The Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) is a

college athletic conference In college athletics in the United States, institutions typically join in conferences for regular play under different governing bodies. Varsity sports There are several national and regional associations governing the varsity teams of colleges ...

affiliated with the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...

(NAIA), and it's heaquartered in

Livonia, Michigan Livonia is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 95,535 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which ranked it as Michigan's ninth most-populated municipality. Livonia is a part ...

. The conference consists of twelve colleges and universities located in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

states of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, and

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. Founded in 1992, the conference was created as a successor group for the now-defunct NAIA District 23.

History

The WHAC announced on January 27, 2012, added bowling and lacrosse for both men and women as conference sports effective the fall of 2012, becoming the first NAIA conference to offer championships in these sports. On October 13, 2016, the Council of Presidents unanimously voted to accept Rochester College (now Rochester University) into the conference beginning with the 2017–18 academic year. Men's ice hockey was added as a conference sport effective the fall of 2017, making the WHAC the first conference in the NAIA to offer ice hockey as a conference championship sport. Initially, the five conference members that sponsor ice hockey will participate in a conference championship. In July 2017, Concordia University Ann Arbor announced that the university will begin an ice hockey program and begin competition in the NAIA Division and WHAC Hockey Conference in the 2018–19 season.

Chronological timeline

* 1992 - The Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) was founded. Charter members included Aquinas College, Concordia College Ann Arbor (now Concordia University Ann Arbor),

Cornerstone College Cornerstone College is an independent, Lutheran, co-educational, secondary, day school, located at Mount Barker in the Adelaide Hills south-east of Adelaide, South Australia. The College is a non-selective school, currently catering for appr ...

(now Cornerstone College), Siena Heights College (now Siena Heights University), Spring Arbor College (now Spring Arbor University) and

Tri-State University Trine University is a private university in Angola, Indiana. It was founded in 1884 and offers degrees in the arts and sciences, business, education, and engineering. Trine University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. History Tri ...

(now Trine University), effective beginning the 1992-93 academic year. * 1997 -

Madonna University Madonna University is a private Roman Catholic university in Livonia, Michigan. It was founded as the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Junior College by the Felician Sisters in 1937. It became Madonna College in 1947 and Madonna Unive ...

joined the WHAC, effective in the 1997-98 academic year. * 1998 -

Indiana Institute of Technology Indiana Institute of Technology (Indiana Tech) is a private university in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It was founded in 1930 as Indiana Technical College by John A. Kalbfleisch, who was also the school's first president. The university today is organ ...

(Indiana Tech) joined the WHAC, effective in the 1998-99 academic year. * 2003 - Tri-State left the WHAC and the NAIA to join the

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their stu ...

ranks of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA) as an NCAA D-III Independent (which would later join the

Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) is an athletic conference that competes in the NCAA's Division III. There are nine teams in the conference, all located in the states of Michigan and Indiana. The Michigan Intercollegiate A ...

(MIAA), effective beginning the 2004-05 academic year), effective after the 2002-03 academic year. * 2004 - Spring Arbor left the WHAC to join the Mid-Central College Conference (MCCC; now the Crossroads League), effective after the 2003-04 academic year. * 2004 - The

University of Michigan–Dearborn The University of Michigan–Dearborn (U of M Dearborn, UM–Dearborn, or UMD) is a public university in Dearborn, Michigan. It is one of the two regional universities operating under the policies of the University of Michigan Board of Regents, ...

joined the WHAC, effective in the 2004-05 academic year. * 2005 -

Davenport University Davenport University is a private university with campuses throughout Michigan and online. It was founded in 1866 by Conrad Swensburg and currently offers associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees; diplomas; and post-grad certification progra ...

joined the WHAC, effective in the 2005-06 academic year. * 2010 - The

University of Northwestern Ohio The University of Northwestern Ohio (UNOH) is a private university in Lima, Ohio. It was founded in 1920. As of 2020, the school had an enrollment of approximately 4,500 students on a campus. The university, approved by the Ohio Department of ...

