The Summit League, or The Summit, is an

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division 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 athlet ...

intercollegiate

athletic conference An athletic conference is a collection of sports teams which play competitively against each other in a sports league. In many cases conferences are subdivided into smaller Division (sport), divisions, with the best teams competing at successively ...

with its membership mostly located in the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

, from Minnesota in the east, to the Dakotas, Nebraska and Colorado to the West, and Missouri and Oklahoma to the South. Founded as the Association of Mid-Continent Universities in 1982, it rebranded as the Mid-Continent Conference in 1989, then again as the Summit League on June 1, 2007. The league headquarters are in

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls ( ) is the List of cities in South Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the List of United States cities by population, 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha Coun ...

. The membership currently consists of nine full members plus six associate members. The most recent change in the core conference membership is the 2021 arrival of the University of St. Thomas, which began an unprecedented transition from

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

to Division I. A year earlier, the

University of Missouri–Kansas City The University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC or Kansas City) is a Public university, public research university in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. UMKC is part of the University of Missouri System and has a UMKC School of Medicine, medic ...

returned as a full member after a seven-year absence with the new athletic identity of the Kansas City Roos, while

Purdue University Fort Wayne Purdue University Fort Wayne (PFW) is a public university in Fort Wayne, Indiana. A campus of Purdue University, Purdue Fort Wayne was founded on July 1, 2018, when its predecessor university, Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne fo ...

left for the

Horizon League The Horizon League is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the league's eleven member schools are located in ...

. A total of 32 schools have been full members; the last charter member remaining in the league,

Western Illinois University Western Illinois University (WIU) is a public university in Macomb, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. As the normal school grew, it became Western Illinois State Teachers College. Once West ...

, left for the

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in partnership with ...

on July 1, 2023 in most sports, with men's soccer playing one more season before leaving at the conclusion of the fall 2023 season. The Summit does not sponsor

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, but five of its members play the sport in the

NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Sponsored by the National Collegiate ...

(FCS), and since 2025 the Summit has had a formal relationship with the single-sport

Missouri Valley Football Conference The Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC), formerly the Gateway Football Conference, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the National Collegiate A ...

, the football home of four of those five schools.

History

Early Days

The conference can trace its roots back to 1978, when the Mid-Continent Athletic Association was founded as a football-only conference playing in Division II at the time. Its inaugural members were the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public university, public research university in Akron, Ohio, United States. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM fields, STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advance ...

Eastern Illinois University Eastern Illinois University (EIU) is a public university in Charleston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradual ...

University of Northern Iowa The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States. UNI offers more than 90 majors across five colleges. The fall 2024 total enrollment was 9,283 students. The university was initially founded in 1 ...

Northern Michigan University Northern Michigan University (Northern Michigan, Northern or NMU) is a public university in Marquette, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1899 by the Michigan Legislature as Northern State Normal School. In 1963, the state designa ...

, and

Youngstown State University Youngstown State University (YSU or Youngstown State) is a public university in Youngstown, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1908 and is the easternmost member of the University System of Ohio. The university is composed of six undergrad ...

;

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

had also expressed interest in joining, but ultimately never did. Akron left after the 1979 season, while Northern Michigan and Youngstown State left the following year; they were replaced by Southwest Missouri State (now known as

Missouri State University Missouri State University (MSU or MO State), formerly Southwest Missouri State University, is a public university in Springfield, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School, it is the state's second-largest u ...

) in 1981. The 1981 season also saw the conference as a whole move from Division II to Division I-AA; this would be the conference's final season under the name of the Mid-Continent Athletic Association.

Foundation

The new association was officially created on June 18, 1982, at the O'Hare Hilton Hotel in Chicago, Illinois as the Association of Mid-Continent Universities (or AMCU or AMCU-8, pronounced Am-cue), which it was known as until 1989. Covering all men's sports now in addition to football, the new conference consisted of current MCAA members Eastern Illinois, Northern Iowa, Southwest Missouri State, and Western Illinois, along with non-football sponsoring

Cleveland State University Cleveland State University (CSU) is a public research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1964 and opened for classes in 1965 after acquiring the entirety of Fenn College, a private school that had been in oper ...

