The River States Conference (RSC), formerly known as the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC), is a

college athletic conference In college athletics in the United States, institutions typically join in Athletic conference, conferences for regular play under different governing bodies. Varsity sports There are several national and regional associations governing the var ...

affiliated with 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). Although it was historically a

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 ...

-only conference, it has now expanded to include members 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 ...

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 ...

, and

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

, and at various times in the past has also had members in

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

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

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

History

In March 2016, the KIAC announced it would change its name to the River States Conference, effective July 1, 2016, to better reflect its membership, which has expanded beyond Kentucky and now includes members in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia.

Chronological timeline

* 1916 – The River States Conference was founded as the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC). Charter members included

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 ...

Centre College Centre College, formally Centre College of Kentucky, is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky, United States. Chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819, the col ...

, Georgetown College, Kentucky Wesleyan College, the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

, Ogden College,

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 ...

, and Western Kentucky State Teachers College (now Western Kentucky University) beginning with the 1916–17 academic year. * 1927 ** Ogden left the KIAC as the school announced that it would merge with Western Kentucky after the 1926–27 academic year. ** Eastern Kentucky State Teachers College (now Eastern Kentucky University) joined the KIAC in the 1927–28 academic year. * 1931 – Morehead State Teachers College (now Morehead State University) joined the KIAC in the 1931–32 academic year. * 1933 – Murray State Teachers College (now Murray State University) and

Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...

(now Union Commonwealth University) joined the KIAC in the 1933–34 academic year. * 1948 – Eastern Kentucky, Louisville, Morehead State, Murray State, and Western Kentucky left the KIAC to join 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. ...

's (NCAA) major-college ranks and to form most of the charter members of the

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) after the 1947–48 academic year. * 1951 – Bellarmine College (now Bellarmine University) joined the KIAC in the 1951–52 academic year. * 1955 ** Kentucky Wesleyan left the KIAC after the 1954–55 academic year. ** Thomas More College (now Thomas More University) joined the KIAC in the 1955–56 academic year. * 1958 – Pikeville College (now the University of Pikeville) joined the KIAC in the 1958–59 academic year. * 1962 – Centre (KY) left the KIAC to join the

College Athletic Conference In college athletics in the United States, institutions typically join in Athletic conference, conferences for regular play under different governing bodies. Varsity sports There are several national and regional associations governing the var ...

after the 1961–62 academic year. * 1964 ** Bellarmine left the KIAC after the 1963–64 academic year. ** Campbellsville College (now Campbellsville University) and Rio Grande College (now the University of Rio Grande) joined the KIAC in the 1964–65 academic year. * 1968 – Oakland City College (now Oakland City University) joined the KIAC in the 1968–69 academic year. * 1971 ** Rio Grande left the KIAC to join the Mid-Ohio Conference (later known as the American Mideast Conference) after the 1970–71 academic year. ** Asbury College (now Asbury University) and Clinch Valley College of the University of Virginia (now formally the University of Virginia's College at Wise, and athletically branded as UVA Wise) joined the KIAC in the 1971–72 academic year. * 1975 – Oakland City left the KIAC after the 1974–75 academic year. * 1983 – Alice Lloyd College joined the KIAC in the 1983–84 academic year. * 1984 – Brescia College (now Brescia University) and

Lindsey Wilson College Lindsey Wilson College is a private, United Methodist-related college in Columbia, Kentucky. Founded in 1903 as a training school, the college now offers in-person and online degree programs, offered at the associate, bachelor's, master's, and ...

joined the KIAC in the 1984–85 academic year. * 1991 ** Thomas More left the KIAC to join the

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is the lowest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that do not offer athletic scholarships to student- ...

ranks 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 ...

after the 1990–91 academic year. ** Midway College (now Midway University) joined the KIAC in the 1991–92 academic year. * 1992 ** Alice Lloyd left the KIAC to join the Tennessee Valley Athletic Conference (TVAC) after the 1991–92 academic year. ** Spalding University joined the KIAC in the 1992–93 academic year. * 1994 ** UVA Wise left the KIAC to become an

within the NAIA (which would later join the Tennessee-Virginia Athletic Conference (TVAC) beginning the 1995–96 academic year) after the 1993–94 academic year. **

Indiana University Southeast Indiana University Southeast (locally known as IU Southeast or IUS) is a public university in New Albany, Indiana, New Albany, Indiana. It is a regional campus of Indiana University. History The Indiana University Falls City Area Center was ...

