Midwest Conference

{{Infobox sports league

| name = Midwest Conference

| logo = Midwest conference logo22.png

| logo_size = 200

| founded = {{start date and age|1921}}

| association = NCAA

| division = Division III

| teams = 9

| sports = 20

| mens = 10

| womens = 10

| region = Upper Midwest

| formerly = Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference and Midwest Athletic Conference for Women

| headquarters = Grinnell, Iowa

| commissioner = Heather Benning

| since = 2014

| website = {{url|https://midwestconference.org/| midwestconference.org}}

| map = Midwest-USA-states.png

| map_size = 250

| color = #000000

| font_color = #FFFFFF

}}

The Midwest Conference (MWC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in the Midwestern United States in the states of Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. The Midwest Conference was created in 1994 with the merger of the Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference, which had been sponsoring men's sports since 1921, and the Midwest Athletic Conference for Women, which was formed in 1977.

History

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| title = Midwest Conference

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}}

The organization of the Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC) was conceived at a meeting at Coe College on May 12, 1921. Charter members were Beloit College, Carleton College, Coe College, Cornell College, Knox College (Illinois) and Lawrence University. Hamline University and Millikin University joined the league in December 1921, but both of them later withdrew: Hamline after the 1929–30 academic year, and Millikin after the 1924–25 academic year.

Ripon College joined the conference in 1923, followed by Monmouth College in 1924, Grinnell College in 1940 and Lake Forest College in 1974. Illinois College and St. Norbert College joined in 1982 and Carroll University followed in 1992. Carleton withdrew following the 1982–83 academic year. St. Olaf College also competed in the conference from 1952 to 1974, as did the University of Chicago from 1976 to 1987. Coe and Cornell withdrew following the 1996–97 academic year with Cornell rejoining the league starting in the 2012–13 year. Macalester College joined as a football-only member starting in 2014. The University of Chicago returned as a football-only member in 2017, and added baseball to its conference membership in the 2019 season (2018–19 school year).

The MWC split into North and South divisions for football, men's and women's tennis, baseball, and softball from 2012 through 2016. Divisional play ended with the departure of Carroll after the 2015–16 school year,{{Cite web|url=http://www.jsonline.com/sports/statecolleges/carroll-university-leaving-midwest-conference-for-cciw-b99256013z1-256783281.html|title=Carroll University leaving Midwest Conference for CCIW|website=www.jsonline.com}} and resumed for football only with the addition of the University of Chicago as an affiliate member for the 2017–18 season.{{Cite web|url=http://midwestconference.org/news/2017/8/29/football-season-preview.aspx|title=Football Season Preview|website=Midwest Conference|language=en|access-date=2017-08-30}} St. Norbert left in 2021 for the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference.{{cite press release|url=http://www.naccsports.org/general/2018-19/releases/20190403150irt |title=NACC Welcomes St. Norbert College as Full Member in 2020-21 |publisher=Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference |date=April 3, 2019 |access-date=April 14, 2019}}