University of Illinois Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the Universi ...

Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana, United States. It is an independent Lutheran university with five colleges. It enrolls nearly 2,300 students and has a campus. The university is known for its Luthe ...

and

University of Wisconsin–Green Bay The University of Wisconsin–Green Bay (UW–Green Bay, UWGB, or Green Bay) is a public university in Green Bay, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1965, it is part of the University of Wisconsin System. As of fall 2024, student enrollment h ...

. The conference continued to sponsor

at the Division I-AA level, now under the new AMCU name, from 1982 until 1984, when the football sponsoring members of the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...

joined with the football sponsoring members of the AMCU to form the beginnings of what is now the

; current members

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (UND) is a Public university, public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It was established by the Dakota Territory, Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishm ...

North Dakota State University North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota, United States. It was ...

University of South Dakota The University of South Dakota (USD) is a public research university in Vermillion, South Dakota, United States. Established by the Dakota Territory legislature in 1862, 27 years before the establishment of the state of South Dakota, USD is t ...

, and

South Dakota State University South Dakota State University (SDSU or SD State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Brookings, South Dakota, United States. Founded in 1881, it is the state's largest university and is the sec ...

continue to house their FCS football programs there to this day.

Changes and the addition of women's sports

The conference saw its first changes in the early 1990s. Southwest Missouri State departed for membership in the

as the

and

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. It was founded as "Northern Illinois State Normal School" in 1895 by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld, initially to provide the state with c ...

joined in 1990. Then

Wright State University Wright State University is a public research university in Fairborn, Ohio, United States. Originally opened in 1964 as a branch campus of Miami University and Ohio State University, it became an independent institution in 1967 and was named in ...

joined in 1991 as Northern Iowa followed Southwest Missouri State to the MVC. Major changes came to the conference in 1992. First, Akron left for the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

(MAC) and another Ohio school,

, replaced it. More significantly, the Mid-Continent added women's sports by absorbing the North Star Conference (NSC), a women's-only league whose final seven members were in the Mid-Continent. All of the final NSC members except for Akron moved their women's sports into the Mid-Continent. At the same time, Eastern Illinois and Western Illinois moved their women's sports into the Mid-Continent when their former women's sports home, the Gateway Conference, merged into the Missouri Valley Conference. The

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a Public university, public Urban university, urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropo ...

joined the Mid-Continent a year later.

Horizon and ECC transitions

In 1994, charter members Cleveland State, UIC and UWGB, as well as newer members Northern Illinois, Wisconsin–Milwaukee, and Wright State left the conference to join the Midwestern Collegiate Conference, now known as the

. The Mid-Continent absorbed

Central Connecticut State University Central Connecticut State University (Central Connecticut, CCSU, Central Connecticut State, or informally Central) is a public university in New Britain, Connecticut. Founded in 1849 as the State Normal School, CCSU is Connecticut's oldest publi ...

Chicago State University Chicago State University (CSU) is a Historically black colleges and universities, predominantly black (PBI) public university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It includes an honors program for undergraduates and offers bachelor's and master ...

Northeastern Illinois University Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) is a public university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. NEIU serves approximately 5,000 students in the region and is both a federally designated Hispanic-serving institution and Asian American and Nat ...

, the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...

, and Troy State University (now

Troy University Troy University is a public university in Troy, Alabama, United States. It was founded in 1887 as Troy State Normal School within the Alabama State University System, and is now the flagship university of the Troy University System. It was one ...

) from the collapsed

East Coast Conference The East Coast Conference (ECC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located primarily in the state of New York, with a single ...

in response. None of these institutions remain in the league. The

, formerly an independent, also joined the Mid-Continent Conference in 1994.

Declining membership

Eastern Illinois moved to the

in 1996, reducing membership to nine programs. Troy State departed for the Trans America Athletic Conference while Central Connecticut State joined the

Northeast Conference The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Foo ...

in 1997. Buffalo joined the

in 1998 while Northeastern Illinois ceased intercollegiate athletics at that time.

