Mid-South Conference

History

Chronological timeline

• 1987 – The Mid-South Conference was founded as a football-only conference. Charter members included Campbellsville College, Cumberland College of Kentucky, Georgetown College and Union College, beginning the 1987 fall season.
• 1988 – The University of Evansville joined the conference in the 1988 fall season.
• 1989 – Kentucky Wesleyan College and Tennessee Wesleyan University joined the conference in the 1989 fall season.
• 1990 – Kentucky Wesleyan dropped out of the conference after the 1989 fall season.
• 1990 – Cumberland College of Tennessee and Lambuth University joined the Mid-South in the 1990 fall season.
• 1991 – Cumberland and Tennessee Wesleyan departed from the conference after the 1990 fall season.
• 1991 – Tusculum University joined the Mid-South in the 1991 fall season.
• 1992 – Evansville left the Mid-South after the 1991 fall season.
• 1995 – The Mid-South became a multi-sport conference. North Greenville College joined the conference beginning the 1995–96 academic year, while Bethel College of Tennessee joined as an affiliate member for football.
• 1996 – Tusculum departed from the conference as a football affiliate after the 1995 fall season.
• 1996 – Cumberland and Lambuth moved their other sports to the Mid-South as full members for the 1996–97 academic year.
• 1997 – Bethel left the Mid-South as an affiliate member for football after the 1996 fall season.
• 2000 – Lindsey Wilson College and Pikeville College joined the Mid-South in the 2000–01 academic year.
• 2001 – North Greenville left the Mid-South to join the Division II ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association as an Division II independent schools|NCAA D-II Independent] after the 2000–01 academic year.
• 2002 – Two institutions left the Mid-South as full members to join their respective new home primary conferences, both effective after the 2001–02 academic year; while they remained in the conference as affiliate members for football:
• * Cumberland to the TranSouth Athletic Conference
• * and Union to the Appalachian Athletic Conference
• 2002 – The University of Virginia's College at Wise joined the Mid-South as an affiliate member for football in the 2002 fall season.
• 2003 – Bethel rejoined the Mid-South as an affiliate member for football in the 2003 fall season.
• 2004 – Kentucky Wesleyan rejoined the Mid-South as an affiliate member for football in the 2004 fall season.
• 2005 – Shorter College of Georgia joined the Mid-South as an affiliate member for football in the 2005 fall season.
• 2006 – Lambuth left the Mid-South to join the TranSouth Athletic Conference after the 2005–06 academic year; while their football team remained in the Mid-South as an affiliate member.
• 2006 – Kentucky Wesleyan left the Mid-South again as an affiliate member for football after the 2005 fall season.
• 2006 – West Virginia University Institute of Technology joined the Mid-South in the 2006–07 academic year.
• 2007 – Bethel and Shorter added track & field into their Mid-South affiliate memberships in the 2008 spring season.
• 2008 – St. Catharine College joined the Mid-South in the 2008–09 academic year.
• 2008 – Faulkner University joined the Mid-South as an affiliate member for football in the 2008 fall season.
• 2009 – The University of Rio Grande joined the Mid-South in the 2009–10 academic year.
• 2009 – Two institutions joined the Mid-South as affiliate members, both effective in the 2009–10 academic year:
• * Kentucky Christian University for football
• * and Cumberland for men's wrestling
• 2010 – Lambuth left the Mid-South as an affiliate member for football after the 2009 fall season.
• 2010 – Shawnee State University joined the Mid-South in the 2010–11 academic year.
• 2010 – Shorter added men's wrestling into their Mid-South affiliate membership in the 2010–11 academic year.
• 2012 – West Virginia Tech left the Mid-South to become an NAIA Independent after the 2011–12 academic year.
• 2012 – Shorter left the Mid-South as an affiliate member for football, track & field and men's wrestling after the 2011–12 academic year.
• 2012 – Bluefield College joined the Mid-South in the 2012–13 academic year.
• 2012 – Bethel and Union added men's and women's bowling into their Mid-South affiliate memberships in the 2013 spring season.
• 2013 – UVa Wise left the Mid-South and the NAIA entirely to fully align with the NCAA Division II ranks, while joining the Mountain East Conference after spending provisionally one season in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference after the 2012–13 academic year.
• 2013 – Bethel left the Mid-South as an affiliate member for track & field after the 2013 spring season.
• 2013 – Reinhardt University joined the Mid-South as an affiliate member for football in the 2013 fall season.
• 2014 – Two institutions left the Mid-South to join their respective new home primary conferences, both effective after the 2013–14 academic year:
• * Rio Grande to join the KIAC
• * Bluefield to rejoin the AAC; while their football team remained in the Mid-South as an affiliate member.
• 2014 – Life University joined the Mid-South in the 2014–15 academic year.
• 2015 – Belhaven left the Mid-South as an affiliate member for football to join the NCAA Division III ranks and the American Southwest Conference after the 2014 spring season.
• 2015 – Eight institutions joined the Mid-South as affiliate members, all effective in the 2015–16 academic year:
• * Brewton–Parker College, St. Andrews University, Southeastern University of Florida and Truett McConnell College for men's wrestling
• * Cincinnati Christian University for football
• * Lindenwood University–Belleville for men's & women's bowling and men's & women's swimming
• * and Martin Methodist College and Tennessee Wesleyan College for men's and women's bowling
• 2016 – St. Catherine's left the Mid-South as the school had ceased operations after the 2015–16 academic year.
• 2016 – Three institutions joined the Mid-South as affiliate members, all effective in the 2015–16 academic year:
