Heart of America Athletic Conference

The Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC or The Heart)[1] is a college athletic conference affiliated with the NAIA. Member institutions are located in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska in the United States.

Heart of America Athletic Conference
The Heart
Established1971
AssociationNAIA
Members14 (13 in 2023)
Sports fielded
  • 19
    • men's: 10
    • women's: 9
RegionWest North Central
HeadquartersOverland Park, Kansas
CommissionerLori Thomas (since 2014)
Websitewww.haacsports.com
Locations

History

The HAAC's earliest ancestor was the Missouri College Athletic Union (MCAU), which was formed in 1924 when the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association (now the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association or MIAA) split in two. The old MIAA's private schools formed the Athletic Union, while the state teachers' colleges stayed in the MIAA.[2] It was reorganized as the HAAC in 1971 when it began admitting schools outside Missouri. However, the HAAC does not presently claim the Athletic Union's history as its own.

In early 2014, Grand View University and William Penn University were announced as members for the 2015–16 school year.[3] In April 2015, Clarke University and Mount Mercy University were also announced as members for the 2016–17 school year.[4] In October 2019, Park University was approved for HAAC membership and joined in the 2020–21 school year.[5] On February 10, 2022, long-serving Evangel University accepted its invitation to join the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference, also Kansas-based, in 2023–24.[6]

The current commissioner of the conference is Lori Thomas. Thomas, the first female commissioner in NAIA history, began her term in 2014,[7] succeeding Larry Lady who retired after 22 years as commissioner.

Chronological timeline
  • 1974 - The College of Emporia left the HAAC as the school announced that it would close, effective after the 1973-74 academic year.
  • 1986 - Central Methodist left the HAAC to join the , effective after the 1985-86 academic year.
  • 1987 - Evangel College (now Evangel University) joined the HAAC, effective the 1987-88 academic year.
  • 1991 - Benedictine College joined the HAAC (with Central Methodist re-joining), effective the 1991-92 academic year.
  • 1996 - Lindenwood College (now Lindenwood University) joined the HAAC, effective the 1996-97 academic year.
  • 2000 - Avila College (now Avila University) joined the HAAC, effective the 2000-01 academic year.
  • 2016 - Clarke University and Mount Mercy University (also both coming from the defunct Midwest Collegiate (MCC) after spending a season as NAIA Independents) joined the HAAC, effective the 2016-17 academic year.
  • 2018 - Avila left the HAAC to join the KCAC, effective after the 2017-18 academic year.
  • 2020 - Park University joined the HAAC, effective the 2020-21 academic year.
  • 2022 - Evangel announced that it will leave the HAAC after it has accepted to join the KCAC, effective beginning the 2023-24 academic year.

Member schools

Current members

The HAAC currently has 14 full members, all but one are private schools:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined
Baker University Baldwin City, Kansas 1858 Methodist 989 Wildcats 1971
Benedictine College Atchison, Kansas 1858 Catholic 2,189 Ravens 1991
Central Methodist University Fayette, Missouri 1854 Methodist 1,094 Eagles 1971;
1991[lower-alpha 1]
Clarke University Dubuque, Iowa 1843 Catholic 1,075 Pride 2016
Culver–Stockton College Canton, Missouri 1853 Disciples of Christ 1,066 Wildcats 1980
Evangel University Springfield, Missouri 1955 Assemblies of God 1,511 Valor 1987
Graceland University Lamoni, Iowa 1895 Community of Christ 2,301 Yellowjackets 1971
Grand View University Des Moines, Iowa 1896 Lutheran (ELCA) 1,988 Vikings 2015
MidAmerica Nazarene University Olathe, Kansas 1966 Nazarene 1,884 Pioneers 1980
Missouri Valley College Marshall, Missouri 1889 Presbyterian 1,728 Vikings 1971
Mount Mercy University Cedar Rapids, Iowa 1928 Catholic 1,877 Mustangs 2016
Park University Parkville, Missouri 1875 Nonsectarian 2,340 Pirates 2020
Peru State College Peru, Nebraska 1865 Public 2,422 Bobcats 2011
William Penn University Oskaloosa, Iowa 1873 Quakers 1,550 Statesmen &
Lady Statesmen		 2015
Notes
  1. Central Methodist left the HAAC after the 1985–86 school year, before re-joining effective the 1991–92 school year.

