Heartland Conference

Heartland Conference

Established	1999
Association	NCAA
Division	Division II
Members	10
Sports fielded	13 (men's: 6; women's: 7)
Region	Central United States
Headquarters	Waco, Texas
Commissioner	Tony Stigliano (since 1999)
Website	heartlandsports.org
Locations

The Heartland Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division II level, which was founded in 1999. The majority of members are in Texas, with additional members in Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma. The conference office is located in Waco, Texas.

History

The conference was formed in 1999 by founding members Drury University, University of the Incarnate Word, Lincoln University, Rockhurst University, St. Edward's University, St. Mary's University and Texas Wesleyan University. Oklahoma Panhandle State University and Dallas Baptist University joined in 2002. Founding members Drury and Rockhurst left the Heartland Conference to join the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) in 2005. Western New Mexico University and Montana State University - Billings joined in 2005. However, WNMU re-joined the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in 2006 and MSUB joined the Great Northwest Athletic Conference in 2007. Newman University, Texas A&M International University and the University of Texas of the Permian Basin joined the conference in 2006, making the transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II.^[1] The University of Arkansas - Fort Smith joined the conference in the Fall of 2009 after transitioning from the NJCAA.^[2] In the fall of 2010, Lincoln left for the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association^[3] and Incarnate Word left for the Lone Star Conference.^[4] In July 2011, McMurry University announced that it had been accepted as candidate for D-II membership and would join the Heartland Conference in the fall of 2012.^[5] In February 2012, Oklahoma Christian University announced its intention to seek membership in NCAA Division II. ^[6] In Spring 2012, Rogers State University, a member of the NAIA Sooner Athletic Conference, applied for membership.^[7] The conference confirmed in July 2012 that Oklahoma Christian's teams would play full conference schedules starting in Fall 2012 and that Rogers State and Lubbock Christian University would begin conference play in 2013-14.^[8]

Member schools

Current members

Institution	Location	Founded	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined
Arkansas-Fort Smith !University of Arkansas – Fort Smith	Fort Smith, Arkansas	1928	6,713	Lions	2009
Dallas Baptist University	Dallas, Texas	1898	5,500	Patriots	2002
Lubbock Christian University	Lubbock, Texas	1957	2,100	Chaparrals & Lady Chaps	2013
Newman University	Wichita, Kansas	1933	2,200	Jets	2006
Oklahoma Christian University	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	1950	2,479	Eagles	2012
Oklahoma Panhandle State University	Goodwell, Oklahoma	1909	1,200	Aggies	2002
Rogers State University	Claremore, Oklahoma	1909	4,227	Hillcats	2013
Saint Edward's !St. Edward's University	Austin, Texas	1885	5,500	Hilltoppers	1999
Saint Mary's !St. Mary's University	San Antonio, Texas	1852	4,500	Rattlers	1999
Texas A&M International University	Laredo, Texas	1969	4,298	Dustdevils	2006

Affiliate members

Institution	Location	Founded	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Sport	Primary Conference
Eastern New Mexico University	Portales, New Mexico	1934	5,574	Greyhounds	2016	soccer (M)	Lone Star
Midwestern State University	Wichita Falls, Texas	1922	6,093	Mustangs	2016	soccer (M)	Lone Star
Texas-Permian Basin !University of Texas of the Permian Basin	Odessa, Texas	1973	3,600	Falcons	2016	soccer (M)	Lone Star
West Texas A&M University	Canyon, Texas	1910	8,389	Buffaloes	2016	soccer (M)	Lone Star

Texas–Permian Basin — was a full member from 2006–2016.

Former members

Institution	Location	Founded	Nickname	Joined	Left	Current Conference
Drury University	Springfield, Missouri	1873	Panthers	1999	2005	Great Lakes Valley
Incarnate Word !University of the Incarnate Word	San Antonio, Texas	1881	Cardinals	1999	2010	Southland (NCAA D-I)
Lincoln University (MO)	Jefferson City, Missouri	1866	Blue Tigers	1999	2010	Mid-America
McMurry University	Abilene, Texas	1923	War Hawks	2012	2014	American Southwest (NCAA D-III)
Montana State University Billings	Billings, Montana	1927	Yellowjackets	2005	2007	Great Northwest
Rockhurst University	Kansas City, Missouri	1910	Hawks	1999	2005	Great Lakes Valley
Texas Wesleyan University	Fort Worth, Texas	1890	Rams	1999	2001	Sooner (NAIA D-I)
Western New Mexico University	Silver City, New Mexico	1893	Mustangs	2005	2006	Lone Star

Membership timeline

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

Sports

Dallas Baptist's baseball team currently competes in NCAA Division I as a baseball affiliate of the Missouri Valley Conference; it returned to the MVC baseball conference starting in the 2014 season. OPSU sponsors a non-conference football team.

The Heartland Conference sponsors 13 sports, seven for women and six for men.

