The Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC), formerly the Northern Athletics Conference (NAC), 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 ...

. It participates in the

NCAA 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 ...

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

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, and men's and women's lacrosse, added in the 2020-21 school year. 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. Charter members include: Alverno College,

Aurora University Aurora University (AU) is a private university in Aurora, Illinois. In addition to its main campus and the Orchard Center in Aurora, AU offers programs online, at its George Williams College campus in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, and at the Woods ...

Benedictine University Benedictine University is a private Roman Catholic university in Lisle, Illinois. It was founded in 1887 as St. Procopius College by the Benedictine monks of St. Procopius Abbey in the Pilsen community on the West Side of Chicago. The insti ...

Concordia University Chicago Concordia University Chicago is a private university in River Forest, Illinois. Formerly a college exclusively for parochial teacher education, Concordia-Chicago now offers more than 100 undergraduate and postgraduate degrees and enrolls more t ...

Concordia University Wisconsin Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW) is a private Lutheran university in Mequon, Wisconsin. It is part of the eight-member Concordia University System operated by the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). The university is a coeducational in ...

, Dominican University,

Edgewood College Edgewood College is a private Dominican college in Madison, Wisconsin. The college occupies a campus overlooking the shores of Lake Wingra. History The Edgewood College property was bought in 1855 by Mr. Ashmead from Governor Leonard J. Farwe ...

Lakeland University Lakeland University is a private university with its main campus in Plymouth, Wisconsin. Lakeland University is affiliated with the United Church of Christ. Lakeland also has seven evening, weekend, and online centers located throughout the st ...

Maranatha Baptist University Maranatha Baptist University is a private Baptist university in Watertown, Wisconsin. History The institution was founded in 1968 as Maranatha Baptist Bible College by B. Myron Cedarholm. The college was named for the Aramaic phrase '' Maran ...

, Marian University, Rockford College and Wisconsin Lutheran College. Just three changes to the league's core membership have occurred, as the

Milwaukee School of Engineering The Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) is a private university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The campus is in the List of neighborhoods of Milwaukee, East Town neighborhood of downtown Milwaukee. The school's enrollment of 2,820 includes 224 g ...

joined the NAC in the fall of 2007, and Maranatha withdrew from the league in the summer of 2013. In 2017, the

Illinois Institute of Technology Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the merger of the Armour Institute and Lewis Institute in 1940. The university has prog ...

announced that they would be joining the NACC for the 2018 athletic season, coinciding with their acceptance as a full NCAA Division III member. Also in 2017, Benedictine, which had been contemplating a move 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 ...

, was formally invited to join the D-II

Great Lakes Valley Conference The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Its thirteen member institutions are located in the U.S. states of Illinois ...

(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. The most recent membership change was announced on April 3, 2019, when

St. Norbert College St. Norbert College (SNC) is a private Norbertine liberal arts college in De Pere, Wisconsin. Founded in October 1898 by Abbot Bernard Pennings, a Norbertine priest and educator, the school was named after Saint Norbert of Xanten. In 1952, the c ...

, 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.

Chronological timeline

* 2006 - The NACC was founded as the Northern Athletics Conference (NAC). Charter members include: Alverno College,

, Dominican University,

, 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

and Rockford College (from the Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference (NIIC)), effective beginning the 2006-07 academic year. * 2007 - The

(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. * 2011 -

Bethany Lutheran College Bethany Lutheran College (BLC) is a private Christian liberal arts college in Mankato, Minnesota. Founded in 1927, BLC is operated by the Evangelical Lutheran Synod. The campus overlooks the Minnesota River valley in a community of 53,000. ...

Martin Luther College Martin Luther College (MLC) is a private college in New Ulm, Minnesota, operated by the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS). Martin Luther College was established in 1995, when Northwestern College (NWC) of Watertown, Wisconsin, combined ...

, 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). * 2012 - Presentation left the NAC as an affiliate member for women's golf to return back to 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 st ...

(NAIA), effective after the 2012 spring season (2011-12 school year). * 2013 - Maranatha Baptist left the NAC to become an NCAA D-III Independent school, effective after the 2012-13 school year. * 2013 - The NAC has been rebranded as the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC), effective in the 2013-14 school year. * 2013 - Northland College joined the NACC as an affiliate member for women's golf, effective in the 2014 spring season (2013-14 academic year). * 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). * 2015 -

Mount Mary University Mount Mary University is a private Roman Catholic women's university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The university was founded in 1913 by the School Sisters of Notre Dame Illinois Institute of Technology Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the merger of the Armour Institute and Lewis Institute in 1940. The university has prog ...

(Illinois Tech) joined the NACC, effective in the 2018-19 academic year. * 2018 - Eureka College joined the NACC as an affiliate member for football, effective in the 2018 fall season (2018-19 academic year). * 2019 -

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. * 2021 - St. Norbert had upgraded to join the NACC for all sports, effective in the 2021-22 academic year. * 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).

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:

Former member

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

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

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 An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

(2006–present) bar:2 color:Full from:2008 till:end text: bar:3 color:FullxF from:2006 till:2008 text:

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

(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 Edgewood may refer to: Places Canada *Edgewood, British Columbia South Africa *Edgewood, a University of KwaZulu-Natal campus in Pinetown, South Africa United States Cities and towns *Edgewood, California *Edgewood, Florida *Edgewood, Illinois, a ...

(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:

(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

* men's & women's cross country * men's football * men's & women's

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

* men's & women's soccer * women's

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

* women's

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

Winter

* men's & women's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

* men's & women's indoor

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

Spring

* men's

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

* men's & women's

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

* men's & women's outdoor

* women's

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

* men's

References

External links

* {{NCAA Division III football conference navbox