=Chronological timeline=

1921: The Midwest Conference (MWC) was founded as the Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC). Charter members included Beloit College, Carleton College, Coe College, Cornell College, Knox College and Lawrence College (now Lawrence University), effective beginning the 1921–22 academic year.
1922: Hamline University and Millikin College (now Millikin University) joined the MCAC, effective in the 1922–23 academic year.
1923: Ripon College joined the MCAC, effective in the 1923–24 academic year.
1924: Monmouth College joined the MCAC, effective in the 1924–25 academic year.
1925: Millikin left the MCAC, effective after the 1924–25 academic year.
1930: Hamline left the MCAC, effective after the 1929–30 academic year.
1940: Grinnell College joined the MCAC, effective in the 1940–41 academic year.
1941: Carleton withdrew from the conference in June 1941.{{cite news |last=McHugh |first=Roy |title=Carleton Still At Odds With Midwest |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-gazette/143326449/ |newspaper=Cedar Rapids Gazette |location=Cedar Rapids, Iowa |date=July 24, 1941 |page=11 |access-date=March 13, 2024 |via=Newspapers.com {{Open access}} }}
1946: Carleton rejoined the conference, effective for the spring 1946 track season.{{cite news |author= |title=Carleton Returns To Midwest Loop In All Athletics |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-gazette/143327147/ |newspaper=Cedar Rapids Gazette |location=Cedar Rapids, Iowa |date=March 16, 1946 |page=3 |access-date=March 13, 2024 |via=Newspapers.com {{Open access}} }}
1952: St. Olaf College joined the MCAC, effective in the 1952–53 academic year.
1974: St. Olaf left the MCAC, effective after the 1973–74 academic year.
1974: Lake Forest College joined the MCAC, effective in the 1974–75 academic year.
1976: The University of Chicago joined the MCAC, effective in the 1976–77 academic year.
1982: Illinois College and St. Norbert College joined the MCAC, effective in the 1982–83 academic year.
1983: Carleton left the MCAC, effective after the 1982–83 academic year.
1987: U. of Chicago left the MCAC to join the University Athletic Association (UAA), effective after the 1986–87 academic year.
1992: Carroll College joined the MCAC, effective in the 1992–93 academic year.
1994: The MCAC has been rebranded when the conference merged with the women's-only Midwest Athletic Conference for Women (MACW; founded since the 1977–78 school year) to become the Midwest Conference (MWC), effective in the 1994–95 academic year.
1997: Coe and Cornell left the MWC, effective after the 1996–97 academic year.
2012: Cornell re-joined back to the MWC, effective in the 2012–13 academic year.
2014: Macalester College joined the MWC as an affiliate member for football, effective in the 2014 fall season (2014–15 academic year).
2016: Carroll left the MWC to join the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW), effective after the 2015–16 academic year.
2017: The University of Chicago re-joined back to the MWC, but as an affiliate member for football, effective in the 2017 fall season (2017–18 academic year).
2018: The University of Chicago added baseball into its MWC affiliate membership, effective in the 2019 spring season (2018–19 academic year).
2021: St. Norbert left the MWC as a full member to join the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC), effective after the 2020–21 academic year. St. Norbert would remain as an affiliate member for swimming & diving.
2021: Macalester left the MWC as an affiliate member for football, effective after the 2020 fall season (2020–21 academic year).
2025: The Milwaukee School of Engineering joined the MWC as an affiliate member for swimming & diving, effective in the 2025-26 winter season.{{cite press release|url=https://midwestconference.org/news/2025/3/11/general-mwc-welcomes-milwaukee-school-of-engineering-as-affiliate-member-in-swimming-diving.aspx |title=MWC Welcomes Milwaukee School of Engineering as Affiliate Member in Swimming & Diving |publisher=Midwest Conference |date=March 11, 2025 |access-date=March 22, 2025}}

Member schools

Every member in the history of the MWC and its predecessor conferences, whether full, affiliate, current, or former, has been a private school.

=Current members=

The MWC currently has nine full members.

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"

! Institution

! Location

! Founded

! Affiliation

! Enrollment

! Nickname

! Joined

! Colors

Beloit College

| Beloit, Wisconsin

| 1846

| Nonsectarian

| 1,358

| Buccaneers

| 1921

| {{color box|#00365c|border=silver}} {{color box|#cd8829|border=silver}}
College Blue & Vegas Gold

Cornell College

| Mount Vernon, Iowa

| 1853

| United Methodist

| 1,176

| Rams

| 1921,
2012{{efn|group=full|Cornell left the MWC to join the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC; now known as the American Rivers Conference) after the 1996–97 school year; before re-joining back, effective in the 2012–13 school year.}}

| {{color box|#523178|border=silver}} {{Color box|white|border=silver}}
Purple & White

Grinnell College

| Grinnell, Iowa

| 1846

| Nonsectarian

| 1,638

| Pioneers

| 1940

| {{color box|#da291c|border=silver}} {{Color box|black|border=silver}}
Scarlet & Black

Illinois College

| Jacksonville, Illinois

| 1829

| UCC & PCUSA

| 1,029

| Blueboys &
Lady Blues

| 1982

| {{color box|#003591|border=silver}} {{color box|#818a90|border=silver}} {{Color box|white|border=silver}}
Blue & Grey & White

Knox College

| Galesburg, Illinois

| 1837

| Nonsectarian

| 1,058

| Prairie Fire

| 1921

| {{color box|#6c2dc7|border=silver}} {{Color box|#fdd017|border=silver}}
Purple & Gold

