Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference

Last updated
Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference
Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference 2020 logo.svg
Association NCAA
Founded1987 (as Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference)
CommissionerJay Jones (since 2019)
Sports fielded
  • 18
    • men's: 9
    • women's: 9
Division Division III
No. of teams10
Headquarters Carmel, Indiana
Region Ohio Valley
Official website heartlandconf.org
Locations
Heartland-USA-states.png

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.

Contents

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

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

Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference
Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference
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150km
100miles
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Transylvania
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Rose-Hulman
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Mount St. Joseph
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Manchester
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Hanover
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Franklin
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Earlham
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Berea
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Bluffton
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Anderson
Location of member schools: Location dot green.svg full

Member schools

Current members

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

InstitutionLocationFoundedAffiliationEnrollmentNicknameJoinedColorsFootball
Anderson University Anderson, Indiana 1917 Church of God 1,311 Ravens 1987Orange and Black
  
Yes
Berea College Berea, Kentucky 1855Christian
(unaffiliated)
1,613 Mountaineers 2024Berea Blue and White
  
No
Bluffton University Bluffton, Ohio 1899 Mennonite 1,094 Beavers 1998Purple and White
  
Yes
Earlham College Richmond, Indiana 1847 Quaker 612 Quakers 2010Maroon and White
  
No
Franklin College Franklin, Indiana 1834 Baptist 1,047 Grizzlies 1987Navy Blue and Old Gold
  
Yes
Hanover College Hanover, Indiana 1827 Presbyterian 1,068 Panthers 1987Red and Blue
  
Yes
Manchester University North Manchester, Indiana 1860 Church of the Brethren 1,770 Spartans 1987Black and Gold
  
Yes
Mount St. Joseph University Delhi Township, Ohio [lower-alpha 1] 1920 Catholic
(S.C.C.)
1,889 Lions 1998Blue and Gold
  
Yes
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Terre Haute, Indiana 1874Nonsectarian2,081 Fightin' Engineers 1988;
2006 [lower-alpha 2]
Old Rose and White
  
Yes
Transylvania University Lexington, Kentucky 1780 Disciples of Christ 963 Pioneers 2001Crimson and White
  
No
Notes
  1. Mailing address is Cincinnati.
  2. Rose–Hulman left the HCAC after the 1997–98 school year, before re-joining in the 2006–07 school year.

Former members

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

InstitutionLocationFoundedAffiliationEnrollmentNicknameJoinedLeftCurrent
conference
Defiance College Defiance, Ohio 1850 United Church of Christ 505 Yellow Jackets 2000–012023–24 Wolverine–Hoosier (WHAC) [lower-alpha 1]
DePauw University Greencastle, Indiana 1837 United Methodist 2,350 Tigers 1987–881997–98 North Coast (NCAC)
Taylor University Upland, Indiana 1846 Interdenominational 1,887 Trojans 1988–891990–91 Crossroads [lower-alpha 1]
Wabash College [lower-alpha 2] Crawfordsville, Indiana 1832Nonsectarian910 Little Giants 1987–881998–99 [lower-alpha 3] North Coast (NCAC)
Wilmington College Wilmington, Ohio 1870 Quakers 990 Quakers 1998–991999–2000 Ohio (OAC)
Notes
  1. 1 2 Currently an NAIA athletic conference.
  2. Wabash is an all-male institution, therefore it does not sponsor women's sports.
  3. Wabash left the HCAC for all-sports after the 1998–99 school year except for football (which later left following the 1999–2000 school year).

Membership timeline

Berea CollegeEarlham CollegeTransylvania UniversityDefiance CollegeWilmington College (Ohio)Mount St. Joseph UniversityBluffton UniversityTaylor UniversityRose–Hulman Institute of TechnologyWabash CollegeManchester College (Indiana)Hanover CollegeFranklin College (Indiana)DePauw UniversityAnderson University (Indiana)Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference

Sports

Member teams compete in women's basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track and field, swimming and diving and volleyball and men's baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, tennis, swimming and diving and track and field.

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References