joined the WHAC, effective in the 2010-11 academic year. * 2011 -

Lourdes University Lourdes University is a private Franciscan university in Sylvania, Ohio. Established in 1958, the university is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania. History In 1916 Mother Adelaide Sandusky traveled from Minnesota to Northwest ...

joined the WHAC, effective in the 2011-12 academic year. * 2012 -

Lawrence Technological University Lawrence Technological University (LTU) (Lawrence Tech) is a private university in Southfield, Michigan. It was founded in 1932 in Highland Park, Michigan, as the Lawrence Institute of Technology (LIT) by Russell E. Lawrence. The university move ...

and

Marygrove College Marygrove College was a private Roman Catholic graduate college in Detroit, Michigan, affiliated with the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It announced its closure on December 17, 2019, at end of the fall semester. History T ...

joined the WHAC, effective in the 2012-13 academic year. * 2016 - Two institutions joined the WHAC as affiliate members:

Rochester College Rochester University (formerly Rochester College) is a private Christian college in Rochester Hills, Michigan. It was founded by members of the Churches of Christ in 1959. Rochester University is primarily undergraduate (though it offers some ...

(now Rochester University) for baseball, and Spring Arbor re-joining for bowling, both effective in the 2016-17 academic year. * 2017 - Davenport left the WHAC and the NAIA to join the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

ranks and the

Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) is a competitive college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The GLIAC was founded in June 1972. Its ele ...

(GLIAC), effective after the 2016-17 academic year. * 2017 - Rochester had uprgraded to join the WHAC for all sports, effective in the 2017-18 academic year. * 2017 - Marygrove left the WHAC as the school announced that it would close at the end of the fall 2017 semester, effective during the 2017-18 academic year. * 2018 -

Cleary University Cleary University is a private university focused on business education with its main campus in Livingston County, Michigan. It also has an education center located in Detroit. Cleary University offers certificate, ABA, BBA, MS, and MBA programs. ...

joined the WHAC, effective in the 2018-19 academic year. * 2018 - Four institutions joined the WHAC as affiliate members: Bethel University of Indiana for women's lacrosse,

Goshen College Goshen College is a private Mennonite liberal arts college in Goshen, Indiana. It was founded in 1894 as the Elkhart Institute of Science, Industry and the Arts, and is affiliated with Mennonite Church USA. The college is accredited by the High ...

for men's volleyball, Huntington University for bowling, and

Taylor University Taylor University is a private, interdenominational, evangelical Christian university in Upland, Indiana. Founded in 1846, it is one of the oldest evangelical Christian universities in the country. The university is named after Bishop Willia ...

for men's lacrosse, all effective in the 2019 spring season (2018-19 school year). * 2019 -

Mount Vernon Nazarene University Mount Vernon Nazarene University (MVNU) is a private Christian university in Mount Vernon, Ohio, with satellite locations in the surrounding area. It was founded in 1968 by the Church of the Nazarene and offers a variety of Bachelor's and Master ...

joined the WHAC as an affiliate member for bowling; while Taylor added women's lacrosse to its WHAC affiliate membership, both effective in the 2019-20 academic year. * 2020 - Taylor left the WHAC as an affiliate member for women's lacrosse, effective after the 2020 spring season (2019-20 academic year). * 2020 - Four institutions joined the WHAC as affiliate members: Bethel (Ind.) adding bowling to its WHAC affiliate membership,

Brescia University Brescia University is a private Roman Catholic university in Owensboro, Kentucky. It was founded as a junior college for women and is now a coeducational university offering undergraduate and master's programs. History Brescia University trace ...

and

Point Park University Point Park University is a private university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Grea ...

for competitive cheerleading, Marian University adding men's wrestling to its WHAC affiliate membership, and Mount Vernon Nazarene for men's volleyball, all effective in the 2020-21 academic year.

Member schools

Current members

The WHAC currently has 12 full members, all but one are

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

schools: ;Notes:

Affiliate members

The WHAC currently has nine affiliate members, all are

schools: ;Notes:

Former members

The WHAC had four former full members, all were

schools: ;Notes:

Former affiliate members

The WHAC had one former affiliate member, which was also a

school: ;Notes:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1992 till:2027 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 id:AssocF value:rgb(0.9,0.7,0.8) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only 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:1992 till:end text:

Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wit ...

