The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the NCAA's Division III. In women's gymnastics, it competes alongside Division I and II members, as the NCAA sponsors a single championship event open to members of all NCAA divisions. As the name implies, member teams are located in the state of Wisconsin, although there are three associate members from Minnesota and one from Illinois. All full members are part of the University of Wisconsin System.

History

In 1913, representatives from Wisconsin's eight normal schools—Superior Normal School (now the University of Wisconsin–Superior), River Falls State Normal School (now the University of Wisconsin-River Falls), Stevens Point Normal School (now the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point), La Crosse State Normal School (now the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse), Oshkosh State Normal School (now the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh), Whitewater Normal School (now the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater), Milwaukee State Normal School (now the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee) and Platteville Normal School (now the University of Wisconsin–Platteville)—met in Madison to organize the Inter-Normal Athletic Conference of Wisconsin. The Stout Institute (now the University of Wisconsin–Stout) joined in 1914, followed by Eau Claire State Normal School (now the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire) in 1917. The conference evolved with the growing educational mission of its member schools. It changed its name to the Wisconsin State Teachers College Conference in 1926, and the Wisconsin State College Conference in 1951. Finally, in 1964, it became the Wisconsin State University Conference. In 1971, the member schools of the WSUC joined with the University of Wisconsin–Madison, University of Wisconsin–Parkside and Carthage College to form the Wisconsin Women's Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. By 1975, UW–Milwaukee, Carroll College, the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay and Marquette University had also joined. With the dissolution of the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women in 1982, the member schools joined their male counterparts in either the NCAA or NAIA. By 1993, the non-NCAA Division III members had all dropped out, resulting in the WWIAC having the same membership as the WSUC. Under the circumstances, a merger was inevitable. In 1996, Gary Karner was named commissioner of both the WSUC and the WWIAC. The two conferences formally merged in 1997 to form the current WIAC. Effective with the 2001–02 academic year, Lawrence University joined the conference in the sport of wrestling. Three Minnesota schools, Gustavus Adolphus College, Hamline University and Winona State University, became members of the conference in the sport of women's gymnastics during the 2004–05 academic year. In 2009–10, the conference added men’s soccer as a sponsored sport with the announcement of Michigan school Finlandia University as an affiliate member. Lawrence discontinued its affiliation with the WIAC in wrestling. The conference remained unusually stable over the years; the only changes in full membership being the departures of UW–Milwaukee in 1964 and UW–Superior in 2015.

Centennial celebration

The ninth-oldest conference in the nation, the WIAC celebrated its centennial year during the 2012–13 academic year. Additionally, the WIAC is the most successful NCAA Division III conference in history, boasting NCAA National Championships in 15 different sports. At the beginning of the 2011–12 academic year, the conference had claimed a nation-leading 92 NCAA National Championships. To celebrate its centennial, the conference named All-Time Teams in each sport that is currently or was previously recognized as a "championship" sport within the conference. Furthermore, the WIAC commissioned a commemorative work of art, created by Tim Cortes, and has also created a two-year calendar in celebration of its centennial. The celebration was headlined by its Centennial Banquet held on August 4, 2012, at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin. Among the honorees at the event were the All-Time Team members and the inaugural class to the WIAC Hall of Fame.

Chronological timeline

Member schools

Current members

The WIAC currently has eight full members, all are public schools:

Affiliate members

The WIAC currently has eleven affiliate members, all but five are private schools:

Former members

The WIAC had two former full members, both were public schools:

Former affiliate members

The WIAC had three former affiliate members, all were private schools:

Membership timeline

Sports

Member institutions field men's and women's teams in cross country, basketball, ice hockey, track and field, and swimming and diving. Men's teams are fielded for baseball, football, and wrestling. Women's teams are fielded for golf, gymnastics, soccer, softball, tennis and volleyball. The WIAC is the only NCAA Division III all-sports conference that does not sponsor men's soccer.

Men's sponsored sports by school

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the WIAC

Women's sponsored sports by school

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the WIAC

National championship teams

NCAA Division III national championships

Listed below are the NCAA Division III team national championships won by WIAC members. UW–Oshkosh: 1985, 1994 UW–Whitewater: 2005, 2014 UW–Whitewater: 1984, 1989, 2012, 2014 UW–Platteville: 1991, 1995, 1998, 1999 UW–Stevens Point: 2004, 2005, 2010, 2015 UW–Oshkosh: 2019 UW–Stevens Point: 1987, 2002 UW–Oshkosh: 1996 UW–Oshkosh: 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002 UW–La Crosse: 1996, 2001, 2005 UW–Eau Claire: 2015 UW–La Crosse: 1983 UW–Oshkosh: 1987, 1988, 1991, 1996 UW–Eau Claire: 2009 UW–La Crosse: 1992, 1995 UW–Whitewater: 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014 UW–Eau Claire: 2001 UW–River Falls: 1988, 1994 UW–Stevens Point: 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 2016, 2019 UW–Superior: 2002 UW–Eau Claire: 2013 UW–Stevens Point: 1998 UW–Eau Claire: 2008 UW–La Crosse: 1987, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2023 UW–Oshkosh: 2009 UW–Eau Claire: 2015, 2016 UW–La Crosse: 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 UW–Oshkosh: 2009 UW–Oshkosh: 1994–96, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2013, 2014 UW–La Crosse: 2015, 2023 UW–La Crosse: 1983, 1984, 2015, 2023 UW–Oshkosh: 1990, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2011 UW–River Falls: 2008 UW–Whitewater: 2002, 2005 UW–Eau Claire: 2021

Non-NCAA national championships

Many members of the WIAC have also won national championships from organizations other than the NCAA, including: NAIA, AIAW, NGCA, and National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA).

UW–Eau Claire

Women's Cross Country: 1984^ Men's Ice Hockey: 1984^ Women's Swimming and Diving: 1983^, 1987^, 1988^

UW–La Crosse

Women's Basketball: 1981^^ Men's Bowling: 1967^, 1968^, 1969^ Football: 1985^ Men's Gymnastics: 1975^, 1976^, 1977^ Women's Gymnastics: 1986*, 1988*, 1995*, 1997*, 1999*, 2001*, 2002*, 2003*, 2004*, 2005*, 2006*, 2008*, 2009*, 2010*, 2011*, 2015*, 2016* Women's Outdoor Track and Field: 1982^^

UW–Oshkosh

Men's Gymnastics: 1973^, 1974^, 1978^, 1979^, 1980^ (and NCAA Div. II), 1981^ (and NCAA Div. II), 1982^ (and NCAA Div. II), 1983^ Women's Gymnastics: 1980^^, 1986^, 1989*, 2007*, 2022*, 2023*

UW–River Falls

Men's Ice Hockey: 1983^

UW–Stout

Men's Gymnastics: 1984^

UW–Whitewater

Women's Golf: 1985% Women's Gymnastics: 2012*, 2013*, 2014*, 2017*, 2018*

UW–Superior (former member)

Men's Ice Hockey: 1976^

Marquette University (former member)

Women's Cross Country: 1982^

UW–Green Bay (former member)

Women's Swimming and Diving: 1984^

UW–Parkside (former member)

Women's Cross Country: 1980^ ^ National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) ^^ Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW)

• National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) % National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA)

Conference facilities