Northern Indiana Athletic Conference


The Northern Indiana Conference is a high school athletic conference that was founded in 1927 and spanned from as far west as Hammond and Gary to South Bend/Mishawaka and Elkhart to the east and south to Plymouth. Since its start in 1927, a total of 32 separate schools have at one time called the NIC home. From its inception until 1963, the conference had been divided into East and West divisions. The West Division left to form the Northwestern Conference in 1963. With membership dwindling to 7 members by the 1970s, the conference added former members of the Northern Indiana Valley Conference to its ranks. Currently, every former NIVC member is now a part of the NIC except for South Bend Jackson, which closed in 1973, and South Bend LaSalle, which joined the NIC in 1977, but closed in 2001.

History

Like the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference, the NIAC was also a superconference that spanned several counties, and a lot of driving miles, for a period between 1940 and 1965. Throughout the 1970s the membership dwindled as many schools left to form new conferences. From 1995 to 2015 the two conferences share the same setup with 7 or 8 schools in one county, 8 in this case from St. Joseph County and 1 from an adjacent county, Elkhart in this case. This will change in 2015, as four schools from the folding Northern State Conference will join, making a 13 school conference. This will also expand the conference footprint into two counties formerly represented in the NIAC: LaPorte and Marshall. 2020 will bring more change, as Elkhart Central merges with former member Elkhart Memorial to form Elkhart high school, and Mishawaka leaves for the Northern Lakes Conference, taking Memorial's spot in that league.

Sponsored Sports

Boys

Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Soccer, Swimming & Diving, Tennis, Track & Field, Wrestling

Girls

Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Gymnastics, Soccer, Softball, Swimming & Diving, Tennis, Track & Field, Volleyball

Current members

  1. Elkhart was known as Elkhart Central between 1972 and 2020. In 2020, Elkhart Central consolidated with Elkhart Memorial.
  2. Played concurrently in NIC and NIVC 1974–78.
  3. South Bend Saint Joseph was known as South Bend St. Joseph's until 2012.

    Former members

  4. East Chicago Washington was known as East Chicago until 1928.
  5. Michigan City Elston was known as Michigan City until 1972.
  6. South Bend Central was known as South Bend until 1930.
  7. Played concurrently in the NIC and FWCS their entire membership in the NIC.
  8. Played concurrently in the NIC and NLC 1999–2000.
  9. Played concurrently in the NIC and NIVC 1976–78.

    Membership timeline


DateFormat = yyyy
ImageSize = width:750 height:auto barincrement:20
Period = from:1927 till:2027
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
PlotArea = right:30 left:0 bottom:50 top:5
Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb
id:line value:black
id:bg value:white
PlotData=
width:15 textcolor:black shift: anchor:from fontsize:s
bar:1 color:red from:1927 till:1963 text:East Chicago /EC Washington
bar:2 color:red from:1927 till:end text:Elkhart /Elkhart Central
bar:3 color:red from:1927 till:1963 text:Gary Emerson
bar:4 color:red from:1927 till:1963 text:Gary Froebel
bar:5 color:red from:1927 till:1963 text:Gary Mann
bar:6 color:red from:1927 till:1969 text:Goshen
bar:7 color:red from:1927 till:1963 text:Hammond
bar:8 color:red from:1927 till:1976 text:LaPorte
bar:9 color:red from:1927 till:1995 text:Michigan City /MC Elston
bar:10 color:red from:1927 till:2020 text:Mishawaka
bar:11 color:red from:1927 till:1930 text:Plymouth
bar:12 color:red from:1927 till:1970 text:South Bend /SB Central
bar:13 color:red from:1927 till:1930 text:Valparaiso,,
bar:13 color:red from:1945 till:1948 text:
bar:13 color:red from:1953 till:1963 text:
bar:14 color:red from:1927 till:1963 text:Whiting
bar:15 color:red from:1929 till:1963 text:East Chicago Roosevelt
bar:16 color:red from:1931 till:end text:South Bend Riley
bar:17 color:red from:1935 till:1963 text:Gary Wallace
bar:18 color:red from:1937 till:1963 text:Hammond Tech
bar:19 color:red from:1938 till:end text:South Bend Washington
bar:20 color:red from:1941 till:1963 text:Gary Tolleston
bar:21 color:red from:1941 till:1963 text:Hammond Clark
bar:22 color:red from:1941 till:end text:South Bend Adams
bar:23 color:red from:1942 till:1965 text:Fort Wayne North Side
bar:24 color:red from:1977 till:end text:Penn
bar:25 color:red from:1977 till:2002 text:South Bend LaSalle
bar:26 color:red from:1979 till:2024 text:South Bend Clay
bar:27 color:red from:2005 shift: till:end text:Mishawaka Marian
bar:28 color:red from:2005 shift: till:end text:South Bend St. Joseph
bar:29 color:red from:2015 shift: till:2024 text:Bremen
bar:30 color:red from:2015 shift: till:2024 text:Glenn
bar:31 color:red from:2015 shift: till:2024 text:Jimtown
bar:32 color:red from:2015 shift: till:end text:New Prairie
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:10 start:1927
TextData =
fontsize:L
textcolor:black
pos: # tabs:
text:"Northern Indiana Conference Membership History"

