosted the men's

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

in 1991, 1997, 2000, 2006, 2009 and 2010. It also hosted the women's Final Four in 2005 and 2007. Horizon League commissioner Jonathan B. LeCrone, who is in his 17th year as league commissioner, just finished a five-year term on the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee.

2000s

As stated on their official website, the recent success of Horizon League athletic teams on the national stage heightened the visibility of the league and its member schools and quickly moved it closer toward its stated goal of becoming one of the nation's top 10 Division I NCAA athletic conferences.

2002–03

In the

2003 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2003 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 65 schools playing in Single-elimination tournament, single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 18, 2003 ...

, the Horizon League entered two teams for the first time since 1998.

, who earned a 12 seed in its first bid to the tournament since joining the conference, lost by one point to Notre Dame in the first round.

, who earned both an at-large bid and a 12 seed, made its fifth tournament appearance in seven years. The Bulldogs made it to the Sweet 16 with victories over No. 20 (5 seed)

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. It is classified among "R ...

and No. 14 (4 seed)

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

before falling to No. 3 (1 seed)

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

in the East Regional. The Bulldogs finished the year ranked No. 21 in the final ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Poll.

2004–05

In the men's 2005 NCAA basketball tournament, the Horizon League enjoyed one of its best showings ever as 12 seed Milwaukee marched to the Sweet 16 with victories over No. 19 (5 seed)

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

and No. 14 (4 seed)

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

before they fell to then-No. 1 and eventual tournament runner-up

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. Milwaukee ranked as high as No. 23 in the March 7 ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Poll.

2005–06

In the 2006 NCAA basketball tournament, 11 seed Milwaukee once again advanced in the Tournament by upsetting the No. 20 (6 seed) Oklahoma 82–74. The Panthers, led by first year head coach Rob Jeter, fell to eventual national champion No. 11 (AP)/No. 10 (ESPN) (3 seed)

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in the second round of the tournament. The league had a team advance past the first round for the second straight year and third time in the last four years.

2006–07

In the 2006–07 basketball season, Butler won the Preseason NIT tournament in

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

with wins over in-state rivals Notre Dame and

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 ...

in the NIT's Midwest regional bracket, followed by wins over No. 21

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

and No. 23 Gonzaga in the NIT Final Four in Madison Square Garden. Later, the Bulldogs claimed victory over

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

in the Wooden Tradition. On February 5, 2007, Butler became the first school in Horizon League history to rank in the Top 10 of the national college basketball polls, as the Bulldogs reached No. 9 and No. 10 in the ESPN/USA Today and AP polls, respectively. The Bulldogs ended their season with a No. 21 ranking in the final AP poll, a 5 seed in the NCAA tournament and a Sweet 16 berth by beating Old Dominion and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

before losing to eventual national champion

. Wright State also qualified for the NCAA tournament as the winner of the Horizon League tournament championship and tying Butler for the regular season championship. As a 14 seed, the Raiders fell to No. 13 (AP)/No. 11 (ESPN) (3 seed)

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

in the first round.

2007–08

During the 2007–08 basketball season, Butler won the Great Alaska Shootout with wins over

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

and Texas Tech, and also claimed wins over Ohio State and

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

, extending their record against BCS schools to 10–1 since the start of the 2006–07 season. As a 7 seed in the 2008 NCAA basketball tournament, the Bulldogs beat 10 seed South Alabama before falling in overtime to No. 5 (AP)/No. 4 (ESPN) (2 seed)

. Butler finished the season ranked No. 11 in the AP poll and No. 14 in the ESPN/USA Today poll. Cleveland State also earned a 6 seed in the NIT, losing in the first round to

2008–09

Starting in 2009, regional convenience store and gas station chain

Speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Daytona International Speedway, a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida. *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta. *Indianapolis Motor Spe ...

served as the title sponsor of the conference tournament that Cleveland State won and earned the Horizon League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tourney while Butler earned an at-large bid. Butler, a 9 seed, lost in the first round to

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

while 13 seed Cleveland State upset No. 8 (AP)/No. 9 (ESPN) (4 seed) Wake Forest 84–69 (and achieved the third biggest upset in NCAA history winning by 15 points) and shocked the nation in the first round of play before falling to 12 seed

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

in the second round of tournament play. Butler finished the season ranked No. 22 in the final AP poll and No. 25 in the final ESPN/USA Today poll.

