Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference
The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference is a List of [college athletic conferences in the United States|college athletic conference] affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. The KCAC is the oldest conference in the NAIA and the second-oldest in the United States, tracing its history to 1890.
History
On February 15, 1890, the Kansas Intercollegiate Athletic Association was formed; it was the first successful attempt to organize Kansas colleges for the purposes of promoting and regulating amateur intercollegiate athletics. In addition to the private universities and colleges, the conference also included Kansas State Agriculture College, the University of Kansas, and Washburn University. In November of that year, the Baker football game|first college football game in Kansas] was played between the Kansas Jayhawks and Baker University.About 1902 the association allied with the Kansas College Athletic Conference, the first group to adopt a definite set of rules and regulations. By the 1920s the conference had changed its name to Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference and had grown to include 17 regular members and 2 allied members. In 1927, seven colleges withdrew to form the Central Intercollegiate Conference.
On December 1, 1928, the Kansas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference was formally disbanded and replaced by a new Kansas College Athletic Conference which included six members and formed the present legal entity. It was commonly referred to as the "Little Six", in contrast to the Big Six Conference that eventually became the current Big 12. By 1968 the conference grew to include 12 members. It was organized into Northern and Southern divisions until 1970 when three colleges withdrew to join Missouri-based conferences. In the mid-1970s the name was changed to its current form.
1905 night game
In the 1905 season, the Coleman Company set up temporary gas-powered lighting for a night game at Association Park in Wichita, Kansas between the of Copper College and the of Fairmount College. It was the first night football game played west of the Mississippi River. Fairmount won the game, 24–0.1905 "experimental" game
On December 25, 1905, Fairmount played a game against the Washburn Ichabods using a set of experimental rules. The game was officiated by then Washburn head coach John H. Outland.The experiment was considered a failure. Outland commented, "It seems to me that the distance required in three downs would almost eliminate touchdowns, except through fakes or flukes." The Los Angeles Times reported that there was much kicking and that the game was considered much safer than regular play, but that the new rule was not "conducive to the sport."
In his history of the sport of football, David M. Nelson concluded that "the first forward passes were thrown at the end of the 1905 season in a game between Fairmount and Washburn colleges in Kansas." According to Nelson, Washburn completed three passes, and Fairmount completed two.
Chronological timeline
- 1902 – The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference was founded as the Kansas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Charter members included Baker University, Bethany College, Bethel College, the College of Emporia, Cooper Memorial College, Fairmount College, Friends University, Kansas Wesleyan University, Kansas State Teachers College of Emporia, Kansas State Teachers College of Hays, Kansas State Teachers College of Pittsburg, Kansas State Agricultural College, McPherson College, Ottawa University, St. Benedict's College, St. Mary's College, Southwest Kansas Conference College, Washburn College as full members, beginning the 1902–03 academic year.
- 1913 – Kansas State left the KIAC to join the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association after the 1912–13 academic year.
- 1923 – Nine institutions left the KIAC to join their respective new home primary conferences: The College of Emporia, Emporia State, Fort Hays State, Pittsburg State, Southwestern, Washburn and Wichita State to form the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and Kansas City U. and St. John's as Independents, all effective after the 1922–23 academic year.
- 1928 – Bethel, Friends, Sterling and St. Benedict's left the KIAC to become Independents, effective in December 1928.
- 1928 – The KIAC was rebranded as the Kansas College Athletic Conference, effective in December 1928.
- 1931 – St. Mary's left the KCAC as the school ceased operations after the 1930–31 academic year.
- 1933 – The College of Emporia rejoined the KCAC in the 1933–34 academic year.
- 1939 – Bethel rejoined the KCAC in the 1939–40 academic year.
- 1953 – Friends rejoined the KCAC in the 1953–54 academic year.
- 1958 – Southwestern and Sterling rejoined the KCAC, in the 1958–59 academic year.
- 1968 – St. Mary of the Plains College and Tabor College joined the KCAC in the 1968–69 academic year.
- 1970 – The KCAC has been rebranded as the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference, beginning the 1970–71 academic year.
