Mid-States Football Association

The Mid-States Football Association is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. The conference sponsors only football. Member institutions are located in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. The MSFA was organized in 1993, and on-field competition began in 1994. The conference is divided into two leagues, the Mideast League and the Midwest League. The two MSFA league champions each earn an automatic bid to the football national championship playoffs. MSFA member schools have won eight NAIA football national championships.
For other sports, MSFA-member schools are affiliated with a variety of other conferences including the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, the Crossroads League, and the Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference.

WWW mid-statesfootball.org

History

Chronological timeline

1994 – The Mid-States Football Association was founded. Charter members included the following, beginning the 1994 fall season :
* Geneva College, Malone College, Tiffin University, Urbana University, and Westminster College representing the Mideast League
* and the University of Findlay, Lindenwood College, Olivet Nazarene University, Saint Xavier University, Taylor University and Trinity International University representing the Midwest League
1996 – Lindenwood left the MSFA to move its football program with its other sports when it joined the Heart of America Athletic Conference after the 1995 fall season.
1996 – Tri-State University and Walsh University joined the MSFA to represent the Mideast League, while Iowa Wesleyan College and St. Ambrose University joined the MSFA to represent the Midwest League, all effective in the 1996 fall season.
1998 – Findlay and Westminster left the MSFA to move their football programs to the Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference, along with their other sports when both joined the Division II ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference after the 1997 fall season.
1998 – The University of Saint Francis of Indiana joined the MSFA to represent the Mideast League, while McKendree College joined the MSFA to represent the Midwest League, both effective in the 1998 fall season.
1999 – St. Ambrose opted to not compete in the MSFA for the 1999 fall season.
1999 – The University of St. Francis of Illinois joined the MSFA to represent the Mideast League in the 1999 fall season.
2000 – St. Ambrose returned to the MSFA in the 2000 fall season.
2002 – Tiffin left the MSFA to join the Independent Football Alliance after the 2001 fall season.
2002 – William Penn University joined the MSFA to represent the Midwest League in the 2002 fall season.
2003 – Trine left the MSFA to move its football program with its other sports when it joined the NCAA Division III ranks after the 2002 fall season.
2003 – Quincy University joined the MSFA to represent the Mideast League in the 2003 fall season.
2004 – Ohio Dominican University joined the MSFA to represent the Mideast League in the 2004 fall season.
2006 – Quincy moved to the Midwest League in the 2006 fall season.
2007 – Geneva left the MSFA to move its football program with its other sports when it joined the NCAA Division III ranks and the Presidents' Athletic Conference after the 2006 fall season.
2007 – Marian University joined the MSFA to represent the Mideast League in the 2007 fall season.
2007 – Saint Xavier moved to the Mideast League in the 2007 fall season.
2008 – Urbana left the MSFA to move its football program with its other sports when it joined the NCAA Division II ranks after the 2007 fall season.
2009 – Ohio Dominican left the MSFA to move its football program with its other sports when it joined the NCAA Division II ranks after the 2008 fall season.
2009 – Grand View University and Waldorf University joined the MSFA to represent the Midwest League in the 2009 fall season.
2009 – Olivet Nazarene and Trinity International moved to the Mideast League in the 2009 fall season.
2011 – Three institutions left the MSFA to move their football programs with their other sports when they joined the NCAA Division II ranks, all effective after the 2010 fall season :
* Malone and Walsh to the GLIAC
* and McKendree to the Great Lakes Valley Conference
2011 – Concordia University Ann Arbor joined the MSFA to represent in the Mideast League in the 2011 fall season.
2011 – Quincy returned to the Mideast League, while Olivet Nazarene and Trinity International went back to the Midwest League in the 2011 fall season.
2012 – Two institutions left the MSFA to move their football programs with their other sports when they joined the NCAA ranks, both effective after the 2011 fall season :
* Quincy to D-II and the GLVC
* and Iowa Wesleyan to D-III and eventually to the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
2012 – Siena Heights University joined the MSFA to represent in the Mideast League in the 2012 fall season.
2013 – Robert Morris University Illinois joined the MSFA to represent in the Mideast League in the 2013 fall season.
2013 – Saint Xavier returned to the Mideast League, while Saint Francis moved to the Midwest League, both effective in the 2013 fall season.
2014 – Waldorf left the MSFA to join the North Star Athletic Association as an affiliate member for football after the 2013 fall season.
2015 – Grand View and William Penn left the MSFA to move their football programs with their other sports when both joined the HAAC after the 2014 fall season.
2015 – Lindenwood University – Belleville and Missouri Baptist University joined the MSFA to represent the Mideast League in the 2015 fall season.
2015 – Saint Francis went back to the Mideast League in the 2015 fall season.
2019 – Lindenwood–Belleville left the MSFA after the 2018 fall season.
2019 – Indiana Wesleyan University and Lawrence Technological University joined the MSFA to represent the Mideast League in the 2019 fall season.
2019 – Missouri Baptist moved to the Midwest League in the 2019 fall season.
2020 – Robert Morris left the MSFA after the 2019 fall season.
2020 – Madonna University joined the MSFA to represent the Mideast League, while Roosevelt University joined the MSFA to represent the Midwest League, both effective in the 2020 fall season.
2021 – Judson University joined the MSFA to represent the Midwest League in the 2021 fall season.
2023 – Missouri Baptist left the MSFA to move their football program to the HAAC as a football associate after the 2022 fall season.
2023 – Trinity International left the MSFA, coinciding with the closure of its residential campus at the end of the spring semester in favor of online undergraduate programs.
2024 – Two institutions left the MSFA to move their football programs, both effective after the 2023 fall season :
* Roosevelt to join the NCAA D-II ranks and the GLIAC
* and St. Ambrose to join the HAAC as a football associate
2024 – Defiance College joined the MSFA to represent in the Mideast League in the 2024 fall season.
2024 – Marian and Saint Francis moved to the Midwest League in the 2024 fall season.
2025 – Concordia–Ann Arbor will leave the MSFA after the 2024 fall season.
2026 – Siena Heights will leave the MSFA upon the closure of the university after the 2025–26 academic year.
2026 – Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College will join the MSFA to represent the Midwest League in the 2026 fall season.
2026 – Saint Francis will move to the Mideast League in the 2026 fall season.

