Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference

Intercollegiate athletic conference

Not to be confused with the Heartland Collegiate Conference, a defunct Division II conference that operated from 1978 to 1990, or the Heartland Conference, a defunct Division II conference that operated from 1999 to 2019.

Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference

Association| NCAA
Founded| 1987 (as Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference)
Commissioner| Jay Jones (since 2019)
Sports fielded|

* 18
* men's: 9
* women's: 9

Division| Division III
No. of teams| 10
Headquarters| Carmel, Indiana
Region| Ohio Valley
Official website| heartlandconf.org
Locations

The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. 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 (1988–1998) re-joined as of July 1, 2006.

## History

[edit]

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, Franklin College, Hanover College, Manchester College, and Wabash College. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and Taylor University later joined in 1988. Taylor left the conference after the 1990–91 season.

The addition of three Ohio schools (Bluffton College, 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 and Transylvania University joined in 2000 and 2001 respectively. Rose-Hulman re-joined the HCAC, effective for the 2006–07 season.

In October 2009, Earlham College of Richmond, Indiana was accepted as the 10th member of the conference and began competition in the fall of 2010.

In the summer of 2024, Defiance College departed the HCAC to join the NAIA and the Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference. Berea College joined the HCAC at the start of the 2024–25 academic year.

### Chronological timeline

[edit]

Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference

110km
68miles

Transylvania

Rose-Hulman

Mount St. Joseph

Manchester

Hanover

Franklin

Earlham

Berea

Bluffton

Anderson

Location of member schools: full

* 1987 – In June 1987, the HCAC was founded as the Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference (ICAC). Charter members included Anderson College (now Anderson University), DePauw University, Franklin College, Hanover College, Manchester College, and Wabash College, beginning the 1987–88 academic year.
* 1988 – Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology and Taylor University 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 (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 (SCAC) after the 1997–98 academic year.
* Bluffton College (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 (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 (OAC) after the 1999–2000 academic year.
* Defiance College joined the HCAC in the 2000–01 academic year.
* 2001 – Transylvania University joined the HCAC in the 2001–02 academic year.
* 2006 – Rose–Hulman rejoined the HCAC in the 2006–07 academic year.
* 2010 – Earlham College joined the HCAC in the 2010–11 academic year.
* 2021 – Centenary College of Louisiana, Colorado College, the University of Dallas, Southwestern University of Texas and Spalding University joined the HCAC as affiliate members for men's lacrosse in the 2022 spring season (2021–22 academic year), although Spalding would also add women's lacrosse into its HCAC affiliate membership that same year; however, lacrosse has not been fully incorporated into the HCAC multi-sport conference, thus corresponding into a separate single-sport league known as the Heartland Collegiate Lacrosse Conference (HCLC), which came to existence since the 2017–18 school year.
* 2022 – Dallas left the HCAC as an affiliate member for men's lacrosse (within the HCLC) after the 2022 spring season (2021–22 academic year).
* 2023 – Centenary (La.), Colorado College and Southwestern (Tex.) left the HCAC as affiliate members for men's lacrosse (within the HCLC) after the 2023 spring season (2022–23 academic year).
* 2024:
* Defiance left the HCAC to join the NAIA and the Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) after the 2023–24 academic year.
* Berea College joined the HCAC at the start of the 2024–25 academic year.

## Member schools

[edit]

### Current members

[edit]

The HCAC currently has ten full members, all private schools:

Institution  | Location  | Founded  | Affiliation  | Enrollment  | Nickname  | Joined[a] | Colors  | Football

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Anderson University | Anderson, Indiana | 1917  | Church of God | 1,311  | Ravens | 1987  | Orange and Black
| Yes
Berea College | Berea, Kentucky | 1855  | Christian
(unaffiliated) | 1,613  | Mountaineers | 2024  | Berea Blue and White
| No
Bluffton University | Bluffton, Ohio | 1899  | Mennonite | 1,094  | Beavers | 1998  | Purple and White
| Yes
Earlham College | Richmond, Indiana | 1847  | Quaker | 612  | Quakers | 2010  | Maroon and White
| No
Franklin College | Franklin, Indiana | 1834  | Baptist | 1,047  | Grizzlies | 1987  | Navy Blue and Old Gold
| Yes
Hanover College | Hanover, Indiana | 1827  | Presbyterian | 1,068  | Panthers | 1987  | Red and Blue
| Yes
Manchester University | North Manchester, Indiana | 1860  | Church of the Brethren | 1,770  | Spartans | 1987  | Black and Gold
| Yes
Mount St. Joseph University | Delhi Township, Ohio[b] | 1920  | Catholic
(S.C.C.) | 1,889  | Lions | 1998  | Blue and Gold
| Yes
Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology | Terre Haute, Indiana | 1874  | Nonsectarian  | 2,081  | Fightin' Engineers | 1988;
2006[c] | Old Rose and White
| Yes
Transylvania University | Lexington, Kentucky | 1780  | Disciples of Christ | 963  | Pioneers | 2001  | Crimson and White
| No

