Upper Midwest Athletic Conference

Upper Midwest Athletic Conference
Formerly	Twin Rivers Conference
Association	NCAA
Founded	1972
Commissioner	Corey Borchardt (since 2008)
Sports fielded	18 men's: 9; women's: 9; ;
Division	Division III
No. of teams	8 full, 2 associate
Headquarters	Saint Paul, Minnesota
Region	Upper Midwest
Official website	umacathletics.com
Locations

The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) is a college-level athletic conference. The UMAC is a conference of NCAA Division III since the 2008–09 season. Corey Borchardt is the current commissioner of the UMAC, and was appointed to the position in 2008. The UMAC was started in 1972 as the Twin Rivers Conference, and assumed its current name in 1983. Member institutions are located in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

The UMAC sponsors intercollegiate competition in men's baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's football, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, women's softball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field, and women's volleyball.

Greenville College and Westminster College became associate members of the UMAC in football in 2009 and Finlandia University in 2021.

In March 2023, Finlandia announced it was closing.^[1]

History

Upper Midwest Athletic Conference

🌍

Location of UMAC members:

current

Chronological timeline

1972 - The UMAC was founded as the Twin Rivers Conference (TRC), originally an athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Charter members included Concordia College, Saint Paul (now Concordia University, Saint Paul), Dr. Martin Luther College, Loras College, Mount Senario College, Northwestern College of Minnesota (now the University of Northwestern – St. Paul), Northwestern College of Wisconsin and Pillsbury Baptist Bible College, effective beginning the 1972-73 academic year.
1974 - Maranatha Baptist Bible College (now Maranatha Baptist University) joined the TWC as an associate member for football, effective in the 1974 fall season (1974-75 academic year).
1976 - Viterbo College (now Vitberbo University) joined the TWC, effective in the 1976-77 academic year.
1983 - The TRC has been rebranded as the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference, effective in the 1983-84 academic year.
1986 - Loras left the UMAC, effective after the 1985-86 academic year.
1988 - Pillsbury Baptist Bible and Viterbo left the UMAC, effective after the 1987-88 academic year.
1994 - Crown College joined the UMAC, effective in the 1994-95 academic year.
1995 - Dr. Martin Luther and Northwestern (Wisc.) merged to become Martin Luther College. Both institutions therefore left the UMAC as a result of the merger, effective after the 1994-95 academic year. And immediately Martin Luther joined the UMAC, effective beginning the 1995-96 academic year.
1995 - The College of St. Scholastica joined the UMAC, effective in the 1995-96 academic year.
1997 - Trinity Bible College joined the UMAC as an associate member for football, effective in the 1997 fall season (1997-98 academic year).
1998 - Northland College of Wisconsin joined the UMAC, effective in the 1998-99 academic year.
1999 - Concordia Saint Paul left the UMAC to join the Division II ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC), effective after the 1998-99 academic year.
2002 - Mount Scenario disbanded its athletics program in December 2001 without completing the rest of the 2001-02 academic year. Later on, the school closed on 31 August 2002.
2002 - Presentation College of South Dakota joined the UMAC, effective in the 2002-03 academic year.
2002 - Blackburn College, Principia College, Rockford College (now Rockford University) and Westminster College joined the UMAC as associate members for football, effective in the 2002 fall season (2002-03 academic year).
2003 - The University of Minnesota at Morris joined the UMAC, effective in the 2003-04 academic year.
2004 - Bethany Lutheran College joined the UMAC, effective in the 2004-05 academic year.
2008 - Blackburn, Principia, Maranatha Baptist, Rockford, Trinity Bible and Westminster (Mo.) left the UMAC as associate members for football, effective after the 2007 fall season (2007-08 academic year).
2008 - The UMAC had become affiliated with the Division III ranks of the NCAA, effective in the 2008-09 academic year.
2008 - North Central University joined the UMAC as an associate member for certain sports, effective in the 2008-09 academic year.
2009 - Eureka College, Greenville College (now Greenville University) and MacMurray College joined the UMAC as associate members for football (with Westminster (Mo.) re-joining back), effective in the 2009 fall season (2009-10 academic year).
2012 - Presentation left the UMAC to join the NAIA and the North Star Athletic Association (NSAA), effective after the 2011-12 academic year.
2013 - North Central (Minn.) became a full member of the UMAC for all sports, effective in the 2013-14 academic year.
2013 - Iowa Wesleyan College (now Iowa Wesleyan University) joined the UMAC as an associate member for football, effective in the 2013 fall season (2013-14 academic year).
2015 - The University of Wisconsin–Superior joined the UMAC, effective in the 2015-16 academic year.
2018 - Eureka left the UMAC as an associate member for football, effective after the 2017 fall season (2017-18 academic year).
2020 - MacMurray left the UMAC as an associate member for football as the school would later drop its athletics program and be closed, effective after the 2019-20 academic year.
2021 - Iowa Wesleyan left the UMAC as an associate member for football, effective after the 2020 fall season (2020-21 academic year).
2021 - St. Scholastica left the UMAC to join the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC), effective after the 2020-21 academic year.
2021 - Finlandia University joined the UMAC as an associate member for football, effective in the 2021 fall season (2021-22 academic year).
2023 - Finlandia announces it will not enroll new students fall 2023, confirming their upcoming closure of the school.^[1]