- 1971 – Baker, the College of Emporia and Ottawa left the KCAC to form part of the Heart of America Athletic Conference after the 1970–71 academic year.
- 1982 – Ottawa rejoined the KCAC in the 1982–83 academic year.
- 1992 – St. Mary's of the Plains left the KCAC as the school ceased operations after the 1991–92 academic year.
- 1999 – The Saint Mary College of Leavenworth joined the KCAC in the 1999–2000 academic year.
- 2015 – Oklahoma Wesleyan University joined the KCAC in the 2015–16 academic year.
- 2015 – Six institutions joined the KCAC as associate members, all effective in the 2016 spring season :
- * St. Gregory's University for men's lacrosse
- * Midland University and Johnson & Wales University–Colorado for women's lacrosse
- * and Benedictine, Clarke University and Missouri Valley College for men's and women's lacrosse
- 2016 – St. Gregory's left the KCAC as an associate member for men's lacrosse after the school suspended it during the 2016 spring season.
- 2016 – York College joined the KCAC in the 2016–18 academic year.
- 2016 – St. Ambrose University joined the KCAC as an associate member for men's lacrosse in the 2017 spring season.
- 2017 – Five institutions joined the KCAC as associate members, all effective in the 2017–18 academic year:
- * Columbia College of Missouri for men's lacrosse
- * St. Ambrose for women's lacrosse
- * and the University of Jamestown, Midland and Missouri Valley for women's wrestling
- 2018 – Johnson & Wales–Colorado left the KCAC as an associate member for women's lacrosse after the 2018 spring season.
- 2018 – Avila University joined the KCAC in the 2018–19 academic year.
- 2019 – Seven institutions joined the KCAC as associate members, all effective in the 2019–20 academic year:
- * Culver–Stockton College for women's lacrosse
- * Lincoln College and Nazarene University">Church of the Nazarene">Nazarene University for men's and women's swimming
- * Midland for men's lacrosse and men's and women's swimming
- * and Baptist University">American Baptist Churches USA">Baptist University, Morningside College and William Penn University for men's and women's lacrosse
- 2020 – Missouri Valley left the KCAC as an associate member for women's wrestling after the 2019–20 academic year.
- 2020 – Five institutions joined the KCAC as associate members, all effective in the 2020–21 academic year:
- * Bethel University of Indiana and Morningside for men's and women's swimming
- * Cottey College and Midland for women's flag football
- * Hastings College for women's wrestling
- 2021 – Lincoln left the KCAC as an associate member for men's and women's swimming after the 2020–21 academic year.
- 2021 – Two institutions joined the KCAC as associate members, both effective in the 2022–23 academic year:
- * Columbia for eSports
- * and Jamestown for women's swimming
- 2022 – Seven institutions left the KCAC as associate members, all effective after the 2022 spring season :
- * Culver–Stockton for women's lacrosse
- * and Benedictine, Clarke, Missouri Valley, Morningside, St. Ambrose and William Penn for men's and women's lacrosse
- 2022 – Four institutions joined the KCAC as associate members, all effective in the 2022–23 academic year:
- * the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis for women's lacrosse
- * the College of Saint Mary for women's swimming
- * Aquinas College for men's and women's swimming
- * and Doane University for women's wrestling
- 2023 – Columbia left the KCAC as an associate member for eSports after the 2022–23 academic year.
- 2023 – Evangel University joined the KCAC in the 2023–24 academic year.
- 2023 – Four institutions joined the KCAC as associate members, all effective in the 2023–24 academic year:
- * Dakota Wesleyan University and Morningside for women's wrestling
- * and Baker University and Graceland University for women's flag football
- 2024 – Eight institutions left the KCAC as associate members, all effective after the 2023–24 academic year:
- * Columbia for men's lacrosse
- * Missouri Baptist for men's and women's lacrosse
- * the UHSP for women's lacrosse
- * Midland for men's and women's lacrosse and women's wrestling
- * and Dakota Wesleyan, Doane, Hastings and Morningside for women's wrestling, and for men's and women's lacrosse
Member schools
Current members
The KCAC currently has fourteen full members, all are private schools:;Notes:
Associate members
The KCAC currently has ten associate members, all are private schools:;Notes:
Former members
The KCAC had 12 former full members, all but five were private schools:;Notes:
Former associate members
The KCAC had four 16 associate members, all were private schools:;Notes:
Membership timeline
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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 for another sport only
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bar:1 color:Full from:1902 till:1971 text:Baker
bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:1971 till:end text:HAAC
bar:2 color:Full from:1902 till:end text:Bethany (Ks.)
bar:3 color:Full from:1902 till:1928 text:Bethel (Ks.)
