St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
AssociationNCAA
Founded1989
CommissionerDr. Dick Kaiser
Sports fielded
  • 14
    • men's: 7
    • women's: 7
DivisionDivision III
No. of teams10
HeadquartersSt. Louis, Missouri
RegionMidwest and South
Official websitesliac.org
Locations
Location of teams in {{{title}}}

The St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) is an NCAA Division III collegiate athletic conference in the Midwestern and Southern United States. There are 10 full member institutions as of the 2023-24 academic year.

St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
🌍
Location of SLIAC members: full member, future member. Not pictured: affiliate member Marshall

History

Chronological timeline

Source:[1]

  • September 1989: The SLIAC chartered with Blackburn, Fontbonne, Maryville, Parks, Principia, and Webster the original members.
  • September 1990: The SLIAC's first year gets underway. MacMurray and Westminster join the charter members.
  • February 1991: The first SLIAC men's basketball tournament is held.
  • February 1995: Westminster wins the men's basketball tournament title to earn the SLIAC's first automatic bid to an NCAA Division III national championship event.
  • September 1995: Greenville begins its first year as a member of the conference, bringing SLIAC membership to nine schools.
  • March 1996: MacMurray wins the women's basketball tournament title to earn the conference's first automatic bid to an NCAA Division III women's national championship event.
  • April 1996: Parks competes in its final conference event. Parks closed after the 1995-96 year and its academic programs were moved to the Saint Louis University campus.
  • November 1996: Blackburn, MacMurray, and Westminster share the first-ever SLIAC football title.
  • September 1999: The SLIAC begins its tenth year of operation.
  • November 1999: The fourth and final (until 2008) conference football title is awarded (six teams needed for conference to sponsor a sport).
  • September 2006: Eureka and Lincoln Christian begin play as the ninth and tenth members of the conference.
  • March 2007: Huntingdon and LaGrange admitted to the SLIAC as affiliate members in the sport of football. The SLIAC announces football will return in the fall of 2008 after a nine-year hiatus.
  • May 2007: William Wolper hired as the Conference's first full-time Commissioner (officially started in July).
  • November 2007: With the completion of the fall season, Lincoln Christian departs the SLIAC.
  • September 2008: Football begins play as the 13th conference sport after a nine-year hiatus.
  • September 2008: Spalding University admitted to the SLIAC to begin play during the 2009–10 academic year.
  • April 2009: The SLIAC announced it would cease its sponsorship of football; five football-playing schools join the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) as associate members for the sport. Huntingdon and LaGrange end football affiliation with the conference.[2]
  • June 2010: University of Dallas admitted to the SLIAC as an affiliate member in the sports of men's golf, men's and women's cross country.
  • September 2010: University of Dallas is accepted as a full member into the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) and drops its affiliate membership with the SLIAC after the spring men's golf season.
  • December 2011: Iowa Wesleyan College admitted to the SLIAC as a full member to begin play during the 2013–14 academic year.
  • March 2020: MacMurray College announced it would close in May 2020 due to financial struggles.
  • June 2020: Iowa Wesleyan announced that it would leave the NCAA and return to the NAIA after the 2020–21 academic year.[3]
  • June 2021: Mississippi University for Women admitted to the SLIAC as a full member beginning the 2023–24 academic year.[4]
  • August 2022: Lyon College admitted to the SLIAC as a full member beginning the 2023–24 academic year.[5]

