The Midwest Collegiate Conference (MCC) is a college athletic conference, consisting of ten colleges and universities located in Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

 and Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

. Founded in 1988, the conference's member schools compete on the NAIA

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...

 level in 17 different sports.

Membership

Current members

The following teams are currently members of the Midwest Collegiate Conference.

School	Location	Nickname	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Year Joined
AIB College of Business AIB College of Business AIB College of Business is an independent, nonprofit, coeducational college of business in Des Moines, Iowa in the United States. AIB has an enrollment of almost 1,000 day, evening and online students. The campus features 17 buildings on near downtown Des Moines. Residential, apartment-style...	Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...	Eagles	1921	Private	1,000	2010
Ashford University Ashford University Ashford University is a private, for-profit university located in Clinton, Iowa. It is the largest educational holding of Bridgepoint Education...	Clinton, Iowa Clinton, Iowa Clinton is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 26231as of 2010. Clinton, along with DeWitt, Iowa , was named in honor of the seventh governor of New York, DeWitt Clinton. Clinton is the principal city of the Clinton Micropolitan Statistical...	Saints	1918	Private	500	1988
Clarke University	Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque is a city in and the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. In 2010 its population was 57,637, making it the ninth-largest city in the state and the county's population was 93,653....	Crusaders	1843	Private/Roman Catholic	1,230	1988
Grand View University	Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...	Vikings	1896	Private/Lutheran (ELCA)	1,750	1989
Iowa Wesleyan College Iowa Wesleyan College Iowa Wesleyan College is a private four-year liberal arts college of the United Methodist Church located Mt. Pleasant, Iowa.Iowa Wesleyan is recognized as a pioneer in higher education in America. Founded in 1842, it ranks as the oldest coeducational college located west of the Mississippi River...	Mount Pleasant, Iowa Mount Pleasant, Iowa Mount Pleasant is a city in and the county seat of Henry County, Iowa, in the United States. The population was 8,668 in the 2010 census, a decline from 8,751 in the 2000 census. It was founded in 1835 by pioneer Presley Saunders.- History :...	Tigers	1842	Private/United Methodist	975	1995
Mount Mercy College Mount Mercy College Mount Mercy University is a four-year, co-educational Catholic liberal arts university located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The school was founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1928.-Mount Mercy University:...	Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and east of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city...	Mustangs	1928	Private/Roman Catholic	1,490	1988
Saint Ambrose University Saint Ambrose University St. Ambrose University is a private, coeducational, liberal arts university affiliated with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport. It is located in a residential area of Davenport, Iowa.-History:...	Davenport, Iowa Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...	Fighting Bees/Queen Bees	1882	Private/Roman Catholic	3,623	1990
Viterbo University Viterbo University Viterbo University is a Roman Catholic liberal arts university located in La Crosse, Wisconsin, United States in the Diocese of La Crosse.-History:...	La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse is a city in and the county seat of La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States. The city lies alongside the Mississippi River.The 2011 Census Bureau estimates the city had a population of 52,485...	V-Hawks	1923	Private/Roman Catholic	2,991	1988
Waldorf College Waldorf College Waldorf College, located in Forest City, Iowa, is a four-year liberal arts, for-profit college.Founded in 1903, the college was affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America until 2009, when, due to financial problems, the college was sold to for-profit Mayes Education, owner of...	Forest City, Iowa Forest City, Iowa Forest City is a city in Hancock and Winnebago Counties in the U.S. state of Iowa, and the county seat of Winnebago County. The population was 4,151 in the 2010 census, a decline from the 4,362 population in the 2000 census....	Warriors	1903	Private/Lutheran (ELCA)	650	2003
William Penn University William Penn University William Penn University is a private, liberal arts university in Oskaloosa, Iowa, United States. It was founded by members of the Religious Society of Friends in 1873 as Penn College...	Oskaloosa, Iowa Oskaloosa, Iowa Oskaloosa is the county seat of Mahaska County, Iowa, United States. The population was 11,463 in the 2010 census, an increase from 10,938 in the 2000 census. -History:...	Statesmen/Lady Statesmen	1873	Private/Quaker	1,550	2001

Note: Clarke University left the conference in 1996 but returned in 2007.