Oral Roberts University Oral Roberts University (ORU) is a Private university, private Evangelicalism, evangelical university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Founded in 1963, the university is named after its founder, Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christian preacher Oral ...

and

Southern Utah University Southern Utah University (SUU) is a public university in Cedar City, Utah, United States. Founded in 1897 as a normal school, Southern Utah University now has over 1,800 graduates each year with baccalaureate and other graduate degrees from its ...

replaced the former pair while

Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) was a public university from 1969 to 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It was a collaboration between Indiana University and Purdue University system, Purdue University, of ...

(IUPUI; its athletic program is now IU Indy) and

Oakland University Oakland University (OU or Oakland) is a public university, public research university in Auburn Hills, Michigan, Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1957 through a donation of Matilda Dodge Wilson and husband ...

moved into the latter duo's spots a year later. Youngstown State switched to the Horizon League in 2001, and Centenary College replaced it in 2003. Chicago State University announced in the spring of 2006 that it would withdraw from the conference to compete as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

starting in the 2006–07 school year. Charter member Valparaiso then moved to the Horizon in 2007.

Renewed expansion and contraction

Conference expansion was discussed at length at the Mid-Continent Conference annual Presidents Council meeting in 2006, and

Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) was a public university in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Founded in 1964, IPFW was a cooperatively managed regional campus of two state university systems: Indiana University and Purdue University ...

(IPFW, now Purdue Fort Wayne), North Dakota State, and South Dakota State were approved for site visits. On August 30, 2006, IPFW accepted an invitation to join the Mid-Continent Conference as a full member starting July 1, 2007. Both North Dakota State and South Dakota State also accepted invitations to join the conference the next day. The Summit League continued its renewed expansion push with the admission of the

. The Coyotes began conference play in the 2011–12 academic year and become eligible for all championships the following season. Centenary College subsequently announced that it would leave the Summit League following the 2010–2011 campaign. The

had also been openly rumored to have been courted by the Summit League, but controversy over the Fighting Sioux nickname in all likelihood prevented UND's admission at that time. Expectations that UND would join the Summit League came to an end on November 1, 2010, when North Dakota instead accepted an invitation to join the Big Sky Conference. The University of South Dakota entered into very brief negotiations to join the Big Sky as well, rather than continuing their plans to join the Summit. However, South Dakota chose instead to remain with the more compact Summit League (along with other Dakota schools, NDSU and SDSU). As the

University of Nebraska Omaha The University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was origin ...

began the transition to Division I athletics in all sports, it joined the Summit League on July 1, 2012. With the departures of Centenary to Division III at the end of the 2010–11 athletic year, and Oral Roberts (

Southland Conference The Southland Conference (SLC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it participates in ...

) and Southern Utah (

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference, affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I with college football, football competing in the Football Cha ...

) for other Division I conferences at the end of the 2011–12 athletic year, the Summit League continued with nine institutions, all within the Midwest geographical region. The conference unveiled the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...

(DU) as its tenth member on November 27, 2012, and the Pioneers joined in July 2013. While Denver is slightly outside The Summit's current Midwestern base, the city's status as a major air hub seemingly minimized travel issues for the other members. With Denver among the eight of ten

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

(WAC) members switching to other conferences, that league searched for new members. UMKC announced on February 7, 2013, that it would be one of six schools joining the WAC for the 2013–14 season, dropping The Summit League back to nine member schools. Membership fell to eight schools on May 7, 2013, when Oakland announced that it was joining the Horizon League. Eight of the nine then-current Horizon League programs were former Summit League members with Oakland's move (the Horizon has since added two more members that were never in The Summit League,

Northern Kentucky Northern Kentucky is an urban area in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky consisting of the southern part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. The three main counties of the area are Boone County, Kentucky, Boone, Kent ...

and Robert Morris, as well as another former Summit member in Purdue Fort Wayne). In December 2013, The Summit League office announced that

would return to the conference in all sports, effective July 1, 2014. The next changes to the conference's core membership were announced in 2017. First, on January 26, North Dakota, which had resolved its controversy by selecting the new nickname Fighting Hawks, unveiled as a new member beginning in 2018. Then, on June 28, IUPUI announced it would leave the conference to join the Horizon League effective July 1, 2017. For much of 2018, speculation involving further league expansion focused on

Augustana University Augustana University is a private Lutheran university in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The university identifies 1860 as the year of its founding, the same as its Rock Island, Illinois, Swedish-heritage sister school, Augustana College. It deri ...