Member schools

Current members

The SLIAC currently has ten full members; nine are private schools and one is public:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Varsity
teams		 Joined
Blackburn College Carlinville, Illinois 1837 Presbyterian
(PCUSA)		 382 Beavers 12 1989[lower-alpha 1]
Eureka College Eureka, Illinois 1855 Disciples of Christ 559 Red Devils 16 2006
Fontbonne University Clayton, Missouri 1923 Catholic
(C.S.J.)		 944 Griffins 10 1989[lower-alpha 1]
Greenville University Greenville, Illinois 1892 Free Methodist 1,088 Panthers 14 1995
Lyon College Batesville, Arkansas 1872 Presbyterian
(PCUSA)		 496 Scots 21 2023
Mississippi University for Women Columbus, Mississippi 1884 Public 2,339 Owls 17 2023
Principia College Elsah, Illinois 1912 Scientist 323 Panthers 12 1989[lower-alpha 1]
Spalding University Louisville, Kentucky 1814 Catholic
(S.C.N.)		 1,692 Golden Eagles 11 2009
Webster University Webster Groves, Missouri 1915 Catholic
(Sisters of Loretto)		 5,000 Gorloks 11 1989[lower-alpha 1]
Westminster College Fulton, Missouri 1851 Presbyterian
(PCUSA)		 610 Blue Jays 8 1990
Notes
  1. 1 2 3 4 Charter member. But SLIAC competition for all sports began effective in the 1990–91 school year.

Former members

The SLIAC had five former full members, all were private schools:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Varsity
teams		 Joined Left Current
conference
Iowa Wesleyan University Mount Pleasant, Iowa 1842 United Methodist 571 Tigers 12 2013 2021 Closed in 2023
Lincoln Christian University Lincoln, Illinois 1944 Christian Churches
and Churches of Christ		 1,000 Red Lions[lower-alpha 1] 10 2006 2008[lower-alpha 2] N/A[lower-alpha 3]
MacMurray College Jacksonville, Illinois 1846 United Methodist 683 Highlanders 10 1990 2020 Closed in 2020
Maryville University Town and Country, Missouri 1872 Catholic
(R.S.C.J.)		 2,500 Saints 14 1989[lower-alpha 4] 2009 Great Lakes Valley (GLVC)
(NCAA D-II)
Parks College Cahokia, Illinois[lower-alpha 5] 1927 Catholic
(Jesuit)		 N/A Falcons N/A 1989[lower-alpha 4] 1996 N/A[lower-alpha 6]
Notes
  1. ↑ Lincoln Christian's former athletic nickname were the Preachers (men's) and the Angels (women's).
  2. ↑ Lincoln Christian left the SLIAC after the end of the 2007 fall season without completing the rest of the 2007–08 school year.
  3. ↑ Lincoln Christian discontinued its athletics program after the 2021–22 school year.
  4. 1 2 Charter member. But SLIAC competition for all sports began effective in the 1990–91 school year.
  5. ↑ Parks College's academic programs were moved to Saint Louis University main campus in August 1996.
  6. ↑ Parks discontinued its athletics program after the 1995–96 school year.

Former associate members

The SLIAC had three former associate members, all were private schools:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Left Primary
conference		 SLIAC
sport
University of Dallas Irving, Texas 1956 Catholic 3,500 Crusaders 2010–11m.x.c.;
2010–11w.x.c.;
2010–11m.gf.		 2011–12m.x.c.,
2011–12w.x.c.;
2011–12m.gf.		 Southern (SCAC) men's cross country;
women's cross country;
men's golf
Huntingdon College Montgomery, Alabama 1854 United Methodist 900 Hawks 2008–09 2008–09 USA South football
LaGrange College LaGrange, Georgia 1831 1137 Panthers

Membership timeline

Lyon CollegeMississippi University for WomenIowa Wesleyan CollegeUniversity of DallasSpalding UniversityLaGrange CollegeHuntingdon CollegeLincoln Christian UniversityEureka CollegeGreenville UniversityWestminster College (Missouri)MacMurray CollegeWebster UniversityPrincipia CollegeParks College of Engineering, Aviation and TechnologyMaryville UniversityFontbonne UniversityBlackburn College (Illinois)

References

  1. ↑ "Key Dates In SLIAC History". SLIAC. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
  2. ↑ "SLIAC drops sponsorship of football". LaGrange Football. April 16, 2009. Archived from the original on May 28, 2010. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
  3. ↑ "IW Tiger Athletics Update" (Press release). Iowa Wesleyan Tigers. June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  4. ↑ "SLIAC Accepts MUW as Member" (Press release). Saint Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. June 17, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Lyon Accepted to Join SLIAC" (Press release). Saint Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. August 22, 2022. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
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