Horizon League

In May 1978, DePaul University hosted a meeting with representatives from Bradley, Dayton, Detroit, Illinois State, Loyola–Chicago, Air Force, and Xavier who all agreed in principle that a new athletic conference was needed. Further progress was made through a series of early 1979 meetings in San Francisco, Chicago, and St. Louis that included participation by Butler, Creighton, Marquette, and Oral Roberts. On June 16, 1979, the Midwestern City Conference (nicknamed the MCC or Midwestern City 6) was formed by charter members Butler, Evansville, Loyola, Oklahoma City, Oral Roberts, and Xavier, with Detroit joining the following year.{{cite web|url=http://www.horizonleague.org/aboutus/history.html|title=History – Horizon League.|access-date=2012-12-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140324015453/http://www.horizonleague.org/aboutus/history.html|archive-date=2014-03-24|url-status=dead}} {{As of|2023|July|alt=As of the 2023-24 academic year}}, Detroit, now known as Detroit Mercy, is the only remaining member from the league's original members.

File:Mcconference.gif

{{Unreferenced section|date=August 2023}}

In 1980, the league established its headquarters in Champaign, Illinois. The MCC gained an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 1981, followed by the announcement that Saint Louis University would be joining the following season. The University of Notre Dame joined the conference for all sports except basketball and football in 1982. The conference attained automatic qualification for the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship in 1984 and the conference moved its headquarters to Indianapolis. Three changes occurred in the summer of 1985: Oklahoma City dropped out of the NCAA altogether; the conference name was altered slightly to Midwestern Collegiate Conference; and the conference began sponsoring women's athletics. The latter triggered Notre Dame's temporary withdrawal from the league as its women's teams were contracted to the North Star Conference. ESPN began televising the MCC Championship game{{Clarify|reason=which sport?|date=August 2023}} in 1986. In 1987, Oral Roberts left the conference while Dayton joined and Notre Dame rejoined. The conference earned its first at-large bid to the men's basketball tournament and automatic qualification to the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship in 1989. In 1991, the conference received an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament and lost members Marquette and Saint Louis. Duquesne and La Salle joined the MCC in 1992, the same year the conference gained an automatic berth to the NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship. Duquesne and Dayton left the conference in 1993.

File:Horizon League logo.svg

The largest non-merger conference expansion in NCAA history up to that time occurred on December 9, 1993, when Cleveland State, UIC, Northern Illinois, Green Bay, Milwaukee, and Wright State left the Mid-Continent Conference to join the Midwestern Collegiate Conference beginning with the 1994-95 academic year.{{refn|group=en|The American Athletic Conference added six new members in 2023, and the Pac-12 Conference is set to add at least six new members in 2026. However, The American lost three members in 2023, compared to the one member the MCC lost in 1994. The Pac-12 will not lose any members in 2026, but it had lost 10 of its previous 12 members in 2024.}} With Evansville's departure to the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC), there were 12 league members. Xavier, Notre Dame, and La Salle withdrew the following summer of 1995, followed by Northern Illinois in 1997. The conference changed its name to the Horizon League on June 4, 2001, in part due to the initials causing confusion between the MCC and the Mid-Continent Conference, who also used the initials. That year, Youngstown State University joined from the Mid-Continent Conference, and on May 17, 2006, Valparaiso University announced it would do the same in 2007.Press Release. [http://www.valpo.edu/athletics/index.php?a=t&a2=vnr&nid=25&nrid=2702 Valpo to Join Horizon League in 2007-2008] May 17, 2006.

In April 2013, the split of the original Big East Conference caused a ripple effect that fell to the Horizon League; Loyola announced that it would leave the Horizon League effective July 1 to join the Missouri Valley Conference, which itself lost Creighton to the reconfigured Big East.

Butler also left the Horizon League. It spent a season in the Atlantic 10 before joining the Big East.

The Horizon announced that Oakland University, formerly of the Summit League, would immediately replace Loyola within a month.{{cite press release |url=http://www.horizonleague.org/blog/oakland-university-to-join-horizon-league-in-july.html |title=Oakland University to Join |publisher=Horizon League |access-date=May 9, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130629122545/http://horizonleague.org/blog/oakland-university-to-join-horizon-league-in-july.html |archive-date=June 29, 2013 |url-status=dead }}

The next change in the Horizon League's membership came in 2015 with the arrival of Northern Kentucky University from the Atlantic Sun Conference.{{cite press release|title=Northern Kentucky University to Join Horizon League in July|url=http://www.horizonleague.org/blog/northern-kentucky-university-to-join-horizon-league-in-july|publisher=Horizon League|date=May 11, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150514000904/http://www.horizonleague.org/blog/northern-kentucky-university-to-join-horizon-league-in-july|archive-date=May 14, 2015|url-status=dead}}

