List of defunct men's college basketball conferences in the United States

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The official logo of the National Collegiate Athletic Association

This is a list of defunct National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men's college basketball conferences in the United States . The NCAA is divided into three divisions, based on school size and enrollment. Each division is made up of several conferences for regional league play. Over time, these conferences will disband due to lack of teams, joining of their teams to other conferences, lack of budget, merging to another conference, stopped sponsoring basketball or simply a command from the NCAA.

Contents

College basketball was started in 1895 with its first ever game between Hamline and Minnesota. [1] It was later developed in 1896 with its first game in a five player format with Chicago against Iowa. [1] Almost all schools are independent at that time until since the formation of the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (now NCAA) in 1906. [2] But even before the development, conferences began to form, such as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives (now Big Ten Conference) in 1896 which is the oldest active conference in the NCAA, [3] and the Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League formed in 1901, which was folded into the Ivy League in 1955. [4]

As of July 2019, there are 30 defunct conferences in total: 20 conferences in Division I, six in Division II and four in Division III. The defunct conference that was active for the shortest period is the Northern California Conference, formed in 1937 and ended in 1939; [5] the longest-lived defunct conference is the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC), which has a span of 89 years (1924 to 2013). [6] The most recent conference to dissolve is the Division II Heartland Conference, which disbanded at the end of the 2018–19 school year, with seven of its nine members joining the Lone Star Conference and the other two moving to the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.

Division I

ConferenceFoundedDissolvedMembersMapRef
American South Conference 198719917 American South Conference-USA-states.png [7]
American West Conference 199319964 [DIV I 1] American West Conference-USA-states.png [8]
Big Eight Conference 1907 [DIV I 2] 19968 Big Eight-USA-states.PNG [9]
Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association 193119626 1950 Border Conference States.svg [10]
East Coast Conference 1958 [DIV I 3] 19946 East Coast Conference-USA-states.png [11]
Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League 190119558 Ivy League Map.svg [4] [12]
Eastern Intercollegiate Conference 193219396 Eastern Intercollegiate Conference map.PNG [13]
Great Midwest Conference 199119957 Great Midwest Conference-USA-states.png [14]
Great West Conference 2004 [DIV I 4] 20135 Great West Map.svg [15]
Gulf Star Conference 198419876 Gulf Star Conference-USA-states.png [16]
Middle Atlantic States Conference North 194619496 Middle Atlantic States Conference North map.PNG [17]
Metropolitan Collegiate Conference 1965196910 Metropolitan Collegiate Conference map.png [18]
Metro Conference 197519957 Metro Conference-USA-states.png [19]
Metropolitan New York Conference 1933 [DIV I 5] 196311 Western New York Little Three Conference-USA-states.png [20]
Middle Three Conference 194319523 Middle Three Conference map.PNG [21]
New Jersey-New York 7 Conference 197619797 Metropolitan Collegiate Conference map.png [22]
Northern California Conference 193719395 Northern California Conference map.PNG [5]
Pacific Coast Conference 191519599 Pacific Coast Conference map.PNG [23]
Southwest Conference 191419968 SWC (Dissolution)-USA-states.PNG [24]
Western New York Little Three Conference 194619583 Western New York Little Three Conference-USA-states.png [25]
Notes
  1. The American West Conference began as a football-only league in 1993 with five teams. Charter member UC Davis left after that season, leaving only four teams when it began sponsoring basketball in 1994.
  2. The Big Eight Conference started basketball in 1928.
  3. The East Coast Conference started basketball in 1974.
  4. The Great West Conference, originally a football-only league, began sponsoring basketball in 2009.
  5. The Metropolitan New York Conference started basketball in 1943.

Division II

ConferenceFoundedDissolvedMembersMapRef
Heartland Conference 199920199 Heartlandstates.png [26] [27] [28]
Indiana Collegiate Conference 195119798 Indiana Collegiate Conference map.PNG [29]
Indiana Intercollegiate Conference 192219507 Indiana Collegiate Conference map.PNG [30]
Mason-Dixon Conference 1940197410* Mason-Dixon Conference map.png [31]
North Central Conference 192220088 NCCstates.PNG [32]
West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 1924201315 WVIACstates.png [33] [6]

Division III

ConferenceFoundedDissolvedMembersMapRef
Lake Michigan Conference 197420068 Lake Michigan Conference (defunct) map.png [34]
Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference 196920066 Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference map.png [34]
Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association 197619969 Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association map.png [35]
Wisconsin State University Conference 191319978 Wisconsin State University Conference map.PNG [36]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference</span> Collegiate athletic conference competing in NCAA

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference</span> U.S. collegiate conference

The West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) was a collegiate athletic conference which historically operated exclusively in the state of West Virginia, but briefly had one Kentucky member in its early years, and expanded into Pennsylvania in its final years. It participated in the Division II ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), originally affiliated in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) until 1995, but held its final athletic competitions in spring 2013, and officially disbanded on September 1 of that year. Its football-playing members announced in June 2012 that they planned to withdraw to form a new Division II conference at the end of the 2012–13 season; this led to a chain of conference moves that saw all but one of the WVIAC's members find new conference homes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association</span> Athletic conference of NCAA Division III schools in Michigan and Indiana

The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the NCAA's Division III. There are nine teams in the conference, all located in the states of Michigan and Indiana. The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association was established on March 24, 1888, making it the oldest college athletic conference in the United States. The current members of the MIAA include Adrian College, Albion College, Alma College, Calvin University, Hope College, Kalamazoo College, University of Olivet, Saint Mary's College of Notre Dame, Indiana, and Trine University, formerly known as Tri-State University. Olivet, Alma and Albion are the only charter members remaining in the conference. Former members include such colleges as Michigan State University, previously Michigan Agricultural College, (1888–1907), Eastern Michigan University, previously Michigan State Normal College, (1892–1926), Hillsdale College (1888–1961), and Defiance College (1997–2000).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heartland Conference</span> Defunct US collegiate athletic conference

The Heartland Conference was a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division II level, which was founded in 1999. The majority of members were in Texas, with additional members in Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma. The conference office was located in Waco, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salem University</span> Private university in Salem, West Virginia

Salem University is a private for-profit university in Salem, West Virginia. It has about 250 students on campus and about 600 online students that are enrolled in undergraduate as well as graduate programs. The university was founded by the Seventh Day Baptist Church in 1888.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NCAA Division II</span> Intermediate-level division of competition in college sports

NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment offered in Division III.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rogers State Hillcats</span> Athletic teams representing Rogers State University

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morehead State Eagles</span> Collegiate sports club in the United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Oklahoma Bronchos</span> Athletic teams representing University of Central Oklahoma

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Virginia State Yellow Jackets</span> Athletic teams representing West Virginia State University

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great American Conference</span> NCAA Division II college athletic conference

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northeastern State RiverHawks football</span> College football team

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wheeling Cardinals</span> Athletic teams representing Wheeling University

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northeastern State RiverHawks</span> Athletic teams representing Northeastern State University

The Northeastern State RiverHawks are the athletic teams that represent Northeastern State University, located in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) for most of its sports since the 2012–13 academic year; while its men's soccer team competes in the Great American Conference (GAC). The RiverHawks previously competed as an NCAA D-II Independent during the 2011–12 school year; in the D-II Lone Star Conference (LSC) from 1997–98 to 2010–11; and in the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference (OIC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1974–75 to 1996–97.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emporia State Lady Hornets basketball</span> College basketball team

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