(athletically IU Southeast or IUS) joined the KIAC in the 1994–95 academic year. * 1995 – Campbellsville, Georgetown (KY), and Union (KY) left the KIAC to form part as charter members of the

Mid-South Conference The Mid-South Conference (MSC) is a List of college athletic conferences in the United States, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Member institutions are located in Kentuc ...

after the 1994–95 academic year. * 1999 – Bethel College of Tennessee (now Bethel University of Tennessee) joined the KIAC in the 1999–2000 academic year. * 2000 ** Lindsey Wilson and Pikeville left the KIAC to join the Mid-South after the 1999–2000 academic year. ** Mid-Continent University joined the KIAC in the 2000–01 academic year. * 2001 – Transylvania left the KIAC to join the NCAA Division III ranks and the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) after the 2000–01 academic year. * 2003 – The St. Louis College of Pharmacy (SLCP) joined the KIAC in the 2003–04 academic year. * 2005 – Alice Lloyd re-joined the KIAC in the 2005–06 academic year. * 2006 – Bethel (TN) and Mid-Continent left the KIAC after the 2005–06 academic year. * 2007 ** Spalding left the KIAC to join the NCAA Division III ranks and the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) after the 2006–07 academic year. **

Indiana University East Indiana University East (IU East or IUE) is a public university in Richmond, Indiana, a regional campus of Indiana University that serves the eastern Indiana and western Ohio area. Established in 1971 by the Indiana University Board of Trustee ...

(athletically IU East) and

Mountain State University Mountain State University (MSU) was a private university in Beckley, West Virginia. It closed in 2013. It was formerly named Beckley College and then The College of West Virginia. Its Beckley campus is now the campus of West Virginia Universit ...

joined the KIAC in the 2007–08 academic year. * 2008 – Cincinnati Christian University joined the KIAC in the 2008–09 academic year. * 2012 ** Mountain State left the KIAC as the school announced that it would close after the 2011–12 academic year. **

Carlow University Carlow University is a private Catholic university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1929 by the Sisters of Mercy. The university's athletic teams are known as the Celtics, reflecting its Irish heritage. As of 2017 ...

and

Point Park University Point Park University is a private university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Formerly known as Point Park College, the school name was revised in 2004 to reflect the number of graduate programs being offered. In 2021, it had a total undergraduate ...

joined the KIAC in the 2012–13 academic year. * 2013 – Indiana University Kokomo (athletically IU Kokomo) joined the KIAC in the 2013–14 academic year. * 2014 ** Two institutions left the KIAC to join their respective new home primary conferences: Berea left the NAIA to join the NCAA Division III ranks as an

(which would later join the

USA South Athletic Conference The USA South Athletic Conference (formerly the Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference or the Dixie Conference) is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member schools are located in North Carolin ...

(USA South) beginning the 2017–18 academic year), and UHSP St. Louis to join the American Midwest Conference, both effective after the 2013–14 academic year. ** Rio Grande rejoined the KIAC in the 2014–15 academic year. * 2015 – Ohio Christian University and

West Virginia University Institute of Technology West Virginia University Institute of Technology (WVU Tech, WVIT, WVU Beckley, or West Virginia Tech) is a public college in Beckley, West Virginia. It is a divisional campus of West Virginia University. History The college was founded in 189 ...

(WVU Tech or West Virginia Tech) joined the KIAC in the 2015–16 academic year. * 2016 – The KIAC was rebranded as the River States Conference (RSC) in the 2016–17 academic year. * 2019 – Cincinnati Christian left the RSC as the school announced that it would close at the end of the fall 2019 semester during the 2019–20 academic year. * 2020 – Oakland City rejoined the RSC in the 2020–21 academic year. * 2021 ** Asbury left the RSC and the NAIA to join the NCAA Division III ranks as an

as well as the Division I ranks of the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association (NCCAA) after the 2020–21 academic year. ** Ohio Valley University and Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College joined the RSC in the 2021–22 academic year. ** Ohio Valley left the RSC as the school announced that it would close at the end of the fall 2021 semester, during the 2021–22 academic year. * 2022 ** Carlow announced on July 6 that it would leave the RSC and the NAIA to join the NCAA Division III ranks and the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) after the 2022–23 academic year, starting in the 2023–24 season. ** Indiana University–Purdue University Columbus (IUPUC, now Indiana University Columbus) and

Shawnee State University Shawnee State University (SSU) is a public university in Portsmouth, Ohio, United States, established in 1986. It is the southernmost member of the University System of Ohio. History Although its roots date back to 1945 when Ohio University est ...

announced they would join the RSC at the start of the 2023–24 academic year. * 2023 – Ohio Christian announced it would leave the RSC and the NAIA to fully align with the Division I ranks of the NCCAA after the 2023–24 academic year. * 2024 – Point Park announced it would leave the RSC and the NAIA to join the NCAA Division II ranks and the Mountain East Conference (MEC) after the 2023–24 academic year. * 2024 – Campbellsville University, Cumberland University and Georgetown College joined the RSC as affiliate members for men's volleyball in the 2025 spring season (2024–25 academic year). * 2025 – Kentucky Christian University will join the RSC in the 2025–26 academic year.

