| Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference | |
| Founded: | 1987 (as Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference) |
| Association: | NCAA |
| Division: | Division III |
| Teams: | 10 |
| Sports: | 18 |
| Mens: | 9 |
| Womens: | 9 |
| Region: | Ohio Valley |
| Headquarters: | Carmel, Indiana |
| Commissioner: | Jay Jones |
| Since: | 2019 |
| Website: | heartlandconf.org |
| Map: | Heartland-USA-states.png |
| Map Size: | 250 |
| Color: |
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The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. Founded as the Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference (ICAC) in 1987, it reincorporated under its current name in 1998 with the addition of several schools from Ohio.
Original members of the HCAC included Anderson, Bluffton, Franklin, Hanover, Manchester, Mount St. Joseph, Wabash, and Wilmington. Of the ten current members, six were founding members of the former ICAC.
Former members include DePauw (1987–1998), Taylor (1988–1991), Wabash (1987–1999), Wilmington (1998–2000), and Defiance (2000–2024). Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology (1988–1998) re-joined as of July 1, 2006.
The Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference (ICAC) was formed in June 1987, with 1990–91 being the first full season of competition (all eight teams competing in eight varsity sports).
Charter members in 1987 included Anderson University, DePauw University, Franklin College, Hanover College, Manchester College, and Wabash College. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and Taylor University later joined in 1988. Taylor left the conference after the 1990–91 season.
The addition of three Ohio schools (Bluffton College, the College of Mount St. Joseph, and Wilmington College) and the departure of two Indiana schools (DePauw and Rose-Hulman) during the 1998–99 season prompted a change in name to Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. Wabash and Wilmington later departed in the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 seasons respectively. Defiance College and Transylvania University joined in 2000 and 2001 respectively. Rose-Hulman re-joined the HCAC, effective for the 2006–07 season.
In October 2009, Earlham College of Richmond, Indiana was accepted as the 10th member of the conference and began competition in the fall of 2010.
In the summer of 2024, Defiance College departed the HCAC to join the NAIA and the Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference. Berea College joined the HCAC at the start of the 2024–25 academic year.
The HCAC currently has ten full members, all private schools:
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Colors | Football | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson University | Anderson, Indiana | 1917 | Church of God | 1,311 | Ravens | 1987 | Orange and Black | Yes | |
| Berea College | Berea, Kentucky | 1855 | Christian | 1,613 | Mountaineers | 2024 | Berea Blue and White | No | |
| Bluffton University | Bluffton, Ohio | 1899 | Mennonite | 1,094 | Beavers | 1998 | Purple and White | Yes | |
| Earlham College | Richmond, Indiana | 1847 | Quaker | 612 | Quakers | 2010 | Maroon and White | No | |
| Franklin College | Franklin, Indiana | 1834 | Baptist | 1,047 | Grizzlies | 1987 | Navy Blue and Old Gold | Yes | |
| Hanover College | Hanover, Indiana | 1827 | Presbyterian | 1,068 | Panthers | 1987 | Red and Blue | Yes | |
| Manchester University | North Manchester, Indiana | 1860 | Church of the Brethren | 1,770 | Spartans | 1987 | Black and Gold | Yes | |
| Mount St. Joseph University | Delhi Township, Ohio | 1920 | Catholic | 1,889 | Lions | 1998 | Blue and Gold | Yes | |
| Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | Terre Haute, Indiana | 1874 | Nonsectarian | 2,081 | Fightin' Engineers | 1988; 2006 | Old Rose and White | Yes | |
| Transylvania University | Lexington, Kentucky | 1780 | Disciples of Christ | 963 | Pioneers | 2001 | Crimson and White | No |
The HCAC has four former full members, all were private schools:
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Left | Current conference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defiance College | Defiance, Ohio | 1850 | United Church of Christ | 505 | Yellow Jackets | 2000–01 | 2023–24 | Wolverine–Hoosier (WHAC) | |
| DePauw University | Greencastle, Indiana | 1837 | United Methodist | 2,350 | Tigers | 1987–88 | 1997–98 | North Coast (NCAC) | |
| Taylor University | Upland, Indiana | 1846 | Interdenominational | 1,887 | Trojans | 1988–89 | 1990–91 | Crossroads | |
| Wabash College | Crawfordsville, Indiana | 1832 | Nonsectarian | 910 | Little Giants | 1987–88 | 1998–99 | North Coast (NCAC) | |
| Wilmington College | Wilmington, Ohio | 1870 | Quakers | 990 | Quakers | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | Ohio (OAC) |
DateFormat = yyyy
ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20
Period = from:1987 till:2029
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph, use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<#
Colors =
id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7) id:line value:black id:bg value:white id:Full value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports id:FullxF value:rgb(0.551,0.824,0.777) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football id:AssocF value:rgb(0.98,0.5,0.445) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.5,0.691,0.824) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in some sports, but not all (consider identifying in legend or a footnote) id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference where OtherC1 has already been used, to distinguish the two
PlotData=
width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s
bar:1 color:FullxF from:1987 till:1989 text:Anderson (Ind.) (1987–present) bar:1 color:Full from:1989 till:end
bar:2 color:FullxF from:1987 till:1989 text:DePauw (1987–1998) bar:2 color:Full from:1989 till:1998
bar:3 color:FullxF from:1987 till:1989 text:Franklin (Ind.) (1987–present) bar:3 color:Full from:1989 till:end
bar:4 color:FullxF from:1987 till:1989 text:Hanover (1987–present) bar:4 color:Full from:1989 till:end
bar:5 color:FullxF from:1987 till:1989 text:Manchester (Ind.) (1987–present) bar:5 color:Full from:1989 till:end
bar:6 color:FullxF from:1987 till:1989 text:Wabash (1987–1999) bar:6 color:Full from:1989 till:1999 bar:6 color:AssocF from:1999 till:2000
bar:7 color:FullxF from:1988 till:1989 text:Rose–Hulman Tech (RHIT) (1988–1998) bar:7 color:Full from:1989 till:1998 bar:7 color:Full from:2006 till:end text:(2006–present)
bar:8 color:FullxF from:1988 till:1989 text:Taylor (1988–1991) bar:8 color:Full from:1989 till:1991
bar:9 color:Full from:1998 till:end text:Bluffton (1998–present)
bar:10 color:Full from:1998 till:end text:Mount St. Joseph (1998–present)
bar:11 color:Full from:1998 till:2000 text:Wilmington (Oh.) (1998–2000)
bar:12 color:Full from:2000 till:2024 text:Defiance (2000–2024)
bar:13 color:FullxF from:2001 till:end text:Transylvania (2001–present)
bar:14 color:Full from:2010 till:2018 text:Earlham (2010–present) bar:14 color:FullxF from:2018 till:end
bar:15 color:FullxF from:2024 till:end text:Berea (2024–present)
bar:N color:green from:1987 till:1998 text:Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference bar:N color:yellow from:1998 till:end text:Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1987
TextData = fontsize:L textcolor:black pos:(0,25) tabs:(400-center) text:^"Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference membership history"
See also: Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament. Member teams compete in women's basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track and field, swimming and diving and volleyball and men's baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, tennis, swimming and diving and track and field.