View source for Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference

{{Short description|Intercollegiate athletic conference}}
{{distinguish|Heartland Collegiate Conference||||text=the [[Heartland Collegiate Conference]], a defunct [[NCAA Division III|Division II]] conference that operated from 1978 to 1990, or the [[Heartland Conference]], a defunct [[NCAA Division II|Division II]] conference that operated from 1999 to 2019|selfref=}}
{{Infobox sports league
| name         = Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference
| logo         = Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference 2020 logo.svg
| logo_size    = 250
| founded      = 1987 (as '''Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference''')
| association  = [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]]
| division     = [[NCAA Division III|Division III]]
| teams        = 10
| sports       = 18
| mens         = 9
| womens       = 9
| region       = [[Ohio Valley]]
| headquarters = [[Carmel, Indiana]]
| commissioner = Jay Jones
| since        = 2019
| website      = [http://www.heartlandconf.org heartlandconf.org]
| map          = Heartland-USA-states.png
| map_size     = 250
| color        = #002856; {{box-shadow border|a|#758592|2px}}
| font_color   = #FFFFFF
}}
The '''Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference''' ('''HCAC''') is an [[List of NCAA conferences|intercollegiate athletic conference]] affiliated with the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]]'s [[NCAA Division III|Division III]]. Member institutions are located in [[Indiana]], [[Kentucky]] and [[Ohio]]. Founded as the Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference (ICAC) in 1987, it reincorporated under its current name in 1998 with the addition of several schools from Ohio.

Original members of the HCAC included Anderson, Bluffton, Franklin, Hanover, Manchester, Mount St. Joseph, Wabash, and Wilmington. Of the ten current members, six were founding members of the former ICAC.

Former members include DePauw (1987–1998), Taylor (1988–1991), Wabash (1987–1999), Wilmington (1998–2000), and Defiance (2000–2024). [[Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology]] (1988–1998) re-joined as of July 1, 2006.

==History==
The '''Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference''' ('''ICAC''') was formed in June 1987, with 1990–91 being the first full season of competition (all eight teams competing in eight varsity sports).

Charter members in 1987 included [[Anderson University (Indiana)|Anderson University]], [[DePauw University]], [[Franklin College (Indiana)|Franklin College]], [[Hanover College]], [[Manchester College (Indiana)|Manchester College]], and [[Wabash College]]. [[Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology]] and [[Taylor University]] later joined in 1988. Taylor left the conference after the 1990–91 season.

The addition of three Ohio schools ([[Bluffton University|Bluffton College]], the [[Mount St. Joseph University|College of Mount St. Joseph]], and [[Wilmington College (Ohio)|Wilmington College]]) and the departure of two Indiana schools (DePauw and Rose-Hulman) during the 1998–99 season prompted a change in name to '''Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference'''. Wabash and Wilmington later departed in the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 seasons respectively. [[Defiance College]] and [[Transylvania University]] joined in 2000 and 2001 respectively. Rose-Hulman re-joined the HCAC, effective for the 2006–07 season.

In October 2009, [[Earlham College]] of [[Richmond, Indiana]] was accepted as the 10th member of the conference and began competition in the fall of 2010.

In the summer of 2024, [[Defiance College]] departed the HCAC to join the NAIA and the [[Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference]]. [[Berea College]] joined the HCAC at the start of the 2024–25 academic year.

