The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the Upper Midwest of the United States. Nine of its members are in Minnesota, with three members in South Dakota, two members in North Dakota, and one member in Nebraska. It was founded in 1932. With the recent NSIC expansion, the original six member schools have been reunited.
Southwest Minnesota State University (SMSU) is a public university in Marshall, Minnesota, United States. It is part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. The university has an enrollment of approximately 8,700 students and employs 148 faculty members. It is divided into two major colleges, the College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences and the College of Business, Education, and Professional Studies.
The University of Jamestown is a private Christian university in Jamestown, North Dakota. Founded in 1883 by the Presbyterian Church, it has about 1,300 students enrolled and has been co-educational from its founding. Until August 2013, the school was known as Jamestown College.
The Winona State Warriors are the athletic teams of Winona State University, located in Winona, Minnesota. They compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, Division II for all sports except for women's gymnastics, which competes in the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association.
Sports in Minnesota include professional teams in all major sports, Olympic Games contenders and medalists, especially in the Winter Olympics, collegiate teams in major and small-school conferences and associations and active amateur teams and individual sports. The State of Minnesota has a team in all five major professional leagues. Along with professional sports, there are numerous collegiate teams including the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers and St. Thomas Tommies in NCAA Division I, as well as many others across the Minnesota public and private colleges and universities.
The Minot State Beavers are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Minot State University (MSU), located in Minot, North Dakota. The Beavers compete at the NCAA Division II level. The university was previously a member of the NAIA's Dakota Athletic Conference (DAC) and competed as an independent as a provisional member for the 2011–12 academic year before joining the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) in 2012. Minot State Beavers men's and women's ice hockey teams currently play in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA), the men's team plays as is an independent team at the ACHA Men's Division I level and women's team at the ACHA Women's Division II level.
The Augustana Vikings are the athletic teams that represent Augustana University, located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Vikings compete as members of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference for all 14 varsity sports. The Vikings joined the NSIC from the North Central Conference, which folded in 2008.
The Minnesota State Mavericks are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Minnesota State University, Mankato. The school's athletic program includes 21 varsity sports teams. More than 600 students participate each year in athletics for the university. Most of the university's athletic teams compete at the NCAA Division II level in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The men's and women's ice hockey teams compete at the Division I level, respectively in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) and Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). Minnesota State began competition in the NSIC in 2008–09, due to the dissolution of the North Central Conference. It was also one of the seven WCHA men's hockey members that left that league after the 2020–21 season to reestablish the CCHA, a move that led to the demise of the men's side of the WCHA.
The Northern State Wolves are the athletic teams that represent Northern State University, located in Aberdeen, South Dakota, U.S., in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Wolves compete as members of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference for all 13 varsity sports. Northern State has been a member of the conference since 1978, and they also have the fifth-smallest enrollment of the 16 member schools. In the 1990s, all members of the NSIC solely became members of NCAA Division II, after spending many years with dual membership with the NAIA.
The Sioux Falls Cougars are the athletic teams that represent the University of Sioux Falls, located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division II ranks, primarily competing the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) since the 2012–13 academic year. Prior to joining the NCAA, the Cougars previously competed in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 2000–01 to 2010–11; and in the defunct South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference (SDIC) from 1977–78 to 1999–2000.
The St. Cloud State Huskies are the athletic teams for St. Cloud State University. The university is primarily a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC), and currently sponsors 18 NCAA Division II teams. SCSU also sponsors a women's Nordic skiing team through membership in the CCSA, as well as men's and women's Division I ice hockey teams that are members of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (men) and Western Collegiate Hockey Association (women). The teams go by the nickname Huskies, and the school's mascot is a husky named Blizzard.
The Wayne State Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Wayne State College, located in Wayne, Nebraska, in intercollegiate sports at the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) in all sports since the 1999–2000 academic year. The Wildcats previously competed in the Central States Intercollegiate Conference (CSIC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1976–77 to 1988–89; as well as in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) as a provisional member during the 1989–90 school year.
The Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles are the athletic teams that represent University of Minnesota Crookston, located in Crookston, Minnesota, in intercollegiate sports at the NCAA Division II ranks, primarily competing in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) since the 1999–2000 academic year; with the women's equestrian teams competing in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA).
The Minnesota State–Moorhead Dragons are the athletic teams that represent Minnesota State University Moorhead, located in Moorhead, Minnesota, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Dragons generally compete as members of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference for all 14 varsity sports.
The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball tournament is the annual men's conference basketball championship tournament for the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The tournament has been held annually since 2000. It is a single-elimination tournament and seeding is based on regular season records.
Brad Bigler is an American college basketball coach, currently the head coach of the Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs.
The 2020–21 Northern State Wolves men's basketball team represented Northern State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division II men's basketball season. The Wolves were led by second-year head coach Saul Phillips and played their home games at Wachs Arena in Aberdeen, South Dakota. They competed as members of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, their season was greatly shortened.
The Northern Sun women's basketball tournament is the annual conference women's basketball championship tournament for the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The tournament has been held annually since 2000. It is a single-elimination tournament and seeding is based on regular season records.
The 2017–18 Northern State Wolves men's basketball team represented Northern State University in the 2017-18 NCAA Division II men's basketball season. The Wolves were led by eighth year head coach Paul Sather and played their home games at Wachs Arena in Aberdeen, South Dakota. They competed as members of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. After winning the NSIC tournament, the Wolves received an automatic bid into the 2018 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament. They were berthed with the #2 seed in the regional tournament and beat Minnesota State by a score of 90–83 to win the Central Region Tournament and move on to the Elite Eight. The Elite Eight was held in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Wolves beat East Stroudsburg and Queens to move on the National Championship game where they lost to the Ferris State Bulldogs by a score of 69–71.
Clare Duwelius is an American basketball executive who is the General Manager and Executive Vice President of Unrivaled. Duwelius was formerly the general manager of the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) after having started her career with the Lynx in 2014 as the Basketball Operations Coordinator, then being elevated to Basketball Operations Manager in 2016 and later assistant general manager in 2018.
