Login
Login

Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference

{{Short description|Athletic conference in North America}}

{{Infobox sports league

| name = Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference

| logo = Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference logo.png

| logo_size = 155px

| founded = 2006

| association = NCAA

| division = Division III

| teams = 14

| sports = 21

| mens = 11

| womens = 10

| region = Upper Midwest

| formerly = Northern Athletics Conference

| headquarters = Milwaukee, Wisconsin

| commissioner = Jeff Ligney

| since = 2020

| website = {{URL|https://naccsports.org/}}

| map = CCIW-USA-states.png

| map_size = 250

| color = #000000; {{box-shadow border|a|#9c996c|2px}}

| font_color = #FFFFFF

}}

The Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC), formerly the Northern Athletics Conference (NAC), is an intercollegiate athletic conference. It participates in the NCAA's Division III and began its first season in the fall of 2006.

The NACC sponsors 21 sports. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, tennis, indoor track & field, outdoor track & field, and volleyball. Women's squads are fielded in basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, indoor track & field, outdoor track & field and volleyball. The newest NACC sports are men's volleyball, added in the 2017–18 school year,{{cite press release|url=http://naccsports.org/sports/mvball/2016-17/releases/20170110gj604y |title= NACC To Add Men's Volleyball In 2018 |publisher=Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference |date=January 10, 2017 |access-date=June 18, 2017}} and men's and women's lacrosse, added in the 2020-21 school year.{{cite web |title=NACC Announces Addition of Men's and Women's Lacrosse in 2021 |url=https://naccsports.org/sports/mlax/2019-20/releases/20190806nacclax |publisher=NACC |date=August 6, 2019 |access-date=13 April 2020}}

The NACC became eligible for automatic NCAA postseason berths in 2008–09.

History

{{OSM Location map

| float = right

| width = 350

| height = 450

| coord = {{coord|43|-88.6}}

| nolabels = 1

| title = Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference

| mark-coord = {{coord|42.983| -87.965}} |label=Alverno |label-pos= bottom |mark= Location dot black.svg |mark-size=10 |label-color= black

| mark-coord1 = {{coord|43.253611|-87.914444}} |label1=Concordia Wisconsin |label-pos1= top |mark1= Location dot black.svg |mark-size1=10 |label-color1= black

| mark-coord2 = {{coord|43.057922|-89.422919}} |label2=Edgewood |label-pos2= left |mark2= Location dot black.svg |mark-size2=10 |label-color2= black

| mark-coord3 = {{coord|43.84213|-87.88372}} |label3=Lakeland |label-pos3= top |mark3= Location dot black.svg |mark-size3=10 |label-color3= black

| mark-coord4 = {{coord|43.7775|-88.4214}} |label4=Marian |label-pos4= top |mark4= Location dot black.svg |mark-size4=10 |label-color4= black

| mark-coord5 = {{coord|43.036944| -88.02275}} |label5=Wisconsin Lutheran |label-pos5= left |mark5= Location dot black.svg |mark-size5=10 |label-color5= black

| mark-coord6 = {{coord|41.754722|-88.347778}} |label6=Aurora |label-pos6= left |mark6= Location dot grey.svg |mark-size6=10 |label-color6= black

| mark-coord7 = {{coord|41.777222| -88.095833}} |label7=Benedictine |label-pos7= bottom |mark7= Location dot grey.svg |mark-size7=10 |label-color7= black

| mark-coord8 = {{coord|41.89967|-87.80954}} |label8=Concordia Chicago |label-pos8= top |mark8= Location dot grey.svg |mark-size8=10 |label-color8= black

| mark-coord9 = {{coord|41.902778|-87.821667}} |label9=Dominican |label-pos9= left |mark9= Location dot grey.svg |mark-size9=10 |label-color9= black

| mark-coord10 = {{coord|42.26734| -89.0181}} |label10=Rockford |label-pos10= top |mark10= Location dot grey.svg |mark-size10=10 |label-color10= black

| mark-coord11 = {{coord|43.0465| -87.909}} |label11=MSOE |label-pos11= right |mark11= Location dot grey.svg |mark-size11=10 |label-color11= black

| mark-coord12 = {{coord|41.834653|-87.628333}} |label12=IIT |label-pos12= right |mark12= Location dot grey.svg |mark-size12=10 |label-color12= black

| mark-coord13 = {{coord|44.4453|-88.0685}} |label13=St. Norbert |label-pos13= left |mark13= Location dot black.svg |mark-size13=10 |label-color13= black

| zoom = 7

| caption = Location of NACC members: 10px current, north division 10px current, south division

