The Midwest Athletic Association was an intercollegiate athletic conference of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) that existed from 1926 to 1970. It was later known as the Midwest Conference from 1962 to 1963 and as the Midwestern Conference from 1964 to 1970. The conference's membership was widespread due to the lack of HBCUs in the Midwest, with members located in Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, [1] and Texas. [2]
Institution | Location | Founded | Nickname | Joined | Previous conference | Left | Conference joined | Current conference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bluefield State College 1 | Bluefield, WV | 1895 | Big Blues | 1926 | Independents | 1932 | CIAA | Independents (DII) |
Kentucky State College 2 | Frankfort, KY | 1886 | Thorobreds | 1926 | Independents | 1970 | Independents (GLVC 1989) | SIAC (DII) |
West Virginia State College 3 | Institute, WV | 1891 | Yellow Jackets | 1926 | Independents | 1942 | CIAA | MEC (DII) |
Wilberforce College | Wilberforce, OH | 1856 | Bulldogs4 | 1926 | Independents | 1970 | Independents (AMEC 1999) | HBCUAC (NAIA) |
Tennessee State University 5 | Nashville, TN | 1912 | Tigers | 1930 | SIAC | 1966 | Independents (OVC 1986) | OVC (D1) |
Louisville Municipal College | Louisville, KY | 1931 | Bantams | 1931 | none (new school) | 1951 | none (school closed) | merged into Louisville |
Lincoln University | Jefferson City, MO | 1866 | Blue Tigers | 1932 | Independents | 1970 | MIAA | MIAA (DII) |
Philander Smith College | Little Rock, AR | 1877 | Panthers | 1940 | Independents | 1948 | SCAC | GCAC (NAIA) |
Central State University 6 | Wilberforce, OH | 1887 | Marauders7 | 1947 | none (new school) | 1970 | Independents (AMEC 2000) | SIAC (DII) |
Grambling College | Grambling, LA | 1901 | Tigers | 1952 | Independents | 1958 | SWAC | SWAC (DI) |
Jackson College | Jackson, MS | 1877 | Tigers | 1952 | SCAC | 1958 | SWAC | SWAC (DI) |
Texas Southern University | Houston, TX | 1949 | Tigers | 1952 | Independents | 1954 | SWAC | SWAC (DI) |
Huston–Tillotson College | Austin, Texas | 1875 | Rams | 1954 [2] | SWAC | 1956 [3] | Independents (GCAC 1957) | RRAC (NAIA) |
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The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference is a collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern and the Mid-Atlantic United States. It participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, and in football, in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, whose member institutions consist entirely of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
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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.
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Bluefield State University is a public historically black university (HBCU) in Bluefield, West Virginia. Despite being an HBCU, Bluefield's undergraduate student body is now over 80% white.
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The River States Conference (RSC), formerly known as the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC), is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Although it was historically a Kentucky-only conference, it has now expanded to include members in Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia, and at various times in the past has also had members in Missouri, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia.
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The UVA Wise Cavaliers, nicknamed the "Highland Cavaliers" before 2017, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Virginia's College at Wise, located in Wise, Virginia, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division II ranks, primarily competing in the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) since the 2019–20 academic year. The Cavaliers previously competed in the D-II Mountain East Conference (MEC) from 2013–14 to 2018–19.
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The Tennessee State Tigers and Lady Tigers are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Tennessee State University (TSU), located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The Tigers athletic program is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) and competes in the NCAA Division I, including the Football Championship Subdivision. The women's track team is also known as the Tigerbelles. As a member of the Ohio Valley Conference, Tennessee State is one of three HBCUs competing in Division I that is not a member of an athletic conference made up entirely of historically black institutions, the other two being Hampton University and North Carolina A&T State University of the Colonial Athletic Association. The TSU mascot is Aristocat the Tiger, and the school colors are blue and white. TSU's main rival historically has been Kentucky State University, an HBCU located in the capital of Tennessee's northern neighbor.