American Rivers Conference


The American Rivers Conference is an NCAA Division III athletic conference. From 1927 until August 9, 2018, it was known as the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

History

The ARC dates back to December 8, 1922, when representatives from 12 colleges got together and 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 College, 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 was accepted as a member. Columbia 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 College 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 readmitted 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 rejoined 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 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. On August 9, 2018, the league changed its name to the American Rivers Conference to reflect its current makeup.

Member schools

Current members

InstitutionNicknameLocationFoundedAffiliationEnrollmentJoined
Buena Vista UniversityBeaversStorm Lake, Iowa1891Presbyterian2,7751922
Central CollegeDutchPella, Iowa1853Reformed1,5751922
Coe CollegeKohawksCedar Rapids, Iowa1851Presbyterian1,3551997
University of DubuqueSpartansDubuque, Iowa1852Presbyterian1,3611929
Loras CollegeDuhawksDubuque, Iowa1839Catholic1,5501926,
1986*
Luther CollegeNorseDecorah, Iowa1861Lutheran2,5731922
Nebraska Wesleyan UniversityPrairie WolvesLincoln, Nebraska1887Methodist1,6002016
Simpson CollegeStormIndianola, Iowa1860Methodist1,9661922
Wartburg CollegeKnightsWaverly, Iowa1852Lutheran1,8041936

;Note:
* - Loras was dropped from the conference in 1954 because it was determined they were "too strong" for the other members to play against. Loras rejoined the conference in 1986.

Former members

;Note:
* - William Penn was suspended from the conference from 1949 to 1951 and then removed from the conference for being "too weak" in 1953; they rejoined in 1960.

Membership timeline


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ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20
Period = from:1922 till:2022
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

id:line value:black

id:bg value:white
id:Full value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports
id:FullxF value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football
id:AssocF value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only
id:AssocOS value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in some sports, but not all
id:OtherC1 value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference
id:OtherC2 value:rgb # 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: anchor:from fontsize:s
bar:1 color:Full from:1922 till:end text:Buena Vista
bar:2 color:Full from:1922 till:end text:Central
bar:3 color:Full from:1922 till:1927 text:Ellsworth Community College
bar:4 color:Full from:1922 till:1965 text:Iowa Wesleyan
bar:5 color:Full from:1922 till:end text:Luther
bar:6 color:Full from:1922 till:1936 text:Morningside
bar:7 color:Full from:1922 till:1963 text:Parsons
bar:8 color:Full from:1922 till:1952 text:St. Ambrose
bar:8 color:FullxF from:1952 till:1954
bar:9 color:Full from:1922 till:end text:Simpson
bar:10 color:Full from:1922 till:2003 text:Upper Iowa
bar:11 color:Full from:1922 till:1953 text:Westmar
bar:12 color:Full from:1922 till:1949 text:William Penn
bar:12 color:FullxF from:1951 till:1952 text:
bar:12 color:Full from:1952 till:1954
bar:12 color:Full from:1962 till:2001 text:
bar:13 color:Full from:1922 till:1929 text:Des Moines
bar:14 color:Full from:1923 till:1935 text:Northern Iowa
bar:15 color:Full from:1926 till:1952 text:Loras
bar:15 color:FullxF from:1952 till:1954
bar:15 color:Full from:1986 till:end text:
bar:16 color:Full from:1929 till:end text:Dubuque
bar:17 color:Full from:1936 till:end text:Wartburg
bar:18 color:Full from:1997 till:end text:Coe
bar:19 color:Full from:1997 till:2012 text:Cornell
bar:20 shift: color:Full from:2016 till:end text:Nebraska Wesleyan
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1925

Sports

Member teams field men's and women's teams in cross country, basketball, track and field, swimming and diving, golf, soccer, tennis. Men's teams are field for baseball, football and wrestling. Women's teams are field for softball and volleyball.

Men's sponsored sports by school

SchoolBaseballBasketballCross
Country		FootballGolfSoccerSwimming & DivingTennisTrack & Field
Track & Field
WrestlingTotal ARC
Sports
Buena Vista10
Central10
Coe11
Dubuque10
Loras11
Luther11
Nebraska Wesleyan11
Simpson11
Wartburg10