Two more membership changes were announced near the end of the 2016-17 school year. First, Valparaiso announced on May 25, 2017, that it would leave for the MVC effective July 1. The Crusaders replaced Wichita State, which announced that it would leave the MVC for the American Athletic Conference.{{cite news|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/sports/ct-ptb-mens-basketball-valparaiso-missouri-valley-st-0526-20170525-story.html |title=Valparaiso makes it official, accepts Missouri Valley Conference invitation |first=Michael |last=Osipoff |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=May 25, 2017 |access-date=May 26, 2017}} Three days before Valparaiso's departure, the Horizon League Board of Directors unanimously approved the membership of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) to replace Valparaiso, also effective July 1.{{cite news|url=http://wishtv.com/2017/06/28/iupui-to-join-horizon-league/ |title=IUPUI to join Horizon League|publisher=WISH TV 8|date=June 28, 2017}} IUPUI was dissolved in 2024 and replaced by separate institutions affiliated with the Indiana University and Purdue University systems. At that time, the athletic program transferred to the new Indiana University Indianapolis with an athletic brand name of IU Indy, maintaining IUPUI's Division I and Horizon League memberships.

The start of the 2020s set further membership changes into motion, with the arrivals of Purdue Fort Wayne and Robert Morris from the Summit League and the Northeast Conference (NEC), respectively, announced on August 5, 2019{{cite press release|url=http://horizonleague.org/news/2019/8/5/general-purdue-university-fort-wayne-to-join-horizon-league.aspx |title=Purdue University Fort Wayne to Join Horizon League |publisher=Horizon League |date=August 5, 2019 |access-date=August 5, 2019}} and June 15, 2020.{{cite press release|url=https://horizonleague.org/news/2020/6/15/general-robert-morris-to-join-horizon-league.aspx |title=Robert Morris to Join Horizon League |publisher=Horizon League |date=June 15, 2020 |access-date=June 15, 2020}} This brought the Horizon League up to 12 full-time members for the first time since the 1994-95 season. It was short-lived, however, as the UIC Flames were reported to be following many of their former conference colleagues to the MVC effective July 1, 2022.{{cite news |last=Norlander |first=Matt |date=January 22, 2022 |title=UIC to join Missouri Valley Conference in July, rounding out league's expansion effort at 12 teams |website=CBSSports.com |url=https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/uic-to-join-missouri-valley-conference-in-july-rounding-out-leagues-expansion-effort-at-12-teams/ |access-date=January 23, 2022}}

On July 6, 2022, the Horizon League and Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) jointly announced that they would merge their men's tennis leagues under the Horizon banner, effective immediately. The five OVC members that sponsored the sport became Horizon associates. At the same time, the Horizon announced that Belmont, which had just left the OVC for the Missouri Valley Conference (which sponsors tennis only for women), would become a men's tennis associate,{{cite press release|url=https://belmontbruins.com/news/2022/7/6/mens-tennis-accepts-affiliate-membership-in-horizon-league.aspx |title=Men's Tennis Accepts Affiliate Membership in Horizon League |publisher=Belmont Bruins |date=July 6, 2022 |access-date=July 9, 2022}} and Chicago State, which became a D-I independent after leaving the Western Athletic Conference days earlier, would become an associate in both men's and women's tennis.{{cite press release|url=https://horizonleague.org/news/2022/7/5/horizon-league-announces-innovative-partnership-with-ohio-valley-conference-and-mens-tennis-programs-adds-chicago-state-as-an-affiliate-member-for-mens-and-womens-tennis.aspx |title=Horizon League Announces Innovative Partnership with Ohio Valley Conference and Men's Tennis Programs, Adds Chicago State as an Affiliate Member for Men's and Women's Tennis |publisher=Horizon League |date=July 6, 2022 |access-date=July 9, 2022}} The Horizon later lost men's associate Lindenwood after they dropped nine NCAA sports, including men's tennis, after the 2023-24 season.{{cite press release |url=https://lindenwoodlions.com/news/2023/12/1/general-athletic-department-special-announcement.aspx |title=Athletic Department Special Announcement |publisher=Lindenwood Lions |date=December 1, 2023 |access-date=December 2, 2023}} Men's and women's associate Chicago State also announced it would join the Northeast Conference, which sponsors the sport for both sexes - however, CSU announced that it would keep its tennis programs in the Horizon for one extra year before moving them to the NEC for the 2025-26 season.{{cite press release |url=https://www.gocsucougars.com/news/2024/7/1/general-chicago-state-officially-enters-the-northeast-conference.aspx|title=Chicago State Officially Enters the Northeast Conference |quote=The full NEC conference membership will be for 13 of CSU's men's and women's sports while men's and women's tennis will remain in the Horizon League for one more season. |publisher=Chicago State Cougars Athletics |date=July 1, 2024 |access-date=October 16, 2024}}

