Horizon League
The Horizon League is a NCAA conference that plays in the NCAA Division I. The conference is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana and features universities and colleges from the Great Lakes Region. While it plays many sports, it has never played football.
History
changeThe Horizon League was founded in 1979 as the Midwestern City Conference (MCC) with six members. None of these schools are in the league now. The school that has been in the league the longest is Detroit Mercy, which joined in 1980 (when it was known as simply "Detroit").
The conference changed its name in 1985 to Midwestern Collegiate Conference. In 1993, the largest conference expansion in NCAA history that did not involve a merger was announced. Six schools left the Mid-Continent Conference, now known as The Summit League, to join the Midwestern Collegiate Conference for the 1994–95 school year. In June 2001, the conference changed its name to the current Horizon League to avoid confusion with the "other" MCC (which did not become The Summit League until 2007).
Today, eight of the Horizon League's 11 full members (those playing most, if not all, of their sports in the league) are former members of The Summit League. The exceptions are Detroit Mercy, Northern Kentucky,[1] and Robert Morris.[2]
The most recent changes to the conference membership happened in the 2020s. First, in 2020, Purdue Fort Wayne[3] and Robert Morris joined.[2] In 2022, UIC left to join the Missouri Valley Conference.[4]
Members
changeThe Horizon League now has 11 full members.
| School | Location | Founded | Type | Nickname | Joined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland State University | Cleveland, Ohio | 1964 | Public | Vikings | 1994 |
| University of Detroit Mercy | Detroit. Michigan | 1877 | Private | Titans | 1980 |
| University of Wisconsin–Green Bay (Green Bay) | Green Bay, Wisconsin | 1965 | Public | Phoenix | 1994 |
| Indiana University Indianapolis (IU Indy)[a] | Indianapolis, Indiana | 1969 | Public | Jaguars | 2017 |
| University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (Milwaukee) | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | 1956 | Public | Panthers | 1994 |
| Northern Kentucky University | Highland Heights, Kentucky | 1968 | Public | Norse | 2015 |
| Oakland University | Rochester, Michigan[b] | 1957 | Public | Golden Grizzlies | 2013 |
| Purdue University Fort Wayne | Fort Wayne, Indiana | 1964[c] | Public | Mastodons | 2020 |
| Robert Morris University | Moon Township, Pennsylvania | 1921 | Private | Colonials | 2020 |
| Wright State University | Dayton, Ohio[d] | 1964 | Public | Raiders | 1994 |
| Youngstown State University | Youngstown, Ohio | 1908 | Public | Penguins | 2001 |
- ↑ IU Indy joined the Horizon League as IUPUI, representing the former Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis. At the end of the 2023–24 school year, the Indiana University and Purdue University systems shut down IUPUI. That school was replaced by new IU and Purdue campuses. The athletic program transferred to the new IU campus. Shortly before the campus split became official, the athletic website adopted a branding as IU Indy.[5]
- ↑ The Oakland campus has a mailing address of Rochester, but is actually located in the neighboring cities of Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills.
- ↑ Purdue Fort Wayne did not exist until 2018, but inherited its athletic program from Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW), founded in 1964. In 2018, the Indiana University and Purdue University systems shut down their joint Fort Wayne campus. Each system then opened a new Fort Wayne campus of its own.[6]
- ↑ The Wright State campus has a mailing address of Dayton, but is actually located in the neighboring suburb of Fairborn.
Former full members
changeA total of 14 schools have been full members, but are no longer in the league.
Nicknames are those used when the schools were conference members.
- ↑ The Marquette men's basketball team joined in 1989, a year after the school joined in other sports.
- ↑ Marquette changed its nickname to "Golden Eagles" in 1994.
- ↑ Notre Dame was never a conference member in men's basketball.
- ↑ When Notre Dame rejoined the conference in 1987, it did so only for men's sports. Women's sports joined the next year.
- ↑ Oklahoma City changed its nickname to "Stars" in 1999.
- ↑ Oral Roberts changed its nickname to "Golden Eagles" in 1993.
- ↑ The Saint Louis men's basketball team joined in 1982, a year after the school joined in other sports.
- ↑ Valparaiso changed its nickname to Beacons in 2021.
Associate members
changeNCAA conferences often have one or more "associate" members that play only a limited number of sports in the conference, usually one. For most of its history, the Horizon League has not had associate members. The first such member was Belmont, which was a men's soccer member from 2014 to 2018. More recently, the Horizon greatly expanded its men's tennis league. The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) merged its men's tennis league into the Horizon in 2022.[7] At the same time, Belmont returned to the conference for men's tennis,[8] and Chicago State moved men's and women's tennis into the Horizon.[7]
Two of the associate members left in July 2024. Chicago State joined the Northeast Conference, which sponsors tennis for both sexes, while Lindenwood shut down its men's tennis team.
Current
change| School | Location | Founded | Type | Nickname | Horizon League sport(s) |
Joined | Main conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belmont University | Nashville, Tennessee | 1890 | Private | Bruins | Men's tennis | 2022 | MVC |
| Eastern Illinois University | Charleston, Illinois | 1895 | Public | Panthers | Men's tennis | 2022 | OVC |
| University of Southern Indiana | Evansville, Indiana[a] | 1965 | Public | Screaming Eagles | Men's tennis | 2022 | OVC |
| Tennessee State University | Nashville, Tennessee | 1912 | Public | Tigers | Men's tennis | 2022 | OVC |
| Tennessee Technological University (Tennessee Tech) |
Cookeville, Tennessee | 1915 | Public | Golden Eagles | Men's tennis | 2022 | OVC |
- ↑ Postal address; the campus lies in unincorporated Vanderburgh County.
Former
changeAs noted above, current men's tennis member Belmont once housed its men's soccer team in the Horizon League.
| School | Location | Founded | Type | Nickname | Horizon League sport |
Joined | Left | Main conference | Conference in former Horizon sport |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belmont University | Nashville, Tennessee | 1890 | Private | Bruins | Men's soccer | 2014 | 2018 | MVC | |
| Chicago State University | Chicago, Illinois | 1890 | Public | Cougars | Men's and women's tennis | 2022 | 2024 | NEC | |
| Lindenwood University | St. Charles, Missouri | 1827 | Public | Lions | Men's tennis | 2022 | 2024 | OVC | None |
References
change- "Horizon League". horizonleague.org. Retrieved 2014-07-26.
- ↑ "Northern Kentucky University to Join Horizon League in July" (Press release). Horizon League. May 11, 2015. Archived from the original on May 14, 2015. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Robert Morris to Join Horizon League" (Press release). Horizon League. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
- ↑ "Purdue University Fort Wayne to Join Horizon League" (Press release). Horizon League. August 5, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
- ↑ "UIC to Join the Missouri Valley Conference" (Press release). Missouri Valley Conference. January 26, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
- ↑ Tryon, Matthew (August 12, 2022). "What's next for IUPUI athletics? Staying in the Horizon League and 'tough decisions'". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
- ↑ "Goodbye IPFW, hello Purdue Fort Wayne". Journal & Courier. Fort Wayne, IN. April 21, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Horizon League Announces Innovative Partnership with Ohio Valley Conference and Men's Tennis Programs, Adds Chicago State as an Affiliate Member for Men's and Women's Tennis" (Press release). Horizon League. July 6, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
- ↑ "Men's Tennis Accepts Affiliate Membership in Horizon League" (Press release). Belmont Bruins. July 6, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2022.