Former members

School	Location	Nickname	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Year Joined	Year Left	Current Conference
Edgewood College Edgewood College Edgewood College is a Dominican Catholic liberal arts college in Madison, Wisconsin, in the Diocese of Madison. Overlooking the shores of Lake Wingra, it occupies on Madison's near west side....	Madison, Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....	Eagles	1927	Private/Catholic	2,000	1988	1989	Northern Athletics Conference Northern Athletics Conference The Northern Athletics Conference is a college athletic conference. It participates in the NCAA's Division III and began its first season in the fall of 2006.-Member schools:-History:...
Marycrest International University Marycrest International University Marycrest College Historic District is located on a bluff overlooking the West End of Davenport, Iowa, United States. The district encompasses the campus of Marycrest International University, which was a small, private collegiate institution...	Davenport, Iowa Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...	Eagles	1939	Private/Teikyo Yamanshi Education	N/A	1988	2002	The college closed its doors at the end of the 2001-2002 school year.

Sports

The Midwest Collegiate Conference oversees the following sports:

• Men and women: basketball
  Basketball
  Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
  
  , cross country
  Cross country running
  Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
  
  , golf
  Golf
  Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
  
  , soccer, and Track and field
  Track and field
  Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
  
  
• Women only: softball
  Softball
  Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
  
   and volleyball
  Volleyball
  Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
  
  
• Men only: baseball
  Baseball
  Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
  
  

Exceptions:

• Waldorf College will offer track and field starting the 2011–12 academic year.

Member schools also participate in a number of sports not affiliated with the MCC, including competitive dance

Competitive dance

Competitive dance is a popular, widespread activity in which competitors perform dances in any of several permitted dance styles—such as acro, ballet, jazz, hip-hop, lyrical, modern, and tap—before a common group of judges...

, football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

, tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

, men's volleyball

Volleyball

Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

, and wrestling

Wrestling

Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...

. Several football teams from Midwest Collegiate Conference schools compete in the Mid-States Football Association

Mid-States Football Association

The Mid-States Football Association is a college athletic conference affiliated with the NAIA. Member institutions are located in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Ohio. The MSFA was organized in 1993, and on-field competition began in 1994...

.

History

When the Midwest Collegiate Conference was originally formed in 1988, it consisted of six Roman Catholic colleges and universities situated across the Midwestern United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Dubbed the Midwest Catholic Conference, member schools originally competed in only men's and women's basketball, women's volleyball, and men's soccer.

The charter members of the conference were Clarke University, Edgewood College

Edgewood College

Edgewood College is a Dominican Catholic liberal arts college in Madison, Wisconsin, in the Diocese of Madison. Overlooking the shores of Lake Wingra, it occupies on Madison's near west side....

, Marycrest University

Marycrest International University

Marycrest College Historic District is located on a bluff overlooking the West End of Davenport, Iowa, United States. The district encompasses the campus of Marycrest International University, which was a small, private collegiate institution...

, Mount Mercy College

Mount Mercy College

Mount Mercy University is a four-year, co-educational Catholic liberal arts university located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The school was founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1928.-Mount Mercy University:...

, Mount St. Clare College

Ashford University

Ashford University is a private, for-profit university located in Clinton, Iowa. It is the largest educational holding of Bridgepoint Education...

, and Viterbo College

Viterbo University

Viterbo University is a Roman Catholic liberal arts university located in La Crosse, Wisconsin, United States in the Diocese of La Crosse.-History:...

. Edgewood College left the conference before the start of the 1989–90 season. With the inclusion of Grand View College that year, the conference changed its name to the Midwest Classic Conference.

Saint Ambrose University's basketball teams joined the conference for the 1990 season, and the school's other sports joined the MCC in 1991. Iowa Wesleyan College joined the conference for the 1995-1996 season. The following year, Clarke University left the MCC to participate in NCAA

National Collegiate Athletic Association

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

 Division III athletics. William Penn University became a member of the Conference in 2001. Marycrest International University ceased operations after the 2001–02 season. Waldorf College joined the conference for the 2003-2004 season, completing the current nine school lineup. Clarke University returned to the conference in 2007, and the conference has officially taken the name of the Midwest Collegiate Conference.