Member schools

Current members

The River States currently has 12 full members, with six being

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

schools, five being

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, and one member that operates public and private institutions within a single entity. ;Notes:

Future members

;Notes:

Affiliate members

The River States has three affiliate members, all are

schools: ;Notes:

Former members

The River States has thirty former full members, all but six were

schools. School names and nicknames reflect those used in the final school year each institution was a conference member: ;Notes:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1916 till:2031 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:5 left:5 bottom:50 top:5 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 id:AssocF value:rgb(0.9,0.7,0.8) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.8,0.9,0.7) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for another sport only 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:FullxF from:1916 till:2014 text: Berea (1916–2014) bar:2 color:FullxF from:1916 till:1962 text: Centre (Ky.) (1916–1962) bar:3 color:FullxF from:1916 till:1995 text: Georgetown (Ky.) (1916–1995) bar:4 color:FullxF from:1916 till:1955 text: Kentucky Wesleyan (1916–1955) bar:5 color:FullxF from:1916 till:1948 text:

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 ...

(1916–1948) bar:6 color:FullxF from:1916 till:1927 text: Ogden (1916–1927) bar:7 color:FullxF from:1916 till:2001 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 ...

(1916–2001) bar:8 color:FullxF from:1916 till:1948 text: Western Kentucky (1916–1948) bar:9 color:FullxF from:1927 till:1948 text: Eastern Kentucky (1927–1948) bar:10 color:FullxF from:1931 till:1948 text: Morehead State (1931–1948) bar:11 color:FullxF from:1933 till:1948 text: Murray State (1933–1948) bar:12 color:FullxF from:1933 till:1995 text: Union (Ky.) (1933–1995) bar:13 color:FullxF from:1951 till:1964 text: Bellarmine (1951–1964) bar:14 color:FullxF from:1955 till:1991 text:

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, theologian, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VII ...

(1955–1991) bar:15 color:FullxF from:1958 till:2000 text: Pikeville (1958–2000) bar:16 color:FullxF from:1964 till:1995 text: Campbellsville (1964–1995) bar:17 color:FullxF from:1964 till:1971 text:

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

(1964–1971) bar:17 color:FullxF from:2014 till:end text:(2014–present) bar:18 color:FullxF from:1968 till:1975 text: Oakland City (1968–1975) bar:18 color:FullxF from:2020 till:end text:(2020–present) bar:19 color:FullxF from:1971 till:2021 text: Asbury (1971–2021) bar:20 color:FullxF from:1971 till:1994 text: UVa–Wise (1971–1994) bar:21 color:FullxF from:1983 till:1992 text: Alice Lloyd (1983–1992) bar:21 color:FullxF from:2005 till:end text:(2005–present) bar:22 color:FullxF from:1984 till:end text:

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

(1984–present) bar:23 color:FullxF from:1984 till:2000 text: Lindsey Wilson (1984–2000) bar:24 color:FullxF from:1991 till:end text: Midway (1991–present) bar:25 color:FullxF from:1992 till:2007 text: Spalding (1992–2007) bar:26 color:FullxF from:1994 till:end text: IU Southeast (1994–present) bar:27 color:FullxF from:1999 till:2006 text: Bethel (Tenn.) (1999–2006) bar:28 color:FullxF from:2000 till:2006 text: Mid-Continent (2000–2006) bar:29 color:FullxF from:2003 till:2014 text: USHP St. Louis (2007–2014) bar:30 color:FullxF from:2007 till:end text: IU East (2007–present) bar:31 color:FullxF from:2007 till:2012 text: Mountain State (2007–2012) bar:32 color:FullxF from:2008 till:2020 text: Cincinnati Christian (2008–2020) bar:33 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2023 text:

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had a population of 27,351, the List of urban areas in the Republic of Ireland, ...

(2012–2023) bar:34 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2024 text: Point Park (2012–2024) bar:35 color:FullxF from:2013 till:end text: IU Kokomo (2013–present) bar:36 shift:(-40) color:FullxF from:2015 till:2024 text: Ohio Christian (2015–2024) bar:37 shift:(-40) color:FullxF from:2015 till:end text: West Virginia Tech (2015–present) bar:38 shift:(-40) color:FullxF from:2021 till:2022 text:

Ohio Valley The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its mouth on the Mississippi River in Cairo, ...

(2021–2022) bar:39 shift:(-120) color:FullxF from:2021 till:end text: Saint Mary-of-the-Woods (2021–present) bar:40 shift:(-80) color:FullxF from:2023 till:end text: IUPUC/IU Columbus (2023–present) bar:41 shift:(-80) color:FullxF from:2023 till:end text: Shawnee State (2023–present) bar:42 shift:(-80) color:FullxF from:2025 till:end text: Kentucky Christian (2025–future) bar:N color:green from:1916 till:2016 text:Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference bar:N color:blue from:2016 till:end text:River States Conference ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1916 TextData = fontsize:M textcolor:black pos:(0,25) tabs:(400-center) text:^"River States Conference membership history"

Conference sports

The River States Conference currently sponsors 18 sports (9 men's and 9 women's).

References

External links

* {{NAIA conference navbox