On February 24, 2025, multiple media reports indicated that Northern Illinois was set to rejoin the Horizon League in 2026, coinciding with NIU football becoming an affiliate member of the Mountain West Conference. The move became official on February 27, after approval by NIU's governing board.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6157419/2025/02/24/northern-illinois-horizon-league/ |title=Northern Illinois plans to move non-football programs to Horizon League in 2026 |first1=Chris |last1=Vannini |first2=Matt |last2=Baker |work=The Athletic |publisher=The New York Times |date=February 24, 2025 |access-date=February 24, 2025}}{{cite news |url=https://www.si.com/college-basketball/northern-illinois-intends-jump-mac-horizon-league-non-football-teams-2026 |title=Northern Illinois Intends Jump to Horizon League for All Non-Football Teams |first=Blake |last=Silverman |work=Sports Illustrated |date=February 24, 2025 |access-date=February 24, 2025}}{{cite press release |url=https://horizonleague.org/news/2025/2/27/general-horizon-league-welcomes-niu.aspx |title=Horizon League Welcomes NIU |publisher=Horizon League |date=February 27, 2025 |access-date=February 27, 2025}} That May, men's tennis affiliate Eastern Illinois announced it was dropping that sport effective immediately, citing issues stemming from the impending settlement of the House v. NCAA legal case.{{cite press release |url=https://eiupanthers.com/news/2025/5/12/general-eiu-discontinues-mens-womens-tennis.aspx |title=EIU Discontinues Men's & Women's Tennis |publisher=Eastern Illinois Panthers |date=May 12, 2025 |access-date=May 23, 2025}}

Prior to the 2023-24 academic year, the conference announced a brand refresh with the introduction of a new secondary logo. The logo is a gold stylized H that incorporates the arch of the conference's primary logo and a number one to symbolize unity.{{Cite web |title=Horizon League to 'recharge' brand image ahead of new year |url=https://www.insideindianabusiness.com/articles/horizon-league-to-recharge-brand-image-ahead-of-new-year |access-date=2023-08-18 |website=Inside INdiana Business |language=en-US}} The logo was promoted to primary status ahead of the 2024-25 academic year.

{{As of|2024|July|alt=As of the 2024-25 academic year}}, eight of the 11 full Horizon League members are former members of the Mid-Con (now known as the Summit League), with the exceptions being Detroit Mercy, Northern Kentucky, and Robert Morris.

;Notes:

{{notelist|group=full}}

{{notelist|group=future}}

{{notelist|group=assoc}}

Nicknames and school names reflect those used in the last school year of conference membership.

;Notes:

{{notelist|group=former}}

DateFormat = yyyy

ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20

Period = from:1979 till:2029

TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal

PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph, use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<#

Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7)

id:line value:black

id:bg value:white

id:Full value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports

id:FullxF value:rgb(0.551,0.824,0.777) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football

id:AssocF value:rgb(0.98,0.5,0.445) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only

id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.5,0.691,0.824) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in some sports, but not all (consider identifying in legend or a footnote)

id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference

id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference where OtherC1 has already been used, to distinguish the two

PlotData=

width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s

bar:1 color:FullxF from:1979 till:1985 text:Oklahoma City (1979–1985)

bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:1985 till:1986

bar:1 color:OtherC2 from:1986 till:end text:SAC (NAIA)

bar:2 color:FullxF from:1979 till:1987 text:Oral Roberts (1979–1987)

bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:1987 till:1989 text:D-I Ind.

bar:2 color:OtherC2 from:1989 till:1991 text:NAIA Ind.

bar:2 shift:(10) color:OtherC1 from:1991 till:1997 text:D-I Ind.

bar:2 color:OtherC2 from:1997 till:2007 text:Mid-Con

bar:2 color:OtherC2 from:2007 till:2012 text:Summit

bar:2 shift:(-10) color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2014 text:Southland

bar:2 color:OtherC2 from:2014 till:end text:Summit

bar:3 color:FullxF from:1979 till:1994 text:Evansville (1979–1994)

bar:3 color:OtherC1 from:1994 till:end text:MVC

bar:4 color:FullxF from:1979 till:1995 text:Xavier (1979–1995)

bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:1995 till:2013 text:A-10

bar:4 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:end text:Big East

bar:5 color:FullxF from:1979 till:2012 text:Butler (1979–2012)

bar:5 shift:(-5) color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2013 text:A-10

bar:5 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:end text:Big East

bar:6 color:FullxF from:1979 till:2013 text:Loyola Chicago (1979–2013)

bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:2022 text:MVC

bar:6 color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:end text:A-10

bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1980 text:D-I Ind.

