Heartland Conference

Heartland Conference
Heartland Conference logo
Established	1999
Association	NCAA
Division	Division II
Members	11 (10 in 2016)
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. The University of Arkansas - Fort Smith joined the conference in the Fall of 2009 after transitioning from the NJCAA. In the fall of 2010, Lincoln left for the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association and Incarnate Word left for the Lone Star Conference. 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. In February 2012, Oklahoma Christian University announced its intention to seek membership in NCAA Division II. In Spring 2012, Rogers State University, a member of the NAIA Sooner Athletic Conference, applied for membership. 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.

Member schools

Current members

Institution	Location	Founded	Enrollment	Nickname	Colors	Joined
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
St. Edward's University	Austin, Texas	1885	5,500	Hilltoppers		1999
St. Mary's University	San Antonio, Texas	1852	4,500	Rattlers		1999
Texas A&M International University	Laredo, Texas	1969	4,298	Dustdevils		2006
University of Texas of the Permian Basin	Odessa, Texas	1973	3,600	Falcons		2006

• Reclassifying member in yellow.
• Texas–Permian Basin — will join the Lone Star Conference in 2016.

Future affiliate members

Institution	Location	Founded	Enrollment	Nickname	Colors	Joins	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
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
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	Rocky Mountain (Lone Star in 2016)

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.

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
Texas-Permian Basin	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	5
Totals	10	11	10	10	9	6	56
Future 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
Texas-Permian Basin	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	6
Totals	10	10	10	9	9	6	9	63

Other sponsored sports by school

School		Men							Women
		Baseball ‡	Football	Swimming & Diving	Track & Field Indoor	Track & Field Outdoor	Wrestling		Swimming & Diving	Track & Field Indoor	Track & Field Outdoor
Dallas Baptist		MVC			IND	IND				IND	IND
Newman							MIAA
Oklahoma Christian					IND	IND				IND	IND
Oklahoma Panhandle State			IND
Rogers State						IND					IND
Texas-Permian Basin				NSISC					NSISC

• ^‡ — D-I sport
• NSISC — New South Intercollegiate Swim Conference
• Oklahoma Panhandle State (LSC) — Football joins the Lone Star Conference in 2016.

National championships

Sport	School	Year(s)
Baseball	St. Mary's	2001
Softball	St. Mary's	2002
Men's Golf (Individual)	Jamie Amoretti, St. Mary's	2006

• St. Mary's won NAIA national championships in Softball (1986) and Men's Basketball (1989) prior to joining the Heartland Conference.
• The St. Mary's Men's Golf team were named the Golf Coaches Association of America 2008-2009 Academic National Champions, which St. Mary's treats as a fifth team national championship.
• Dallas Baptist won the 2003 National Christian College Athletic Association Baseball national championship; DBU is a non-baseball member of the Heartland Conference.