Heart of America Athletic Conference

The Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC or The Heart)[1] is a college athletic conference affiliated with the NAIA. Member institutions are located in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska in the United States.

Heart of America Athletic Conference
The Heart
Established1971
AssociationNAIA
DivisionDivision I
Members14
Sports fielded
  • 19
    • men's: 10
    • women's: 9
RegionWest North Central
HeadquartersOverland Park, Kansas
CommissionerLori Thomas (since 2014)
Websitewww.haacsports.com
Locations

History

The HAAC's earliest ancestor was the Missouri College Athletic Union, which was formed in 1924 when the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association (now the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association) split in two. The old MIAA's private schools formed the Athletic Union, while the state teachers' colleges stayed in the MIAA.[2] It was reorganized as the HAAC in 1971 when it began admitting schools outside Missouri. However, the HAAC does not presently claim the Athletic Union's history as its own.

In early 2014, Grand View University and William Penn University were announced as members for the 2015–16 school year.[3] In April 2015, Clarke University and Mount Mercy University were also announced as members for the 2016–17 school year.[4] In October 2019, Park University was approved for HAAC membership and joined in the 2020–21 school year.[5]

The current commissioner of the conference is Lori Thomas. Thomas, the first female commissioner in NAIA history, began her term in 2014,[6] succeeding Larry Lady who retired after 22 years as commissioner.

Member schools

Current members
Institution Location Founded Type Enrollment Nickname Joined
Baker University Baldwin City, Kansas 1858 Private/Methodist 989 Wildcats 1971
Benedictine College Atchison, Kansas 1858 Private/Catholic 2,189 Ravens 1991
Central Methodist University Fayette, Missouri 1854 Private/Methodist 1,094 Eagles 1971;
1991
Clarke University Dubuque, Iowa 1843 Private/Catholic 1,075 Pride 2016
Culver–Stockton College Canton, Missouri 1853 Private/Disciples of Christ 1,066 Wildcats 1980
Evangel University Springfield, Missouri 1955 Private/Assemblies of God 1,958 Crusaders 1987
Graceland University Lamoni, Iowa 1895 Private/Community of Christ 2,301 Yellowjackets 1971
Grand View University Des Moines, Iowa 1896 Private/Lutheran (ELCA) 1,988 Vikings 2015
MidAmerica Nazarene University Olathe, Kansas 1966 Private/Nazarene 1,884 Pioneers 1980
Missouri Valley College Marshall, Missouri 1889 Private/Presbyterian 1,728 Vikings 1971
Mount Mercy University Cedar Rapids, Iowa 1928 Private/Catholic 1,877 Mustangs 2016
Park University Parkville, Missouri 1875 Private/Nonsectarian 2,340 Pirates 2020
Peru State College Peru, Nebraska 1865 Public 2,422 Bobcats 2011
William Penn University Oskaloosa, Iowa 1873 Private/Quakers 1,550 Statesmen &
Lady Statesmen		 2015

Former members
Institution Location Founded Nickname Joined Left Current
conference
Avila University Kansas City, Missouri 1916 Eagles 2000 2018 Kansas
College of Emporia Emporia, Kansas 1882 Fighting Presbies 1971 1974 Closed in 1974
Lindenwood University St. Charles, Missouri 1827 Lions 1996 2011 Great Lakes Valley
(NCAA D-II)
Ottawa University Ottawa, Kansas 1865 Braves 1971 1981 Kansas
Tarkio College Tarkio, Missouri 1883 Owls 1971 1992 Closed in 1992
William Jewell College Liberty, Missouri 1849 Cardinals 1971 2011 Great Lakes Valley
(NCAA D-II)

Membership timeline

 Full member (all sports)   Full member (non-football) 

Sports
Conference sports
SportMen'sWomen's
BaseballY
BasketballYY
Cross CountryYY
FootballY
GolfYY
SoccerYY
SoftballY
TennisYY
Track & Field IndoorYY
Track & Field OutdoorYY
VolleyballY
WrestlingY

See also

References
  1. "Heart of America Athletic Conference Athletics News". Haacsports.com. May 7, 2015. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  2. MIAA Archived July 9, 2012, at Archive.today
  3. "Heart of America Conference adds two Iowa members | The Kansas City Star". Kansascity.com. January 10, 2014. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  4. "Heart of America Athletic Conference Athletics News". Haacsports.com. April 2, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  5. "Park set to join Heart of America in 2020". Victory Sports Network. October 9, 2019. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  6. "About us". Heart of America Athletic Conference. 2015. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.