Lake Forest College

| Lake Forest, Illinois

| 1857

| Nonsectarian

| 1,395

| Foresters

| 1974

| {{color box|#ce1126|border=silver}} {{Color box|black|border=silver}}
Red & Black

Lawrence University

| Appleton, Wisconsin

| 1847

| Nonsectarian

| 1,489

| Vikings

| 1921

| {{color box|#003d6a|border=silver}} {{color box|#97999c|border=silver}} {{Color box|white|border=silver}}
Blue & Grey & White

Monmouth College

| Monmouth, Illinois

| 1853

| Presbyterian
{{small|(PCUSA)}}

| 767

| Fighting Scots

| 1924

| {{color box|#a40c34|border=silver}} {{Color box|white|border=silver}}
Red & White

Ripon College

| Ripon, Wisconsin

| 1851

| Nonsectarian

| 766

| Red Hawks

| 1923

| {{color box|#9d2235|border=silver}} {{Color box|black|border=silver}}
Red & White

;Notes

=Affiliate members=

The MWC currently has three affiliate members.

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"

! Institution

! Location

! Founded

! Affiliation

! Enrollment

! Nickname

! Joined

! MWC
sport(s)

! Primary
conference

rowspan=2 | {{sort|Chicago|University of Chicago}}{{efn|group=aff|Chicago had been a full member of the MWC from 1976–77 to 1986–87.}}

| rowspan=2 | Chicago, Illinois

| rowspan=2 | 1890

| rowspan=2 | Nonsectarian

| rowspan=2 | 13,400

| rowspan=2 | Maroons

| 2017–18

| Football

| rowspan=2 | University (UAA)

2018–19

| Baseball

Milwaukee School of Engineering

| Milwaukee, Wisconsin

| 1903

| Nonsectarian

| 2,122

| Raiders

| 2025-26

| Swimming & Diving

| Northern (NACC)

{{sort|Saint Norbert|St. Norbert College}}{{efn|group=bff|St. Norbert had been a full member of the MWC from 1982-83 to 2020-21.}}

| De Pere, Wisconsin

| 1898

| Catholic
{{small|(Premonstratensians)}}

| 2,095

| Green Knights

| 2020-21

| Swimming & Diving

| Northern (NACC)

;Notes:

=Former members=

The MWC had eight former full members.

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"

!Institution

!Location

!Founded

!Affiliation

!Enrollment

!Nickname

!Joined

!Left

!Current
conference

Carleton College

| Northfield, Minnesota

| 1866

| Nonsectarian

| 2,105

| Knights

| 1921–22
1946

| 1941
1982–83

| Minnesota (MIAC)

Carroll University

| Waukesha, Wisconsin

| 1846

| Presbyterian (PCUSA)

| 2,789

| Pioneers

| 1992–93

| 2015–16

| Illinois–Wisconsin (CCIW)

{{sort|Chicago|University of Chicago}}{{efn|group=former|Chicago has rejoined the MWC as an affiliate member for football and baseball.}}

| Chicago, Illinois

| 1890

| Nonsectarian

| 7,559

| Maroons

| 1976–77

| 1986–87

| University (UAA)

Coe College

| Cedar Rapids, Iowa

| 1851

| Presbyterian (PCUSA)

| 1,355

| Kohawks

| 1921–22

| 1996–97

| American Rivers (ARC)

Hamline University

| St. Paul, Minnesota

| 1854

| United Methodist

| 1,944

| Pipers

| 1922–23

| 1929–30

| Minnesota (MIAC)

Millikin University

| Decatur, Illinois

| 1901

| Presbyterian (PCUSA)

| 2,200

| Big Blue

| 1922–23

| 1924–25

| Illinois–Wisconsin (CCIW)

{{sort|Saint Norbert|St. Norbert College}}{{efn|group=former|St. Norbert has remained in the MWC as an affiliate member for swimming & diving.}}

| De Pere, Wisconsin

| 1898

| Catholic
{{small|(Premonstratensians)}}

| 2,095

| Green Knights

| 1982–83

| 2020–21

| Northern (NACC)

| Northfield, Minnesota

| 1874

| Lutheran ELCA

| 2,900

| Oles

| 1952–53

| 1973–74

| Minnesota (MIAC)

;Notes:

=Former affiliate members=

The MWC had one former affiliate member.