Member schools

Current members

The MSFA currently has 12 member schools, all of them are private schools.
;Notes:

Future member

;Notes:

Former members

The MSFA has 22 former member schools, all of them were private schools.
;Notes:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy
ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20
Period = from:1994 till:2030
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
PlotArea = right:5 left:5 bottom:40 top:5
Colors =
id:line value:black
PlotData =
width:15 textcolor:darkblue shift: anchor:from fontsize:s
bar:1 color:yelloworange from:1994 till:1998 text:Findlay
bar:2 color:redorange from:1994 till:2007 text:Geneva
bar:3 color:yelloworange from:1994 till:1996 text:Lindenwood
bar:4 color:redorange from:1994 till:2011 text:Malone
bar:5 color:yelloworange from:1994 till:2009 text:Olivet Nazarene
bar:5 color:redorange from:2009 till:2011 text:
bar:5 shift: color:yelloworange from:2011 till:end text:
bar:6 color:yelloworange from:1994 till:2007 text:Saint Xavier
bar:6 color:redorange from:2007 till:2013 text:
bar:6 color:yelloworange from:2013 till:end text:
bar:7 color:yelloworange from:1994 till:2002 text:Taylor
bar:7 color:redorange from:2002 till:end text:
bar:8 color:redorange from:1994 till:2002 text:Tiffin
bar:9 color:yelloworange from:1994 till:2009 text:Trinity International
bar:9 color:redorange from:2009 till:2011 text:
bar:9 shift: color:yelloworange from:2011 till:2023 text:
bar:10 color:redorange from:1994 till:2008 text:Urbana
bar:11 color:redorange from:1994 till:1998 text:Westminster
bar:12 color:yelloworange from:1996 till:2012 text:Iowa Wesleyan
bar:13 color:yelloworange from:1996 till:1999 text:St. Ambrose
bar:13 shift: color:yelloworange from:2000 till:2024 text:
bar:14 color:redorange from:1996 till:2003 text:Trine
bar:15 color:redorange from:1996 till:2011 text:Walsh
bar:16 color:yelloworange from:1998 till:2011 text:McKendree
bar:17 color:redorange from:1998 till:2024 text:Saint Francis
bar:17 shift: color:yelloworange from:2024 till:2026 text:
bar:17 color:redorange from:2026 till:end text:
bar:18 color:yelloworange from:1999 till:2013 text:St. Francis
bar:18 color:redorange from:2013 till:2015 text:
bar:18 shift: color:yelloworange from:2015 till:end text:
bar:19 color:yelloworange from:2002 till:2015 text:William Penn
bar:20 color:redorange from:2003 till:2006 text:Quincy
bar:20 shift: color:yelloworange from:2006 till:2011 text:
bar:20 color:redorange from:2011 till:2012 text:
bar:21 color:redorange from:2004 till:2009 text:Ohio Dominican
bar:22 color:redorange from:2007 till:2024 text:Marian
bar:22 color:yelloworange from:2024 till:end text:
bar:23 color:yelloworange from:2009 till:2014 text:Waldorf
bar:24 color:yelloworange from:2009 till:2015 text:Grand View
bar:25 color:redorange from:2011 till:2025 text:Concordia–Michigan
bar:26 color:redorange from:2012 till:2026 text:Siena Heights
bar:27 color:redorange from:2013 till:2015 text:Robert Morris
bar:27 shift: color:yelloworange from:2015 till:2020 text:
bar:28 color:redorange from:2015 till:2019 text:Lindenwood–Belleville
bar:29 color:redorange from:2015 till:2019 text:Missouri Baptist
bar:29 shift: color:yelloworange from:2019 till:2023 text:
bar:30 color:redorange from:2019 till:end text:Indiana Wesleyan
bar:31 color:redorange from:2019 till:end text:Lawrence Tech
bar:32 color:redorange from:2020 till:end text:Madonna
bar:33 color:yelloworange from:2020 till:2024 text:Roosevelt
bar:34 color:yelloworange from:2021 till:end text:Judson
bar:35 color:redorange from:2024 till:end text:Defiance
bar:36 shift: color:yelloworange from:2026 till:end text:Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1994
TextData =
fontsize:M
textcolor:black
pos: tabs:
text:^"Mid-States Football Association membership history"