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bar:4 color:Full from:1902 till:1923 text:Coll. of Emporia
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bar:4 color:Full from:1933 till:1971 text:
bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:1971 till:1974 text:HAAC
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bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:1923 till:1940 text:CIC
bar:5 color:OtherC2 from:1940 till:1945 text:Ind.
bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:1945 till:2017 text:MVC
bar:5 color:OtherC2 from:2017 till:end text:The American
bar:6 color:Full from:1902 till:1928 text:Friends
bar:6 color:AssocOS from:1928 till:1929 text:
bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:1929 till:1953 text:Ind.
bar:6 color:Full from:1953 till:end text:
bar:7 color:Full from:1902 till:end text:Kansas Wesleyan
bar:8 color:Full from:1902 till:1923 text:KSTC–Emporia
bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:1923 till:1968 text:CIC
bar:8 color:OtherC2 from:1968 till:1972 text:RMAC
bar:8 shift: color:OtherC1 from:1972 till:1976 text:GPAC
bar:8 shift: color:OtherC2 from:1976 till:1989 text:CSIC
bar:8 shift: color:OtherC1 from:1989 till:1991 text:D-II Ind.
bar:8 color:OtherC2 from:1991 till:end text:MIAA
bar:9 color:Full from:1902 till:1923 text:KSTC–Fort Hays
bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:1923 till:1968 text:CIC
bar:9 color:OtherC2 from:1968 till:1972 text:RMAC
bar:9 shift: color:OtherC1 from:1972 till:1976 text:GPAC
bar:9 shift: color:OtherC2 from:1976 till:1989 text:CSIC
bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:1989 till:2006 text:RMAC
bar:9 color:OtherC2 from:2006 till:end text:MIAA
bar:10 color:Full from:1902 till:1923 text:KSTC–Pittsburg
bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:1923 till:1968 text:CIC
bar:10 color:OtherC2 from:1968 till:1972 text:RMAC
bar:10 shift: color:OtherC1 from:1972 till:1976 text:GPAC
bar:10 shift: color:OtherC2 from:1976 till:1989 text:CSIC
bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:1989 till:end text:MIAA
bar:11 color:Full from:1902 till:1913 text:Kansas Agricultural
bar:11 shift: color:OtherC1 from:1913 till:1928 text:MVC
bar:11 color:OtherC2 from:1928 till:1996 text:Big 8
bar:11 color:OtherC1 from:1996 till:end text:Big 12
bar:12 color:Full from:1902 till:end text:McPherson
bar:13 color:Full from:1902 till:1971 text:Ottawa
bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:1971 till:1982 text:HAAC
bar:13 color:Full from:1982 till:end text:
bar:14 color:Full from:1902 till:1928 text:St. Benedict's (Ks.)
bar:14 color:AssocOS from:1928 till:1929 text:
bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:1929 till:1937 text:Ind.
bar:14 color:OtherC2 from:1937 till:1962 text:CIC
bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:1962 till:1991 text:NAIA Ind.
bar:14 color:OtherC2 from:1991 till:2015 text:HAAC
bar:14 color:AssocOS from:2015 till:end text:
bar:15 color:Full from:1902 till:1931 text:St. Mary's College
bar:16 color:Full from:1902 till:1928 text:Sterling
bar:16 color:AssocOS from:1928 till:1929 text:
bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:1929 till:1958 text:Ind.
bar:16 color:Full from:1958 till:end text:
bar:17 color:Full from:1902 till:1923 text:Southwestern (Ks.)
