Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference

The Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC), formerly the Northern Athletics Conference (NAC), is an intercollegiate athletic conference. It participates in the NCAA's Division III and began its first season in the fall of 2006.

Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference

Formerly	Northern Athletics Conference
Association	NCAA
Founded	2006
Commissioner	Jeff Ligney (since 2020)
Sports fielded	21 men's: 11 women's: 10
Division	Division III
No. of teams	14
Headquarters	Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Region	Upper Midwest
Official website	naccsports.org
Locations

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,^[1] and men's and women's lacrosse, added in the 2020-21 school year.^[2]

The NACC became eligible for automatic NCAA postseason berths in 2008–09.

History

Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference

50km
31miles

Alverno

Maranatha

St. Norbert

Illinois Tech

MSOE

Rockford

Dominican

Concordia Chicago

Benedictine

Aurora

Wisconsin Lutheran

Marian

Lakeland

Edgewood

Concordia Wisconsin

   

Location of NACC members: current former

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.^{[citation needed]}

Charter members include: Alverno College, Aurora University, Benedictine University, Concordia University Chicago, Concordia University Wisconsin, Dominican University, Edgewood College, Lakeland University, Maranatha Baptist University, Marian University, Rockford College and Wisconsin Lutheran College.^{[citation needed]}

Just three changes to the league's core membership have occurred, as the Milwaukee School of Engineering joined the NAC in the fall of 2007, and Maranatha withdrew from the league in the summer of 2013.^[3] In 2017, the Illinois Institute of Technology announced that they would be joining the NACC for the 2018 athletic season, coinciding with their acceptance as a full NCAA Division III member.^[4]

Also in 2017, Benedictine, which had been contemplating a move to NCAA Division II, was formally invited to join the D-II Great Lakes Valley Conference (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.^[5]

The most recent membership change was announced on April 3, 2019, when St. Norbert College, 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.^[6]

Chronological timeline

• 2006 - The NACC was founded as the Northern Athletics Conference (NAC). Charter members include: Alverno College, Concordia University Wisconsin, Dominican University, Edgewood College, 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 Aurora University, Benedictine University, Concordia University Chicago and Rockford College (from the Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference (NIIC)), effective beginning the 2006-07 academic year.^{[citation needed]}
• 2007 - The Milwaukee School of Engineering (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.^{[citation needed]}
• 2011 - Bethany Lutheran College, Martin Luther College, 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).^{[citation needed]}
• 2012 - Presentation left the NAC as an affiliate member for women's golf to return to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), effective after the 2012 spring season (2011-12 school year).^{[citation needed]}
• 2013 - Maranatha Baptist left the NAC to become an NCAA D-III Independent school, effective after the 2012-13 school year.^{[citation needed]}
• 2013 - The NAC has been rebranded as the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC), effective in the 2013-14 school year.^{[citation needed]}
• 2013 - Northland College joined the NACC as an affiliate member for women's golf, effective in the 2014 spring season (2013-14 academic year).^{[citation needed]}
• 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).^{[citation needed]}
• 2015 - Mount Mary University joined the NACC as an affiliate member for women's cross country, effective in the 2015 fall season (2015-16 academic year).^{[citation needed]}
• 2017 - The Illinois Institute of Technology (Illinois Tech) joined the NACC, effective in the 2018-19 academic year.^{[citation needed]}
• 2018 - Eureka College joined the NACC as an affiliate member for football, effective in the 2018 fall season (2018-19 academic year).^{[citation needed]}
• 2019 - St. Norbert College 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.^{[citation needed]}
• 2021 - St. Norbert had upgraded to join the NACC for all sports, effective in the 2021-22 academic year.^{[citation needed]}
• 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).^{[citation needed]}
• 2024 - Cornell College (men and women), Lake Forest College (men and women), Lawrence University (men and women) and the University of Dubuque (men only) join the NACC as associate members for lacrosse, effective in the 2025 spring season (2024-25 academic year).^[7][8] Lawrence was introducing both sports, while Cornell, Dubuque, and Lake Forest had been members of the Midwest Lacrosse Conference / Midwest Women's Lacrosse Conference.

