Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

Association	NCAA
Founded	March 15, 1920
Commissioner	Dan McKane (since 2005)
Sports fielded	22 men's: 11 women's: 11
Division	Division III
No. of teams	13
Headquarters	Bloomington, Minnesota
Region	Minnesota
Official website	www.miacathletics.com
Locations

The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC /ˈmaɪæk/ MY-ak) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. All 13 of the member schools are located in Minnesota and are private institutions, with only two being non-sectarian.

History

50km
30miles

St. Scholastica

St. Olaf

Saint Mary's

Saint John's

St. Catherine

Saint Benedict

Macalester

Hamline

Gustavus Adolphus

Concordia

Carleton

Bethel

Augsburg

  

Location of MIAC schools. Current members: green. Former members: red.

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 subsequently rejoined. 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 University of St. Thomas would depart the MIAC at the end of spring 2021. 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]

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

Chronological timeline

• 1920 – On March 15, 1920, the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) was founded. Charter members included Carleton College, Gustavus Adolphus College, Hamline University, Macalester College, Saint John's University, St. Olaf College and the College of St. Thomas (now the University of St. Thomas) beginning the 1920–21 academic year.
• 1921 – Concordia College at Moorhead joined the MIAC in the 1921–22 academic year.
• 1924 – Augsburg Seminary (now Augsburg University) joined the MIAC in the 1924–25 academic year.
• 1925 – Carleton left the MIAC to fully align with the Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC) after the 1924–25 academic year.
• 1926 – Saint Mary's College (now Saint Mary's University) joined the MIAC in the 1926–27 academic year.
• 1950 – St. Olaf left the MIAC to become an Independent (who would later join the Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC) beginning the 1952–53 academic year) after the 1949–50 academic year.
• 1951 – The University of Minnesota at Duluth joined the MIAC in the 1951–52 academic year.
• 1974 – St. Olaf re-joined the MIAC in the 1974–75 academic year.
• 1975 – Minnesota–Duluth left the MIAC to join the Northern Intercollegiate Conference (NIC) after the 1974–75 academic year.
• 1977 – Bethel College and Seminary (now Bethel University) joined the MIAC in the 1977–78 academic year.
• 1982 – The MIAC became exclusively an NCAA Division III athletic conference, forgoing its membership in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
• 1983 – St. Catherine University joined the MIAC (with Carleton re-joining) in the 1983–84 academic year.
• 1985 – The College of Saint Benedict joined the MIAC in the 1985–86 academic year.
• 2021:
  • St. Thomas left the MIAC to join the NCAA Division I ranks and the Summit League after the 2020–21 academic year.
  • The College of St. Scholastica joined the MIAC in the 2021–22 academic year.

Member schools

Current members

The MIAC currently has 13 full members, all private schools.

Institution	Location[a]	Founded	Affiliation	Undergrad enrollment[4]	Nickname	Joined	Colors
Augsburg University	Minneapolis	1869	Lutheran ELCA	2,550	Auggies	1924
Bethel University	Arden Hills	1871	Converge	2,965	Royals	1977
Carleton College	Northfield	1866	Nonsectarian	2,105	Knights	1920, 1983[b]
Concordia College	Moorhead	1891	Lutheran ELCA	2,114	Cobbers	1921
Gustavus Adolphus College	St. Peter	1862	Lutheran ELCA	2,230	Golden Gusties	1920
Hamline University	St. Paul	1854	United Methodist	2,184	Pipers	1920
Macalester College[c]	St. Paul	1874	Nonsectarian	2,146	Scots	1920
College of Saint Benedict[d][e]	St. Joseph	1913	Catholic (Benedictines)	1,958	Bennies	1985
St. Catherine University[e]	St. Paul	1905	Catholic (CSJ)	3,176	Wildcats	1983
Saint John's University[d][f]	Collegeville	1857	Catholic (Benedictines)	1,754	Johnnies	1920
Saint Mary's University	Winona	1912	Catholic (Lasallian)	1,590	Cardinals	1926
St. Olaf College	Northfield	1874	Lutheran ELCA	3,040	Oles	1920, 1974[g]
College of St. Scholastica	Duluth	1912	Catholic (Benedictines)	3,906	Saints	2021

