River States Conference
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The River States Conference (RSC), formerly known as the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC), is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Although it was historically a Kentucky-only conference, it has now expanded to include members in Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia, and at various times in the past has also had members in Missouri, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia.
History
In March 2016, the KIAC announced it would change its name to the River States Conference, effective July 1, 2016, to better reflect its membership, which has expanded beyond Kentucky and now includes members in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia.[1]
Chronological timeline
- 1916 – The River States Conference was founded as the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC). Charter members included Berea College, Centre College, Georgetown College, Kentucky Wesleyan College, the University of Louisville, Ogden College, Transylvania University, and Western Kentucky State Teachers College (now Western Kentucky University) beginning with the 1916–17 academic year.
- 1927
- Ogden left the KIAC as the school announced that it would merge with Western Kentucky after the 1926–27 academic year.
- Eastern Kentucky State Teachers College (now Eastern Kentucky University) joined the KIAC in the 1927–28 academic year.
- 1931 – Morehead State Teachers College (now Morehead State University) joined the KIAC in the 1931–32 academic year.
- 1933 – Murray State Teachers College (now Murray State University) and Union College (now Union Commonwealth University) joined the KIAC in the 1933–34 academic year.
- 1948 – Eastern Kentucky, Louisville, Morehead State, Murray State, and Western Kentucky left the KIAC to join the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) major-college ranks and to form most of the charter members of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) after the 1947–48 academic year.
- 1951 – Bellarmine College (now Bellarmine University) joined the KIAC in the 1951–52 academic year.
- 1955
- Kentucky Wesleyan left the KIAC after the 1954–55 academic year.
- Thomas More College (now Thomas More University) joined the KIAC in the 1955–56 academic year.
- 1958 – Pikeville College (now the University of Pikeville) joined the KIAC in the 1958–59 academic year.
- 1962 – Centre (KY) left the KIAC to join the College Athletic Conference after the 1961–62 academic year.
- 1964
- Bellarmine left the KIAC after the 1963–64 academic year.
- Campbellsville College (now Campbellsville University) and Rio Grande College (now the University of Rio Grande) joined the KIAC in the 1964–65 academic year.
- 1968 – Oakland City College (now Oakland City University) joined the KIAC in the 1968–69 academic year.
- 1971
- Rio Grande left the KIAC to join the Mid-Ohio Conference (later known as the American Mideast Conference) after the 1970–71 academic year.
- Asbury College (now Asbury University) and Clinch Valley College of the University of Virginia (now formally the University of Virginia's College at Wise, and athletically branded as UVA Wise) joined the KIAC in the 1971–72 academic year.
- 1975 – Oakland City left the KIAC after the 1974–75 academic year.
- 1983 – Alice Lloyd College joined the KIAC in the 1983–84 academic year.
- 1984 – Brescia College (now Brescia University) and Lindsey Wilson College joined the KIAC in the 1984–85 academic year.
- 1991
- Thomas More left the KIAC to join the NCAA Division III ranks as an independent after the 1990–91 academic year.
- Midway College (now Midway University) joined the KIAC in the 1991–92 academic year.
- 1992
- Alice Lloyd left the KIAC to join the Tennessee Valley Athletic Conference (TVAC) after the 1991–92 academic year.
- Spalding University joined the KIAC in the 1992–93 academic year.
- 1994
- UVA Wise left the KIAC to become an independent within the NAIA (which would later join the Tennessee-Virginia Athletic Conference (TVAC) beginning the 1995–96 academic year) after the 1993–94 academic year.
- Indiana University Southeast (athletically IU Southeast or IUS) joined the KIAC in the 1994–95 academic year.
- 1995 – Campbellsville, Georgetown (KY), and Union (KY) left the KIAC to form part as charter members of the Mid-South Conference after the 1994–95 academic year.
- 1999 – Bethel College of Tennessee (now Bethel University of Tennessee) joined the KIAC in the 1999–2000 academic year.
- 2000
- Lindsey Wilson and Pikeville left the KIAC to join the Mid-South after the 1999–2000 academic year.
- Mid-Continent University joined the KIAC in the 2000–01 academic year.
- 2001 – Transylvania left the KIAC to join the NCAA Division III ranks and the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) after the 2000–01 academic year.
- 2003 – The St. Louis College of Pharmacy (SLCP) joined the KIAC in the 2003–04 academic year.
- 2005 – Alice Lloyd re-joined the KIAC in the 2005–06 academic year.
- 2006 – Bethel (TN) and Mid-Continent left the KIAC after the 2005–06 academic year.
- 2007
- Spalding left the KIAC to join the NCAA Division III ranks and the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) after the 2006–07 academic year.