, a Division II school located in the Summit's headquarters city of Sioux Falls. Many of the school's boosters have ties to Sanford Health, a hospital company that has long been a major league sponsor and also owns the office complex that houses the league headquarters. The university announced on December 14 that it would start a transition to Division I, though stating at the time that no such move would take place until at least 2021. However, on May 22, 2020, the Summit League commissioner, Tom Douple, informed Augustana president Stephanie Herseth Sandlin that the conference would not be adding more new teams "at this time." The conference expanded anyway, announcing in June 2019 that UMKC would return in 2020 after a seven-year absence. However, shortly thereafter, Purdue Fort Wayne announced its 2020 departure for the Horizon League, maintaining the full-time conference membership at nine schools. Then, on October 4, 2019, the University of St. Thomas, a Minnesota school that was set to be expelled from its longtime athletic home of the

Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC ) is an List of NCAA conferences, intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division III, Division III. All 13 of the mem ...

(MIAC) in 2021, announced that it received an invitation to join the Summit upon its MIAC departure. St. Thomas eventually received a waiver of an NCAA rule mandating that Division III schools can only transition to Division II, allowing the school to move directly to D-I on the originally announced schedule. Shortly before St. Thomas' future conference membership was confirmed, the

University of Northern Colorado The University of Northern Colorado (UNCO or UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado, United States. It was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has offi ...

was announced as a baseball-only member effective in 2021–22. The most recent change to the affiliate membership was announced on May 11, 2022, when

Lindenwood University Lindenwood University is a private university in St. Charles, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1832 by George Champlin Sibley and Mary Easton Sibley as The Lindenwood School for Girls, it is the second-oldest higher-education institution wes ...

and the

University of Southern Indiana The University of Southern Indiana (USI) is a public university just outside of Evansville, Indiana. Founded in 1965, USI enrolls 9,750 dual credit, undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students in more than 130 areas of study. USI offers program ...

were announced as new affiliates in men's soccer plus men's and women's swimming & diving effective in 2022–23. Both institutions began transitions from Division II as new members of the

(OVC), which at the time did not sponsor any of these schools' Summit League sports, in July 2022. Southern Indiana started its swimming & diving program for both sexes in 2022–23. In late March 2023, the OVC announced that it would begin sponsoring men's soccer that fall, leading to Eastern Illinois, Lindenwood, and Southern Indiana moving that sport to their full-time home. Eastern Illinois and Southern Indiana remain swimming & diving affiliates, while Lindenwood dropped both of its swimming & diving programs after the 2023–24 season. In early May 2023, it was announced that founding member Western Illinois would be leaving the Summit League in all sports and would join the

beginning in fall 2023. In mid-June, Western Illinois announced that its men's soccer team would remain in the Summit League for the fall 2023 season, and depart for the OVC after that. On April 4, 2024, both entities announced that

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

would be joining the conference as an associate member in men's soccer starting in 2025. On May 7, 2024, the league announced that Northern Colorado, who is also an affiliate in baseball, and Weber State would be joining the league for men's golf starting in the fall of 2024. On December 23, 2024, the league announced that UMass would be joining the conference as an affiliate in men's soccer starting in the 2025 season. In May 2025, the

, a football-only league that competes in the second-level

Football Championship Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision (F ...

, adopted a new governing structure that created a formal relationship between it and the Summit League, and also formalized the MVFC's decades-long ties with the

. At the time, four of the five Summit members that sponsored football housed those teams in the MVFC.

Member schools

Current full members

;Notes:

Current associate members

Future associate members

Former members

All institutional names and nicknames used reflect those in the final school year of conference membership.