(1992–present) bar:2 color:FullxF from:1992 till:end text: Concordia–Michigan (1992–present) bar:3 color:FullxF from:1992 till:end text:

Cornerstone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over time ...

(1992–present) bar:4 color:FullxF from:1992 till:end text:

Siena Heights Siena Heights University (SHU) is a private Roman Catholic university in Adrian, Michigan. It was founded by the Adrian Dominican Sisters in 1919. History The institution was founded for women in 1919 as St. Joseph's College by the Adrian Dom ...

(1992–present) bar:5 color:FullxF from:1992 till:2004 text:

Spring Arbor Spring Arbor is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Jackson County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population of the CDP was 2,881 at the 2010 census, up from 2,188 at the 2000 census. The CDP is located withi ...

(1992–2004) bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:2004 till:end text:

Crossroads Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to: * Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...

bar:5 color:AssocOS from:2016 till:end text:

(WHAC affiliate) bar:6 color:FullxF from:1992 till:2003 text: Trine (1992–2003) bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:2003 till:2004 text: D-III Ind. bar:6 shift:(30) color:OtherC2 from:2004 till:end text: MIAA bar:7 color:FullxF from:1997 till:end text:

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

(1997–present) bar:8 color:FullxF from:1998 till:end text:

Indiana Tech Indiana Institute of Technology (Indiana Tech) is a private university in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It was founded in 1930 as Indiana Technical College by John A. Kalbfleisch, who was also the school's first president. The university today is organi ...

(1998–present) bar:9 color:FullxF from:2004 till:end text: Michigan–Dearborn (2004–present) bar:10 color:FullxF from:2005 till:2017 text: Davenport (2005–2017) bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:2017 till:end text:

GLIAC The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) is a competitive college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The GLIAC was founded in June 1972. Its ele ...

bar:11 color:FullxF from:2010 till:end text:

Northwestern Ohio Northwest Ohio, or Northwestern Ohio, consists of multiple counties in the northwestern corner of the US state of Ohio. This area borders Lake Erie, Southeast Michigan, and northeastern Indiana. Some areas are also considered the Black Swamp are ...

(2010–present) bar:12 color:FullxF from:2011 till:end text:

Lourdes Lourdes (, also , ; oc, Lorda ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for the Château ...

(2011–present) bar:13 color:FullxF from:2012 till:end text:

Lawrence Tech Lawrence Technological University (LTU) (Lawrence Tech) is a private university in Southfield, Michigan. It was founded in 1932 in Highland Park, Michigan, as the Lawrence Institute of Technology (LIT) by Russell E. Lawrence. The university move ...

(2012–present) bar:14 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2018 text: Marygrove (2012–2018) bar:15 color:FullxF from:2017 till:end text:

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

(2017–present) bar:16 color:FullxF from:2018 till:end text: Cleary (2018–present) bar:17 color:AssocOS from:2018 till:end text: Bethel (Ind.) (2018–present) bar:18 color:AssocOS from:2018 till:end text: Goshen (2018–present) bar:19 color:AssocOS from:2018 till:end text: Huntington (2018–present) bar:20 color:AssocOS from:2018 till:end text:

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) ** List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) Pl ...

(2018–present) bar:21 color:AssocOS from:2019 till:end text: Mount Vernon Nazarene (2019–present) bar:22 color:AssocOS from:2020 till:end text:

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

(2020–present) bar:23 color:AssocOS from:2020 till:end text: Marian (Ind.) (2020–present) bar:24 color:AssocOS from:2020 till:end text: Point Park (2020–present) ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1992 TextData = fontsize:M textcolor:black pos:(0,25) tabs:(400-center) text:^"Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference membership history" #> If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following three 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. <#

Sports

WHAC offers 14 men's and 13 women's sports.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference College sports in Indiana College sports in Michigan Sports in Grand Rapids, Michigan College ice hockey conferences in the United States Sports organizations established in 1992 1992 establishments in the United States