Rivalries

Main rivalries:
  • Riley Wildcats vs. Penn Kingsmen
  • Penn Kingsmen vs. Mishawaka Cavemen*
  • St. Joseph High School vs. Marian Knights
  • Riley Wildcats vs. Adams Eagles
  • New Prairie Cougars vs. La Porte* Slicers
Notable sub-rivalries
  • St. Joseph vs. Penn
  • Riley vs. Marian
  • Marian vs. Mishawaka*
  • Mishawaka* vs. Washington
  • Marian vs. Penn
  • St. Joseph vs. Culver Military Academy *°
  • Mishawaka vs. Adams
Former rivalries
  • Elkhart Central Blue Blazers vs. Elkhart Memorial Crimson Chargers*
  • Lasalle vs Washington
  • Bremen Lions vs. Jimtown Jimmies
  • Clay Colonials vs. Washington Panthers
  • Riley vs. Clay
  • Adams vs. Clay
  • Jimtown vs. NorthWood*
  • Bremen vs. Triton*
  • St. Joseph vs. Clay
  • Mishawaka vs. Clay.

''''

State championships

Bremen (3)

  • 1989 Football
  • 1994 Football
  • 2019 Softball

    Elkhart Central (6)

  • 1968 Wrestling
  • 1969 Boys Track
  • 1973 Boys Cross Country
  • 1979 Boys Golf
  • 1993 Boys Track
  • 2012 Baseball

    Jimtown (6)

  • 1974 Boys Gymnastics
  • 1991 Football
  • 1997 Football
  • 1998 Football
  • 2004 Boys Basketball
  • 2005 Football

    Glenn (0)

Mishawaka (7)

  • 1946 Boys Cross Country
  • 1980 Volleyball
  • 1983 Volleyball
  • 1988 Volleyball
  • 1991 Wrestling
  • 2008 Wrestling
  • 2010 Wrestling

    Mishawaka Marian (12)

  • 1973 Volleyball
  • 1973 Football
  • 1975 Football
  • 1976 Football
  • 2001 Boys Golf
  • 1999 Boys Hockey
  • 2001 Boys Hockey
  • 2010 Boys Hockey
  • 2012 Girls Soccer
  • 2015 Boys Soccer
  • 2016 Boys Soccer
  • 2023 Boys Soccer

    New Prairie (2)

  • 2023 Softball
  • 2024 Baseball

    Penn (24)

  • 1983 Football
  • 1994 Baseball
  • 1994 Girls Golf
  • 1995 Football
  • 1996 Football
  • 1997 Football
  • 1998 Baseball
  • 1999 Softball
  • 1999 Boys Soccer
  • 2000 Football
  • 2001 Baseball
  • 2002 Girls Golf
  • 2004 Girls Golf
  • 2005 Girls Golf
  • 2010 Volleyball
  • 2011 Volleyball
  • 2015 Wrestling
  • 2015 Baseball
  • 2016 Girls Basketball
  • 2016 Girls Soccer
  • 2017 Girls Soccer
  • 2022 Baseball
  • 2023 Softball
  • 2023 Baseball

    South Bend Adams (8)

  • 1966 Boys Swimming & Diving
  • 1966 Wrestling
  • 1967 Boys Swimming & Diving
  • 1968 Boys Swimming & Diving
  • 1973 Boys Golf
  • 1974 Boys Tennis
  • 1976 Volleyball
  • 1978 Volleyball

    South Bend Clay (2)

  • 1970 Baseball
  • 1994 Boys Basketball

    South Bend Riley (10)

  • 1938 Boys Golf
  • 1956 Boys Swimming & Diving
  • 1957 Boys Swimming & Diving
  • 1958 Boys Swimming & Diving
  • 1962 Boys Swimming & Diving
  • 1962 Boys Golf
  • 1964 Boys Golf
  • 1978 Boys Swimming & Diving
  • 1986 Boys Swimming & Diving
  • 1995 Boys Swimming & Diving

    South Bend St. Joseph (13)

  • 1972 Volleyball
  • 1975 Girls Tennis
  • 1995 Football
  • 1998 Girls Soccer
  • 2003 Boys Soccer
  • 2005 Girls Basketball
  • 2010 Girls Tennis
  • 2010 Girls Soccer
  • 2017 Girls Basketball
  • 2017 Baseball
  • 2022 Softball
  • 2022 Boys Lacrosse
  • 2025 Boys Basketball

    South Bend Washington (3)

  • 1973 Football
  • 2007 Girls Basketball
  • 2022 Girls Basketball

    Related links

  • List of high school athletic conferences in Indiana
  • Indiana big school football champions

    Conference champions

  • Basketball Champions
  • Football Champions
Category:Indiana high school athletic conferences