Member schools

Current members

The NACC currently has 14 full members, all are private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Undergraduate enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Colors	Football?
Alverno College[a]	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	1887	Catholic (S.S.S.F.)	1,664	Inferno	2006	Red, White, & Black	No
Aurora University	Aurora, Illinois	1893	Nonsectarian	2,309	Spartans	2006	Royal Blue & White	Yes
Benedictine University	Lisle, Illinois	1887	Catholic (Benedictines)	3,123	Eagles	2006	Cardinal & White	Yes
Concordia University Chicago	River Forest, Illinois	1864	Lutheran LCMS	1,361	Cougars	2006	Maroon & Gold	Yes
Concordia University Wisconsin	Mequon, Wisconsin	1880	Lutheran LCMS	2,473	Falcons	2006	Blue & Gold	Yes
Dominican University	River Forest, Illinois	1901	Catholic (Dominican)	1,697	Stars	2006	Royal Blue, Black, & White	No
Edgewood University	Madison, Wisconsin	1927	Catholic (S.D.S.)	1,570	Eagles	2006	Black, White, & Red	No
Illinois Institute of Technology	Chicago, Illinois	1890	Nonsectarian	3,135	Scarlet Hawks	2018	Red, Gray & Black	No
Lakeland University	Plymouth, Wisconsin	1862	United Church of Christ	1,023	Muskies	2006	Navy Blue & Gold	Yes
Marian University	Fond du Lac, Wisconsin	1936	Catholic (C.S.S.A.)	1,497	Sabres	2006	Royal Blue & Gold	No
Milwaukee School of Engineering	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	1903	Nonsectarian	2,122	Raiders	2007	Cardinal & White	No
Rockford University	Rockford, Illinois	1847	Nonsectarian	1,181	Regents	2006	Purple & White	Yes
St. Norbert College	De Pere, Wisconsin	1898	Catholic (Premonstratensians)	2,180	Green Knights	2021[b]	Green and Gold	Yes
Wisconsin Lutheran College	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	1973	Lutheran WELS	917	Warriors	2006	Forest Green & White	Yes

Notes

1. Alverno is a women's college, therefore it does not compete in men's sports.
2. St. Norbert was an affiliate member for men's volleyball, men's golf and women's golf during its final two years as a member of the Midwest Conference (2019–20 to 2020–21 school years).^[6]

Associate members

The NACC currently has three associate members, all are private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Undergraduate enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Colors	Primary conference	NACC sport
Beloit College	Beloit, Wisconsin	1846	Nonsectarian	1,358	Buccaneers	2021–22m.lax; 2021–22w.lax	College Blue & Vegas Gold	Midwest (MWC)	men's lacrosse; women's lacrosse
Eureka College	Eureka, Illinois	1855	Disciples of Christ	680	Red Devils	2018–19	Maroon and Gold	St. Louis (SLIAC)	football

Former member

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

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Undergraduate enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Left	Colors	Current conference
Maranatha Baptist University	Watertown, Wisconsin	1968	Baptist	765	Sabercats	2006–07	2012–13	Navy Blue, Gold, & Crimson	D-III Independent

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:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Undergraduate enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Left	Colors	Primary conference	NACC sport
Bethany Lutheran College	Mankato, Minnesota	1927	Lutheran ELS	550	Vikings	2011–12	2014–15	Red & White & Black	Upper Midwest (UMAC)	women's golf
Martin Luther College	New Ulm, Minnesota	1995	Lutheran WELS	800	Knights	2011–12	2011–12	Red & Black & White
University of Minnesota Morris	Morris, Minnesota	1960	Public	1,900	Cougars	2011–12	2014–15	Maroon & Gold
Mount Mary University	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	1913	Catholic (SSND)	529	Blue Angels	2015–16	2024-25	Blue and White	Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC)	women's tennis (2015-16), women's cross country (2015-24)
Northland College	Ashland, Wisconsin	1906	UCC & Cong.	700	LumberJacks & LumberJills	2013–14	2014–15	Orange & Blue	Closed in 2025	women's golf
University of Northwestern – St. Paul	Roseville, Minnesota	1902	Nondenominational	2,944	Eagles	2011–12	2014–15	Purple & Gold	Upper Midwest (UMAC)
Presentation College	Aberdeen, South Dakota	1951	Catholic	786	Saints	2011–12	2011–12	Green & Gold	Closed in 2023

Membership timeline

Sports

Fall

• men's & women's cross country
• men's football
• men's & women's golf
• men's & women's soccer
• women's tennis
• women's volleyball

Winter

See also: Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference men's basketball tournament

• men's & women's basketball
• men's & women's indoor track and field

Spring

• men's baseball
• men's & women's lacrosse
• men's & women's outdoor track and field
• women's softball
• men's tennis
• men's volleyball