Association of Mid-Continent Universities football

Association of Mid-Continent Universities football (AMCU)
Established	1978
Dissolved	1984
Association	NCAA
Division	Division II (1978-1980) Division I-AA (1981-1984)
Members	4 (final), 7 (total)
Sports fielded	1 (football) (men's: 1; women's: 0)
Region	Midwest
Former names	Mid-Continent Athletic Association

The Association of Mid-Continent Universities football was a part of the college athletic conference which operated in the midwestern United States. It participated in NCAA Division II until moving to NCAA Division I-AA (now known as Division I FCS) in 1981.

History

The founding members of the Mid-Continent Athletic Association football were Akron, Eastern Illinois, Northern Iowa, Northern Michigan, Western Illinois, and Youngstown State. After the 1979 season Akron and Youngstown State left. After the 1980 season Northern Michigan left, then starting with the 1981 season Southwest Missouri State joined the conference. In 1982 the Association of Mid-Continent Universities started sponsoring football.

National Championship

NCAA Division II National Football Championship

• 1978 - Eastern Illinois (national champ)
• 1979 - Youngstown State (runner-up)
• 1980 - Eastern Illinois (runner-up)

Membership

Membership time line

Year-by-year standings

1978 Mid-Continent football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Youngstown State † 5 – 0 – 0     10 – 2 – 0 Akron 4 – 1 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Eastern Illinois 3 – 2 – 0     12 – 2 – 0 Northern Michigan 1 – 3 – 1     5 – 4 – 1 Western Illinois 1 – 3 – 1     3 – 6 – 1 Northern Iowa 0 – 5 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1979 Mid-Continent football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Youngstown State † 5 – 0 – 0     11 – 2 – 0 Northern Iowa 4 – 1 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Akron 3 – 2 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Eastern Illinois 1 – 4 – 0     7 – 4 – 0 Northern Michigan 1 – 4 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 Western Illinois 1 – 4 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1980 Mid-Continent football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Eastern Illinois † 4 – 0 – 0     7 – 4 – 0 Northern Michigan 3 – 1 – 0     9 – 2 – 0 Northern Iowa 2 – 2 – 0     7 – 4 – 0 Youngstown State 1 – 3 – 0     2 – 8 – 1 Western Illinois 0 – 4 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll
1981 Mid-Continent football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Eastern Illinois § 2 – 1 – 0     7 – 4 – 0 Western Illinois § 2 – 1 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Northern Iowa § 2 – 1 – 0     7 – 4 – 0 Southwest Missouri State 0 – 3 – 0     3 – 5 – 2 § – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	1982 Mid-Continent football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Eastern Illinois § 2 – 0 – 1     11 – 1 – 1 Northern Iowa § 2 – 0 – 1     4 – 6 – 1 Southwest Missouri State 1 – 2 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Western Illinois 0 – 3 – 0     2 – 8 – 0 § – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	1983 Mid-Continent football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Eastern Illinois † 3 – 0 – 0     9 – 3 – 0 Southwest Missouri State 2 – 1 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Northern Iowa 1 – 2 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Western Illinois 0 – 3 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll
1984 Mid-Continent football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Eastern Illinois § 2 – 1 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Northern Iowa § 2 – 1 – 0     9 – 2 – 0 Southwest Missouri State 1 – 1 – 1     6 – 3 – 1 Western Illinois 0 – 2 – 1     6 – 4 – 1 § – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

Champions

Football was sponsored by the conference from 1978–84. The final four members of the conference went on to join the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference, a women's sports conference that took on football as its only men's sport. After the women's side of the Gateway merged into the Missouri Valley Conference in 1992, the football side remained in operation as the Gateway Football Conference, which became the Missouri Valley Football Conference in 2008.

Of the last four members, three (Missouri State, Northern Iowa, Western Illinois) are still in the MVFC; Eastern Illinois is now in the Ohio Valley Conference. Youngstown State, which left the Mid-Continent after the 1980 season, joined Gateway football in 1997, and remains in the MVFC.

Year	Champion	Record
1978	Youngstown State	5–0–0
1979	Youngstown State	5–0–0
1980	Eastern Illinois	4–0–0
1981	Eastern Illinois Northern Iowa Western Illinois	2–1–0
1982	Eastern Illinois Northern Iowa	2–0–1
1983	Eastern Illinois	3–0–0
1984	Eastern Illinois Northern Iowa	2–1–0

Conference titles by school

School	Championships	Championship Years
Eastern Illinois	5	1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984
Northern Iowa	3	1981, 1982, 1984
Youngstown State	2	1978, 1979
Western Illinois	1	1981

Conference facilities

School	Football Stadium	Capacity
Akron	Rubber Bowl	31,000
Eastern Illinois	O'Brien Stadium	10,000
Missouri State	SMS Stadium	16,600
Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome	17,000
Northern Michigan	Superior Dome	8,000
Western Illinois	Hanson Field	16,368
Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium	20,630

External links

• The Summit League website
• http://www.library.uni.edu/gateway/indexuni/full_record.php?id=58920