The Heartland Conference was a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with 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 ...

(NCAA)'s Division II level, which was founded in 1999. The majority of members were in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, with additional members in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

Kansas Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...

, and Oklahoma. The conference office was located in Waco, Texas.

History

The conference was formed in 1999 by founding members Drury University,

University of the Incarnate Word The University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) is a private, Catholic university with its main campus in San Antonio and Alamo Heights, Texas. Founded in 1881 by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, the university's main campus is located ...

, Lincoln University,

Rockhurst University Rockhurst University is a private Jesuit university in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 as Rockhurst College, Rockhurst University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It enrolled 2,980 students in 2019. History In 1909, Fr. ...

, St. Edward's University, St. Mary's University and

Texas Wesleyan University Texas Wesleyan University is a private Methodist university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was founded in 1890 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The main campus is located in the Polytechnic Heights neighborhood of Fort Worth. Its mascot is ...

Oklahoma Panhandle State University Oklahoma Panhandle State University (OPSU) is a public college in Goodwell, Oklahoma. OPSU is a baccalaureate degree-granting institution. General governance of the institution is provided by the Board of Regents of the Oklahoma Agricultural a ...

and

Dallas Baptist University Dallas Baptist University (DBU) is a Christian liberal arts university in Dallas, Texas. Founded in 1898 as Decatur Baptist College, Dallas Baptist University currently operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Hurst. History Dallas Baptist Un ...

joined in 2002. Founding members Drury and Rockhurst left the Heartland Conference to join the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) in 2005.

Western New Mexico University Western New Mexico University is a public university in Silver City, New Mexico. It was founded in 1893. History Founded in the Territory of New Mexico on February 11, 1893 as the New Mexico Normal School, the school began to offer classes o ...

and Montana State University - Billings joined in 2005. However, WNMU re-joined the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in 2006 and MSUB joined the

Great Northwest Athletic Conference The Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. It has historically operated in the northwestern United States, but ...

in 2007. Newman University, Texas A&M International University and the University of Texas of the Permian Basin joined the conference in 2006, making the transition from NAIA to

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 ...

. The

University of Arkansas – Fort Smith A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

joined the conference in the Fall of 2009 after transitioning from the NJCAA. In the fall of 2010, Lincoln left for the

Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. Its fourteen me ...

and Incarnate Word left for the Lone Star Conference. In July 2011, McMurry University announced that it had been accepted as candidate for D-II membership and would join the Heartland Conference in the fall of 2012. In February 2012, Oklahoma Christian University announced its intention to seek membership in NCAA Division II. In Spring 2012, Rogers State University, a member of the NAIA

Sooner Athletic Conference The Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Originally developed as a five-team conference of Oklahoma-based schools, the SAC now boasts 12 s ...

, applied for membership. The conference confirmed in July 2012 that Oklahoma Christian's teams would play full conference schedules starting in Fall 2012 and that Rogers State and

Lubbock Christian University Lubbock Christian University (LCU) is a private Christian university associated with the Churches of Christ and located in Lubbock, Texas. Chartered originally as part of a grade school called Lubbock Christian School in 1954, the institution ...

would begin conference play in 2013-14. On August 30, 2017, the Lone Star Conference announced that eight of the nine members of the Heartland Conference would join in fall 2019; the remaining member, Newman, announced it would seek other affiliation at that time. On February 8, 2018, Newman announced that it would become an associate member of the

beginning in the 2019–20 season. On October 18, 2018 Rogers State decided to join the MIAA instead of the Lone Star.

Chronological timeline

* 1999 - The Heartland Conference was founded. Charter members included Drury College (now Drury University), the

, Lincoln University of Missouri,

Rockhurst College Rockhurst University is a private Jesuit university in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 as Rockhurst College, Rockhurst University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It enrolled 2,980 students in 2019. History In 1909, F ...