Former full members

The Summit League has 23 former members. ;Notes

Former associate members

;Notes:

Membership timeline

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"<# ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20 DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:1978 till:2028 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7) id:line value:black id:bg value:white id:Full value:rgb(0.792,0.727,0.752) # 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(0.5,0.611,0.824) # 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 = color:FullxF width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:AssocF from:1978 till:1979 text:

Akron Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 census. The Akron metropolitan area, covering Summit and Portage counties, had ...

(1978-1979, 1990-1992) bar:1 shift:(130) color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1987 text: OVC bar:1 color:OtherC2 from:1987 till:1990 text:

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

bar:1 color:FullxF from:1990 till:1992 bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:1992 till:end text:

MAC Mac or MAC may refer to: Common meanings * Mac (computer), a line of personal computers made by Apple Inc. * Mackintosh, a raincoat made of rubberized cloth * Mac, a prefix to surnames derived from Gaelic languages * McIntosh (apple), a Canadi ...

bar:2 color:AssocF from:1978 till:1982 text: Eastern Illinois (1978–1996) bar:2 color:Full from:1982 till:1985 bar:2 color:FullxF from:1985 till:1996 bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:1996 till:2005 text: OVC bar:2 color:AssocOS from:2005 till:end text:(2005–present, swimming & diving; 2011–2023, men's soccer) bar:3 color:AssocF from:1978 till:1982 text: Northern Iowa (1978–1991) bar:3 color:Full from:1982 till:1985 bar:3 color:FullxF from:1985 till:1991 bar:3 color:OtherC1 from:1991 till:end text: MVC bar:4 color:AssocF from:1978 till:1980 text:

Northern Michigan Northern Michigan (also known as Northern Lower Michigan and colloquially within Michigan as "Up North") is a region of the U.S. state of Michigan. The region, which is distinct from the more northerly Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsul ...

(1978-1980) bar:5 color:AssocF from:1978 till:1982 text: Western Illinois (1978–2023) bar:5 color:Full from:1982 till:1985 bar:5 color:FullxF from:1985 till:2023 bar:5 color:AssocOS from:2023 till:2024 text:(2023, men's soccer) bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:2024 till:end bar:6 color:AssocF from:1978 till:1980 text: Youngstown State (1978–1980) bar:6 shift:(110) color:OtherC1 from:1980 till:1988 text: OVC bar:6 color:OtherC2 from:1988 till:1992 text:

bar:6 color:FullxF from:1992 till:2001 text:(1992–2001) bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:2001 till:end text:

Horizon The horizon is the apparent curve that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This curve divides all viewing directions based on whethe ...

bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:1981 text: MIAA (D-II) bar:7 color:AssocF from:1981 till:1982 text: Southwest Missouri State (1981–1990) bar:7 color:Full from:1982 till:1985 bar:7 color:FullxF from:1985 till:1990 bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:1990 till:end text: MVC bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:1982 text:

bar:8 color:FullxF from:1982 till:1994 text:

Cleveland State Cleveland State University (CSU) is a Public university, public research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1964 and opened for classes in 1965 after acquiring the entirety of Fenn College, a private school th ...

(1982–1994) bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:1994 till:2001 text: MCC bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:2001 till:end text:

bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:1981 text: CCAC (NAIA) bar:9 color:OtherC2 from:1981 till:1982 bar:9 color:FullxF from:1982 till:1994 text: UIC (1982–1994) bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:1994 till:2001 text: MCC bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:2001 till:2022 text:

bar:9 color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:end text: MVC bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:1982 text:Independent bar:10 color:FullxF from:1982 till:1994 text: UW–Green Bay (1982–1994) bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:1994 till:2001 text: MCC bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:2001 till:end text:

bar:11 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:1982 text:Independent bar:11 color:FullxF from:1982 till:2007 text: Valparaiso (1982–2007) bar:11 color:OtherC1 from:2007 till:2017 text:

bar:11 shift:(-100) color:AssocOS from:2017 till:2021 text:(2017–2021; men's swimming; 2017–2020, men's tennis) bar:11 shift:(90) color:OtherC2 from:2021 till:end text: MVC bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:1986 text:

bar:12 color:OtherC2 from:1986 till:1990 text:

bar:12 color:FullxF from:1990 till:1994 text:

Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois, with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by ...