}}

The Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference began its first season of competition in the fall of 2006 as the Northern Athletics Conference. The name change took place at the beginning of the 2013–14 academic year. The NACC consists of 13 colleges and universities from the shared-border states of Illinois and Wisconsin. Many have shared traditional rivalries dating back to the NACC's predecessor conferences: the Lake Michigan Conference and the Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference.{{cn|date=August 2023}}

Charter members include: Alverno College, Aurora University, Benedictine University, Concordia University Chicago, Concordia University Wisconsin, Dominican University, Edgewood College, Lakeland University, Maranatha Baptist University, Marian University, Rockford College and Wisconsin Lutheran College.{{cn|date=August 2023}}

Just three changes to the league's core membership have occurred, as the Milwaukee School of Engineering joined the NAC in the fall of 2007, and Maranatha withdrew from the league in the summer of 2013.{{cite web|url=http://naccsports.org/information/about|title=About the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference}} In 2017, the Illinois Institute of Technology announced that they would be joining the NACC for the 2018 athletic season, coinciding with their acceptance as a full NCAA Division III member.{{cite web|url=http://www.illinoistechathletics.com/sports/general/Illinois_Tech_Joins_NACC|title = Illinois Tech Joins Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference|date = 3 May 2017}}

Also in 2017, Benedictine, which had been contemplating a move to NCAA Division II, was formally invited to join the D-II Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC), pending NCAA approval of its entry into the D-II transition process. Benedictine formally applied to begin this transition in advance of a February 1, 2018 deadline, and was officially approved to enter the transition process in July of that year. In October 2018, Benedictine reversed course and rescinded its request to withdraw from the NACC.{{cite press release|title=Benedictine University to Stay in NCAA Division III - Eagles eligible to compete in postseason competition|date=October 25, 2018|publisher=Benedictine University|url=http://www.ben.edu/news/2018/benu-to-stay-in-ncaa-division-iii.cfm|access-date=November 27, 2018}}

The most recent membership change was announced on April 3, 2019, when St. Norbert College, already slated to become an associate member in men's volleyball (and, subsequently, men's and women's golf) in 2019–20, was upgraded to full NACC membership effective in 2021–22.{{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=

Member schools

=Current members=

The NACC currently has 14 full members, all are private schools:

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

! Institution

! Location

! Founded

! Affiliation

! Undergraduate
enrollment

! Nickname

! Joined

! Colors

! Football?

colspan="9" style="color: #aaaaaa; background-color: #000000;" | North Division
Alverno College{{efn|group=full|Alverno is a women's college, therefore it does not compete in men's sports.}}

| Milwaukee, Wisconsin

| 1887

| Catholic
{{small|(S.S.S.F.)}}

| 1,664

| Inferno

| 2006

| {{color box|#98002e|border=silver}} {{color box|#ffffff|border=silver}} {{color box|#000000|border=silver}}
Red, White, & Black

| No

Concordia University Wisconsin

| Mequon, Wisconsin

| 1880

| Lutheran LCMS

| 2,473

| Falcons

| 2006

| {{color box|#005596|border=silver}} {{color box|#faa634|border=silver}}
Blue & Gold

| Yes

Edgewood College

| Madison, Wisconsin

| 1927

| Catholic
{{small|(S.D.S.)}}

| 1,570

| Eagles

| 2006

| {{color box|#000000|border=silver}} {{color box|#ffffff|border=silver}} {{color box|#8f1324|border=silver}}
Black, White, & Red

| No

Lakeland University

| Herman, Wisconsin

| 1862

| United Church of Christ

| 1,023

| Muskies

| 2006

| {{color box|#0c233f|border=silver}} {{color box|#ffc62f|border=silver}}
Navy Blue & Gold

| Yes

Marian University

| Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

| 1936

| Catholic
{{small|(C.S.S.A.)}}

| 1,497

| Sabres

| 2006

| {{color box|#031e51|border=silver}} {{color box|#fdb813|border=silver}}
Royal Blue & Gold

| No

{{sort|Saint Norbert|St. Norbert College}}

| De Pere, Wisconsin

| 1898

| Catholic
{{small|(Premonstratensians)}}

| 2,180

| Green Knights

| 2021{{efn|group=full|St. Norbert was an affiliate member for men's volleyball, men's golf and women's golf during its final two years as a member of the Midwest Conference (2019–20 to 2020–21 school years).}}