bar:7 shift:(25) color:FullxF from:1980 till:1990 text:Detroit (1980–1990)

bar:7 color:FullxF from:1990 till:end text:Detroit Mercy (1990–present)

bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1981 text:Metro

bar:8 color:FullxF from:1981 till:1991 text:St. Louis (1981–1991)

bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:1991 till:1995 text:GMC

bar:8 color:OtherC2 from:1995 till:2005 text:C-USA

bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:end text:A-10

bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1982 text:D-I Ind.

bar:9 color:FullxF from:1982 till:1986 text:Notre Dame (1982–1986; 1987–1995)

bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:1986 till:1987

bar:9 color:FullxF from:1987 till:1995

bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:1995 till:2013 text:Big East

bar:9 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:end text:ACC

bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1987 text:D-I Ind.

bar:10 color:FullxF from:1987 till:1993 text:Dayton (1987–1993)

bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:1993 till:1995 text:GMC

bar:10 color:OtherC2 from:1995 till:end text:A-10

bar:11 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1988 text:D-I Ind.

bar:11 color:FullxF from:1988 till:1991 text:Marquette (1988–1991)

bar:11 shift:(60) color:OtherC1 from:1991 till:1995 text:GMC

bar:11 shift:(10) color:OtherC2 from:1995 till:2005 text:C-USA

bar:11 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:2013 text:Big East

bar:11 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:end text:Big East

bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1992 text:A-10

bar:12 color:FullxF from:1992 till:1993 text:Duquesne (1992–1993)

bar:12 shift:(100) color:OtherC1 from:1993 till:end text:A-10

bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1983 text:ECC

bar:13 color:OtherC2 from:1983 till:1992 text:MAAC

bar:13 color:FullxF from:1992 till:1995 text:La Salle (1992–1995)

bar:13 shift:(50) color:OtherC1 from:1995 till:end text:A-10

bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1986 text:MAC

bar:14 color:OtherC2 from:1986 till:1990 text:D-I Ind.

bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:1990 till:1994 text:Mid-Con

bar:14 color:FullxF from:1994 till:1997 text:Northern Illinois (1994–1997)

bar:14 shift:(80) color:OtherC1 from:1997 till:2026 text: MAC

bar:14 color:FullxF from:2026 till:end text:(2026–future)

bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1982 text:D-I Ind.

bar:15 color:OtherC2 from:1982 till:1989 text:AMCU

bar:15 color:OtherC2 from:1989 till:1994 text:Mid-Con

bar:15 color:FullxF from:1994 till:end text:Cleveland State (1994–present)

bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1981 text:CCAC (NAIA)

bar:16 color:OtherC2 from:1981 till:1982

bar:16 shift:(35) color:OtherC1 from:1982 till:1989 text:AMCU

bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:1989 till:1994 text:Mid-Con

bar:16 color:FullxF from:1994 till:2022 text:UIC (1994–2022)

bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:2022 till:end text:MVC

bar:17 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1981 text:D-II Ind.

bar:17 shift:(15) color:OtherC2 from:1981 till:1982 text:D-I Ind.

bar:17 shift:(35) color:OtherC1 from:1982 till:1989 text:AMCU

bar:17 color:OtherC1 from:1989 till:1994 text:Mid-Con

bar:17 color:FullxF from:1994 till:end text:Green Bay (1994–present)

bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1980 text:D-I Ind.

bar:18 shift:(25) color:OtherC2 from:1980 till:1985 text:D-III Ind.

bar:18 shift:(-5) color:OtherC1 from:1985 till:1987 text:NAIA Ind.

bar:18 color:OtherC2 from:1987 till:1990 text:D-II Ind.

bar:18 shift:(-5) color:OtherC1 from:1990 till:1993 text:D-I Ind.

bar:18 shift:(-20) color:OtherC2 from:1993 till:1994 text:Mid-Con

bar:18 color:FullxF from:1994 till:end text:Milwaukee (1994–present)

bar:19 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1987 text:D-II Ind.

bar:19 color:OtherC2 from:1987 till:1991 text:D-I Ind.

bar:19 color:OtherC1 from:1991 till:1994 text:Mid-Con

bar:19 color:FullxF from:1994 till:end text:Wright State (1994–present)

bar:20 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1981 text:D-II Ind.

bar:20 color:OtherC2 from:1981 till:1988 text:OVC

bar:20 color:OtherC1 from:1988 till:1992 text:D-I Ind.

