The Midwestern Conference, alternatively Conference of Midwestern Universities, was a college

athletic conference An athletic conference is a collection of sports teams, playing competitively against each other in a sports league. In many cases conferences are subdivided into smaller divisions, with the best teams competing at successively higher levels. Con ...

which operated in

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 Roc ...

and

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

from 1970 to 1972. It was composed of schools which had recently moved from Division II (then known as the College Division) to Division I (known as the University Division) of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athlete, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic sports, ...

(NCAA). The conference sponsored only men's sports; awarding championships in baseball, basketball, cross-country, golf, swimming, tennis, indoor & outdoor track and field, and wrestling. The first conference championship was in cross country in the fall of 1970. Southern Illinois won that championship and almost made a clean sweep by winning championships in basketball, wrestling, swimming, baseball, tennis, and both indoor and outdoor track. Only Ball State prevented a sweep by winning the golf championship that spring. At that time (as is generally still the case now), in order to be recognized by the NCAA, a conference was required to have six or more member institutions. The Midwestern Conference had only five members and was unable to find a sixth, so it ceased operations after only two years. The five member schools eventually affiliated with other conferences. The conference commissioner was

Jack McClelland Jack McClelland may refer to: * Jack McClelland (basketball), American college basketball coach * Jack McClelland (footballer, born 1930) (1930–2004), English footballer who played in the Football League for Rochdale, Swindon Town and Stoke City ...

, the former

Drake Bulldogs The Drake Bulldogs are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent Drake University, located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The Bulldogs' athletic program is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) and competes at the NCA ...

basketball coach and athletic director, who had resigned as commissioner of the

North Central Conference The North Central Conference (NCC), also known as North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, was a college athletic conference which operated in the north central United States. It participated in the NCAA's Division II. History The NC ...

in order to accept the position with the Midwestern Conference.

Member schools

The onetime members of the Midwestern Conference and the conferences they later joined are: * Ball State University Cardinals —

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twe ...

, 1973 to present *

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...

Redbirds —

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

, 1981 to present *

Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...

Sycamores — Missouri Valley Conference, 1976 to present *

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a Public university, public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of ...

Huskies —Mid-American Conference, 1977 to 1986, 1997 to present *

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of Tr ...

Salukishttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/silu/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2011-12/prospectus/prospectus.pdf — Missouri Valley Conference, 1975 to present

Conference champions

Baseball

* 1971 Southern Illinois * 1972 Northern Illinois

Basketball

* 1970–71 Southern Illinois * 1971–72 Northern Illinois

Cross country

* 1970 Southern Illinois * 1971 ?

Golf

* 1971 Ball State * 1972 Ball State

Swimming

*1970–71 Southern Illinois *1971–72 Southern Illinois?

Tennis

* 1971 Southern Illinois * 1972 Southern Illinois

Indoor track & field

* 1970–71 Southern Illinois * 1971–72 Northern Illinois

Outdoor track & field

* 1971 Southern Illinois * 1972 Illinois State?

Wrestling

* 1970–71 Southern Illinois * 1971–72 Northern Illinois

References

{{Reflist Sports in the Midwestern United States Sports organizations established in 1970 Organizations disestablished in 1972