Notes

1. All cities are located within the State of Minnesota.
2. Carleton left the MIAC after the 1924–25 school year, before re-joining in the 1983–84 school year.
3. Macalester re-joined the conference in football in the 2021 fall season (2021–22 school year). It became an independent in football from the 2002 to 2013 fall seasons (2002–03 to 2013–14 school years), and then a football-only member of the Midwest Conference from the 2014 to 2020 fall seasons (2014–15 to 2020–21 school years).^[3]
4. Saint Benedict (women's) and Saint John's (men's) are together the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University and usually grouped together, but they participate separately in athletics.
5. This institution is a women's college, therefore it does not compete in men's sports.
6. This institution is a men's college, therefore it does not compete in women's sports.
7. St. Olaf left the MIAC after the 1949–50 school year, before re-joining in the 1974–75 school year.

Former members

Institution	Location[a]	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Left	Current conference
University of Minnesota–Duluth	Duluth	1902	Public	11,729	Bulldogs	1951	1975	Northern Sun (NSIC) (NCAA Division II)
University of Saint Thomas	St. Paul	1885	Catholic	6,199	Tommies	1920	2021	Summit (NCAA Division I)

Notes

1. All cities are located within the State of Minnesota.

Membership timeline

Full members Full members (non-football) Other conference Football only

Sports

A divisional format is used for football.
Northwoods Carleton Gustavus Adolphus Saint John's St. Olaf St. Scholastica	Skyline Augsburg Bethel Concordia Hamline Macalester

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

Men's sports

• baseball
• basketball
• cross country
• football
• golf
• ice hockey
• indoor track and field
• soccer
• swimming and diving
• tennis
• track and field

Women's sports

• basketball
• cross country
• golf
• ice hockey
• indoor track and field
• soccer
• softball
• swimming and diving
• tennis
• track and field
• volleyball

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

Rivalry trophies

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]

All-Sports Trophy

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.

Men's	Titles	Last	Women's	Titles	Last
St. Thomas	33	2019	St. Thomas	28	2019
Saint John's	14	2007	Gustavus Adolphus	5	2007
Gustavus Adolphus	5	2004	St. Benedict	2	1999
Macalester	5	1968	St. Olaf	2	1985
St. Olaf	1	1979

Football

Conference titles

Team	Titles	Years won
Saint John's	36	1932, 1935c, 1936c, 1938, 1953c, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1971c, 1974c, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979c, 1982, 1985, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995c, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001c, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006c, 2008, 2009, 2014, 2018, 2019c, 2021, 2022
Gustavus Adolphus	22	1926, 1927, 1933, 1935c, 1936c, 1937, 1940, 1945, 1946, 1950, 1951, 1952c, 1953c, 1954, 1955, 1958, 1959, 1967, 1968, 1971c, 1972, 1987
St. Thomas[a]	21	1922c, 1929, 1930c, 1939, 1941, 1942c, 1947c, 1948, 1949, 1956, 1973c, 1979c, 1983, 1990, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019c
Concordia	18	1931, 1934, 1942c, 1952c, 1957, 1964, 1969, 1970, 1974c, 1978c, 1979c, 1980, 1981, 1986, 1988c, 1990c, 1995c, 2004
St. Olaf	6	1922c, 1923, 1930c, 1935c, 1978c, 1979c
Hamline	5	1920, 1921, 1966, 1984, 1988c
Bethel	5	2000, 2001c, 2006c, 2007, 2013
UM–Duluth[a]	3	1960, 1961, 1973c
Augsburg	2	1928c, 1997
Carleton	2	1924, 1992
Macalester[b]	2	1925, 1947c
Saint Mary's[c]	1	1928c

1. No longer a MIAC member.
2. Did not compete in MIAC football from 2002 through 2020.
3. Remains a MIAC member, but no longer sponsors football.

c = Co-champions
No 1943 and 1944 seasons due to World War II.
No 2020 season due to COVID-19.
Source:^[8]