Affiliate members

The HAAC currently has six affiliate members, all but one are private schools:

Institution Location Founded Type Enrollment Nickname Joined HAAC
sport		 Primary
conference
Dickinson State University Dickinson, North Dakota 1918 Public 1,392 Blue Hawks 2017–18 men's wrestling North Star
Iowa Wesleyan University Mount Pleasant, Iowa 1842 United Methodist 570 Tigers 2021–22m.wr.
2021–22w.wr.		 men's wrestling
women's wrestling		 Continental
Missouri Baptist University Creve Coeur, Missouri 1957 Southern Baptist 5,309 Spartans 2020–21 men's volleyball American Midwest
St. Ambrose University Davenport, Iowa 1882 Catholic 3,607 Fighting Bees 2021–22 men's wrestling Chicagoland
University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis St. Louis, Missouri 1864 – 1,350 Eutectics 2020–21 men's volleyball American Midwest
Waldorf University Forest City, Iowa 1903 For-profit 4,500 Warriors 2020–21m.wr.
2020–21w.wr.		 men's wrestling
women's wrestling		 North Star

Former members

The HAAC had six former full members, all are private schools:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Left Subsequent
conference		 Current
conference
Avila University Kansas City, Missouri 1916 Catholic 1,676 Eagles 2000–01 2017–18 Kansas
(2018–19 to present)
College of Emporia Emporia, Kansas 1882 Presbyterian N/A Fighting Presbies 1971–72 1973–74 Closed in 1974
Lindenwood University St. Charles, Missouri 1827 Presbyterian 4,822 Lions 1996–97 2010–11 D-II Independent
(2011–12)
Mid-America (NCAA D-II)
(2012–13 to 2018–19)		 Great Lakes Valley (NCAA D-II)
(2019–20 to present)
(Ohio Valley (NCAA D-I)
starting in 2022–23)
Ottawa University Ottawa, Kansas 1865 American Baptist 726 Braves 1971–72 1981–82 Kansas
(1982–83 to present)
Tarkio College Tarkio, Missouri 1883 Presbyterian N/A Owls 1971–72 1991–92 Closed in 1992
William Jewell College Liberty, Missouri 1849 Nonsectarian 738 Cardinals 1971–72 2010–11 Great Lakes Valley (NCAA D-II)
(2011–12 to present)

Membership timeline
Park UniversityMount Mercy UniversityClarke UniversityWilliam Penn UniversityGrand View UniversityPeru State CollegeAvila UniversityLindenwood UniversityBenedictine CollegeEvangel UniversityMidAmerica Nazarene UniversityCulver–Stockton CollegeWilliam Jewell CollegeTarkio CollegeOttawa UniversityMissouri Valley CollegeGraceland UniversityCollege of EmporiaCentral Methodist UniversityBaker University

 Full member (all sports)   Full member (non-football) 

Sports
A divisional format is used for baseball, men's and women's basketball, football, and women's volleyball.
North
  • Clarke
  • Culver–Stockton
  • Graceland
  • Grand View
  • Peru State
  • William Penn
  • Mount Mercy (non-football)
West
  • Baker
  • Benedictine
  • Central Methodist
  • Evangel
  • MidAmerica Nazarene
  • Missouri Valley
  • Park (non-football)
Conference sports
SportMen'sWomen's
BaseballY
BasketballYY
Cross CountryYY
FootballY
GolfYY
SoccerYY
SoftballY
TennisYY
Track & Field IndoorYY
Track & Field OutdoorYY
VolleyballY
WrestlingY

See also

References
  1. "Heart of America Athletic Conference Athletics News". Haacsports.com. May 7, 2015. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  2. MIAA Archived July 9, 2012, at archive.today
  3. "Heart of America Conference adds two Iowa members". The Kansas City Star. January 10, 2014. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  4. "Heart of America Athletic Conference Athletics News". Haacsports.com. April 2, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  5. "Park set to join Heart of America in 2020". Victory Sports Network. October 9, 2019. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  6. "Evangel University Accepts Invitation to Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference". Evangel Valor. February 10, 2022. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  7. "About us". Heart of America Athletic Conference. 2015. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015.
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