Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

On March 15, 1920, a formal constitution was adopted and the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with founding members Carleton College, Gustavus Adolphus College, Hamline University, Macalester College, Saint John's University, St. Olaf College, and the College of St. Thomas (now University of St. Thomas).

Concordia College joined the MIAC in 1921, Augsburg University in 1924, and Saint Mary's University in 1926. Carleton dropped membership in 1925, rejoining in 1983. St. Olaf left in 1950, returning in 1975. The University of Minnesota Duluth was a member of the MIAC from 1950 to 1975. Bethel University joined in 1978. The MIAC initiated women's competition in the 1981–82 season. Two all-women's schools subsequently joined the conference, St. Catherine University in 1983 and the College of St. Benedict in 1985.

The conference did not play sports from the fall 1943 to the spring of 1945 due to World War II. Saint Mary's discontinued its football program in 1955. Macalester football left the conference in 2002, but still retains its MIAC membership in other sports. St. Catherine and St. Benedict, being both women's colleges, also do not sponsor football. Together with Saint John's, one of only a handful of men's colleges, St. Benedict forms a joint academic institution, known commonly by the initialism CSB/SJU.

From 1947 to 2003 the MIAC had a strong men's wrestling program, which was discontinued following the 2002–03 season. The strongest teams over the history of the conference were Augsburg with 31 team championships, and Saint John's with 14 team championships. The MIAC teams and individual wrestlers demonstrated a strong national and Olympic presence in the 1970s and beyond.[1]

On May 22, 2019, it was announced that the MIAC had expelled the University of St. Thomas effective at the end of spring 2021 at the latest, giving it time to make other athletic arrangements were that much time to become necessary. St. Thomas by this point had over twice the enrollment of any other member institution.[2] and on May 28, 2020, the conference announced the addition of the College of St. Scholastica after leaving the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference in 2021.[3]

Starting in 2021 for football only the conference will divide into two divisions. The Northwoods Division will consist of Carleton College, Gustavus Adolphus College, Saint John's University, St. Olaf College, and The College of St. Scholastica. The Skyline Division will consist of Augsburg University, Bethel University, Concordia College, Hamline University, and Macalester College.

Member teams compete in 22 sports, 11 men's and 11 women's.

The conference no longer sponsors wrestling or men's and women's Nordic skiing.

Football

• The Goat (Carleton v. St. Olaf) founded 1931
• The Old Paint Bucket (Macalester v. Hamline) founded 1965
• The Troll (Concordia v. St. Olaf) founded 1974
• The Book of Knowledge (Carleton v. Macalester) founded 1998

• The Hammer (Augsburg v. Hamline) founded 2005

Other sports

• The Goat (Carleton and St. Olaf, men's basketball) founded 1913
• The Karhu Shoe (Carleton v. St. Olaf, men's and women's cross country) founded 1972
• The Margate Memorial Trophy (Carleton v. St. Thomas, swimming and diving) founded 1995
• The Presidents Cup (Carleton v. St. Olaf, women's basketball) founded 2001
• The Rolex (Carleton v. St. Olaf, men's track and field)
• The Rusty Putter (Carleton v. St. Olaf, men's golf)

Defunct

• The Power Bowl (Concordia v. Minnesota State University-Moorhead, football) founded 1984, through 1998 as the American Crystal Sugar Bowl, from 1999–2007 as the Power Bowl[5]
• The Holy Grail (Saint John's v. St. Thomas) founded 2001, became defunct after the 2019 game, after which St. Thomas moved to Division I.

Source:[6]

The All-Sports Trophy is given to the school with the best overall record for all MIAC sports in each gender. The men's trophy was first awarded for 1962-63 to Macalester College. St. Olaf College received the first women's trophy in 1983-84. The University of St. Thomas won both the men's and women's trophies from 2008 to 2017. The men's is named the George Durenberger Trophy and the women's is named the Pat Wiesner Trophy[7] Not awarded 2019-20 and 2020-21 due to Covid pandemic.

The executive director, a position that was created in 1994, serves as the conference commissioner.

• Carlyle Carter (1994–2005)
• Daniel McKane (2005–present)

• Official website
• MIAC First 50 Years