Soccer

Men's soccer regular season conference titles

Team	Titles	Years won
Gustavus Adolphus	16	1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1983c, 1993, 1994, 2000, 2004c, 2005c, 2006c, 2007c, 2012c, 2013, 2014c, 2018, 2019c
Macalester	11	1988c, 1990, 1997, 1998c, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005c, 2010, 2015
Saint John's	9	1968, 1976, 1979, 1982, 1983c, 1986, 1988c, 1989c, 2006c
St. Thomas[a]	9	1977, 1978, 1985, 1987, 1991, 1995c, 2016, 2017, 2019c
St. Olaf	7	1984, 1992, 1998c, 2004c, 2011c, 2014c, 2021
Carleton	5	2007c, 2008, 2009, 2011c, 2012c
Augsburg	4	1973, 1974, 1975, 1980
Concordia	2	1995c, 1996
Bethel	1	1981

1. No longer a conference member.

c = Co-champions
No championship awarded for 2020 due to Covid pandemic
Source:^[9]

Women's soccer regular season conference titles

Team	Titles	Years won
Macalester	8	1992, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001c, 2004, 2005
St. Thomas[a]	8	1987, 2001c, 2002c, 2008, 2015c, 2016c, 2018, 2019c
Saint Mary's	7	1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991c
Gustavus Adolphus	6	1984, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2015c
St. Benedict	5	1991c, 2002c, 2003, 2011c, 2013
Concordia	4	2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Augsburg	4	2014, 2016c, 2017, 2019c
Carleton	3	1982, 2010, 2011c
St. Catherine	1	2021

1. No longer a conference member.

c = Co-champions
No championship awarded for 2020 due to Covid pandemic
Source:^[10]

Basketball

See also: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament

Men's basketball regular season conference titles

Team	Titles	Years won
St. Thomas[a]	34	1924, 1946c, 1949c, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1981c, 1989c, 1990, 1991c, 1992c, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006c, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011c, 2012c, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017c, 2019, 2020c
Hamline	19	1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1938c, 1939c, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1947, 1948, 1949c, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1957, 1960
Gustavus Adolphus	17	1925, 1926, 1928, 1938c, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1968, 1975c, 1988, 1991c, 1992c, 1996, 1997, 2004, 2005, 2012c
Augsburg	13	1927, 1946c, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1975c, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1998, 1999
Saint John's	10	1969, 1978, 1979, 1986, 1987, 1993, 2001, 2018, 2020c, 2022
Carleton	5	1921, 1922, 1923, 2006c, 2011c
UM–Duluth[a]	4	1958, 1959, 1961, 1962
St. Olaf	3	1929, 1930, 1989c
Concordia	3	1931, 1982, 1983
Macalester	2	1937, 1981c
Saint Mary's	2	1939c, 1940
Bethel	1	2017c

1. No longer a conference member.

c = Co-champions
No 1943–44 and 1944–45 seasons due to World War II.
No championship awarded for 2020-21 due to Covid pandemic.
Source:^[11]

Women's basketball regular season conference titles

Team	Titles	Years won
St. Thomas[a]	18	1983c, 1984, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1997, 1998c, 2000, 2001, 2002c, 2008c, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
St. Benedict	13	1989, 1993, 1995, 1998c, 1999, 2002c, 2003c, 2004c, 2006, 2007, 2008c, 2009, 2010c
Concordia	7	1982, 1983c, 1986c, 1987c, 1988, 1990, 2013
Carleton	3	2003c, 2004c, 2005
Saint Mary's	3	1985, 1986c, 2014
Gustavus Adolphus	2	2003c, 2010c
Bethel	2	1994, 2020
St. Olaf	1	1983c
Augsburg	1	2022

1. No longer a conference member.

c = Co-champions
No championship awarded for 2021 due to Covid pandemic
Source:^[12]

Ice hockey

Men's ice hockey regular season conference titles

Team	Titles	Years won
St. Thomas[a]	34	1923c, 1934, 1938c, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1947, 1949, 1951c, 1952, 1953c, 1974, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993c, 1994, 1995, 1998c, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2012, 2013c, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018
Gustavus Adolphus	14	1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977c, 1984, 1993c, 2010
Macalester[b]	12	1923c, 1930, 1931, 1932c, 1933, 1936, 1937, 1939c, 1950c, 1951c, 1962, 1963
Augsburg	11	1928, 1977c, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981c, 1982, 1998c, 2016, 2019, 2022
UM–Duluth[a]	9	1953c, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961
Saint John's	9	1935, 1950c, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2013c, 2020
Hamline	5	1923c, 1932c, 1948, 2008, 2011
Saint Mary's	4	1929, 1964, 1965, 1988
St. Olaf	3	1938c, 1939c, 2009
Concordia	2	1981c, 1987
Bethel	1	2007