2009–10

After defeating No. 25 (12 seed) UTEP, (13 seed) Murray State and No. 4 (1 seed) Syracuse, the No. 8 (ESPN)/No. 11 (AP) (5 seed) Butler men's team defeated No. 7 Kansas State, the 2 seed in the West, by a score of 63–56 to advance to their first Final Four. After beating the No. 12 (ESPN)/No. 13 (AP) (5 seed)

Michigan State Spartans The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 Varsity team, varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan Army, Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the sc ...

52–50 in the national semifinals, Butler played in Indianapolis against the South Regional Champions, No. 3 (1 seed)

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

for the NCAA Division I National Championship. Butler lost what many call the most thrilling college basketball game in a generation, losing 61–59 in a game that came down to the final play. This is the farthest any team has reached in the tournament while a member of the Horizon League. Butler was the first Division I men's team to play in the Final Four in its hometown since

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

in 1972, and the first of either sex since

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

played in the 1987 Women's Final Four on its home court. Also of note, former Milwaukee head coach Bruce Pearl coached the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Colleg ...

to the Elite Eight and narrowly lost the opportunity to play Butler by losing to Michigan State, who Butler beat in the Final Four.

2010–11

Butler once again represented the Horizon League in the tournament with another very strong showing. As an 8 seed, Butler defeated (9 seed) Old Dominion, narrowly upset

(who was No. 1 ranked and seeded),

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

(4 seed) and

(2 seed) to return to the Final Four. Butler faced VCU, an 11 seed Cinderella team who unexpectedly reached the Final Four as the first team to play five tournament games to reach the Final Four, due to VCU's participation in the inaugural First Four Round. After Butler defeated VCU 70–62, the Bulldogs were in the national championship game for the second consecutive season. This time they faced

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

at Reliant Stadium in Houston. The Huskies were too much for the Butler Bulldogs to handle, as Butler lost the game 53–41 in an unusually low-scoring national championship game. This made Butler national runner-up for the second straight season.

2011–12

In the 2012 postseason, the Detroit Titans won their first Horizon League Championship since 1999 under head coach Ray McCallum. They defeated top seeded Valparaiso 70–50. The tournament MVP was son Ray McCallum, Jr.

2012–13

Valparaiso was the regular season champion of the Horizon for the second straight year. It defeated Wright State 62–54 in the championship game under coach Bryce Drew for its first Horizon League Championship. This was the first season that the league was absent of Butler, who departed for the Atlantic 10.

2013–14

Green Bay won the regular season championship in 2014. It was upset by Milwaukee in the tournament semi-final. Milwaukee would go on to win the tournament, knocking off Wright State.

2014–15

Following a good outcome, finishing as the 2014 champions, the Milwaukee Panthers were banned from the 2015 NCAA Tournament and postseason play. Valparaiso won the regular and postseason championships. It entered the NCAA tournament as a 13th seed, although losing in the first round.

2015–16

The 2015 season ushered in the arrival of the Northern Kentucky Norse to the league, who departed from the

. Valparaiso won the regular season championship again but was defeated by Green Bay in the tournament championship 78–69.

2023–24

The Oakland University Golden Grizzles won the conference tournament in 2024 after finishing in the bottom half of the regular season standings. Coach Greg Kampe led his 14th seeded Golden Grizzles to a win over 3rd seed Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Other sports

The Milwaukee baseball team made national headlines during the 1999 College World Series by upsetting No. 1 ranked

Rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. In the 2004–05 academic year, Milwaukee's men's soccer team defeated 16th-ranked

, while Detroit upset

in women's soccer in their respective NCAA tournaments. Also that year, Butler's men's cross country team finished fourth in the nation at the NCAA Cross-Country Championships, and their own Victoria Mitchell became the first Horizon League athlete to win an individual national title when she captured the 3,000 Meter Steeplechase at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Green Bay also upset 6th-ranked Oregon State in the opening round of the NCAA softball tournament. Although the league does not sponsor

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 ...

, current members Robert Morris and Youngstown State play in Division I FCS. Youngstown State plays in the

Missouri Valley Football Conference The Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC), formerly the Gateway Football Conference, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the National Collegiate A ...

; Robert Morris originally planned to play the 2020–21 season as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

and join

Big South Conference The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), ...

football in July 2021, but

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

issues led the Big South to bring Robert Morris into its football league for its rescheduled spring 2021 season.

Facilities

Future members listed in gray. Departing members/teams listed in pink. ;Notes

Footnotes

References

External links

* {{NCAA nonfootball Div1 conferences Organizations based in Indianapolis Sports in Indianapolis Sports organizations established in 1979 Articles which contain graphical timelines 1979 establishments in the United States