(now Rockhurst University), St. Edwards University, St. Mary's University and

, effective beginning the 1999-2000 academic year. * 2002 -

and

joined the Heartland, effective in the 2002-03 academic year. * 2005 - Drury and Rockhurst to join the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC), effective after the 2004-05 academic year. * 2005 - Montana State University at Billings and

joined the Heartland, effective in the 2005-06 academic year. * 2006 - Western New Mexico left the Heartland to join the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), effective after the 2005-06 academic year. * 2006 - Newman University, the University of Texas of the Permian Basin (Texas–Permian Basin or UTPB) and Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) * 2007 - Montana State–Billings left the Heartland to join the

(GNAC), effective after the 2006-07 academic year. * 2009 - The

University of Arkansas at Fort Smith A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

(Arkansas–Fort Smith or UAFS) joined the Heartland, effective in the 2009-10 academic year. * 2010 - Two institutions left the Heartland to join their respective new home primary conferences: Incarnate Word (UIW) to the Lone Star Conference (LSC), and Lincoln (Mo.) to return back to the

(MIAA), both effective after the 2009-10 academic year. * 2012 - McMurry University and Oklahoma Christian University joined the Heartland, effective in the 2012-13 academic year. * 2013 -

and Rogers State University joined the Heartland, effective in the 2013-14 academic year. * 2016 - Texas–Permian Basin (UTPB) left the Heartland to join the Lone Star, effectively after the 2015-16 academic year. However, it would remain in the Heartland as an affiliate member for men's soccer, effective beginning the 2016 fall season (2016-17 academic year). * 2016 -

Eastern New Mexico University Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU or Eastern) is a public university with a main campus in Portales, New Mexico, and two associate degree-granting branches, one at Ruidoso and one at Roswell. ENMU is New Mexico's largest regional comprehensi ...

Midwestern State University Midwestern State University (MSU Texas) is a public liberal arts university in Wichita Falls, Texas. In 2020 it had 5,141 undergraduate students. It is the state's only public institution focused on the liberal arts. History Founded in 1922 ...

and West Texas A&M University joined the Heartland as affiliate member for men's soccer, effective in the 2016 fall season (2016-17 academic year). * 2019 - The Heartland ceased operations as an athletic conference, effective after the 2018-19 academic year; as many schools left to join their respective new home primary conferences, effective beginning the 2019-20 academic year: Arkansas–Fort Smith (UAFS), Dallas Baptist, Lubbock Christian, Oklahoma Christian, St. Edward's (Tex.), St. Mary's (Tex.) and Texas A&M International (TAMIU) joined the Lone Star to renew their rivalries with Texas–Permian Basin and Western New Mexico; while Newman (Ks.) and Rogers State joined the MIAA to renew their rivalries with Lincoln (Mo.); and men's soccer affiliates Eastern New Mexico, Midwestern State, Texas–Permian Basin (UTPB) and West Texas A&M returned back to their primary home conference once the Lone Star began to re-sponsor back the sport.

Member schools

Final members

The Heartland had nine final full members, all but three were

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:

Final affiliate members

The Heartland had four final affiliate members, all were

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

schools: ;Notes:

Prior full members

The Heartland had ten former full members, half were

schools and another half were

schools: ;Notes:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1999 till:2021 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:5 left:5 bottom:20 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:1999 till:2005 text: Drury (1999–2005) bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:end text: Great Lakes Valley bar:2 color:FullxF from:1999 till:2010 text: Incarnate Word (1999–2010) bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:2010 till:2013 text: Lone Star bar:2 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:end text: Southland bar:3 color:FullxF from:1999 till:2010 text: Lincoln (Mo). (1999–2010) bar:3 color:OtherC1 from:2010 till:end text: Mid-America bar:4 color:FullxF from:1999 till:2005 text:

Rockhurst Rockhurst University is a private Jesuit university in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 as Rockhurst College, Rockhurst University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It enrolled 2,980 students in 2019. History In 1909, Fr. ...