===Chronological timeline===
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| title = Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference
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|      label8 = Mount St. Joseph
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| mark-coord8 = {{coord|39.0949|-84.6379}}
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|      label9 = Rose-Hulman
|       mark9 = Location dot green.svg
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* 1987 – In June 1987, the HCAC was founded as the Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference (ICAC). Charter members included [[Anderson University (Indiana)|Anderson College]] (now Anderson University), [[DePauw University]], [[Franklin College (Indiana)|Franklin College]], [[Hanover College]], [[Manchester College (Indiana)|Manchester College]], and [[Wabash College]], beginning the 1987–88 academic year.
* 1988 – [[Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology]] and [[Taylor University]] joined the ICAC in the 1988–89 academic year.
* 1990 – The ICAC began their first full season on competition, competing in eight varsity sports, beginning the 1990–91 academic year.
* 1991 – Taylor left the ICAC to join the [[National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics]] (NAIA) after the 1990–91 academic year.
* 1998
** DePauw and Rose–Hulman (or Rose–Hulman Tech or RHIT) left the ICAC to join the [[Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference]] (SCAC) after the 1997–98 academic year.
** [[Bluffton University|Bluffton College]] (now Bluffton University), the [[Mount St. Joseph University|College of Mount St. Joseph]] (now Mount St. Joseph University) and [[Wilmington College (Ohio)|Wilmington College]] joined the ICAC in the 1998–99 academic year.
** The ICAC has been rebranded as the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC), beginning the 1998–99 academic year.
* 1999 – Wabash left the HCAC to join the [[North Coast Athletic Conference]] (NCAC) after the 1998–99 academic year. Its football program later left after the 1999 fall season (1999–2000 school year).
* 2000
** Wilmington left the HCAC to join the [[Ohio Athletic Conference]] (OAC) after the 1999–2000 academic year.
** [[Defiance College]] joined the HCAC in the 2000–01 academic year.
* 2001 – [[Transylvania University]] joined the HCAC in the 2001–02 academic year.
* 2006 – Rose–Hulman rejoined the HCAC in the 2006–07 academic year.
* 2010 – [[Earlham College]] joined the HCAC in the 2010–11 academic year.
* 2024
** Defiance left the HCAC to join the NAIA and the [[Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference]] (WHAC) after the 2023–24 academic year.
** [[Berea College]] joined the HCAC at the start of the 2024–25 academic year.

==Member schools==
===Current members===
The HCAC currently has ten full members, all [[Private university|private]] schools:

{| class="sortable wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! Institution
! Location
! Founded
! Affiliation
! Enrollment
! Nickname
! Joined
! Colors
! Football
|-
| '''[[Anderson University (Indiana)|Anderson University]]'''
| [[Anderson, Indiana]]
| 1917
| [[Church of God (Anderson, Indiana)|Church of God]]
| 1,311
| [[Anderson Ravens and Lady Ravens|Ravens]]
| 1987
| Orange and Black<br />{{color box|orange|border=silver}} {{color box|black|border=silver}}
| Yes
|-
|'''[[Berea College]]'''
|[[Berea, Kentucky]]
|1855
|Christian<br />{{small|(unaffiliated)}}
|1,613
|[[Berea Mountaineers|Mountaineers]]
|2024
|Berea Blue and White<br />{{color box|blue|border=silver}} {{color box|white|border=silver}}
|No
|-
| '''[[Bluffton University]]'''
| [[Bluffton, Ohio]]
| 1899
| [[Mennonite Church USA|Mennonite]]
| 1,094
| [[Bluffton Beavers|Beavers]]
| 1998
| Purple and White<br />{{color box|purple|border=silver}} {{color box|white|border=silver}} 
| Yes
|-
| '''[[Earlham College]]'''
| [[Richmond, Indiana]]
| 1847
| [[Quakers|Quaker]]
| 612
| [[Earlham Quakers|Quakers]]
| 2010
| Maroon and White<br />{{color box|#800000|border=silver}} {{color box|white|border=silver}}
| No
|-
| '''[[Franklin College (Indiana)|Franklin College]]'''
| [[Franklin, Indiana]]
| 1834
| [[American Baptist Churches USA|Baptist]]
| 1,047
| [[Franklin Grizzlies|Grizzlies]]
| 1987
| Navy Blue and Old Gold<br />{{color box|#000080|border=silver}} {{color box|gold|border=silver}}
| Yes 
|-
| '''[[Hanover College]]'''
| [[Hanover, Indiana]]
| 1827
| [[Presbyterian Church (USA)|Presbyterian]]
| 1,068
| [[Hanover Panthers|Panthers]]
| 1987
| Red and Blue<br />{{color box|red|border=silver}} {{color box|blue|border=silver}}
| Yes
|-
| '''[[Manchester University (Indiana)|Manchester University]]'''
| [[North Manchester, Indiana]]
| 1860
| [[Church of the Brethren]]
| 1,770
| [[Manchester University (Indiana)#Athletics|Spartans]]
| 1987
| Black and Gold<br />{{color box|black|border=silver}} {{color box|gold|border=silver}}
| Yes
|-
| '''[[Mount St. Joseph University]]'''
| [[Delhi Township, Ohio]]{{efn|group=full|Mailing address is [[Cincinnati]].}}
| 1920
| [[Catholic Church|Catholic]]<br />{{small|([[Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati|S.C.C.]])}}
| 1,889
| [[Mount St. Joseph Lions|Lions]]
| 1998
| Blue and Gold<br />{{color box|blue|border=silver}} {{color box|gold|border=silver}}
| Yes
|-
| '''[[Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology]]'''
| [[Terre Haute, Indiana]]
| 1874
| Nonsectarian
| 2,081
| [[Rose-Hulman Fightin' Engineers|Fightin' Engineers]]
| 1988;<br />2006{{efn|group=full|Rose–Hulman left the HCAC after the 1997–98 school year, before re-joining in the 2006–07 school year.}}
| Old Rose and White<br />{{color box|#800000|border=silver}} {{color box|white|border=silver}}
| Yes
|-
| '''[[Transylvania University]]'''
| [[Lexington, Kentucky]]
| 1780
| [[Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)|Disciples of Christ]]
| 963
| [[Transylvania Pioneers|Pioneers]]
| 2001
| Crimson and White<br />{{color box|red|border=silver}} {{color box|white|border=silver}}
| No
|}

