Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference
The Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, headquartered in Livonia, Michigan. The conference consists of twelve colleges and universities located in the U.S. states of Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio. Founded in 1992, the conference was created as a successor group for the now-defunct NAIA District 23.
History
The WHAC announced on January 27, 2012, added bowling and lacrosse for both men and women as conference sports effective the fall of 2012, becoming the first NAIA conference to offer championships in these sports.Men's ice hockey was added as a conference sport effective the fall of 2017, making the WHAC the first conference in the NAIA to offer ice hockey as a conference championship sport. Initially, the five conference members that sponsor ice hockey will participate in a conference championship.
Chronological timeline
- 1992 – The Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference was founded. Charter members included Aquinas College, Concordia College Ann Arbor, Cornerstone College, Siena Heights College, Spring Arbor College and Tri-State University, beginning the 1992–93 academic year.
- 1997 – Madonna University joined the WHAC in the 1997–98 academic year.
- 1998 – Indiana Institute of Technology joined the WHAC in the 1998–99 academic year.
- 2003 – Tri-State left the WHAC and the NAIA to join the Division III ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association as an NCAA D-III Independent after the 2002–03 academic year.
- 2004 – Spring Arbor left the WHAC to join the Mid-Central College Conference after the 2003–04 academic year.
- 2004 – The University of Michigan–Dearborn joined the WHAC in the 2004–05 academic year.
- 2005 – Davenport University joined the WHAC in the 2005–06 academic year.
- 2010 – The University of Northwestern Ohio joined the WHAC in the 2010–11 academic year.
- 2011 – Lourdes University joined the WHAC in the 2011–12 academic year.
- 2012 – Lawrence Technological University and Marygrove College joined the WHAC in the 2012–13 academic year.
- 2016 – Two institutions joined the WHAC as affiliate members, both effective in the 2016–17 academic year:
- * Rochester College for baseball
- * and former full member Spring Arbor for men's and women's bowling
- 2017 – Davenport left the WHAC and the NAIA to join the NCAA Division II ranks and the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference after the 2016–17 academic year.
- 2017 – Rochester had joined the WHAC for all sports in the 2017–18 academic year.
- 2017 – Marygrove left the WHAC as the school announced that it would close at the end of the fall 2017 semester, which occurred during the 2017–18 academic year.
- 2018 – Cleary University joined the WHAC in the 2018–19 academic year.
- 2018 – Four institutions joined the WHAC as affiliate members, all effective in the 2019 spring season :
- * Bethel University of Indiana for women's lacrosse
- * Goshen College for men's volleyball
- * Huntington University for men's and women's bowling
- * and Taylor University for men's lacrosse
- 2019 – Two institutions joined the WHAC as affiliate members, all effective in the 2019 spring season :
- * Nazarene University">Church of the Nazarene">Nazarene University for men's and women's bowling
- * Spring Arbor for competitive cheer and dance
- * and Taylor for women's lacrosse
- 2020 – Three institutions left the WHAC as affiliate members, all effective after the 2019–20 academic year:
- * Mount Vernon Nazarene for men's and women's bowling
- * Spring Arbor for competitive cheer and dance
- * and Taylor for women's lacrosse
- 2020 – Five institutions joined the WHAC as affiliate members, all effective in the 2020–21 academic year:
- * Bethel for men's and women's bowling
- * Brescia University and Point Park University for competitive cheer
- * Marian University for men's wrestling
- * and Mount Vernon Nazarene for men's volleyball
- 2021 – Bethel, Huntington and Spring Arbor left the WHAC as affiliate members for men's and women's bowling after the 2020–21 academic year.
- 2022 – Three institutions joined the WHAC as affiliate members, all effective in the 2022–23 academic year:
- * Bethel and Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College for men's volleyball
- * and Marian for women's lacrosse
- 2023 – Brescia left the WHAC as an affiliate member for competitive cheer after the 2022–23 academic year.
- 2023 – Marian added competitive dance to its WHAC affiliate membership in the 2023–24 academic year:
- 2024 – Two institutions left the WHAC as affiliate members, both effective after the 2023–24 academic year:
- * Point Park for competitive cheer to join the NCAA Division II ranks and the Mountain East Conference
- * and Saint Mary-of-the-Woods for men's volleyball
- 2024 – Defiance College joined the WHAC in the 2024–25 academic year.
- 2024 – Two institutions joined the WHAC as affiliate members, both effective in the 2024–25 academic year:
- * The University of St. Francis for men's and women's bowling
- * and Saint Xavier University for eSports
- 2024 – Concordia–Ann Arbor announced that they would be discontinuing all athletic programs and leaving the WHAC at the end of the 2024–25 academic year.
- 2025 – Siena Heights will leave the WHAC as the school announced that it would close at the end of the 2025–26 academic year.