(1999–2005) bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:end text: Great Lakes Valley bar:5 color:FullxF from:1999 till:2019 text: St. Edward's (Tex.) (1999–2019) bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:2019 till:end text: Lone Star bar:6 color:FullxF from:1999 till:2019 text: St. Mary's (Tex.) (1999–2019) bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:2019 till:end text: Lone Star bar:7 color:FullxF from:1999 till:2001 text: Texas Wesleyan (1999–2001) bar:7 shift:(60) color:OtherC1 from:2001 till:2013 text: Red River bar:7 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:end text: Sooner bar:8 color:FullxF from:2002 till:2017 text: Oklahoma Panhandle State (2002–2017) bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:2017 till:end text: Sooner bar:9 color:FullxF from:2002 till:2019 text: Dallas Baptist (2002–2019) bar:10 color:FullxF from:2005 till:2006 text: Western New Mexico (2005–2006) bar:10 shift:(135) color:OtherC1 from:2006 till:2016 text:

Rocky Mountain The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

bar:10 color:OtherC2 from:2016 till:end text: Lone Star bar:11 color:FullxF from:2005 till:2007 text: Montana State–Billings (2005–2007) bar:11 shift:(105) color:OtherC1 from:2007 till:end text: Great Northwest bar:12 color:FullxF from:2006 till:2019 text: Newman (2006–2019) bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:2019 till:end text: Mid-America bar:13 color:FullxF from:2006 till:2019 text: Texas A&M International (2006–2019) bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:2019 till:end text: Lone Star bar:14 color:FullxF from:2006 till:2016 text: Texas–Permian Basin (2006–2016) bar:14 color:AssocOS from:2016 till:2019 text:(2016–2019) bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:2019 till:end text: Lone Star bar:15 color:FullxF from:2009 till:2019 text: Arkansas–Fort Smith (2009–2019) bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:2019 till:end text: Lone Star bar:16 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2014 text: McMurry (2012–2014) bar:16 shift:(30) color:OtherC1 from:2014 till:end text: American Southwest bar:17 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2019 text: Oklahoma Christian (2012–2019) bar:17 color:OtherC1 from:2019 till:end text: Lone Star bar:18 color:FullxF from:2013 till:2019 text: Lubbock Christian (2013–2019) bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:2019 till:end text: Lone Star bar:19 color:FullxF from:2013 till:2019 text: Rogers State (2013–2019) bar:19 color:OtherC1 from:2019 till:end text: Mid-America bar:20 color:AssocOS from:2016 till:2019 text: Eastern New Mexico (2016–2019) bar:20 shift:(30) color:OtherC2 from:2019 till:end text: Lone Star bar:21 color:AssocOS from:2016 till:2019 text: Midwestern State (2016–2019) bar:21 shift:(30) color:OtherC2 from:2019 till:end text: Lone Star bar:22 color:AssocOS from:2016 till:2019 text: West Texas A&M (2016–2019) bar:22 shift:(30) color:OtherC2 from:2019 till:end text: Lone Star bar:N color:red from:1999 till:2019 text:Heartland Conference bar:N color:blue from:2019 till:end text:Post-Heartland ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:1 start:2000 TextData = fontsize:M textcolor:black pos:(250,30) # tabs:(0-center) text:"Heartland Conference membership history"

Sports

Dallas Baptist's baseball team competed in

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...

for much of its Heartland Conference tenure. At the time the league disbanded, the Patriots were single-sport members of the Missouri Valley Conference. The Heartland Conference sponsored 13 sports, seven for women and six for men.

Men's sponsored sports by school

Women's sponsored sports by school

Other sponsored sports by school

*^‡ — D-I sport

National championships

Arkansas-Fort Smith (as Westark Junior College) won the 1981

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

(NJACC) men's basketball national championship. St. Mary's won NAIA national championships in Softball (1986) and Men's Basketball (1989). St. Mary's Men's Golf team was named the Golf Coaches Association of America 2008-2009 Academic National Champions, which St. Mary's treats as a fifth team national. Dallas Baptist won the 2003

National Christian College Athletic Association The National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) is an association of Christian universities, colleges, and Bible colleges in the United States and Canada whose mission is "the promotion and enhancement of intercollegiate athleti ...

Baseball national championship. Lubbock Christian won NAIA national championships in Baseball (1983 & 2009) and Softball (2008).

References

External links

* {{NCAA Division II conferences Sports in Laredo, Texas Sports organizations established in 1999 1999 establishments in the United States Sports leagues disestablished in 2019