bar:20 color:OtherC2 from:1992 till:2001 text:Mid-Con

bar:20 color:FullxF from:2001 till:end text:Youngstown State (2001–present)

bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1982 text:D-I Ind.

bar:21 color:OtherC2 from:1982 till:1989 text:AMCU

bar:21 color:OtherC2 from:1989 till:2007 text:Mid-Con

bar:21 color:FullxF from:2007 till:2017 text:Valparaiso (2007–2017)

bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:2017 till:end text:MVC

bar:22 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1997 text:GLIAC (D-II)

bar:22 shift:(-20) color:OtherC2 from:1997 till:1998 text:D-I Ind.

bar:22 color:OtherC1 from:1998 till:2007 text:Mid-Con

bar:22 color:OtherC1 from:2007 till:2013 text:Summit

bar:22 color:FullxF from:2013 till:end text:Oakland (2013–present)

bar:23 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1985 text:D-II Ind.

bar:23 color:OtherC2 from:1985 till:2012 text:GLVC (D-II)

bar:23 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2015 text:A-Sun

bar:23 color:FullxF from:2015 till:end text:Northern Kentucky (2015–present)

bar:24 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1993 text:NAIA Ind.

bar:24 color:OtherC2 from:1993 till:1998 text:D-II Ind.

bar:24 color:OtherC1 from:1998 till:2007 text:Mid-Con

bar:24 color:OtherC1 from:2007 till:2017 text:Summit

bar:24 color:FullxF from:2017 till:2024 text:IUPUI (2017–2024)

bar:24 color:FullxF from:2024 till:end text:IU Indy (2024–present)

bar:25 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1981 text:D-III Ind.

bar:25 shift:(10) color:OtherC2 from:1981 till:1984 text:D-II Ind.

bar:25 color:OtherC1 from:1984 till:2001 text:GLVC (D-II)

bar:25 color:OtherC2 from:2001 till:2007 text:D-I Ind.

bar:25 color:OtherC1 from:2007 till:2020 text:Summit

bar:25 color:FullxF from:2020 till:end text:Purdue Fort Wayne (2020–present)

bar:26 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1981 text:D-I Ind.

bar:26 color:OtherC2 from:1981 till:1988 text:ECAC Metro

bar:26 color:OtherC2 from:1988 till:2020 text:NEC

bar:26 color:FullxF from:2020 till:end text:Robert Morris (2020–present)

bar:N color:orange from:1979 till:1985 text:Midwestern City Conference

bar:N shift:(20) color:redorange from:1985 till:2001 text:Midwestern Collegiate Conference

bar:N color:orange from:2001 till:end text:Horizon League

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1980

TextData =

fontsize:M

textcolor:black

pos:(0,30) tabs:(400-center)

text:^"Horizon League membership history"

1. > If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following six options (use only the colors that are used in the graphic.) Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space. {{Font color||{{RGB|190|186|218}}|Full members}} {{Font color||{{RGB|141|211|199}}|Full members (non-football)}} {{Font color||{{RGB|251|128|114}}|Assoc. members (football only)}} {{Font color||{{RGB|128|177|211}}|Assoc. member (list sports)}} {{Font color||{{RGB|255|255|179}}|Other Conference}} {{Font color||{{RGB|253|180|98}}|Other Conference}} <#

{{Font color||{{RGB|141|211|199}}|Full members }} {{Font color||{{RGB|127|176|210}}|Affiliate members }} {{Font color||{{RGB|255|255|179}}|Other Conference }} {{Font color||{{RGB|253|180|98}}|Other Conference }}

;Notes:

• {{small|During the 1985–86 school year, Oklahoma City competed in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) as an Independent.}}
• {{small|During the 1981–82 school year, UIC competed in the Division I ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as an Independent.}}

The Horizon League sponsors championship competition in nine men's and ten women's NCAA sanctioned sports:{{cite web |url=http://www.horizonleague.org/championships.html |title=Horizon League Championships |publisher=Horizon League |access-date=September 13, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131222221129/http://www.horizonleague.org/championships.html |archive-date=December 22, 2013 |url-status=dead }}

For 2020–21, Detroit Mercy, Wright State and Green Bay announced eliminating men's and women's tennis, while Youngstown State reinstated men's swimming & diving.

Departing members in pink.

{{notelist|group=m}}

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the Horizon League which are played by Horizon schools:

Future members listed in gray.

In addition to the above sports, Northern Kentucky will add men's triathlon, which has no NCAA recognition of any kind, as a varsity sport in 2024–25.

{{notelist|group=mn}}

Departing member in pink.

{{notelist|group=w}}

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Horizon League which are played by Horizon schools:

Future members listed in gray.