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"

! Institution

! Location

! Founded

! Affiliation

! Enrollment

! Nickname

! Joined

! Left

! MWC
sport

! Primary
conference

Macalester College

| Saint Paul, Minnesota

| 1874

| Presbyterian (USA)

| 2,221

| Scots

| 2014–15

| 2020–21

| football

| Minnesota (MIAC)

=Membership timeline=

{{#tag:timeline|

DateFormat = yyyy

ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20

Period = from:1921 till:2031

TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal

Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom

PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:70 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) legend:Full_member

id:FullxF value:rgb(0.551,0.824,0.777) legend:Non-football_member

id:AssocF value:rgb(0.98,0.5,0.445) legend:Football-only_member

id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.5,0.691,0.824) legend:Selective_member

PlotData=

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

bar:1 color:FullxF from:1921 till:1922 text:Beloit (1921–present)

bar:1 color:Full from:1922 till:1951

bar:1 color:FullxF from:1951 till:1959

bar:1 color:Full from:1959 till:end

bar:2 color:FullxF from:1921 till:1922 text:Carleton (1921–1983)

bar:2 color:Full from:1922 till:1983

bar:3 color:FullxF from:1921 till:1922 text:Coe (1921–1997)

bar:3 color:Full from:1922 till:1997

bar:4 color:FullxF from:1921 till:1922 text:Cornell (Ia.) (1921–1997)

bar:4 color:Full from:1922 till:1997

bar:4 color:Full from:2012 till:end text:(2012–present)

bar:5 color:FullxF from:1921 till:1922 text:Knox (Ill.) (1921–present)

bar:5 color:Full from:1922 till:end

bar:6 color:FullxF from:1921 till:1922 text:Lawrence (1921–present)

bar:6 color:Full from:1922 till:end

bar:7 color:Full from:1922 till:1930 text:Hamline (1922–1930)

bar:8 color:Full from:1922 till:1925 text:Millikin (1922–1925)

bar:9 color:Full from:1923 till:end text:Ripon (Wisc.) (1923–present)

bar:10 color:Full from:1924 till:1974 text:Monmouth (Ill.) (1924–present)

bar:10 color:FullxF from:1974 till:1976

bar:10 color:Full from:1976 till:end

bar:11 color:Full from:1940 till:end text:Grinnell (1940–present)

bar:12 color:Full from:1952 till:1974 text:St. Olaf (1952–1974)

bar:13 color:Full from:1974 till:end text:Lake Forest (1974–present)

bar:14 color:Full from:1976 till:1987 text:Chicago (1976–1987)

bar:14 color:AssocF from:2017 till:2018 text:(2017–present)

bar:14 color:AssocOS from:2018 till:end

bar:15 color:FullxF from:1982 till:1983 text:Illinois College (1982–present)

bar:15 color:Full from:1983 till:end

bar:16 color:FullxF from:1982 till:1983 text:St. Norbert (1982–present)

bar:16 color:Full from:1983 till:1998

bar:16 color:FullxF from:1998 till:1999

bar:16 color:Full from:1999 till:2021

bar:16 color:AssocOS from:2021 till:end

bar:17 color:Full from:1992 till:2016 text:Carroll (Wisc.) (1992–2016)

bar:18 color:AssocF from:2014 till:2021 text:Macalester (2014–2021)

bar:19 color:AssocOS from:2025 till:end text:MSOE (2025-present)

bar:N color:powderblue from:1921 till:1994 text:Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC)

bar:N color:blue from:1994 till:end text:Midwest Conference

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1921

}}

Sports

{{As of|2021}}, the MWC sponsors the following sports:

class="wikitable" style= \|+ Conference sports !Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	{{center\|{{Y}}}}
Basketball	{{center\|{{Y}}}}	{{center\|{{Y}}}}
Cross country	{{center\|{{Y}}}}	{{center\|{{Y}}}}
Football	{{center\|{{Y}}}}
Golf	{{center\|{{Y}}}}	{{center\|{{Y}}}}
Indoor track	{{center\|{{Y}}}}	{{center\|{{Y}}}}
Outdoor track	{{center\|{{Y}}}}	{{center\|{{Y}}}}
Soccer	{{center\|{{Y}}}}	{{center\|{{Y}}}}
Softball		{{center\|{{Y}}}}
Swimming & Diving	{{center\|{{Y}}}}	{{center\|{{Y}}}}
Tennis	{{center\|{{Y}}}}	{{center\|{{Y}}}}
Volleyball		{{center\|{{Y}}}}