Member schools

Current members

Full members

The UMAC currently has eight full members, all but two are private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Varsity teams	Joined
Bethany Lutheran College	Mankato, Minnesota	1927	Lutheran ELS	550	Vikings	15	2004
Crown College	St. Bonifacius, Minnesota	1916	Christian and Missionary Alliance	1,300	Polars	18	1994
Martin Luther College	New Ulm, Minnesota	1995	Lutheran WELS	800	Knights	15	1995
University of Minnesota–Morris	Morris, Minnesota	1960	Public	1,900	Cougars	16	2003
North Central University	Minneapolis, Minnesota	1930	Assemblies of God	1,200	Rams	15	2013^{[lower-alpha 1]}
Northland College	Ashland, Wisconsin	1906	United Church of Christ	700	LumberJacks & LumberJills	12	1998
University of Northwestern–Saint Paul	Roseville, Minnesota	1902	Nondenominational	2,944	Eagles	16	1972
University of Wisconsin–Superior	Superior, Wisconsin	1893	Public	2,589	Yellowjackets	15	2015

Notes

↑ North Central was an associate member for several sports from the 2008–09 to the 2012–13 school years.

Associate members

The UMAC currently has two associate members, all are private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Varsity teams	Joined	Primary conference	UMAC sport
Greenville University	Greenville, Illinois	1892	Free Methodist	1,200	Panthers	14	2009–10	St. Louis (SLIAC)	football
Westminster College	Fulton, Missouri	1851	Presbyterian	1,050	Blue Jays	8	2009–10^{[lower-alpha 1]}	St. Louis (SLIAC)	football

Notes

↑ Westminster was formerly an associate member for football from the 2002 to 2007 fall seasons (2002–03 to 2007–08 school years).

