The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. Its fourteen member institutions, of which all but one are public schools, are located in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma, with an Arkansas school joining in July 2024. The MIAA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization incorporated in Missouri.
Northwest Missouri State University is a public university in Maryville, Missouri. It has an enrollment of about 8,505 students. Founded in 1905 as a teachers college, its campus is based on the design for Forest Park at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair and is the official Missouri State Arboretum. The school is governed by a state-appointed Board of Regents and headed by President Dr. Lance Tatum.
Garin Higgins is an American football college coach and former player. He is the head football coach for Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas; a position he has held since 2007. Higgins previously served as the head football coach at Northwestern Oklahoma State University from 2000 to 2004. His Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers finished as runners-up in the NAIA Football National Championship in 2000 and 2003. Higgins worked as co-offensive coordinator at Minnesota State University, Mankato and offensive coordinator at Northeastern State University in 2006.
The 2008 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level, began on August 30, 2008, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship on December 15, 2008, at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama, hosted by the University of North Alabama. The Minnesota–Duluth Bulldogs defeated the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats, 21–14, to win their first Division II national title.
The 2008 NCAA Division II Football Championship Game was held on December 13, 2008 at Braly Municipal Stadium near the campus of the University of North Alabama in Florence, Alabama.
The Northwest Missouri State Bearcats football program represents Northwest Missouri State University in college football. They participate in Division II sports within the NCAA. The team plays their home games at Bearcat Stadium, located on campus in Maryville, Missouri.
The Northwest Missouri State Bearcats are the athletic teams for Northwest Missouri State University, located in Maryville, Missouri. The Bearcats play in the NCAA Division II. Northwest is a founding member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association in 1912 and has remained in the conference ever since. From their founding until 1937, they competed in the Amateur Athletic Union. From 1937 to 1957, they competed in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics before joining NCAA Division II. Northwest has appeared in ten Division II football title games since 1998. The men's basketball team appeared in an AAU title game in 1930. The men's basketball team won the Division II title in 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2022.
The Northwest Missouri State Bearcats men's basketball team represents Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri, in the NCAA Division II men's basketball competition. The team is currently coached by Ben McCollum, who has been at the helm since 2009. The Bearcats currently compete, and are one of two founding members remaining, of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA). The basketball team plays its home games in the Bearcat Arena on campus.
The Northwest Missouri State−Pittsburg State football rivalry, also known as the Fall Classic at Arrowhead, is a college football game between Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) rivals Northwest Missouri State University and Pittsburg State University. From 2002 to 2013, the game was played at Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs. The games were played at the teams' home field, due to being unable to reach terms with the Kansas City Chiefs, from 2014 to 2018. The game is set to return to Arrowhead Stadium in 2019.
The 2009 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level, began on August 29, 2009, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship on December 12, 2009 at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama, hosted by the University of North Alabama. The Northwest Missouri State Bearcats defeated the Grand Valley State, 30–23, to win their third Division II national title.
Scott Bostwick was an American football player and coach. He served as the defensive coordinator at Northwest Missouri State University from 1994 to 2010 under head coach Mel Tjeerdsma, during which time the Bearcats captured three NCAA Division II Football Championships, in 1998, 1999, and 2009. In 2007, Bostwick was named the AFCA Division II Assistant Coach of the Year in 2007. He succeeded Tjeerdsma as head coach following the 2010 season, but died of a heart attack the following June.
Adam Dorrel is an American football coach and former player. He is the head football coach of the Central Oklahoma Bronchos in Edmond, Oklahoma, a position he has held since 2022. Previously Dorrel was the head coach at Northwest Missouri State in Maryville, Missouri from 2011 to 2016, and Abilene Christian in Abilene, Texas, from 2017 to 2021. While at Northwest Missouri State he led the program to three undefeated seasons and the NCAA Division II Football Championship in 2013, 2015, and 2016.
The 2014 Emporia State Hornets football team represented Emporia State University in the 2014 NCAA Division II football season. The Hornets played their home games on Jones Field at Francis G. Welch Stadium, in Emporia, Kansas as they have done since 1937. 2014 was the 121st season in school history. The Hornets were led by head coach Garin Higgins, who finished his 14th overall season, and eighth overall at Emporia State. Emporia State is a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.
The 2013 Northwest Missouri State Bearcats football team represented Northwest Missouri State University as a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) during the 2013 NCAA Division II football season. Led by third-year head coach Adam Dorrel, the team finished the regular season with an undefeated 11–0 record. They won their fifth NCAA Division II Football Championship with a win over Lenoir–Rhyne in the NCAA Division II Championship Game by a score of 43–28. The Bearcats played their home games at Bearcat Stadium in Maryville, Missouri, which has been the Bearcats' home stadium since 1917.
The 2016 Northwest Missouri State Bearcats football team represented Northwest Missouri State University as a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) during the 2016 NCAA Division II football season. Led by sixth-year head coach Adam Dorrel, the Bearcats compiled an overall record of 15–0 with a mark of 11–0 in conference play, winning the MIAA title. They won the program's sixth NCAA Division II Football Championship with a win over North Alabama in the NCAA Division II Championship Game.
The 2015 Northwest Missouri State Bearcats football team represented Northwest Missouri State University as a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) during the 2015 NCAA Division II football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Adam Dorrel, the team finished the regular season with an undefeated 11–0 record. They won their fifth NCAA Division II Football Championship with a win over Shepherd in the NCAA Division II Championship Game by a score of 34–7. The Bearcats played their home games at Bearcat Stadium in Maryville, Missouri, which has been the Bearcat's home stadium since 1917.
Justin James Pitts is an American basketball player for HLA Alicante of the Spanish LEB Oro. He played college basketball for the Northwest Missouri State University. A 5’10” point guard, Pitts was named the NCAA Division II National Player of the Year for the 2016–17 season.
Trevor Hudgins is an American professional basketball player for Le Mans of the LNB Pro A and the Basketball Champions League (BCL). He played college basketball for the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats where he led the team to three consecutive NCAA Division II championships. Hudgins was named as the NABC Division II Player of the Year in 2021 and 2022.
The 1999 Northwest Missouri State Bearcats football team was an American football team that won the 1999 NCAA Division II Football Championship.
Ryan Hawkins is an American professional basketball player for Giorgio Tesi Group Pistoia of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He played college basketball for the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats and the Creighton Bluejays.