Conference facilities

class="wikitable"
School !Football field !Capacity !Basketball arena !Capacity !Baseball field
Beloit \|Strong Stadium \|3,000 \|Flood Arena \|2,500 \|Ballpark at Strong Stadium
Chicago \|Stagg Field \|1,650 \| colspan=2 align=center \| Member only in football and baseball \| J. Kyle Anderson Field
Cornell \|Ash Park Stadium \|2,500 \|Multi-Sport Center \|2,000 \|Ash Park Field
Grinnell \|Rosenbloom Field \|5,000 \|Darby Gym \|1,250 \|Grinnell Baseball Diamond
Illinois College \|England Stadium \|3,000 \|Sherman Gymnasium \|1,600 \|Joe Brooks Field
Knox \|Knosher Bowl \|4,000 \|Memorial Gym \|3,000 \|Blodgett Field
Lake Forest \|Farwell Field \|1,000 \|Lake Forest Sports Center \|1,200 \|No Baseball Team
Lawrence \|Banta Bowl \|5,255 \|Alexander Gym \|1,280 \|Whiting Field
Monmouth \|Bobby Woll Memorial Field \|2,000 \|Glennie Gymnasium \|1,600 \|Glasgow Field
Ripon \|Hopp Stadium \|2,000 \|Willmore Center \|1,200 \|Francis Field

class="wikitable"

School

!Football field

!Capacity

!Basketball arena

!Capacity

!Baseball field

Beloit

|Strong Stadium

|3,000

|Flood Arena

|2,500

|Ballpark at Strong Stadium

Chicago

|Stagg Field

|1,650

| colspan=2 align=center | Member only in football and baseball

| J. Kyle Anderson Field

Cornell

|Ash Park Stadium

|2,500

|Multi-Sport Center

|2,000

|Ash Park Field

Grinnell

|Rosenbloom Field

|5,000

|Darby Gym

|1,250

|Grinnell Baseball Diamond

Illinois College

|England Stadium

|3,000

|Sherman Gymnasium

|1,600

|Joe Brooks Field

Knox

|Knosher Bowl

|4,000

|Memorial Gym

|3,000

|Blodgett Field

Lake Forest

|Farwell Field

|1,000

|Lake Forest Sports Center

|1,200

|No Baseball Team

Lawrence

|Banta Bowl

|5,255

|Alexander Gym

|1,280

|Whiting Field

Monmouth

|Bobby Woll Memorial Field

|2,000

|Glennie Gymnasium

|1,600

|Glasgow Field

Ripon

|Hopp Stadium

|2,000

|Willmore Center

|1,200

|Francis Field

References

External links

{{oweb}}

class="wikitable" style= \|+ Conference sports !Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	{{center\|{{Y}}}}
Basketball	{{center\|{{Y}}}}	{{center\|{{Y}}}}
Cross country	{{center\|{{Y}}}}	{{center\|{{Y}}}}
Football	{{center\|{{Y}}}}
Golf	{{center\|{{Y}}}}	{{center\|{{Y}}}}
Indoor track	{{center\|{{Y}}}}	{{center\|{{Y}}}}
Outdoor track	{{center\|{{Y}}}}	{{center\|{{Y}}}}
Soccer	{{center\|{{Y}}}}	{{center\|{{Y}}}}
Softball		{{center\|{{Y}}}}
Swimming & Diving	{{center\|{{Y}}}}	{{center\|{{Y}}}}
Tennis	{{center\|{{Y}}}}	{{center\|{{Y}}}}
Volleyball		{{center\|{{Y}}}}

Midwest Conference

History

=Chronological timeline=

Member schools

=Current members=

=Affiliate members=

=Former members=

=Former affiliate members=

=Membership timeline=

Sports

Conference facilities

See also

References

External links