Former members

Full members

The UMAC had nine former full members, which all were private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Left	Current conference
Concordia University, Saint Paul	St. Paul, Minnesota	1893	Lutheran LCMS	2,800	Golden Bears	1972–73	1998–99	Northern Sun (NSIC) (NCAA D-II)
Dr. Martin Luther College	New Ulm, Minnesota	1884	Lutheran WELS	N/A	Lancers	1972–73	1994–95	N/A^{[lower-alpha 1]}
Loras College	Dubuque, Iowa	1839	Catholic (Archdiocese of Dubuque)	1,610	Duhawks	1972–73	1985–86	American Rivers (ARC)
Mount Senario College	Ladysmith, Wisconsin	1930	Nonsectarian	N/A	Fighting Saints	1972–73	2001–02	N/A^{[lower-alpha 2]}
Northwestern College (Wisconsin)	Watertown, Wisconsin	1865	Lutheran WELS	N/A	Trojans	1972–73	1994–95	N/A^{[lower-alpha 1]}
Pillsbury Baptist Bible College	Owatonna, Minnesota	1877	Independent Baptist	142	Comets	1972–73	1987–88	closed in 2008
Presentation College	Aberdeen, South Dakota	1922	Catholic (Presentation Sisters)	786	Saints	2002–03	2011–12	closed in 2023
The College of St. Scholastica	Duluth, Minnesota	1912	Catholic (Benedictines)	3,309	Saints	1995–96	2020–21	Minnesota (MIAC)
Viterbo University	La Crosse, Wisconsin	1890	Catholic (FSPA)	3,192	V-Hawks	1976–77	1987–88	North Star (NSAA) (NAIA)

Notes

1 2 Dr. Martin Luther and Northwestern (Wis.) were merged to form Martin Luther College in 1995.
↑ Mount Scenario disbanded its athletics program in December 2001 without completing the rest of the 2001–02 school year, before closing the school on August 31, 2002.

Associate members

The UMAC had eight former associate members, all were private schools. School names and nicknames reflect those in use during the final school year in which each competed in the UMAC.

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Left	Primary conference	UMAC sport
Blackburn College	Carlinville, Illinois	1837	Presbyterian	590	Beavers	2002–03	2007–08	St. Louis (SLIAC)	football
Eureka College	Eureka, Illinois	1855	Disciples of Christ	680	Red Devils	2009–10	2017–18	St. Louis (SLIAC)
Finlandia University	Hancock, Michigan	1896	Lutheran (ELCA)	507	Lions	2021–22	2022–23	closed in 2023
Iowa Wesleyan University	Mt. Pleasant, Iowa	1842	United Methodist	571	Tigers	2013–14	2020–21	closed in 2023
Maranatha Baptist Bible College^{[lower-alpha 1]}	Watertown, Wisconsin	1968	Baptist	950	Crusaders^{[lower-alpha 2]}	1974–75	2007–08	D-III Independent
MacMurray College	Jacksonville, Illinois	1846	United Methodist	683	Highlanders	2009–10	2019–20	closed in 2020
Principia College	Elsah, Illinois	1910	Scientist	550	Panthers	2002–03	2007–08	St. Louis (SLIAC)
Rockford College^{[lower-alpha 3]}	Rockford, Illinois	1847	Nonsectarian	983	Regents	2002–03	2007–08	Northern (NACC)
Trinity Bible College	Ellendale, North Dakota	1948	Assemblies of God	333	Lions	1997–98	2007–08	NCCAA Independent

Notes

↑ Currently known as Maranatha Baptist University since 2013.
↑ Maranatha Baptist changed its nickname from Crusaders to Sabercats in 2014.
↑ Currently known as Rockford University since 2013.

Membership timeline

Full member (all sports) Full member (non-football) Associate member (football-only) Associate member (sport)

Conference sports

**Conference sports**
Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	Y
Basketball	Y	Y
Cross Country	Y	Y
Football	Y
Golf	Y	Y
Indoor Track and field	Y	Y
Soccer	Y	Y
Softball		Y
Tennis	Y	Y
Track and field	Y	Y
Volleyball		Y

Conference facilities

School	Football stadium	Capacity	Basketball arena	Capacity
Bethany Lutheran	Non-football school	N/A	Sports and Fitness Center	800
Crown	Old National Bank Stadium	1,400	Wild Athletic Center	700
Greenville	Francis Stadium	2,000	Football-only member
Martin Luther	MLC Bowl	2,200	Luther Student Center	700
Minnesota–Morris	Big Cat Stadium	3,500	Cougar Sports Center (CSC)	4,000
North Central	Non-football school	N/A	Clark-Danielson Gymnasium	NA
Northland	Non-football school	N/A	Kendrigan Gymnasium	1,000
Northwestern	Reynolds Field	1,500	Ericksen Center	1,500
Westminster	Priest Field	1,000	Football-only member
Wisconsin–Superior	Non-football school	N/A	Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium	2,500