{{notelist|group=wn}}

In 2006, the conference launched the Horizon League Network (HLN) as the centerpiece of a revamped web portal.{{cite web |title=Horizon Sport |url=http://www.horizonleaguenetwork.tv/ |website=Horizon Sport}} The digital network aired over 200 live events free on the league's official website at the time.

The Horizon League and WebStream Productions launched a completely redesigned HLN website in September 2009. The site serves as a portal to hundreds of live and on-demand videos while giving its users the ability to interact on an array of social media platforms.

The Horizon League Network migrated to ESPN3 in 2014, and over 700 events streamed live in 2015–16. Horizon League coverage was absorbed into ESPN+, along with other mid-major conferences, in 2018.{{Cite web |date=2018-04-17 |title=Horizon League Partners with ESPN+ |url=https://wsuraiders.com/news/2018/4/17/general-horizon-league-espn |access-date=2023-08-18 |website=Wright State University Athletics |language=en}} The conference extended its deal with ESPN in 2021. Over 500 events are aired on ESPN+ annually, along with select men's basketball games airing on ESPN2 and ESPNU and the men's and women's basketball championships airing on ESPN and ESPNU.{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=S. V. G. |date=2021-09-09 |title=ESPN Continues Partnership With Horizon League |url=https://www.sportsvideo.org/2021/09/09/espn-continues-partnership-with-horizon-league/ |access-date=2023-08-18 |website=Sports Video Group |language=en}}

Basketball games not selected for broadcast on national linear television are often televised by regional sports networks and over-the-air channels within the teams’ home markets. In recent years, WMYD Detroit, Marquee Sports Network, Bally Sports Ohio, Bally Sports Great Lakes, Bally Sports Wisconsin, and SportsNet Pittsburgh have broadcast multiple men's and women's basketball contests.

{{Main|Horizon League men's basketball tournament}}

From 1995 to 2011, the Horizon League sent an impressive 24 qualifiers (7 At-Large berths) to the Men's NCAA basketball tournament, making the Horizon League one of the most prolific mid-major (non-power 6) conferences in all of college basketball. Even more impressively, those 24 clubs produced 22 wins in that span, including five "Sweet 16" appearances, making the Horizon League the only non-BCS conference to have Sweet 16 participants in five NCAA tournaments during that span (2003, 2005, 2007, 2010 and 2011). Four schools from the conference have produced "modern-day" Sweet 16 appearances – Loyola (1985), Xavier (1990), Butler (2003, 2007, 2010 and 2011), and Milwaukee (2005). The Horizon League also compiled a 19–12 record in the NCAA tournament from 2003 to 2011, ranking tops among all 32 NCAA Division I conferences for winning percentage (.613) in March Madness during that span. This historic stretch of conference dominance was thanks to NCAA Tournament wins from Butler (15), Milwaukee (3), and Cleveland State (1) . Butler appeared in the men's national championship game in both 2010 and 2011. Since the NCAA began seeding teams in 1979, Loyola's 4 seed in the 1985 tournament is the best for a Horizon League team. The Horizon League currently holds the best winning percentage among non-BCS conferences in the men's NCAA basketball Tournament (.488, 7th overall amongst the 32 Division I conferences).{{Cite web |url=http://www.hoopstournament.net/StandardReports/By_Current_Conference.pdf |title=NCAA tournament records by conference, through 2006 |access-date=2007-03-21 |archive-date=2006-11-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061123190934/http://hoopstournament.net/StandardReports/By_Current_Conference.pdf |url-status=dead }}

One former Horizon League member claims a national championship from the era before the league's creation. In the 1963 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, Loyola defeated two-time defending champ Cincinnati. Before post-season tournaments determined champions, former Horizon member Butler claimed national titles in 1924 and 1929.{{cite web|url=https://www.cbssports.com/|title=CBS Sports – News, Live Scores, Schedules, Fantasy Games, Video and more.|website=CBSSports.com}}

The League hosted the men's Final Four in 1991, 1997, 2000, 2006, 2009 and 2010. It also hosted the women's Final Four in 2005 and 2007. Horizon League commissioner Jonathan B. LeCrone, who is in his 17th year as league commissioner, just finished a five-year term on the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee.{{cite web|url=http://horizonleague.cstv.com/genrel/blecrone_jonathan00.html|title=Player Bio: Jonathan B. LeCrone :: Genrel|access-date=2006-10-13|archive-date=2006-12-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061209065032/http://horizonleague.cstv.com/genrel/blecrone_jonathan00.html|url-status=dead}}

As stated on their official website, the recent success of Horizon League athletic teams on the national stage heightened the visibility of the league and its member schools and quickly moved it closer toward its stated goal of becoming one of the nation's top 10 Division I NCAA athletic conferences.