Notes

1. ^ Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
2. ^ Mailing address is located in Cincinnati.
3. ^ Rose–Hulman left the HCAC after the 1997–98 school year, before rejoining in the 2006–07 school year.

### Affiliate members

[edit]

The HCAC currently has one affiliate member, which is also a private school:

Institution  | Location  | Founded  | Affiliation  | Enrollment  | Nickname  | Joined[a] | HCAC
sport(s)  | Primary
conference

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Spalding University | Louisville, Kentucky | 1814  | Catholic
(S.C.N.) | 1,692  | Golden Eagles | 2021m.lax. | Men's lacrosse[b] | St. Louis (SLIAC)
2021w.lax. | Women's lacrosse[b]

Notes

1. ^ Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
2. ^ a b Lacrosse is not fully incorporated into the HCAC multi-sport conference, thus creating a separate single-sport league known as the Heartland Collegiate Lacrosse Conference.

### Former members

[edit]

The HCAC has five former full members, all were private schools:

Institution  | Location  | Founded  | Affiliation  | Enrollment  | Nickname  | Joined[a] | Left[b] | Current
conference

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Defiance College | Defiance, Ohio | 1850  | United Church of Christ | 505  | Yellow Jackets | 2000  | 2024  | Wolverine–Hoosier (WHAC)[c]
DePauw University | Greencastle, Indiana | 1837  | United Methodist | 2,350  | Tigers | 1987  | 1998  | North Coast (NCAC)
Taylor University | Upland, Indiana | 1846  | Interdenominational | 1,887  | Trojans | 1988  | 1991  | Crossroads[c]
Wabash College[d] | Crawfordsville, Indiana | 1832  | Nonsectarian  | 910  | Little Giants | 1987  | 1999[e] | North Coast (NCAC)
Wilmington College | Wilmington, Ohio | 1870  | Quakers | 990  | Quakers | 1998  | 2000  | Ohio (OAC)

Notes

1. ^ Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
2. ^ Represents the calendar year when spring sports competition ends.
3. ^ a b Currently an NAIA athletic conference.
4. ^ Wabash is a men's only institution, therefore it does not sponsor women's sports.
5. ^ Wabash left the HCAC for all sports after the 1998–99 school year except for football (which later followed suit at the end of the 1999 fall season [1999–2000 school year]).

### Former affiliate members

[edit]

The HCAC had four former affiliate members, all were private schools:

Institution  | Location  | Founded  | Affiliation  | Enrollment  | Nickname  | Joined[a] | Left[b] | HCAC
sport(s)  | Primary
conference

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Centenary College of Louisiana | Shreveport, Louisiana | 1825  | United Methodist | 563  | Gentlemen &
Ladies | 2021  | 2023  | Men's lacrosse[c] | Southern (SCAC)
Colorado College | Colorado Springs, Colorado | 1874  | Nonsectarian  | 2,266  | Tigers | 2021  | 2023  | Men's lacrosse[c] | Southern (SCAC)
University of Dallas | Irving, Texas | 1956  | Catholic | 2,538  | Crusaders | 2021  | 2022  | Men's lacrosse[c] | Southern (SCAC)
Southwestern University | Georgetown, Texas | 1840  | United Methodist  | 1,536  | Pirates | 2021  | 2023  | Men's lacrosse[c] | Southern (SCAC)

Notes

1. ^ Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
2. ^ Represents the calendar year when spring sports competition ends.
3. ^ a b c d Lacrosse is not fully incorporated into the HCAC multi-sport conference, thus creating a separate single-sport league known as the Heartland Collegiate Lacrosse Conference.

