Dakota Athletic Conference
The Dakota Athletic Conference (DAC) was a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). As the name implies, member teams were located in the states of North Dakota and South Dakota. The conference folded after the 2011–12 academic year.
| Dakota Athletic Conference | |
|---|---|
| DAC | |
 | |
| Established | 2000 |
| Dissolved | 2012 |
| Association | NAIA |
| Members | 4 (final) 10 (all-time) |
| Sports fielded |
|
| Region | The Dakotas Region III of the NAIA |
| Headquarters | Dickinson, North Dakota |
| Website | dakotaac.org |
| Locations | |
 | |
History
The Dakota Athletic Conference was formed from a merger between the North Dakota College Athletic Conference (NDCAC) and the South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference (SDIC), effective the 2000-01 academic year. Ten schools were a part of the conference in its history, consisting of the following:
- Formerly from the NDCAC: Dickinson State University, Jamestown College, the University of Mary, Mayville State University, Minot State University and Valley City State University
- Formerly from the SDIC: Black Hills State University, Dakota State University, Si Tanka University-Huron and South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
The DAC was one of the only NAIA conferences to have a television contract; America One owned the broadcast rights to the conference, although most of the games were only carried through the network's subscription service, B2 Networks.
Chronological timeline
- 2000 - The Dakota Athletic Conference (DAC) was founded due to a merger of the North Dakota College Athletic Conference (NDCAC) and the South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference (SDIC). Charter members included Dickinson State University, Jamestown College, the University of Mary, Mayville State University, Minot State University and Valley City State University from the NDCAC, and Black Hills State University, Dakota State University, Si Tanka University-Huron and South Dakota School of Mines and Technology from the SDIC, effective the 2000-01 academic year.
- 2005 - Si Tanka-Huron left the DAC after the school was declared to close, effective after the 2004-05 academic year.
- 2006 - Mary left the DAC to join the Division II ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC), effective after the 2005-06 academic year.
- 2011 - On July 1, 2011 Dakota State announced they were leaving the DAC to become an NAIA Independent.[1] Additionally, member schools Black Hills State, Minot State and South Dakota Mines also left the DAC while in the process of transitioning to NCAA Division II as independent schools (Black Hills State joined the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) and Minot State joined the NSIC during the 2012-13 season, while South Dakota Mines joined the RMAC during the 2014-15 season), all effective after the 2010-11 academic year.
- 2012 - The DAC would cease operations as an athletic conference, effective after the 2011-12 academic year; after which Dickinson State left for the Frontier Conference while Jamestown, Mayville State and Valley City State became NAIA independent schools (which all four of them would eventually join the North Star Athletic Association (NSAA); Jamestown, Mayville State and Valley City State as part of the charter members during the 2013-14 season alongside former DAC conference mate and NAIA independent Dakota State, and Dickinson State during the 2014-15 season coming from the Frontier).
Member schools
Final members
| Institution | Nickname | Location | Founded | Type | Enrollment | Joined | Left | Subsequent conference |
Current conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dickinson State University | Blue Hawks | Dickinson, North Dakota | 1916 | Public | 2,572 | 2000–01 | 2011–12 | Frontier (2011–12 to 2012–13) |
North Star (2013–14 to present) |
| Jamestown College | Jimmies | Jamestown, North Dakota | 1883 | Private | 900 | 2000–01 | 2011–12 | D-II Independent (2012–13) North Star (2013–14 to 2017–18) |
Great Plains (2018–19 to present) |
| Mayville State University | Comets | Mayville, North Dakota | 1889 | Public | 780 | 2000–01 | 2011–12 | NAIA Independent (2012–13) |
North Star (2013–14 to present) |
| Valley City State University | Vikings | Valley City, North Dakota | 1890 | Public | 1,220 | 2000–01 | 2011–12 | NAIA Independent (2012–13) |
North Star (2013–14 to present) |
Former members
| Institution | Nickname | Location | Founded | Type | Enrollment | Joined | Left | Subsequent conference |
Current conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Hills State University | Yellow Jackets | Spearfish, South Dakota | 1881 | Public | 4,739 | 2000–01 | 2010–11 | D-II Independent (2011–12) |
RMAC (NCAA D-II) (2012–13 to present) |
| Dakota State University | Trojans | Madison, South Dakota | 1881 | Public | 2,282 | 2000–01 | 2010–11 | NAIA Independent (2011–12 to 2012–13) |
North Star (2013–14 to present) |
| Minot State University | Beavers | Minot, North Dakota | 1913 | Public | 3,851 | 2000–01 | 2010–11 | D-II Independent (2011–12) |
NSIC (NCAA D-II) (2012–13 to present) |
| Si Tanka University at Huron | Screaming Eagles | Huron, South Dakota | 1883 | Private | n/a | 2000–01 | 2004–05 | school closed in 2005 | |
| South Dakota School of Mines and Technology | Hardrockers | Rapid City, South Dakota | 1885 | Public | 2,345 | 2000–01 | 2010–11 | D-II Independent (2011–12 to 2013–14) |
RMAC (NCAA D-II) (2014–15 to present) |
| University of Mary | Marauders | Bismarck, North Dakota | 1959 | Private | 2,758 | 2000–01 | 2005–06 | NSIC (NCAA D-II) (2006–07 to present) | |
Membership timeline
Sports
Member schools fielded men's and women's teams in cross country, basketball, track and field and golf. Men's-only sports were baseball, football and wrestling, while soccer, softball and volleyball were only offered for women.
References
- "DSU Athletics announces move to independent status". Dakota State University. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.