Member schools
Current members
The WHAC currently has 12 full members, all but one are private schools:| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Basketball? |
| Aquinas College | Grand Rapids, Michigan | 1886 | Catholic | 1,295 | Saints | 1992 | both |
| Cleary University | Howell, Michigan | 1883 | Nonsectarian | 1,040 | Cougars | 2018 | both |
| Cornerstone University | Grand Rapids, Michigan | 1941 | Interdenominational | 1,735 | Golden Eagles | 1992 | both |
| Defiance College | Defiance, Ohio | 1850 | United Church | 511 | Yellow Jackets | 2024 | both |
| Indiana Institute of Technology | Fort Wayne, Indiana | 1930 | Nonsectarian | 2,862 | Warriors | 1998 | both |
| Lawrence Technological University | Southfield, Michigan | 1932 | Nonsectarian | 3,260 | Blue Devils | 2012 | both |
| Lourdes University | Sylvania, Ohio | 1958 | Catholic | 1,014 | Gray Wolves | 2011 | both |
| Madonna University | Livonia, Michigan | 1930 | Catholic | 2,054 | Crusaders | 1997 | both |
| Dearborn, Michigan | 1959 | Public | 8,035 | Wolverines | 2004 | both | |
| Lima, Ohio | 1920 | Nonsectarian | 2,606 | Racers | 2010 | both | |
| Rochester Christian University | Rochester Hills, Michigan | 1959 | Churches of Christ | 1,173 | Warriors | 2017 | both |
| Siena Heights University | Adrian, Michigan | 1919 | Catholic | 1,832 | Saints | 1992 | both |
;Notes
Affiliate members
The WHAC currently has seven affiliate members, all are private schools:| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | WHAC sport | Current conference |
| Bethel University | Mishawaka, Indiana | 1947 | Missionary | 1,222 | Pilots | 2018 2022 | women's lacrosse men's volleyball | Crossroads |
| Goshen College | Goshen, Indiana | 1894 | Mennonite | 824 | Maple Leafs | 2018 | men's volleyball | Crossroads |
| Marian University | Indianapolis, Indiana | 1851 | Catholic | 3,586 | Knights | 2020 2022 2023 | men's wrestling women's lacrosse competitive dance | Crossroads |
| Mount Vernon Nazarene University | Mount Vernon, Ohio | 1964 | Nazarene | 1,845 | Cougars | 2020 | men's volleyball | Crossroads |
| Joliet, Illinois | 1920 | Catholic | 3,185 | Fighting Saints | 2024 2024 | men's bowling women's bowling | Chicagoland (CCAC) | |
| Saint Xavier University | Chicago, Illinois | 1846 | Catholic | 3,457 | Cougars | 2024 | eSports | Chicagoland (CCAC) |
| Taylor University | Upland, Indiana | 1846 | Nondenominational | 2,398 | Trojans | 2018 | men's lacrosse | Crossroads |
;Notes:
Former members
The WHAC had five former full members, all were private schools:| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Left | Current conference |
| Concordia University Ann Arbor | Ann Arbor, Michigan | 1963 | Lutheran LCMS | 1,351 | Cardinals | 1992 | 2025 | N/A |
| Davenport University | Grand Rapids, Michigan | 1866 | Nonsectarian | 4,848 | Panthers | 2005 | 2017 | Great Lakes (GLIAC) |
| Marygrove College | Detroit, Michigan | 1899 | Catholic | N/A | Mustangs | 2012 | 2018 | Closed in 2019 |
| Spring Arbor University | Spring Arbor, Michigan | 1873 | Free Methodist | 2,390 | Cougars | 1992 | 2004 | Crossroads |
| Tri-State University | Angola, Indiana | 1884 | Nonsectarian | 4,471 | Thunder | 1992 | 2003 | Michigan (MIAA) |
;Notes:
Former affiliate members
The WHAC had nine former affiliate members, all were private schools:;Notes:
Membership timeline
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bar:1 color:FullxF from:1992 till:end text:Aquinas
bar:2 color:FullxF from:1992 till:2025 text:Concordia–Michigan
bar:3 color:FullxF from:1992 till:end text:Cornerstone
bar:4 color:FullxF from:1992 till:2026 text:Siena Heights
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bar:8 color:FullxF from:1998 till:end text:Indiana Tech
bar:9 color:FullxF from:2004 till:end text:Michigan–Dearborn
bar:10 color:FullxF from:2005 till:2017 text:Davenport
bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:2017 till:end text:GLIAC
bar:11 color:FullxF from:2010 till:end text:Northwestern Ohio
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bar:17 color:AssocOS from:2018 till:end text:Bethel (Ind.)
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Sports
WHAC offers 14 men's and 13 women's sports.| Sport | Men's | Women's |
| Baseball | ||
| Basketball | ||
| Bowling | ||
| Cheer | ||
| Cross Country | ||
| Golf | ||
| Dance | ||
| Ice Hockey | ||
| Lacrosse | ||
| Soccer | ||
| Softball | ||
| Tennis | ||
| Track & Field Indoor | ||
| Track & Field Outdoor | ||
| Volleyball | ||
| Wrestling |