American Rivers Conference

The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. From 1927 until August 9, 2018, it was known officially as the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) and commonly as the Iowa Conference.

American Rivers Conference
FormerlyIowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC)
AssociationNCAA
Founded1922
CommissionerMarie Stroman (since 2023)
Sports fielded
  • 22
    • men's: 11
    • women's: 11
DivisionDivision III
No. of teams9
HeadquartersCedar Rapids, Iowa
RegionIowa, Nebraska
Official websiterollrivers.com
Locations
Location of teams in American Rivers Conference

History

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The A-R-C dates back to December 8, 1922, when representatives from 12 colleges formed the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Charter members were Buena Vista College, Central University of Iowa, Ellsworth College, Iowa Wesleyan College, Luther College, Morningside College, Parsons College, St. Ambrose College, Simpson College, Upper Iowa University, Western Union College and Penn College. Des Moines University was voted into the conference at that meeting as well.

The first Conference constitution was published in January 1923. Also that year, Judge Hubert Utterback of Des Moines, Iowa was named the first conference commissioner and Iowa Teachers (now known as the University of Northern Iowa) was accepted as a member. Columbia College (now known as Loras College) was admitted in 1926. Ellsworth left the conference in 1927. That spring, the conference's name was changed to the "Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference." After a three-year ban, athletics were reinstated at the University of Dubuque in 1928–29, and it joined the conference in 1929. Wartburg College was admitted to the conference in 1936, beginning competition the following year. Morningside dropped out in 1936 because of inactivity. William Penn was suspended from the conference in 1949 for using ineligible players. The school was back in the conference in 1951, though it did not compete in football until later. In 1951, St. Ambrose and Loras dropped from football competition.

The Iowa Conference reorganized in 1953, effective with the 1954–55 school year. Nine schools remained in the conference: Buena Vista, Central, Dubuque, Iowa Wesleyan, Luther, Parsons, Simpson, Upper Iowa and Wartburg. William Penn was re-admitted to the conference in 1960, effective in the spring of 1962. Parsons left the conference around 1963, while Iowa Wesleyan left effective June 1, 1965. Loras re-joined the conference in 1986, increasing the conference membership to nine schools, which continued until 1997 when Coe and Cornell left the Midwest Conference to join the IIAC. The Conference was at 11 schools until its 80th-anniversary year (2001–02) when William Penn decided to leave and switch its affiliation from the NCAA to the NAIA. The IIAC became a nine-school conference when Upper Iowa reclassified to NCAA Division II prior to the start of the 2003–04 academic year and fell back to eight schools with Cornell's return to the Midwest Conference following the 2011–12 academic year.

The conference expanded beyond the borders of Iowa in 2016 with the addition of Nebraska Wesleyan University.[1] On August 9, 2018, the league changed its name to the American Rivers Conference to reflect its current makeup.[2]

Chronological timeline

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Member schools

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Current members

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Buena Vista
Central
Coe
Dubuque
Loras
Luther
Nebraska Wesleyan
Simpson
Wartburg
Map of current members

The A-R-C currently has nine full members; all are private schools:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined
Buena Vista University Storm Lake, Iowa 1891 Presbyterian 2,775 Beavers 1922
Central College Pella, Iowa 1853 Reformed 1,575 Dutch 1922
Coe College Cedar Rapids, Iowa 1851 Presbyterian 1,355 Kohawks 1997
University of Dubuque Dubuque, Iowa 1852 Presbyterian 1,361 Spartans 1929
Loras College Dubuque, Iowa 1839 Catholic
(Archdiocese of Dubuque)
1,550 Duhawks 1926,
1986[a]
Luther College Decorah, Iowa 1861 Lutheran ELCA 2,573 Norse 1922
Nebraska Wesleyan University Lincoln, Nebraska 1887 United Methodist 1,600 Prairie Wolves 2016
Simpson College Indianola, Iowa 1860 United Methodist 1,966 Storm 1922
Wartburg College Waverly, Iowa 1852 Lutheran ELCA 1,804 Knights 1936
Notes
  1. ^ Loras was dropped from the IIAC after the 1953–54 school year because it was determined they were "too strong" for the other members to play against. Loras re-joined the IIAC in the 1986–87 school year.

Former members

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The A-R-C had 11 former full members, all but one were private schools:

Institution Location[a] Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Left Current
conference
Cornell College Mount Vernon 1853 United Methodist 1,155 Rams 1997–98 2011–12 Midwest (MWC)
Des Moines University Des Moines 1898 Not-for-profit N/A N/A 1922–23 1928–29 Closed in 1929
Ellsworth College[b] Iowa Falls 1890 Public 1,000 Panthers 1922–23 1926–27 Iowa (ICCAC)[c]
Iowa State Teachers College[d] Cedar Falls 1876 Public 12,607 Panthers 1923–24 1934–35 Missouri Valley (MVC)[e]
Iowa Wesleyan College[f] Mount Pleasant 1842 United Methodist 850 Tigers 1922–23 1964–65 Closed in 2023
Morningside College[g] Sioux City 1894 United Methodist 1,149 Mustangs 1922–23 1935–36 Great Plains (GPAC)[h]
Parsons College Fairfield 1875 Presbyterian 1,500 Wildcats 1922–23 1962–63 Closed in 1973
St. Ambrose College[i] Davenport 1882 Catholic 2,829 Fighting Bees 1922–23 1953–54 Chicagoland (CCAC)[h]
Upper Iowa University Fayette 1857 Nonsectarian 6,000 Peacocks 1922–23 2002–03 Northern Sun (NSIC)[j]
Westmar College[k] Le Mars 1887 United Methodist 1,000 Eagles 1922–23 1952–53 Closed in 1997
William Penn University[l] Oskaloosa 1873 Society of Friends 1,795 Statesmen 1922–23,
1962–63
1953–54,
2000–01[m]
Heart of America (HAAC)[h]
Notes
  1. ^ All cities were located in the State of Iowa.
  2. ^ Currently known as Ellsworth Community College since 1968.
  3. ^ Currently an NJCAA athletic conference.
  4. ^ Currently known as the University of Northern Iowa since 1967.
  5. ^ Currently an NCAA Division I athletic conference.
  6. ^ Currently known as Iowa Wesleyan University since 2015.
  7. ^ Currently known as Morningside University since 2021.
  8. ^ a b c Currently an NAIA athletic conference.
  9. ^ Currently known as St. Ambrose University since 1987.
  10. ^ Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.
  11. ^ Later known as Westmar University from 1995 until its closure in late 1997.
  12. ^ Formerly known as William Penn College until 2000.
  13. ^ William Penn was suspended from the conference from 1949–50 to 1950–51 and then removed from the IIAC for being "too weak" after the 1953–54 school year; William Penn would later re-join the IIAC from the 1962 spring season (1961–62 school year) to 2000–01.

Membership timeline

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Nebraska Wesleyan UniversityCornell CollegeCoe CollegeWartburg CollegeUniversity of DubuqueLoras CollegeUniversity of Northern IowaDes Moines CollegeWilliam Penn UniversityWestmar UniversityUpper Iowa UniversitySimpson CollegeSt. Ambrose UniversityParsons CollegeMorningside UniversityLuther College (Iowa)Iowa Wesleyan UniversityEllsworth Community CollegeCentral College (Iowa)Buena Vista University

Sports

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Conference sports
Sport Men's Women's
Baseball  Y
Basketball  Y  Y
Cheer & Dance  Y[A]
Cross country  Y  Y
Football  Y
Golf  Y  Y
Soccer  Y  Y
Softball  Y
Swimming & Diving  Y[A]  Y[A]
Tennis  Y  Y
Track & field (indoor)  Y  Y
Track & field (outdoor)  Y  Y
Volleyball  Y
Wrestling  Y  Y[A]
Notes
  1. ^ a b c d The American Rivers Conference has a policy in which sports may be sponsored as an invited if petitioned by a group of schools. Cheer & Dance, Men's & Women's Swimming & Diving, and Women's Wrestling have all successfully petitioned to be sponsored through an invitational.

Men's sponsored sports by school

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School Baseball Basketball Cross
Country
Football Golf Soccer Swimming
& Diving
Tennis Track & Field
(Indoor)
Track & Field
(Outdoor)
Wrestling Total A-R-C
Sports
Buena Vista  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  N  Y  Y  Y  Y 10
Central  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  N  Y  Y  Y  Y 10
Coe  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y 11
Dubuque  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  N  Y  Y  Y  Y 10
Loras  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y 11
Luther  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y 11
Nebraska Wesleyan  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y 11
Simpson  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y 11
Wartburg  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  N  Y  Y  Y  Y 10

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the American Rivers Conference that are played by American Rivers schools

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School Gymnastics Lacrosse Shooting
Sports[A]
Volleyball
Coe NCSSAA
Dubuque MLC
Loras CCIW
Simpson EIGL NCSSAA Independent
Wartburg SCTP
Notes
  1. ^ Not sponsored by the NCAA.

Women's sponsored sports by school

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School Basketball Cheer
& Dance[A]
Cross
Country
Golf Soccer Softball Swimming
& Diving
Tennis Track & Field
(Indoor)
Track & Field
(Outdoor)
Volleyball Wrestling[B] Total A-R-C
Sports
Buena Vista  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  N  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y 11
Central  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  N  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y 11
Coe  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  N 11
Dubuque  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  N  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y 11
Loras  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y 12
Luther  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  N 11
Nebraska Wesleyan  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  N 11
Simpson  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y 12
Wartburg  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  N  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y 11

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the American Rivers Conference that are played by American Rivers schools

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School Gymnastics Shooting
Sports[A]
Triathlon[B]
Central Independent
Coe NCSSAA Independent
Simpson Independent NCSSAA
Wartburg SCTP
  1. ^ a b Not sponsored by the NCAA.
  2. ^ a b Part of the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women.

References

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  1. ^ "Nebraska Wesleyan to Join Iowa Conference in 2016-17". Nebraska Wesleyan University. July 20, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  2. ^ "#RiversRise; Iowa Conference Now American Rivers Conference" (Press release). American Rivers Conference. August 9, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
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