- Indiana University East (athletically IU East) and Mountain State University joined the KIAC in the 2007–08 academic year.
- 2008 – Cincinnati Christian University joined the KIAC in the 2008–09 academic year.
- 2012
- Mountain State left the KIAC as the school announced that it would close after the 2011–12 academic year.
- Carlow University and Point Park University joined the KIAC in the 2012–13 academic year.
- 2013 – Indiana University Kokomo (athletically IU Kokomo) joined the KIAC in the 2013–14 academic year.
- 2014
- Two institutions left the KIAC to join their respective new home primary conferences: Berea left the NAIA to join the NCAA Division III ranks as an independent (which would later join the USA South Athletic Conference (USA South) beginning the 2017–18 academic year), and UHSP St. Louis to join the American Midwest Conference, both effective after the 2013–14 academic year.
- Rio Grande rejoined the KIAC in the 2014–15 academic year.
- 2015 – Ohio Christian University and West Virginia University Institute of Technology (WVU Tech or West Virginia Tech) joined the KIAC in the 2015–16 academic year.
- 2016 – The KIAC was rebranded as the River States Conference (RSC) in the 2016–17 academic year.
- 2019 – Cincinnati Christian left the RSC as the school announced that it would close at the end of the fall 2019 semester during the 2019–20 academic year.
- 2020 – Oakland City rejoined the RSC in the 2020–21 academic year.
- 2021
- Asbury left the RSC and the NAIA to join the NCAA Division III ranks as an independent as well as the Division I ranks of the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association (NCCAA) after the 2020–21 academic year.
- Ohio Valley University and Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College joined the RSC in the 2021–22 academic year.
- Ohio Valley left the RSC as the school announced that it would close at the end of the fall 2021 semester, during the 2021–22 academic year.
- 2022
- Carlow announced on July 6 that it would leave the RSC and the NAIA to join the NCAA Division III ranks and the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) after the 2022–23 academic year, starting in the 2023–24 season.[2]
- Indiana University–Purdue University Columbus (IUPUC, now Indiana University Columbus) and Shawnee State University announced they would join the RSC at the start of the 2023–24 academic year.
- 2023 – Ohio Christian announced it would leave the RSC and the NAIA to fully align with the Division I ranks of the NCCAA after the 2023–24 academic year.[3]
- 2024 – Point Park announced it would leave the RSC and the NAIA to join the NCAA Division II ranks and the Mountain East Conference (MEC) after the 2023–24 academic year.[4]
- 2024 – Campbellsville University, Cumberland University and Georgetown College joined the RSC as affiliate members for men's volleyball in the 2025 spring season (2024–25 academic year).
- 2025 – Kentucky Christian University will join the RSC in the 2025–26 academic year.
- 2026 – Shawnee State announced it would leave the RSC and the NAIA to join the NCAA Division II ranks and the Mountain East Conference (MEC) after the 2025–26 academic year.[5]
Member schools
Current members
The River States currently has 12 full members, with six being public schools, five being private schools, and one member that operates public and private institutions within a single entity.
- Notes
Future members
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | JoiningTemplate:Efn | Current primary conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky Christian University | Grayson, Kentucky | 1919 | Christian | 689 | Knights | 2025 | Appalachian (AAC) |
- Notes
Affiliate members
The River States has three affiliate members, all are private schools:
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | JoinedTemplate:Efn | RSC sport(s) |
Current conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campbellsville University | Campbellsville, Kentucky | 1906 | Baptist | 3,318 | Tigers | 2024 | men's volleyball | Mid-South (MSC) |
| Cumberland University | Lebanon, Tennessee | 1842 | Nonsectarian | 1,345 | Phoenix | 2024 | men's volleyball | Mid-South (MSC) |
| Georgetown College | Georgetown, Kentucky | 1829 | Baptist | 1,400 | Tigers | 2024 | men's volleyball | Mid-South (MSC) |
- Notes
Former members
The River States has thirty former full members, all but six were private schools. School names and nicknames reflect those used in the final school year each institution was a conference member:
- Notes
Membership timeline
<timeline>
DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1916 till:2031 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:5 left:5 bottom:50 top:5
Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7)
id:line value:black
id:bg value:white
id:Full value:rgb(0.7,0.9,0.8) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports
id:FullxF value:rgb(0.9,0.8,0.7) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football
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id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.8,0.9,0.7) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for another sport only
id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference
id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference when the other color has already been used
PlotData =
width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s
bar:1 color:FullxF from:1916 till:2014 text:Berea (1916–2014)
bar:2 color:FullxF from:1916 till:1962 text:Centre (Ky.) (1916–1962)
bar:3 color:FullxF from:1916 till:1995 text:Georgetown (Ky.) (1916–1995)
bar:4 color:FullxF from:1916 till:1955 text:Kentucky Wesleyan (1916–1955)
bar:5 color:FullxF from:1916 till:1948 text:Louisville (1916–1948)
bar:6 color:FullxF from:1916 till:1927 text:Ogden (1916–1927)
bar:7 color:FullxF from:1916 till:2001 text:Transylvania (1916–2001)
bar:8 color:FullxF from:1916 till:1948 text:Western Kentucky (1916–1948)
bar:9 color:FullxF from:1927 till:1948 text:Eastern Kentucky (1927–1948)
bar:10 color:FullxF from:1931 till:1948 text:Morehead State (1931–1948)
bar:11 color:FullxF from:1933 till:1948 text:Murray State (1933–1948)
bar:12 color:FullxF from:1933 till:1995 text:Union (Ky.) (1933–1995)
bar:13 color:FullxF from:1951 till:1964 text:Bellarmine (1951–1964)
bar:14 color:FullxF from:1955 till:1991 text:Thomas More (1955–1991)
bar:15 color:FullxF from:1958 till:2000 text:Pikeville (1958–2000)
bar:16 color:FullxF from:1964 till:1995 text:Campbellsville (1964–1995)
bar:17 color:FullxF from:1964 till:1971 text:Rio Grande (1964–1971) bar:17 color:FullxF from:2014 till:end text:(2014–present)
bar:18 color:FullxF from:1968 till:1975 text:Oakland City (1968–1975) bar:18 color:FullxF from:2020 till:end text:(2020–present)
bar:19 color:FullxF from:1971 till:2021 text:Asbury (1971–2021)
bar:20 color:FullxF from:1971 till:1994 text:UVa–Wise (1971–1994)
bar:21 color:FullxF from:1983 till:1992 text:Alice Lloyd (1983–1992) bar:21 color:FullxF from:2005 till:end text:(2005–present)
bar:22 color:FullxF from:1984 till:end text:Brescia (1984–present)
bar:23 color:FullxF from:1984 till:2000 text:Lindsey Wilson (1984–2000)
bar:24 color:FullxF from:1991 till:end text:Midway (1991–present)
bar:25 color:FullxF from:1992 till:2007 text:Spalding (1992–2007)
bar:26 color:FullxF from:1994 till:end text:IU Southeast (1994–present)
bar:27 color:FullxF from:1999 till:2006 text:Bethel (Tenn.) (1999–2006)
bar:28 color:FullxF from:2000 till:2006 text:Mid-Continent (2000–2006)
bar:29 color:FullxF from:2003 till:2014 text:USHP St. Louis (2007–2014)
bar:30 color:FullxF from:2007 till:end text:IU East (2007–present)
bar:31 color:FullxF from:2007 till:2012 text:Mountain State (2007–2012)
bar:32 color:FullxF from:2008 till:2020 text:Cincinnati Christian (2008–2020)
bar:33 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2023 text:Carlow (2012–2023)
bar:34 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2024 text:Point Park (2012–2024)
bar:35 color:FullxF from:2013 till:end text:IU Kokomo (2013–present)
bar:36 shift:(-40) color:FullxF from:2015 till:2024 text:Ohio Christian (2015–2024)
bar:37 shift:(-40) color:FullxF from:2015 till:end text:West Virginia Tech (2015–present)
bar:38 shift:(-40) color:FullxF from:2021 till:2022 text:Ohio Valley (2021–2022)
bar:39 shift:(-120) color:FullxF from:2021 till:end text:Saint Mary-of-the-Woods (2021–present)
bar:40 shift:(-80) color:FullxF from:2023 till:end text:IUPUC/IU Columbus (2023–present)
bar:41 shift:(-80) color:FullxF from:2023 till:2026 text:Shawnee State (2023–2026)
bar:42 shift:(-80) color:FullxF from:2025 till:end text:Kentucky Christian (2025–future)
bar:N color:green from:1916 till:2016 text:Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference bar:N color:blue from:2016 till:end text:River States Conference
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1916
TextData =
fontsize:M textcolor:black pos:(0,25) tabs:(400-center) text:^"River States Conference membership history"
</timeline>
Full member (non-football) Associate member (sport) Other conference
Conference sports
The River States Conference currently sponsors 18 sports (9 men's and 9 women's).
| A divisional format is used for men's & women's basketball, and women's volleyball. | |
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References
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External links
Template:River States Conference navbox Template:NAIA conference navbox