In the 2003 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, the Horizon League entered two teams for the first time since 1998. Milwaukee, who earned a 12 seed in its first bid to the tournament since joining the conference, lost by one point to Notre Dame in the first round. Butler, who earned both an at-large bid and a 12 seed, made its fifth tournament appearance in seven years. The Bulldogs made it to the Sweet 16 with victories over No. 20 (5 seed) Mississippi State and No. 14 (4 seed) Louisville before falling to No. 3 (1 seed) Oklahoma in the East Regional. The Bulldogs finished the year ranked No. 21 in the final ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Poll.

In the men's 2005 NCAA basketball tournament, the Horizon League enjoyed one of its best showings ever as 12 seed Milwaukee marched to the Sweet 16 with victories over No. 19 (5 seed) Alabama and No. 14 (4 seed) Boston College before they fell to then-No. 1 and eventual tournament runner-up Illinois. Milwaukee ranked as high as No. 23 in the March 7 ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Poll.{{cite web|url=http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/rankings|title=2018–19 Men's College Basketball Rankings for Week 9|website=ESPN}}

In the 2006 NCAA basketball tournament, 11 seed Milwaukee once again advanced in the Tournament by upsetting the No. 20 (6 seed) Oklahoma 82–74. The Panthers, led by first year head coach Rob Jeter, fell to eventual national champion No. 11 (AP)/No. 10 (ESPN) (3 seed) Florida in the second round of the tournament. The league had a team advance past the first round for the second straight year and third time in the last four years.

In the 2006–07 basketball season, Butler won the Preseason NIT tournament in Madison Square Garden with wins over in-state rivals Notre Dame and Indiana in the NIT's Midwest regional bracket, followed by wins over No. 21 Tennessee and No. 23 Gonzaga in the NIT Final Four in Madison Square Garden. Later, the Bulldogs claimed victory over Purdue in the Wooden Tradition. On February 5, 2007, Butler became the first school in Horizon League history to rank in the Top 10 of the national college basketball polls, as the Bulldogs reached No. 9 and No. 10 in the ESPN/USA Today and AP polls, respectively.[http://horizonleague.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/020507aac.html Butler barks its way to No. 9 spot in weekly ESPN/USA Today national poll, 10th in AP] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070214041308/http://horizonleague.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/020507aac.html |date=2007-02-14 }} (Horizon League), retrieved 2010-03-31 The Bulldogs ended their season with a No. 21 ranking in the final AP poll, a 5 seed in the NCAA tournament and a Sweet 16 berth by beating Old Dominion and Maryland before losing to eventual national champion Florida. Wright State also qualified for the NCAA tournament as the winner of the Horizon League tournament championship and tying Butler for the regular season championship. As a 14 seed, the Raiders fell to No. 13 (AP)/No. 11 (ESPN) (3 seed) Pittsburgh in the first round.

During the 2007–08 basketball season, Butler won the Great Alaska Shootout with wins over Michigan, Virginia Tech and Texas Tech, and also claimed wins over Ohio State and Florida State, extending their record against BCS schools to 10–1 since the start of the 2006–07 season. As a 7 seed in the 2008 NCAA basketball tournament, the Bulldogs beat 10 seed South Alabama before falling in overtime to No. 5 (AP)/No. 4 (ESPN) (2 seed) Tennessee. Butler finished the season ranked No. 11 in the AP poll and No. 14 in the ESPN/USA Today poll. Cleveland State also earned a 6 seed in the NIT, losing in the first round to Dayton.

Starting in 2009, regional convenience store and gas station chain Speedway served as the title sponsor of the conference tournament that Cleveland State won and earned the Horizon League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tourney while Butler earned an at-large bid. Butler, a 9 seed, lost in the first round to LSU while 13 seed Cleveland State upset No. 8 (AP)/No. 9 (ESPN) (4 seed) Wake Forest 84–69 (and achieved the third biggest upset in NCAA history winning by 15 points) and shocked the nation in the first round of play before falling to 12 seed Arizona in the second round of tournament play. Butler finished the season ranked No. 22 in the final AP poll and No. 25 in the final ESPN/USA Today poll.

After defeating No. 25 (12 seed) UTEP, (13 seed) Murray State and No. 4 (1 seed) Syracuse, the No. 8 (ESPN)/No. 11 (AP) (5 seed) Butler men's team defeated No. 7 Kansas State, the 2 seed in the West, by a score of 63–56 to advance to their first Final Four. After beating the No. 12 (ESPN)/No. 13 (AP) (5 seed) Michigan State Spartans 52–50 in the national semifinals, Butler played in Indianapolis against the South Regional Champions, No. 3 (1 seed) Duke for the NCAA Division I National Championship. Butler lost what many call the most thrilling college basketball game in a generation, losing 61–59 in a game that came down to the final play. This is the farthest any team has reached in the tournament while a member of the Horizon League. Butler was the first Division I men's team to play in the Final Four in its hometown since UCLA in 1972, and the first of either sex since Texas played in the 1987 Women's Final Four on its home court.

