The Heart of America Athletic Conference ( HAAC or The Heart ) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Member institutions are located in Iowa , Kansas , Missouri , and Nebraska in the United States .
5-922: The HAAC's earliest ancestor was the Missouri College Athletic Union (MCAU), which was formed in 1924 when the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association (now the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association or MIAA) split in two. The old MIAA's private schools formed the Athletic Union , while the state teachers' colleges stayed in the MIAA. It was reorganized as the HAAC in 1971 when it began admitting schools outside Missouri. However,
10-613: The 2020–21 school year. On February 10, 2022, long-serving Evangel University accepted its invitation to join the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference , also Kansas-based, in 2023–24. On July 24, 2023, William Woods University (alongside St. Ambrose) announced they would join the conference as associate members in football beginning in the 2024 fall season (2024 25 academic year). The expansion made it NAIA's largest football conference with 14 teams playing in two divisions. The current commissioner of
15-471: The HAAC does not presently claim the Athletic Union's history as its own. In early 2014, Grand View University and William Penn University were announced as members for the 2015–16 school year. In April 2015, Clarke University and Mount Mercy University were also announced as members for the 2016–17 school year. In October 2019, Park University was approved for HAAC membership and joined in
20-689: The conference is Lori Thomas. Thomas, the first female commissioner in NAIA history, began her term in 2014, succeeding Larry Lady who retired after 22 years as commissioner. The HAAC currently has thirteen full members, all but one are private schools: All but one of the private schools are religiously affiliated. The HAAC will have two new members, both are private schools as well as current HAAC affiliate members. The HAAC currently has ten affiliate members, all but one are private schools: The HAAC has seven former full members, all were private schools: The HAAC had one former affiliate member; which
25-480: Was also a private school: Full member (all sports) Full member (non-football) Associate member (football) Associate member (sport) The conference also sponsors co-ed varsity sports of dance and cheer. Missouri College Athletic Union The Missouri College Athletic Union ( MCAU ) was an intercollegiate athletic conference that existed from 1924 to 1971. It consisted primarily of private universities from
#253746