A divisional format is used for soccer (M).
North Midwestern State Newman Oklahoma Christian Rogers State	South Dallas Baptist St. Edward's St. Mary's Texas A&M International	West Eastern New Mexico Lubbock Christian Texas–Permian Basin West Texas A&M

**Conference sports**
Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	Y
Basketball	Y	Y
Cross Country	Y	Y
Golf	Y	Y
Soccer	Y	Y
Softball		Y
Tennis	Y	Y
Volleyball		Y

Men's sponsored sports by school

School	Baseball	Basketball	Cross Country	Golf	Soccer	Tennis	Total HC Sports
Arkansas–Fort Smith	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	5
Dallas Baptist		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	5
Lubbock Christian	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		5
Newman	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	6
Oklahoma Christian	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		5
Oklahoma Panhandle State	Y	Y	Y	Y			4
Rogers State	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		5
St. Edward's	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	6
St. Mary's	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	5
Texas A&M International	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		5
Totals	9	10	9	10	8	5	51
Affiliate Members
Eastern New Mexico					Y		1
Midwestern State					Y		1
Texas–Permian Basin					Y		1
West Texas A&M					Y		1

Women's sponsored sports by school

School	Basketball	Cross Country	Golf	Soccer	Softball	Tennis	Volleyball	Total HC Sports
Arkansas–Fort Smith	Y	Y	Y			Y	Y	5
Dallas Baptist		Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	5
Lubbock Christian	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	6
Newman	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
Oklahoma Christian	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y			5
Oklahoma Panhandle State	Y	Y	Y		Y		Y	5
Rogers State	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y			5
St. Edward's	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
St. Mary's	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	6
Texas A&M International	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	6
Totals	9	9	10	8	8	5	8	57

Other sponsored sports by school

School	Men					Women
School	Baseball ^‡	Football	Track & Field Indoor	Track & Field Outdoor	Wrestling	Track & Field Indoor	Track & Field Outdoor
Dallas Baptist	MVC		IND	IND		IND	IND
Newman					MIAA
Oklahoma Christian			IND	GAC		IND	GAC
Oklahoma Panhandle State		LSC
Rogers State				GAC			GAC

^‡ — D-I sport
Oklahoma Christian (IND) — Swimming & Diving (M), Swimming & Diving (W) begin play in 2017.^[9]

National championships

Sport	School	Year
Baseball	St. Mary's	2001
Softball	St. Mary's	2002
Men's Golf (Individual)	Jamie Amoretti (StMU)	2006
Women's Basketball	Lubbock Christian	2016

St. Mary's won NAIA national championships in Softball (1986) and Men's Basketball (1989).^[10]

St. Mary's Men's Golf team was named the Golf Coaches Association of America 2008-2009 Academic National Champions, which St. Mary's treats as a fifth team national.

Dallas Baptist won the 2003 National Christian College Athletic Association Baseball national championship.

Lubbock Christian won NAIA national championships in Baseball (1983 & 2009) and Softball (2008).

References

↑ - About the Heartland Conference
↑ University of Arkansas at Fort Smith Accepts Invitation to Join Heartland Conference - arkansasbusiness.com - March 2, 2009
↑ Lincoln returns to MIAA - St. Joseph News-Press - February 2, 2009
↑ LSC to add Incarnate Word in 2010 - www.lonestarconference.org - January 20, 2009
↑ NCAA accepts McMurry's application to transition to Division II - www.mcmurrysports.com - July 12, 2011
↑ King, Kevin (February 7, 2012). "Oklahoma Christian To Seek NCAA Division II Membership". KTUL TV. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
↑ Adame, Tony (June 23, 2012). "Newman athletics continues to make progress". Wichita Eagle. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
↑ "Heartland Conference - Oklahoma Christian, Lubbock Christian, and Rogers State Earn Right to Join NCAA DII and Heartland Conference". Heartlandsports.org. 2012-07-14. Retrieved 2015-08-04.
↑ "OC to add swim programs; Olympic champion Josh Davis to coach teams". Oklahoma Christian University. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
↑ Rattler Athletics Timeline

External links

Official website

Heartland Conference

Members	Arkansas–Fort Smith Lions Dallas Baptist Patriots Lubbock Christian Chaparrals & Lady Chaps Newman Jets Oklahoma Christian Eagles Oklahoma Panhandle State Aggies Rogers State Hillcats St. Edward's Hilltoppers St. Mary's Rattlers Texas A&M International Dustdevils

Affiliates	Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds Midwestern State Mustangs Texas–Permian Basin Falcons West Texas A&M Buffaloes

NCAA Division II

Atlantic	Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Mountain East Conference Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Independent — Bluefield State College

Central	Great American Conference Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference

East	Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference East Coast Conference Northeast-10 Conference

Midwest	Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Great Lakes Valley Conference Great Midwest Athletic Conference Independent — Oakland City University Salem International University

South	Gulf South Conference Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Sunshine State Conference Independent — Auburn University at Montgomery

South Central	Heartland Conference Lone Star Conference Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference

Southeast	Conference Carolinas Peach Belt Conference South Atlantic Conference

West	California Collegiate Athletic Association Great Northwest Athletic Conference Pacific West Conference

Division II	Independents ECAC Division II Lacrosse League

NCAA	Conferences Institutions Baseball (Championship) Basketball (Men, Women) Cross Country (Men, Women) Field Hockey (Championship) Football (Championship) Golf (Men, Women) Lacrosse (Men, Women) Rowing (Championship) Soccer (Men, Women) Softball (Championship) Swimming & Diving (Men, Women) Tennis (Men, Women) Track & Field (Men's indoor and outdoor, Women's indoor and outdoor) Volleyball (Championship) Wrestling (Championship) Discontinued — Ice Hockey (Championship)

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