Also of note, former Milwaukee head coach Bruce Pearl coached the Tennessee Volunteers to the Elite Eight and narrowly lost the opportunity to play Butler by losing to Michigan State, who Butler beat in the Final Four.

Butler once again represented the Horizon League in the tournament with another very strong showing. As an 8 seed, Butler defeated (9 seed) Old Dominion, narrowly upset Pittsburgh (who was No. 1 ranked and seeded), Wisconsin (4 seed) and Florida (2 seed) to return to the Final Four. Butler faced VCU, an 11 seed Cinderella team who unexpectedly reached the Final Four as the first team to play five tournament games to reach the Final Four, due to VCU's participation in the inaugural First Four Round. After Butler defeated VCU 70–62, the Bulldogs were in the national championship game for the second consecutive season. This time they faced Connecticut at Reliant Stadium in Houston. The Huskies were too much for the Butler Bulldogs to handle, as Butler lost the game 53–41 in an unusually low-scoring national championship game. This made Butler national runner-up for the second straight season.

In the 2012 postseason, the Detroit Titans won their first Horizon League Championship since 1999 under head coach Ray McCallum. They defeated top seeded Valparaiso 70–50. The tournament MVP was son Ray McCallum, Jr.

Valparaiso was the regular season champion of the Horizon for the second straight year. It defeated Wright State 62–54 in the championship game under coach Bryce Drew for its first Horizon League Championship. This was the first season that the league was absent of Butler, who departed for the Atlantic 10.

Green Bay won the regular season championship in 2014. It was upset by Milwaukee in the tournament semi-final. Milwaukee would go on to win the tournament, knocking off Wright State.

Following a good outcome, finishing as the 2014 champions, the Milwaukee Panthers were banned from the 2015 NCAA Tournament and postseason play. Valparaiso won the regular and postseason championships. It entered the NCAA tournament as a 13th seed, although losing in the first round.

The 2015 season ushered in the arrival of the Northern Kentucky Norse to the league, who departed from the Atlantic Sun Conference. Valparaiso won the regular season championship again but was defeated by Green Bay in the tournament championship 78–69.

The Oakland University Golden Grizzles won the conference tournament in 2024 after finishing in the bottom half of the regular season standings. Coach Greg Kampe led his 14th seeded Golden Grizzles to a win over 3rd seed Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

The Milwaukee baseball team made national headlines during the 1999 College World Series by upsetting No. 1 ranked Rice in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. In the 2004–05 academic year, Milwaukee's men's soccer team defeated 16th-ranked San Francisco, while Detroit upset Michigan in women's soccer in their respective NCAA tournaments. Also that year, Butler's men's cross country team finished fourth in the nation at the NCAA Cross-Country Championships, and their own Victoria Mitchell became the first Horizon League athlete to win an individual national title when she captured the 3,000 Meter Steeplechase at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Green Bay also upset 6th-ranked Oregon State in the opening round of the NCAA softball tournament.

Although the league does not sponsor football, current members Robert Morris and Youngstown State play in Division I FCS. Youngstown State plays in the Missouri Valley Football Conference; Robert Morris originally planned to play the 2020–21 season as an independent and join Big South Conference football in July 2021,{{cite press release|url=http://bigsouthsports.com/news/2020/6/15/big-south-adds-robert-morris-university-as-football-member.aspx |title=Big South Conference Adds Robert Morris University as Football Member |publisher=Big South Conference |date=June 15, 2020 |accessdate=June 15, 2020}} but COVID-19 issues led the Big South to bring Robert Morris into its football league for its rescheduled spring 2021 season.{{cite press release|url=https://bigsouthsports.com/news/2020/11/9/big-south-announces-football-2021-spring-schedule.aspx |title=Big South Announces Football 2021 Spring Schedule |publisher=Big South Conference |date=November 9, 2020 |access-date=December 23, 2020}}

Future members listed in gray. Departing members/teams listed in pink.

;Notes

{{notelist|group=f}}

• List of Horizon League champions

{{reflist|group=en}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{commons cat}}

• {{Official website}}

{{Horizon League navbox}}

{{NCAA Division I all-sports conferences}}

{{NCAA nonfootball Div1 conferences}}

Category:Organizations based in Indianapolis

Category:Sports in Indianapolis

Category:Sports organizations established in 1979

Category:Articles which contain graphical timelines

Category:1979 establishments in the United States