Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference
Template:Short description Template:Infobox sports league
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,[1] and men's and women's lacrosse, added in the 2020-21 school year.[2]
The NACC became eligible for automatic NCAA postseason berths in 2008–09.
History
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.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
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.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
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.[3] 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.[4]
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.[5]
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.[6]
Chronological timeline
- 2006 - The NACC was founded as the Northern Athletics Conference (NAC). Charter members include: Alverno College, Concordia University Wisconsin, Dominican University, Edgewood College, Lakeland College (now Lakeland University), Maranatha Baptist Bible College (now Maranatha Baptist University), Marian University and Wisconsin Lutheran College (from the Lake Michigan Conference (LMC)), and Aurora University, Benedictine University, Concordia University Chicago and Rockford College (from the Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference (NIIC)), effective beginning the 2006-07 academic year.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
- 2007 - The Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSoE) (also a former member from the defunct Lake Michigan Conference) joined the NAC after spending a season as an NCAA D-III Independent school, effective in the 2007-08 academic year.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
- 2011 - Bethany Lutheran College, Martin Luther College, the University of Minnesota Morris, University of Northwestern – St. Paul and Presentation College joined the NAC as affiliate members for women's golf, effective in the 2012 spring season (2011-12 academic year).Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
- 2012 - Presentation left the NAC as an affiliate member for women's golf to return to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), effective after the 2012 spring season (2011-12 school year).Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
- 2013 - Maranatha Baptist left the NAC to become an NCAA D-III Independent school, effective after the 2012-13 school year.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
- 2013 - The NAC has been rebranded as the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC), effective in the 2013-14 school year.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
- 2013 - Northland College joined the NACC as an affiliate member for women's golf, effective in the 2014 spring season (2013-14 academic year).Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
- 2015 - Bethany Lutheran, Minnesota–Morris, Northwestern (Minn.) and Northland left the NACC as affiliate members for women's golf, effective after the 2015 spring season (2014-15 academic year).Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
- 2015 - Mount Mary University joined the NACC as an affiliate member for women's cross country, effective in the 2015 fall season (2015-16 academic year).Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
- 2017 - The Illinois Institute of Technology (Illinois Tech) joined the NACC, effective in the 2018-19 academic year.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
- 2018 - Eureka College joined the NACC as an affiliate member for football, effective in the 2018 fall season (2018-19 academic year).Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
- 2019 - St. Norbert College joined the NACC as an affiliate member for men's volleyball, men's golf and women's golf, effective in the 2019-20 academic year.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
- 2021 - St. Norbert had upgraded to join the NACC for all sports, effective in the 2021-22 academic year.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
- 2021 - Beloit College joined the NACC as an associate member for men's and women's lacrosse, effective in the 2022 spring season (2021-22 academic year).Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Member schools
Current members
The NACC currently has 14 full members, all are private schools:
- Notes
Associate members
The NACC currently has three associate members, all are private schools:
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Undergraduate enrollment |
Nickname | Joined | Colors | Primary conference |
NACC sport |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beloit College | Beloit, Wisconsin | 1846 | Nonsectarian | 1,358 | Buccaneers | 2021–22m.lax; 2021–22w.lax |
Template:Color box Template:Color box 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 | Template:Color box Template:Color box Maroon and Gold |
St. Louis (SLIAC) | football |
| Mount Mary University | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | 1913 | Catholic (SSND)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
529 | Blue Angels | 2015–16 | Template:Color box Template:Color box Blue and White |
Coast to Coast (C2C) | women's cross country |
Former member
The NACC had one full member that competed in the conference, which was also a private school:
| 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 | Template:Color box Template:Color box Template:Color box 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:
Membership timeline
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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
</timeline>
Sports
Fall
- men's & women's cross country
- men's football
- men's & women's golf
- men's & women's soccer
- women's tennis
- women's volleyball
Winter
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- men's & women's basketball
- men's & women's indoor track and field
Spring
- men's baseball
- men's & women's lacrosse
- men's & women's outdoor track and field
- women's softball
- men's tennis
- men's volleyball
References
External links
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