### Membership timeline

[edit]

Full member (all sports)   Full member (non-football)   Associate member (football)   Associate member (sport)

## Sports

[edit]

See also: Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament

Conference sports

Sport  | Men's  | Women's

|
|

Baseball | Y |
Basketball | Y | Y
Cross Country | Y | Y
Football | Y |
Golf | Y | Y
Soccer | Y | Y
Softball |  | Y
Swimming & Diving | Y | Y
Tennis | Y | Y
Track & Field | Y | Y
Volleyball |  | Y

Men's sponsored sports by school

School  | Baseball  | Basketball  | Cross Country  | Football  | Golf  | Soccer  | Swimming & Diving  | Tennis  | Track & Field  | Total HCAC sports

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Anderson  | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 9
Berea  | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | 7
Bluffton  | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | 8
Earlham  | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | 7
Franklin  | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 9
Hanover  | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 9
Manchester  | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | 8
Mount St. Joseph  | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | Y | 7
Rose–Hulman  | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 9
Transylvania  | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 8
Totals  | 10  | 10  | 10  | 7  | 9  | 10  | 7  | 8  | 10  | 81

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the HCAC that are played by HCAC schools

School  | Lacrosse  | Volleyball  | Wrestling

|
|
|

Earlham  | HCLC |  |
Franklin  |  | IND |
Hanover  | HCLC |  |
Manchester  |  |  | IND
Mount St. Joseph  |  | MCVL | IND
Transylvania  | HCLC |  |

Women's sponsored sports by school

School  | Basketball  | Cross Country  | Golf  | Soccer  | Softball  | Swimming & Diving  | Tennis  | Track & Field  | Volleyball  | Total HCAC sports

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Anderson  | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 9
Berea  | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | 7
Bluffton  | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | 8
Earlham  | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | 8
Franklin  | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 9
Hanover  | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 9
Manchester  | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 9
Mount St. Joseph  | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | Y | Y | 7
Rose–Hulman  | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 9
Transylvania  | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 9
Totals  | 10  | 10  | 9  | 10  | 10  | 7  | 8  | 10  | 10  | 84

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the HCAC that are played by HCAC schools

School  | Field Hockey  | Lacrosse  | Wrestling

|
|
|

Earlham  | NCAC |  |
Franklin  |  | HCLC |
Hanover  |  | HCLC |
Manchester  |  |  | Y
Transylvania  | NCAC | HCLC |

## References

[edit]

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference

Current members|

* Anderson Ravens
* Berea Mountaineers
* Bluffton Beavers
* Earlham Quakers
* Franklin Grizzlies
* Hanover Panthers
* Manchester Spartans
* Mount St. Joseph Lions
* Rose–Hulman Fightin' Engineers
* Transylvania Pioneers

* v
* t
* e

NCAA Division III all-sports conferences

* Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference
* American Rivers Conference
* American Southwest Conference
* Atlantic East Conference
* Centennial Conference
* City University of New York Athletic Conference
* Coast to Coast Athletic Conference
* College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
* Collegiate Conference of the South
* Conference of New England
* Empire 8
* Great Northeast Athletic Conference
* Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference
* Landmark Conference
* Liberty League
* Little East Conference
* Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference
* Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association
* Middle Atlantic Conferences (Commonwealth
* Freedom)
* Midwest Conference
* Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
* New England Small College Athletic Conference
* New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference
* New Jersey Athletic Conference
* North Atlantic Conference
* North Coast Athletic Conference
* Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference
* Northwest Conference
* Ohio Athletic Conference
* Old Dominion Athletic Conference
* Presidents' Athletic Conference
* St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
* Skyline Conference
* Southern Athletic Association
* Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
* Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
* State University of New York Athletic Conference
* United East Conference
* University Athletic Association
* Upper Midwest Athletic Conference
* USA South Athletic Conference
* Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
* Independents

* v
* t
* e

NCAA Division III football conferences

* American Rivers Conference
* American Southwest Conference
* Centennial Conference
* College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
* Conference of New England
* Empire 8
* Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference
* Landmark Conference
* Liberty League
* Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference
* Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association
* Middle Atlantic Conference
* Midwest Conference
* Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
* New England Small College Athletic Conference
* New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference
* New Jersey Athletic Conference
* North Coast Athletic Conference
* Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference
* Northwest Conference
* Ohio Athletic Conference
* Old Dominion Athletic Conference
* Presidents' Athletic Conference
* Southern Athletic Association
* Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
* Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
* Upper Midwest Athletic Conference
* USA South Athletic Conference
* Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
* Independents

NCAA Division III Football Championship
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template