;Notes:
{{notelist|group=full}}

===Former members===
The HCAC has four former full members, all were [[Private university|private]] schools:

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
! Institution
! Location
! Founded
! Affiliation
! Enrollment
! Nickname
! Joined
! Left
! Current<br />conference
|-
| '''[[Defiance College]]'''
| [[Defiance, Ohio]]
| 1850
| [[United Church of Christ]]
| 505
| [[Defiance Yellow Jackets|Yellow Jackets]]
| 2000–01
| 2023–24
|[[Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference|Wolverine–Hoosier (WHAC)]]{{efn|group=former|name=NAIA|Currently an [[National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics|NAIA]] athletic conference.}}
|-
| '''[[DePauw University]]'''
| [[Greencastle, Indiana]]
| 1837
| [[United Methodist Church|United Methodist]]
| 2,350
| [[DePauw Tigers|Tigers]]
| 1987–88
| 1997–98
| [[North Coast Athletic Conference|North Coast (NCAC)]]
|-
| '''[[Taylor University]]'''
| [[Upland, Indiana]]
| 1846
| [[Nondenominational Christianity|Interdenominational]]
| 1,887
| [[Taylor Trojans|Trojans]]
| 1988–89
| 1990–91
| [[Crossroads League|Crossroads]]{{efn|group=former|name=NAIA|Currently an [[National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics|NAIA]] athletic conference.}}
|-
| '''[[Wabash College]]'''{{efn|group=former|Wabash is an all-male institution, therefore it does not sponsor women's sports.}}
| [[Crawfordsville, Indiana]]
| 1832
| Nonsectarian
| 910
| [[Wabash Little Giants|Little Giants]]
| 1987–88
| 1998–99{{efn|group=former|Wabash left the HCAC for all-sports after the 1998–99 school year except for football (which later left following the 1999–2000 school year).}}
| [[North Coast Athletic Conference|North Coast (NCAC)]]
|-
| '''[[Wilmington College (Ohio)|Wilmington College]]'''
| [[Wilmington, Ohio]]
| 1870
| [[Quakers]]
| 990
| [[Wilmington Quakers|Quakers]]
| 1998–99
| 1999–2000
| [[Ohio Athletic Conference|Ohio (OAC)]]
|}

;Notes:
{{notelist|group=former}}

===Membership timeline===
<timeline>

DateFormat = yyyy

ImageSize  = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20

Period     = from:1987 till:2029

TimeAxis   = orientation:horizontal

PlotArea   = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph,  use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<#

