Midwest Athletic Conference (IHSAA)

Location of Midwest members in Indiana

The Midwest Athletic Conference was (and will be) a high school athletic conference in northwestern Indiana, United States. The Conference began in 1955 with eight schools located in Benton, Carroll, Cass, Newton, and White counties.^[1] The MAC had a tumultuous history of membership turnover for much of its history, but had stabilized since going to 10 members with West Central and Winimac joining in 1980 and 1981, respectively. The only changes since then were Rossville and Carroll joining the Hoosier Heartland Conference in 1989 and 1992, leaving a stable 8 school membership for 20 years. In 2013, Caston, Pioneer, and Winamac announced that they were leaving the Conference to join with 2 other schools from the Northern State Conference as well as Independent North Judson for the 2015-2016 school year.This touched off an exodus that ended the conference, as West Central joined Caston, Pioneer, and Winamac in the Hoosier North Athletic Conference, while Frontier and Tri-County joined the Hoosier Heartland Conference. South Newton joined the Sangamon Valley Conference of Illinois.^[2] North White was the only school that had not been accepted to another conference immediately, though they were accepted as a football-only member of the Hoosier Heartland. The Conference is set to reform in 2017, with six former schools rejoining.^[3]

Future Membership

School	Location	Mascot	Colors	# / County	Enrollment	Class FB Class	Year Joined	Previous Conference
Frontier	Chalmers	Falcons		91 White	227	1A 1A	1965 2018^1	none (new school) Hoosier Heartland
North Newton	Morocco	Spartans		56 Newton	452	2A 2A	1967 2018^2	none (new school) Independents
North White	Monon	Vikings		91 White	264	1A 1A	1963 2018^3	none (new school) Independents
South Newton	Kentland	Rebels		56 Newton	264	1A 1A	1966 2018^4	none (new school) Sangamon Valley (IL)
Tri-County	Wolcott	Cavaliers		91 White^1	230	1A 1A	1971 2018^1	none (new school) Hoosier Heartland
West Central	Francesville	Trojans		66 Pulaski^2	280	1A 1A	1967 1980 2018^5	none (new school) NWHC HNAC

1. Played in the Hoosier Heartland Conference 2015-18.
2. Played in the NWHC 1975-98, as an Independent 1998-2007 and 2017-18, and in the GSSC 2007-17.
3. Played as an Independent (football played in Hoosier Heartland) 2015-18.
4. Played in the Sangamon Valley Conference (IL) 2015-18.
5. Played 1975-80 in the NWHC, and 2015-19 in the HNAC, playing 2018-19 in both conferences.

Membership

School	Location	Mascot	Colors	# / County	Year Joined	Previous Conference	Year Left	Conference Joined
Brook	Brook	Aces		56 Newton	1955		1966	none (consolidated into South Newton)
Brookston	Brookston	Bombers		91 White	1955		1965	none (consolidated into Frontier)
Camden	Camden	Red Devils		08 Carroll	1955		1965	none (consolidated into Delphi
Fowler	Fowler	Bulldogs		04 Benton	1955	Benton County	1968	none (consolidated into Benton Central)
Kentland	Kentland	Blue Devils		56 Newton	1955		1966	none (consolidated into South Newton)
Monon	Monon	Railroaders		91 White	1955		1963	none (consolidated into North White)
Royal Center	Royal Center	Bulldogs		09 Cass	1955	Cass County	1963	none (consolidated into Pioneer)
Wolcott	Wolcott	Wildcats		91 White	1955		1971	none (consolidated into Tri-County)
Francesville	Francesville	Zebras		66 Pulaski	1957	Tippecanoe Valley	1965	none (consolidated into West Central)
Klondike	West Lafayette	Nuggets		79 Tippecanoe	1961	Tippecanoe County	1970	none (consolidated into Harrison)
Pioneer	Royal Center	Panthers		09 Cass	1963	none (new school)	2015	Hoosier North
DeMotte	DeMotte	Indians		37 Jasper	1967		1970	none (consolidated into Kankakee Valley)
Kankakee Valley	Wheatfield	Kougars		37 Jasper	1970	none (new school)	1972	Northwest Hoosier
Carroll	Flora	Cougars		08 Carroll	1977	Hoosier	1992	Hoosier Heartland
Rossville	Rossville	Hornets		12 Clinton	1977	Hoosier	1989	Hoosier Heartland
Caston	Fulton	Comets		25 Fulton	1978	Three Rivers	2015	Hoosier North
Winamac Community	Winamac	Warriors		66 Pulaski	1981	Northwest Hoosier	2015	Hoosier North

¹ Tri-County also has students living in Benton and Jasper Counties. ² West Central also has students living in Jasper County.

Membership timeline

State Champs

North White High School

• Football (A) 1994

Pioneer High School

• Football (A) 1997

Tri-County High School

• Baseball (A) 1998

References

1. "High Schools in Area Organize Midwest Conference". Logansport Pharos Tribune. 1955-01-25. Retrieved 2012-03-25.
2. "South Newton Joining Illinois Conference". Newton County Times. 2014-01-28. Retrieved 2014-02-07.
3. Hettinger, Paul. ""West Central Leaving HNAC"". Pulaski County Journal, Winamac, IN. Retrieved 2016-09-30.

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