Football champions

Year	Champion(s)
1974	Northwestern (MN)
1975	Northwestern (MN)
1976	Concordia-Saint Paul Loras Maranatha Baptist Bible College Northwestern (MN) Northwestern (WI)
1977	Concordia-Saint Paul Dr. Martin Luther College
1978	Northwestern (WI)
1979	Northwestern (MN)
1980	Mount Senario
1981	Concordia-Saint Paul Northwestern (MN)
1982	Concordia-Saint Paul Mount Senario Northwestern (MN)
1983	Mount Senario Northwestern (WI)
1984	Northwestern (MN)
1985	Mount Senario
1986	Northwestern (WI)
1987	Mount Senario
1988	Concordia-Saint Paul
1989	Mount Senario
1990	Maranatha Baptist Bible College Northwestern (MN)
1991	Concordia-Saint Paul Northwestern (WI)
1992	Mount Senario
1993	Mount Senario
1994	Mount Senario
1995	Northwestern
1996	Maranatha Baptist Bible College Martin Luther
1997	Mount Senario
1998	Maranatha Baptist Martin Luther Mount Senario
1999	Mount Senario
2000	Mount Senario
2001	Northwestern
2002	Northwestern
2003	Westminster
2004	Westminster
2005	Northwestern
2006	Minnesota-Morris
2007	Northwestern
2008	Northwestern
2009	North Division: Martin Luther South Division: Greenville
2010	Greenville
2011*	St. Scholastica
2012	Greenville Northwestern St. Scholastica
2013	St. Scholastica
2014	St. Scholastica
2015	St. Scholastica
2016	Northwestern
2017	Eureka
2018	Martin Luther
2019	Martin Luther
2020	No season COVID-19
2021	Greenville
2022	Northwestern
2023	Minnesota-Morris

*- 2011 was the first year the UMAC Champion received an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Playoffs.^[2]

Ice hockey affiliations

The UMAC does not sponsor ice hockey. Two UMAC member schools sponsor men's and women's ice hockey as a varsity sport. Northland College and UW-Superior are members of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

References

1 2 "Finlandia University will not enroll students for the Fall 2023 semester". finlandia.edu. 2 March 2023. Archived from the original on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
↑ "UMAC: A Division III playoff bid for the first time". Star Tribune. August 31, 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2012.

External links

Official website

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[2] North Central was an associate member for several sports from the 2008–09 to the 2012–13 school years.

[3] Westminster was formerly an associate member for football from the 2002 to 2007 fall seasons (2002–03 to 2007–08 school years).

[MLC-4] 1 2 Dr. Martin Luther and Northwestern (Wis.) were merged to form Martin Luther College in 1995.

[5] Mount Scenario disbanded its athletics program in December 2001 without completing the rest of the 2001–02 school year, before closing the school on August 31, 2002.

[6] Currently known as Maranatha Baptist University since 2013.

[7] Maranatha Baptist changed its nickname from Crusaders to Sabercats in 2014.

[8] Currently known as Rockford University since 2013.

[byefin-1] 1 2 "Finlandia University will not enroll students for the Fall 2023 semester". finlandia.edu. 2 March 2023. Archived from the original on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.

[9] "UMAC: A Division III playoff bid for the first time". Star Tribune. August 31, 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2012.

[1]

[lower-alpha 1]

[lower-alpha 1]

[lower-alpha 1]

[lower-alpha 2]

[lower-alpha 1]

[lower-alpha 2]

[lower-alpha 3]

[2]