Colors =

 id:barcolor  value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7)
         
 id:line      value:black
         
 id:bg        value:white
 id:Full value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports
 id:FullxF value:rgb(0.551,0.824,0.777) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football
 id:AssocF value:rgb(0.98,0.5,0.445) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only
 id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.5,0.691,0.824) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in some sports, but not all (consider identifying in legend or a footnote)
 id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference
 id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference where OtherC1 has already been used, to distinguish the two

PlotData=

  width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s

  bar:1  color:FullxF from:1987 till:1989  text:[[Anderson University (Indiana)|Anderson (Ind.)]] (1987–present)
  bar:1  color:Full from:1989 till:end

  bar:2  color:FullxF from:1987 till:1989  text:[[DePauw University|DePauw]] (1987–1998)
  bar:2  color:Full from:1989 till:1998

  bar:3  color:FullxF from:1987 till:1989  text:[[Franklin College (Indiana)|Franklin (Ind.)]] (1987–present)
  bar:3  color:Full from:1989 till:end

  bar:4  color:FullxF from:1987 till:1989  text:[[Hanover College|Hanover]] (1987–present)
  bar:4  color:Full from:1989 till:end

  bar:5  color:FullxF from:1987 till:1989  text:[[Manchester College (Indiana)|Manchester (Ind.)]] (1987–present)
  bar:5  color:Full from:1989 till:end

  bar:6  color:FullxF from:1987 till:1989  text:[[Wabash College|Wabash]] (1987–1999)
  bar:6  color:Full from:1989 till:1999 
  bar:6  color:AssocF from:1999 till:2000

  bar:7  color:FullxF from:1988 till:1989  text:[[Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology|Rose–Hulman Tech (RHIT)]] (1988–1998)
  bar:7  color:Full from:1989 till:1998 
  bar:7  color:Full from:2006 till:end text:(2006–present)

  bar:8  color:FullxF from:1988 till:1989  text:[[Taylor University|Taylor]] (1988–1991)
  bar:8  color:Full from:1989 till:1991

  bar:9  color:Full from:1998 till:end  text:[[Bluffton University|Bluffton]] (1998–present)

  bar:10  color:Full from:1998 till:end  text:[[Mount St. Joseph University|Mount St. Joseph]] (1998–present)

  bar:11  color:Full from:1998 till:2000  text:[[Wilmington College (Ohio)|Wilmington (Oh.)]] (1998–2000)

  bar:12  color:Full from:2000 till:2024  text:[[Defiance College|Defiance]] (2000–2024)

  bar:13  color:FullxF from:2001 till:end  text:[[Transylvania University|Transylvania]] (2001–present)

  bar:14  color:Full from:2010 till:2018  text:[[Earlham College|Earlham]] (2010–present)
  bar:14  color:FullxF from:2018 till:end

  bar:15  color:FullxF from:2024 till:end  text:[[Berea College|Berea]] (2024–present)

  bar:N color:green from:1987 till:1998  text:Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference
  bar:N color:yellow from:1998 till:end  text:Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1987

TextData   =
 fontsize:L
 textcolor:black
 pos:(0,25) tabs:(400-center)
 text:^"Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference membership history"

</timeline>

==Sports==
{{see also|Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament}}
Member teams compete in women's [[basketball]], [[cross country running|cross country]], [[golf]], [[football (soccer)|soccer]], [[softball]], [[tennis]], [[track and field]], [[swimming and diving]] and [[volleyball]] and men's [[baseball]], [[basketball]], [[cross country running|cross country]], [[American football|football]], [[golf]], [[football (soccer)|soccer]], [[tennis]], [[swimming and diving]] and [[track and field]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Official website|http://www.heartlandconf.org}}

{{Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference navbox}}
{{NCAA Division III conference navbox}}
{{NCAA Division III football conference navbox}}

[[Category:Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference| ]]
[[Category:Sports in Indianapolis]]
[[Category:Organizations based in Indianapolis]]