| {{color box|#1a472b|border=silver}} {{color box|#edbd3d|border=silver}}
Green and Gold

| Yes

Wisconsin Lutheran College

| Milwaukee, Wisconsin

| 1973

| Lutheran WELS

| 917

| Warriors

| 2006

| {{color box|#006643|border=silver}} {{color box|#ffffff|border=silver}}
Forest Green & White

| Yes

colspan="9" style="color: #000000; background-color: #aaaaaa;" | South Division
Aurora University

| Aurora, Illinois

| 1893

| Nonsectarian

| 2,309

| Spartans

| 2006

| {{color box|#002366|border=silver}} {{color box|#ffffff|border=silver}}
Royal Blue & White

| Yes

Benedictine University

| Lisle, Illinois

| 1887

| Catholic
{{small|(Benedictines)}}

| 3,123

| Eagles

| 2006

| {{color box|#f20030|border=silver}} {{color box|#ffffff|border=silver}}
Cardinal & White

| Yes

Concordia University Chicago

| River Forest, Illinois

| 1864

| Lutheran LCMS

| 1,361

| Cougars

| 2006

| {{color box|#800000|border=silver}} {{color box|#ffd700|border=silver}}
Maroon & Gold

| Yes

Dominican University

| River Forest, Illinois

| 1901

| Catholic
{{small|(Dominican)}}

| 1,697

| Stars

| 2006

| {{color box|#1f3c6c|border=silver}} {{color box|#000000|border=silver}} {{color box|#ffffff|border=silver}}
Royal Blue, Black, & White

| No

Illinois Institute of Technology

| Chicago, Illinois

| 1890

| Nonsectarian

| 3,135

| Scarlet Hawks

| 2018

| {{color box|#cc0000|border=silver}} {{color box|#8c8984|border=silver}} {{color box|#000000|border=silver}}
Red, Gray & Black

| No

Milwaukee School of Engineering

| Milwaukee, Wisconsin

| 1903

| Nonsectarian

| 2,122

| Raiders

| 2007

| {{color box|#bb092c|border=silver}} {{color box|#ffffff|border=silver}}
Cardinal & White

| No

Rockford University

| Rockford, Illinois

| 1847

| Nonsectarian

| 1,181

| Regents

| 2006

| {{color box|#502d7f|border=silver}} {{color box|#ffffff|border=silver}}
Purple & White

| Yes

;Notes:

{{notelist|group=full}}

= Associate members =

The NACC currently has three associate members, all are private schools:

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

|+

!Institution

!Location

!Founded

!Affiliation

!Undergraduate
enrollment

!Nickname

!Joined

!Colors

!Primary
conference

!NACC
sport

Beloit College

| Beloit, Wisconsin

| 1846

| Nonsectarian

| 1,358

| Buccaneers

| 2021–22{{sup|m.lax}};
2021–22{{sup|w.lax}}

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

| Midwest (MWC)

| men's lacrosse;
women's lacrosse

Eureka College

| Eureka, Illinois

| 1855

| Disciples of Christ

| 680

| Red Devils

| 2018–19

| {{color box|#933|border=silver}} {{color box|#b28a00|border=silver}}
Maroon and Gold

| St. Louis (SLIAC)

| football

bgcolor=pink

| Mount Mary University

| Milwaukee, Wisconsin

| 1913

| Catholic
{{small|(SSND)}}

| 529

| Blue Angels

| 2015–16

| {{color box|#003f72|border=silver}} {{color box|#ffffff|border=silver}}
Blue and White

| Coast to Coast (C2C)

| women's cross country

{{notelist|group=assoc}}

=Former member=

The NACC had one full member that competed in the conference, which was also a private school:

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

! Institution

! Location

! Founded

! Affiliation

! Undergraduate
enrollment

! Nickname

! Joined

! Left

! Colors

! Current
conference

Maranatha Baptist University

| Watertown, Wisconsin

| 1968

| Baptist

| 765

| Sabercats

| 2006–07

| 2012–13

| {{color box|#081f3f|border=silver}} {{color box|#eec314|border=silver}} {{color box|#ffffff|border=silver}}
Navy Blue, Gold, & Crimson

| D-III Independent

=Former associate members=

The NACC had six former associate members in the conference, which most were private schools, except Minnesota–Morris, which was a public school:

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

! Institution

! Location

! Founded

! Affiliation

! Undergraduate
enrollment

! Nickname

! Joined

! Left

! Colors

! Primary
conference

! NACC
sport

Bethany Lutheran College

| Mankato, Minnesota

| 1927

| Lutheran ELS

| 550

| Vikings

| 2011–12

| 2014–15

| {{color box|#9b121f|border=silver}} {{color box|#ffffff|border=silver}} {{color box|#000000|border=silver}}
Red & White & Black

| rowspan="5" | Upper Midwest (UMAC)

| rowspan="6" | women's golf

Martin Luther College

| New Ulm, Minnesota

| 1995

| Lutheran WELS

| 800

| Knights

| 2011–12

| 2011–12

| {{color box|#ff0000|border=silver}} {{color box|#000000|border=silver}} {{color box|#ffffff|border=silver}}
Red & Black & White

University of Minnesota Morris

| Morris, Minnesota

| 1960

| Public

| 1,900

| Cougars

| 2011–12

| 2014–15

| {{color box|#8c1919|border=silver}} {{color box|#e19b14|border=silver}}
Maroon & Gold

Northland College

| Ashland, Wisconsin

| 1906

| UCC & Cong.

| 700

| LumberJacks &
LumberJills

| 2013–14

| 2014–15

| {{color box|#e86024|border=silver}} {{color box|#233253|border=silver}}
Orange & Blue

University of Northwestern – St. Paul

| Roseville, Minnesota

| 1902

| Nondenominational

| 2,944

| Eagles

| 2011–12

| 2014–15

| {{color box|#331e54|border=silver}} {{color box|#ecac00|border=silver}}
Purple & Gold

Presentation College

| Aberdeen, South Dakota

| 1951

| Catholic

| 786

| Saints

| 2011–12

| 2011–12

| {{color box|#00502f|border=silver}} {{color box|#f1b51c|border=silver}}
Green & Gold

| Closed in 2023

=Membership timeline=

DateFormat = yyyy

ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20

Period = from:2006 till:2026

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:2006 till:end text:Alverno (2006–present)

bar:2 color:FullxF from:2006 till:2008 text:Aurora (2006–present)

bar:2 color:Full from:2008 till:end text:

bar:3 color:FullxF from:2006 till:2008 text:Benedictine (2006–present)

bar:3 color:Full from:2008 till:end text:

bar:4 color:FullxF from:2006 till:2008 text:Concordia (Ill.) (2006–present)

bar:4 color:Full from:2008 till:end text:

bar:5 color:FullxF from:2006 till:2008 text:Concordia (Wisc.) (2006–present)

bar:5 color:Full from:2008 till:end text:

bar:6 color:FullxF from:2006 till:end text:Dominican (Ill.) (2006–present)

bar:7 color:FullxF from:2006 till:end text:Edgewood (2006–present)

bar:8 color:FullxF from:2006 till:2008 text:Lakeland (Wisc.) (2006–present)

bar:8 color:Full from:2008 till:end text:

bar:9 color:FullxF from:2006 till:2008 text:Maranatha Baptist University (2006–2013)

bar:9 color:Full from:2008 till:2013 text:

bar:10 color:FullxF from:2006 till:end text:Marian (Wisc.) (2006–present)

bar:11 color:FullxF from:2006 till:2008 text:Rockford (2006–present)

bar:11 color:Full from:2008 till:end text:

bar:12 color:FullxF from:2006 till:2008 text:Wisconsin Lutheran (2006–present)

bar:12 color:Full from:2008 till:end text:

bar:13 color:FullxF from:2007 till:end text:MSOE (2007–present)

bar:14 color:FullxF from:2018 till:end text:Illinois Tech (2018–present)

bar:15 color:AssocOS from:2019 till:2021 text: St. Norbert (2019–present)

bar:15 color:Full from:2021 till:end text:

bar:N color:powderblue from:2006 till:2013 text:Northern Athletics Conference (NAC)

bar:N color:blue from:2013 till:end text:Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC)

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:1 start:2006

Sports

=Fall=

=Winter=

{{see also|Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference men's basketball tournament}}

=Spring=

References

{{reflist}}

External links

{{ccat}}

  • {{oweb}}

{{Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference navbox}}

{{NCAA Division III conference navbox}}

{{NCAA Division III football conference navbox}}