bar:17 color:OtherC1 from:1923 till:1958 text:CIC
bar:17 color:Full from:1958 till:end text:
bar:18 color:Full from:1902 till:1923 text:Washburn
bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:1923 till:1933 text:CIC
bar:18 color:OtherC2 from:1933 till:1940 text:Ind.
bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:1940 till:1968 text:CIC
bar:18 color:OtherC2 from:1968 till:1972 text:RMAC
bar:18 shift: color:OtherC1 from:1972 till:1976 text:GPAC
bar:18 shift: color:OtherC2 from:1976 till:1989 text:CSIC
bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:1989 till:end text:MIAA
bar:19 color:Full from:1902 till:1923 text:St. John's (Ks.)
bar:19 color:OtherC1 from:1923 till:1986 text:Ind.
bar:20 color:Full from:1902 till:1923 text:Kansas City
bar:20 color:OtherC1 from:1923 till:1933 text:Ind.
bar:21 color:Full from:1968 till:1992 text:St. Mary of the Plains
bar:22 color:Full from:1968 till:end text:Tabor (Ks.)
bar:23 color:Full from:1999 till:end text:Saint Mary
bar:24 shift: color:FullxF from:2015 till:end text:Oklahoma Wesleyan
bar:25 shift: color:AssocOS from:2015 till:2022 text:Benedictine
bar:26 shift: color:AssocOS from:2015 till:2022 text:Clarke
bar:27 shift: color:AssocOS from:2015 till:2018 text:Johnson & Wales–Colorado
bar:28 shift: color:AssocOS from:2015 till:end text:Midland
bar:29 shift: color:AssocOS from:2015 till:2022 text:Missouri Valley
bar:30 shift: color:AssocOS from:2015 till:2016 text:St. Gregory's (Okla.)
bar:31 shift: color:FullxF from:2016 till:end text:York (Neb.)
bar:32 shift: color:AssocOS from:2016 till:2022 text:St. Ambrose
bar:33 shift: color:AssocOS from:2017 till:2023 text:Columbia (Mo.)
bar:34 shift: color:AssocOS from:2017 till:2025 text:Jamestown
bar:35 shift: color:AssocOS from:2017 till:2024 text:Missouri Baptist
bar:36 shift: color:Full from:2018 till:end text:Avila
bar:37 shift: color:AssocOS from:2019 till:2022 text:Culver–Stockton
bar:38 shift: color:AssocOS from:2019 till:2021 text:Lincoln (Ill.)
bar:39 shift: color:AssocOS from:2019 till:end text:Morningside
bar:40 shift: color:AssocOS from:2019 till:end text:Olivet Nazarene
bar:41 shift: color:AssocOS from:2019 till:2022 text:William Penn
bar:42 shift: color:AssocOS from:2020 till:end text:Bethel (Ind.)
bar:43 shift: color:AssocOS from:2020 till:end text:Cottey
bar:44 shift: color:AssocOS from:2020 till:2024 text:Hastings
bar:45 shift: color:AssocOS from:2022 till:end text:Aquinas
bar:46 shift: color:AssocOS from:2022 till:2024 text:Doane
bar:47 shift: color:Full from:2023 till:end text:Evangel
bar:48 shift: color:AssocOS from:2023 till:end text:Baker
bar:49 shift: color:AssocOS from:2023 till:2024 text:Dakota Wesleyan
bar:50 shift: color:AssocOS from:2023 till:end text:Graceland
bar:N color:red from:1902 till:1923 text:KCAC
bar:N color:blue from:1923 till:1928 text:KIAC
bar:N color:red from:1928 till:1970 text:Kansas College Athletic Conference
bar:N color:blue from:1970 till:end text:Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference
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- > If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following three options Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space.
Sports
| Sport | Men's | Women's |
| Baseball | ||
| Basketball | ||
| Cross Country | ||
| Football | ||
| Golf | ||
| Lacrosse | ||
| Soccer | ||
| Softball | ||
| Tennis | ||
| Track & Field Indoor | ||
| Track & Field Outdoor | ||
| Volleyball | ||
| Wrestling |