(1990–1994) bar:12 shift:(70) color:OtherC1 from:1994 till:1997 bar:12 color:OtherC2 from:1997 till:end text:

bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:1987 text: D-II Independent bar:13 color:OtherC2 from:1987 till:1991 text: D-I Independent bar:13 color:FullxF from:1991 till:1994 text: Wright State (1991–1994) bar:13 shift:(70) color:OtherC1 from:1994 till:2001 text: MCC bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:2001 till:end text:

bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:1980 text: D-I Ind. bar:16 color:OtherC2 from:1980 till:1985 text: D-III Independent bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:1985 till:1987 text: NAIA Ind. bar:16 shift:(10) color:OtherC2 from:1987 till:1990 text: D-II Indep. bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:1990 till:1993 text: D-I Indep. bar:16 color:FullxF from:1993 till:1994 text: UW–Milwaukee (1993–1994) bar:16 shift:(100) color:OtherC1 from:1994 till:2001 text: MCC bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:2001 till:end text:

bar:17 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:1990 text:Independent bar:17 color:OtherC2 from:1990 till:1992 text: ECC bar:17 shift:(-5) color:OtherC1 from:1992 till:1993 text:Ind. bar:17 shift:(-5) color:OtherC2 from:1993 till:1994 text: ECC bar:17 color:FullxF from:1994 till:1997 text: Central Connecticut State (1994–1997) bar:17 shift:(130) color:OtherC1 from:1997 till:end text:

NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered at the NEC Supertower in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It provides IT and network solutions, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), Inte ...

bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:1991 text: GSC (D-II) bar:18 shift:(-5) color:OtherC2 from:1991 till:1993 text: D-II Ind. bar:18 shift:(-5) color:OtherC1 from:1993 till:1994 text: ECC bar:18 color:FullxF from:1994 till:1997 text: Troy State (1994–1997) bar:18 shift:(60) color:OtherC1 from:1997 till:2005 text: TAAC/A-Sun bar:18 color:OtherC2 from:2005 till:end text:

Sun Belt The Sun Belt is a region of the United States generally considered stretching across the Southeast and Southwest. Another rough definition of the region is the area south of the Parallel 36°30′ north. Several climates can be found in the re ...

bar:19 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:1988 text: SUNYAC (D-III) bar:19 color:OtherC2 from:1988 till:1991 text: D-I Indep. bar:19 color:OtherC1 from:1991 till:1994 text: ECC bar:19 color:FullxF from:1994 till:1998 text: Buffalo (1994–1998) bar:19 shift:(20) color:OtherC1 from:1998 till:end text:

bar:20 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:1988 text: NAIA Independent bar:20 shift:(-10) color:OtherC2 from:1988 till:1989 text: D-II Ind. bar:20 shift:(10) color:OtherC1 from:1989 till:1993 text: D-I Indep. bar:20 shift:(-5) color:OtherC2 from:1993 till:1994 text: ECC bar:20 color:FullxF from:1994 till:1998 text: Northeastern Illinois (1994–1998; dropped athletics) bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:1981 text: CCAC (NAIA) bar:21 shift:(10) color:OtherC2 from:1981 till:1984 text: NAIA Indep. bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:1984 till:1993 text: D-I Independent bar:21 shift:(-5) color:OtherC2 from:1993 till:1994 text: ECC bar:21 color:FullxF from:1994 till:2006 text: Chicago State (1994–2006) bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:2006 till:2009 text:

bar:21 color:OtherC2 from:2009 till:2013 text: GWC bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:2022 text: WAC bar:21 color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:2024 text: Ind. bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:2024 till:end text:

bar:22 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:1986 text: NAIA Independent bar:22 color:OtherC2 from:1986 till:1994 text: D-I Independent bar:22 color:FullxF from:1994 till:2013 text: UMKC (1994–2013) bar:22 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:2020 text: WAC bar:22 color:FullxF from:2020 till:end text:

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

(2020–present) bar:30 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:1986 text: RMAC (NAIA) bar:30 color:OtherC2 from:1986 till:1988 text: D-II Ind. bar:30 color:OtherC1 from:1988 till:1994 text: DI-AA Independent bar:30 color:OtherC2 from:1994 till:1996 text: AWC bar:30 color:OtherC1 from:1996 till:1997 text: Ind. bar:30 color:FullxF from:1997 till:2012 text: Southern Utah (1997–2012) bar:30 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2022 text: Big Sky bar:30 color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:end text: WAC bar:31 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:1979 text: Ind. bar:31 color:OtherC2 from:1979 till:1987 text: MCC bar:31 color:OtherC1 from:1987 till:1989 text: D-I Ind. bar:31 color:OtherC2 from:1989 till:1991 text: NAIA Ind. bar:31 shift:(10) color:OtherC1 from:1991 till:1997 text: D-I Independent bar:31 color:FullxF from:1997 till:2012 text:

Oral Roberts Granville Oral Roberts (January 24, 1918 – December 15, 2009) was an American Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christianity, Christian televangelist, who was one of the first to propagate Prosperity theology, Prosperity Gospel Theo ...

(1997–2012) bar:31 shift:(-110) color:AssocOS from:2012 till:2014 text:(2012–2014, men's soccer) bar:31 color:FullxF from:2014 till:end text:(2014–present) bar:32 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:1993 text: NAIA Independent bar:32 color:OtherC2 from:1993 till:1998 text: D-II Independent bar:32 color:FullxF from:1998 till:2017 text: IUPUI (1998–2017) bar:32 color:OtherC1 from:2017 till:end text:

bar:33 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:1997 text: GLIAC (D-II) bar:33 shift:(-20) color:OtherC2 from:1997 till:1998 text: D-II Ind. bar:33 color:FullxF from:1998 till:2013 text:

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

(1998–2013) bar:33 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text:

bar:34 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:1999 text: TAAC bar:34 color:OtherC2 from:1999 till:2003 text:

bar:34 color:FullxF from:2003 till:2011 text:

Centenary A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century. Notable events Notable centennial events at a national or world-level include: * Centennial Exhibition, 1876, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

(2003–2011) bar:34 shift:(-10) color:OtherC1 from:2011 till:2012 text: D-III Ind. bar:34 shift:(10) color:OtherC2 from:2012 till:end text: SCAC (D-III) bar:35 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:2004 text: NCC (D-II) bar:35 color:OtherC2 from:2004 till:2005 text: Ind. bar:35 color:AssocOS from:2005 till:2007 text: South Dakota State (2005–2007, swimming & diving; 2007–present) bar:35 color:FullxF from:2007 till:end text: bar:36 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:2004 text: NCC (D-II) bar:36 color:OtherC2 from:2004 till:2007 text:

bar:36 color:FullxF from:2007 till:end text: North Dakota State (2007–present) bar:37 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:1981 text: D-III Indep. bar:37 color:OtherC2 from:1981 till:1984 text: D-II Indep. bar:37 color:OtherC1 from:1984 till:2001 text: GLVC (D-II) bar:37 color:OtherC2 from:2001 till:2007 text:

bar:37 color:FullxF from:2007 till:2018 text: IPFW (2007–2018) bar:37 color:FullxF from:2018 till:2020 text: Purdue Fort Wayne (2018–2020) bar:37 shift:(120) color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:end text:

bar:38 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:2008 text: NCC (D-II) bar:38 shift:(-10) color:OtherC2 from:2008 till:2009 text: GWC bar:38 color:AssocOS from:2009 till:2011 text:

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

(2009–2011, swimming & diving; 2011–present) bar:38 color:FullxF from:2011 till:end bar:39 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:2008 text: NCC (D-II) bar:39 color:OtherC2 from:2008 till:2011 text: MIAA (D-II) bar:39 color:OtherC1 from:2011 till:2012 text: Ind. bar:39 color:FullxF from:2012 till:end text:

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

(2012–present) bar:40 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:1980 text: D-I Ind. bar:40 color:OtherC2 from:1980 till:1990 text: NAIA Independent bar:40 color:OtherC1 from:1990 till:1998 text: D-II Independent bar:40 shift:(-10) color:OtherC2 from:1998 till:1999 text: D-I Ind. bar:40 color:OtherC1 from:1999 till:2012 text:

bar:40 shift:(-10) color:OtherC2 from:2012 till:2013 text: WAC bar:40 color:FullxF from:2013 till:end text:

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

(2013–present) bar:43 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:2008 text: NCC (D-II) bar:43 color:OtherC2 from:2008 till:2012 text: GWC bar:43 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2018 text: Big Sky bar:43 color:FullxF from:2018 till:end text:

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

(2018–present) bar:44 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:2021 text: MIAC (D-III) bar:44 color:FullxF from:2021 till:end text: St. Thomas (2021–present) bar:N color:powderblue from:1978 till:1982 text:MCAA bar:N color:yellow from:1982 till:1989 text:AMCU bar:N color:red from:1989 till:2007 text:Mid-Continent Conference bar:N color:blue from:2007 till:end text:Summit League ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1980 TextData = fontsize:L textcolor:black pos:(0,30) tabs:(400-center) text:^"The Summit League membership history" #> If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following six 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. <# * Purdue Fort Wayne joined the league as IPFW. The athletic branding was changed to "Fort Wayne" in 2016, and to Purdue Fort Wayne shortly before the dissolution of IPFW on July 1, 2018. * Southwest Missouri State adopted its current name of Missouri State University in 2005. * The two former members that are part of the University of Wisconsin System, namely UW–Green Bay and UW–Milwaukee, now brand themselves for athletic purposes as "Green Bay" and "Milwaukee". * Troy State adopted its current name of Troy University in 2004. * UMKC rebranded its athletic program as "Kansas City" in 2019, a year before its return to the league.

Football

Men's basketball

Men's basketball in the NCAA tournament

* ''At-large bid''
** ''First Four game''

Summit League championships won per school

''Italics indicate a school no longer a part of the Summit League.''

Women's Basketball

Summit League championships won per school

''Italics indicate a school no longer a part of the Summit League.''

Facilities

Future members in gray

Media rights

On August 10, 2023, the Summit League announced the signing of a new three-year media rights deal that would tie the league with

CBS Sports Network CBS Sports Network (a.k.a. CBSSN) is an American digital cable and satellite television network owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. When it launched in 2002 as the National College Sports Network (later College Sports ...

and even closer ties with

Midco Midco (known as Midcontinent Communications until 2016) is a regional cable provider, providing a triple play service of cable television, Internet and telephone service for both North Dakota and South Dakota, along with much of Minnesota, and ...

Sports through the 2025–26 academic year. The new deal transfers the Summit League's men's/women's basketball championship game rights over to CBS Sports Network from

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

, and adds a guaranteed six regular-season men's basketball games on the network with an option of six more men's or women's basketball games during the season. For the 2024 tournament, CBS Sports Network will also broadcast the women's basketball tournament semifinal. In 2025 and 2026 there will remain an option to have the men's and women's tournaments semifinals on CBS Sports Network if scheduling allows. The Midco contract will now expand to the creation of a new all-league media platform called The Summit League Network. It will provide access to all nine member institutions' live streams of every home game, both non-conference and in-conference, as well as interviews and other league info. This expansion will preserve the local media rights given out at select institutions, as the provider for the university will supply Midco with that broadcast/live stream to be simulcast on the Summit League Network.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Summit League Organizations based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sports in the Midwestern United States Sports leagues established in 1982 1982 establishments in the United States Articles which contain graphical timelines

History

Early Days

Foundation

Changes and the addition of women's sports

Horizon and ECC transitions

Declining membership

Renewed expansion and contraction

Member schools

Current full members

Current associate members

Future associate members

Former members

Former full members

Former associate members

Membership timeline

Sponsored sports

Men's sponsored sports by school

Women's sponsored sports by school

Football

Men's basketball

Men's basketball in the NCAA tournament

Summit League championships won per school

Women's Basketball

Summit League championships won per school

Facilities

Media rights

See also

References

External links