1. No longer a conference member.
2. Remains a conference member, but no longer has a men's ice hockey team.

c = Co-champions
No seasons from 1942–43 to 1945–46.
No championship awarded for 2020-21 due to Covid pandemic.
Source:^[13]

Men's ice hockey conference tournament

Main article: MIAC Men's Ice Hockey Tournament

Women's ice hockey regular season conference titles

Team	Titles	Years won
Gustavus Adolphus	17	1999c, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018c, 2020, 2022
St. Thomas[a]	6	2003, 2004, 2014, 2016c, 2018c, 2019
Augsburg	2	1999c, 2000c
Saint Mary's	2	1999c, 2000c
Bethel	1	2016c

1. No longer a conference member.

c = Co-champions
No championship awarded for 2021 due to Covid pandemic
Source:^[14]

Women's ice hockey conference tournament

Main article: MIAC Women's Ice Hockey Tournament

Facilities

School	Stadium	Capacity	Gymnasium	Capacity	Ice arena	Capacity
Augsburg	Edor Nelson Field	1,400	Si Melby Hall	2,200	Augsburg Ice Arena	800
Bethel	Royal Stadium	8,000	Robertson Center	2,000	Schwan Super Rink	1,000
Carleton	Laird Stadium	7,500	West Gymnasium	1,240	Non-Hockey School	N/A
Concordia	Jake Christiansen Stadium	7,000	Memorial Auditorium	4,500	Moorhead Sports Center	3,000
Gustavus Adolphus	Hollingsworth Field	3,000	Gus Young Court	3,000	Don Roberts Ice Rink	1,500
Hamline	Klas Field	2,000	Hutton Arena	2,000	TRIA Rink at Treasure Island Center	1,500
Macalester	Macalester Stadium	4,000	Leonard Center	1,200	Non-Hockey School	N/A
St. Benedict	CSB Soccer Field	N/A	Claire Lynch Hall	1,000	Municipal Athletic Complex	1,800
St. Catherine	Soccer Field	N/A	Wildcat Gym	500	Drake Arena	700
Saint John's	Clemens Stadium	7,482	Sexton Arena	2,964	National Hockey Center	5,763
St. Olaf	Klein Field at Manitou	3,500	Skoglund Center	3,000	St. Olaf Ice Arena	800
St. Scholastica	Saints Field	N/A	Reif Gym	N/A	Mars Lakeview Arena	N/A

Commissioner

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

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

References

1. "Wrestling Recordbook". Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Archived from the original on March 18, 2014. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
2. Campbell, Dave (May 22, 2019). "MIAC ousts original member St. Thomas for being too strong". USA Today. Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 9, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
3. Johnson, Randy (May 28, 2020). "MIAC overhaul: Macalester back in football; St. Scholastica joining league". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on June 8, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
4. "Best Colleges in Minnesota". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
5. "Concordia vs Moorhead State football games will be the "Power Bowl"" (Press release). Concordia College. June 3, 1999. Archived from the original on July 12, 2007. Retrieved July 1, 2007.
6. "MIAC Rivalry Trophies". Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Archived from the original on 2017-07-05. Retrieved 2017-10-31.
7. "All-Sports Competitioni History". Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
8. "MIAC Football Record Book" (PDF). Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletics Conference. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2017-10-31.
9. "MIAC Men's Soccer Record Book" (PDF). Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2017-10-31.
10. "MIAC Women's Soccer Record Book" (PDF). Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2017-10-31.>
11. "MIAC Men's Basketball Recordbook". Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletics Conference. Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2017-10-31.
12. "MIAC Women's Basketball Recordbook". Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2017-10-31.
13. "MIAC Men's Hockey Record Book". Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Archived from the original on 2017-11-04. Retrieved 2017-10-31.
14. "MIAC Women's Hockey Recordbook". Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletics Conference. Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2017-10-31.

External links

• Official website
• MIAC First 50 Years