The Summit League, or The Summit, is an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic conference with its membership mostly located in the Midwestern United States, from Illinois on the east of the Mississippi River to the Dakotas and Nebraska on the West, with additional members in the Western state of Colorado and the Southern state of Oklahoma. Founded as the Association of Mid-Continent Universities in 1982, it rebranded as the Mid-Continent Conference in 1989, then again as the Summit League on June 1, 2007. The league headquarters are in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA), the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), and the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA). Each of these various organizations is subdivided into one to three divisions, based on the number and level of scholarships that may be provided to the athletes. Teams with more experience tend to win over teams with more talent and less experience.
College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingdom also has a university league. The institutions typically hire full-time professional coaches and staff, although the student athletes are mostly amateur and are not paid. College soccer in the United States is sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the sports regulatory body for major universities, and by the governing bodies for smaller universities and colleges. This sport is played on a rectangular field of the dimensions of about 70–75 yards sideline to sideline (width), and 115–120 yards goal line to goal line (length).
The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) is a college ice hockey association. The ACHA's purpose is to be an organization of collegiate affiliated non-varsity programs, which provides structure, regulates operations, and promotes quality in collegiate ice hockey. The ACHA currently has three men's and two women's divisions and includes approximately 450 teams from across the United States and Canada. Teams offer few athletic scholarships and typically receive far less university funding. The ACHA offers an opportunity for college hockey programs that struggle with large budgets and Title IX issues, as an alternative to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) financial structure.
The Ball State Cardinals are the athletic teams that represent Ball State University, located in Muncie, Indiana. The Cardinals are part of the NCAA Division I Mid-American Conference. Charlie Cardinal is the team mascot.
The Western Michigan Broncos are a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I program representing Western Michigan University (WMU) in college athletics. They compete in the Mid-American Conference in men's baseball, basketball, football, and tennis; and women's basketball, cross-country, golf, gymnastics, soccer, softball, track and field, and volleyball. The men's ice hockey team competes in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference and the men's soccer team competes in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Broncos also have a flight team, the SkyBroncos, who have won the National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA) National Championship award five times.
The Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball team represents Northern Illinois University (NIU) in DeKalb, Illinois. The school's team currently competes in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The team last played in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 1996.
College lacrosse is played by student-athletes at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. In both countries, men's field lacrosse and women's lacrosse are played at both the varsity and club levels. College lacrosse in Canada is sponsored by the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association (CUFLA) and Maritime University Field Lacrosse League (MUFLL), while in the United States, varsity men's and women's lacrosse is governed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). There are also university lacrosse programs in the United Kingdom sponsored by British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) and programs in Japan.
The UIC Flames are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Chicago, located in Chicago, Illinois, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) since the 2022–23 academic year. The Flames previously competed in the D-I Horizon League from 1994–95 to 2021–22; in the D-I Mid-Continent Conference from 1982–83 to 1993–94; as an NCAA D-I Independent during the 1981–82 school year; and in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1949–50 to about 1980–81. Michael Lipitz joined UIC in October 2019 as the athletic director.
The Northern Illinois Huskies football team are a college football program representing Northern Illinois University (NIU) in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of college football. NIU football plays its home games at Huskie Stadium on the campus of the Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois.
The Northern Illinois Huskies women's basketball team is the college basketball team that represent Northern Illinois University (NIU) in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The team last played in the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament in 1995. The Huskies are coached by Lisa Carlsen.
The 2010 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University as a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Huskies compiled an overall record of 11–3 with a mark of 8–0 in conference play, winning the MAC's West Division title. The team advanced to the MAC Championship, where the lost the Miami RedHawks. Northern Illinois was invited to the Humanitarian Bowl, where they defeated Fresno State. The Huskies were led by third-year head coach Jerry Kill during the regular season and for the MAC title game before KIll resigned to become the head football coach at the University of Minnesota. Tom Matukewicz was appointed interim head coach for the bowl game. The team played home games at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Illinois.
The Northern Illinois Huskies baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Northern Illinois University (NIU) in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. The team is a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC), which is part of the NCAA Division I. NIU's first baseball team was fielded in 1900. The team plays its home games at Ralph McKinzie Field in DeKalb, Illinois. The Huskies are currently led by head coach Ryan Copeland, who will begin his 1st season with the team in 2024.
The Northern Illinois Huskies softball team is the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division I college softball team that represents Northern Illinois University (NIU) in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). NIU softball started playing in 1959 and has two NCAA Tournament appearances and one appearance in the Women's College World Series (1988). The Huskies are coached by Christina Sutcliffe.
The Northern Illinois Huskies women's volleyball team is the college volleyball team that represent Northern Illinois University (NIU) in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Huskies are coached by Ray Gooden.
The Northern Illinois Huskies men's soccer team is the college soccer team that represents Northern Illinois University (NIU) in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. The school's team competed in NIU's full-time home of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) through the 2022 season, after which the conference stopped sponsoring men's soccer. NIU moved that sport to the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) effective with the 2023 season, joining fellow MAC members Bowling Green and Western Michigan in this move. NIU men's soccer started playing in 1962 and has appeared in the NCAA Tournament four times. The Huskies are coached by Ryan Swan.
The Mid-American Conference gymnastics championships is the conference championship meet for women's gymnastics in the Mid-American Conference, a Division I member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). All conference members qualify for the championship meet, which is held in three rounds. The tournament began in 1981 and is rotated between the home arenas of the seven conference members. Through the 2021 championship, Central Michigan has won the most championships with 16, followed by Kent State with 12.
The Northern Illinois Huskies women's gymnastics team represents Northern Illinois University (NIU) in DeKalb, Illinois. NIU gymnastics started competing in 1978 and competes in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). NIU gymnastics has sent one individual participant to the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships (1998), two teams to the NCAA Regional Championships, 37 individual participants to the NCAA Regionals, and three individual participants to the AIAW Regionals. The Huskies currently compete at the NIU Convocation Center and are coached by Sam Morreale.
The Northern Illinois Huskies women's soccer team is the college soccer team that represents Northern Illinois University (NIU) in DeKalb, Illinois, United States.
The 2021 Mid-American Conference men's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Mid-American Conference held from November 11 through November 14, 2021. The tournament took place at the NIU Soccer Complex in DeKalb, Illinois, home of the Northern Illinois Huskies, the regular season conference champions. The four-team single-elimination tournament consisted of two rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The West Virginia were the defending champions after having won the title in 2019. There was no tournament in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so the 2019 champions were considered the defending champions. West Virginia was unable to defend its title, losing to Georgia State in the Semifinals. Northern Illinois would go on to beat Georgia State in the final 2–1 in overtime. The title was the third for the Northern Illinois men's soccer program and the first of which came under head coach Ryan Swan. As tournament champions, Northern Illinois earned the Mid-American's automatic berth into the 2021 NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament.