• * Loyola University New Orleans for men's and women's swimming
• * Reinhardt for men's wrestling
• * and Warner University for football
• 2017 – Four institutions left the Mid-South as affiliate members, all effective after the 2016–17 academic year:
• * Reinhardt, St. Andrews and Truett McConnell for men's wrestling after the 2016–17 academic year:
• * and Lindenwood–Belleville for men's and women's bowling
• 2017 – Nine institutions joined the Mid-South as affiliate members, all effective in the 2017–18 academic year:
• * Ave Maria University, Edward Waters College, Point University and St. Andrews for football
• * Bethel for archery
• * Brewton–Parker and Lindenwood–Belleville for women's wrestling
• * Kentucky Christian for archery, baseball and softball
• * and Midland University for men's and women's swimming
• 2018 – Twelve institutions joined the Mid-South as affiliate members, all effective in the 2018–19 academic year:
• * Ave Maria, Keiser University and Marian University of Indiana for women's lacrosse
• * Bluefield, Brewton–Parker, Cincinnati Christian, St. Andrews, Warner and Webber International University for men's volleyball
• * Indiana Wesleyan University for women's swimming
• * Midway University for men's volleyball and men's wrestling
• * and Union for archery
• 2019 – Five institutions left the Mid-South as affiliate members, all effective after the 2018–19 academic year:
• * Brewton–Parker for men's volleyball
• * Edward Waters for football
• * Kentucky Christian for baseball and softball
• * Lindenwood–Belleville for women's wrestling and men's and women's swimming
• * and Midland for men's and women's swimming
• 2019 – Thomas More University joined the Mid-South in the 2019–20 academic year.
• 2019 – Six institutions joined the Mid-South as affiliate members, all effective in the 2019–20 academic year:
• * Blue Mountain College, Marian and Midway for men's and women's bowling
• * Reinhardt and Truett McConnell for men's volleyball
• * and Keiser for men's wrestling
• 2020 – Cincinnati Christian left the Mid-South as an affiliate member for football and men's volleyball after the 2019 fall semester.
• 2020 – Freed–Hardeman University joined the Mid-South in the 2020–21 academic year.
• 2020 – Nine institutions joined the Mid-South as affiliate members, all effective in the 2020–21 academic year:
• * Florida Memorial University for football
• * Indiana Institute of Technology, Lourdes University and St. Andrews for women's wrestling
• * Midway for men's and women's swimming
• * the University of Rio Grande for men's and women's swimming, and men's wrestling
• * St. Thomas University of Florida for men's wrestling
• * Truett McConnell for men's volleyball
• * and Webber International for women's lacrosse
• 2021 – Two institutions left the Mid-South as affiliate members, both effective after the 2020–21 academic year:
• * Marian men's and women's bowling
• * and Rio Grande for men's and women's swimming
• 2021 – Three institutions joined the Mid-South as affiliate members, all effective in the 2021–22 academic year:
• * Indiana Wesleyan for men's swimming
• * Lincoln College of Illinois for men's and women's swimming
• * and Rio Grande for men's volleyball
• 2022 – Life left the Mid-South to join the Southern States Athletic Conference after the 2021–22 academic year; while their women's wrestling team remained in the Mid-South as an affiliate member.
• 2022 – Seventeen institutions left the Mid-South as affiliate members, all effective after the 2021–22 academic year:
• * Ave Maria for football and women's lacrosse
• * Bluefield, Reinhardt, St. Andrews and Warner for football and men's volleyball
• * Brewton–Parker for men's wrestling
• * Florida Memorial and Southeastern to join The Sun for football
• * Keiser for women's lacrosse and men's wrestling
• * Kentucky Christian, Point and Union to join the AAC for football
• * Lincoln for men's and women's swimming
• * Marian for women's lacrosse
• * St. Thomas for men's wrestling
• * Truett McConnell for men's volleyball
• * and Webber International for men's volleyball and women's lacrosse
• 2022 – Wilberforce University joined the Mid-South in the 2022–23 academic year.
• 2022 – Montreat College, Rochester University and Siena Heights University joined the Mid-South as affiliate members for women's wrestling in the 2022–23 academic year.
• 2023 – Thomas More left the Mid-South and the NAIA entirely to fully align with the NCAA Division II ranks and the G-MAC after the 2022–23 academic year. During that same school year, they returned to the NCAA to join the G-MAC as a provisional member, while remaining committed to compete in their final season within the Mid-South and the NAIA.
• 2023 – Four institutions left the Mid-South to join their respective new home primary conferences, all effective after the 2022–23 academic year:
• * Shawnee State to the RSC; while their men's and women's swimming teams remained in the Mid-South as an affiliate member.
• * Pikeville to the AAC; while their archery and men's and women's bowling teams remained in the Mid-South as an affiliate member.
• * UT Southern to rejoin the SSAC
• * and Wilberforce as an NAIA Independent within the Continental Athletic Conference
• 2023 – Two institutions joined the Mid-South as affiliate members, both effective in the 2023–24 academic year:
• * Brescia University for men's volleyball
• * and Midway for archery
• 2024 – Four institutions left the Mid-South as affiliate members, all effective after the 2023–24 academic year:
• * and Brescia, Midway and Rio Grande for men's volleyball
• * St. Andrews for women's wrestling
• 2024 – Rio Grande added women's wrestling into its Mid-South affiliate membership in the 2024–25 academic year.

Member schools

Current members

Affiliate members

Former members

Former affiliate members

Membership timeline

Sports

Football divisions

• Bethel
• Campbellsville
• Cumberland
• Cumberlands
• Faulkner
• Georgetown
• Lindsey Wilson
• Pikeville
• Thomas More