Crossroads League Explained

Crossroads League
Founded:	1959
Association:	NAIA
Teams:	10
Sports:	15
Mens:	7
Womens:	8
Region:	Midwestern United States Region VIII
Formerly:	Mid-Central College Conference
Commissioner:	Larry DeSimpelare
Website:	crossroadsleague.com
Map:	MCCC conference map.png
Map Size:	250

The Crossroads League (formerly the Mid-Central College Conference) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Its members are private Christian colleges in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. The current conference commissioner is Larry DeSimpelare.

History

In June 2012, the conference voted to change its name to the Crossroads League, a name to better reflect the conference having grown beyond its Central Indiana roots.^[1]

Chronological timeline

1959 - On June 1, 1959, the Crossroad League was founded as the Mid-Central College Conference (MCCC). Charter members included Concordia Senior College, Grace College (now Grace College & Seminary), Huntington College, Indiana Institute of Technology (Indiana Tech) and Tri-State College (now Trine University), effective beginning the 1959–60 academic year.
1963 - On September 17, 1963, the MCCC joined the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) as a sponsored athletic conference.
1966 - Saint Francis College (now the University of Saint Francis of Indiana) joined the MCCC, effective in the 1966–67 academic year.
1969 - On Nov. 6, 1969, Goshen College joined the MCCC, effective beginning the 1970–71 academic year.
1972 - Concordia Senior College left the MCCC, effective after the 1971–72 academic year.
1973 - Marion College (now Indiana Wesleyan University) joined the MCCC, effective in the 1973–74 academic year.
1978 - Indiana Tech left the MCCC, effective after the 1977–78 academic year.
1979 - Grace left the MCCC, effective after the 1978–79 academic year.
1980 - Tri-State announced that it would leave the MCCC on May 8, and Saint Francis (Ind.) announced the same on May 12, both effective after the 1980–81 academic year.
1980 - On November 5, 1980, Bethel College (now Bethel University) joined the MCCC, with Grace re-joining back as well, both effective beginning the 1981–82 academic year.
1986 - Bethel initially withdrew from the MCCC, effective after the 1985–86 academic year. However on August 25, 1986, Bethel was re-instated into the conference, effective in the 1986–87 academic year.
1986 - Women's sports were introduced in the MCCC, effective in the 1986–87 academic year.
1987 - On September 14, 1987, Marian College (now Marian University) joined the MCCC, effective in the 1987–88 academic year.
1994 - Taylor University joined the MCCC, with Saint Francis (Ind.) re-joining back, both effective beginning the 1994–95 academic year.
2004 - Spring Arbor University joined the MCCC, effective in the 2004–05 academic year.
2010 - On November 30, 2010, Mount Vernon Nazarene University joined the MCCC, effective in the 2010–11 academic year.
2012 - On June 27, 2012, the MCCC was rebranded as the Crossroads League, effective in the 2012–13 academic year.

Member schools

Current members

The Crossroads League currently has ten full members; all are private, Christian schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined
Bethel University	Mishawaka, Indiana	1947	Missionary	1,964	Pilots	1981
Goshen College	Goshen, Indiana	1894	Mennonite	971	Maple Leafs	1970
Grace College & Seminary	Winona Lake, Indiana	1948	Charis Fellowship	1,308	Lancers	1959; 1981
Huntington University	Huntington, Indiana	1897	United Brethren in Christ	1,089	Foresters	1959
Indiana Wesleyan University	Marion, Indiana	1920	Wesleyan Church	2,969	Wildcats	1973
Marian University	Indianapolis, Indiana	1851	Catholic	3,595	Knights	1987
Mount Vernon Nazarene University	Mount Vernon, Ohio	1964	Nazarene	2,622	Cougars	2011
	Fort Wayne, Indiana	1890	Catholic	1,883	Cougars	1966; 1994
Spring Arbor University	Spring Arbor, Michigan	1873	Free Methodist	2,600	Cougars	2004
Taylor University	Upland, Indiana	1846	Nondenominational	1,887	Trojans	1994

Notes

Former members

The Crossroads had three former full members, all were private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Left	Subsequent conference(s)	Current conference
Concordia Senior College	Fort Wayne, Indiana	1957	Lutheran LCMS	N/A	Cadets	1959	1972	NAIA Independent (1972–77)	Closed in 1977
Indiana Institute of Technology	Fort Wayne, Indiana	1930	Nonsectarian	7,000	Warriors	1959	1978	Chicagoland (CCAC) (1978–98)	Wolverine–Hoosier (WHAC) (1998–present)
Trine University	Angola, Indiana	1884	Nonsectarian	4,104	Thunder	1959	1981	various	Michigan (MIAA) (2004–present)

Notes:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyyImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20Period = from:1959 till:2029TimeAxis = orientation:horizontalPlotArea = 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(0.7,0.9,0.8) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports id:FullxF value:rgb(0.9,0.8,0.7) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football id:FullxW value:rgb(0.551,0.824,0.777) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for women's sports id:AssocF value:rgb(0.9,0.7,0.8) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.8,0.9,0.7) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for another sport only id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference when the other color has already been used

PlotData= width:16 shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s

bar:1 color:FullxW from:1959 till:1972 text:Concordia (1959–1972) bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:1972 till:1977 text:Independent; closed 1977

bar:2 color:FullxW from:1959 till:1979 text:Grace (1959–1979) bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1981 bar:2 color:FullxW from:1981 till:1986 text: (1981-present) bar:2 color:FullxF from:1986 till:end

bar:3 color:FullxW from:1959 till:1986 text:Huntington (1959–present) bar:3 color:FullxF from:1986 till:end

bar:4 color:FullxW from:1959 till:1978 text:Indiana Tech (1959–1978) bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:1998 text:Independent bar:4 color:OtherC2 from:1998 till:end text:WHAC (1998–present)

bar:5 color:FullxW from:1959 till:1981 text:Trine (1959–1981) bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:1981 till:1992 text:Independent bar:5 color:OtherC2 from:1992 till:2003 text:WHAC (1992–2003) bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:2003 till:2004 text: bar:5 color:OtherC2 from:2004 till:end text:MIAA (2004–present; Trine since 2008)

bar:6 color:FullxW from:1966 till:1981 text:Saint Francis (1966–1981) bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:1981 till:1994 text:Independent bar:6 color:FullxF from:1994 till:end text:(1994-present)

bar:7 color:FullxW from:1970 till:1992 text:Goshen (1970–present) bar:7 color:FullxF from:1992 till:end

bar:8 color:FullxW from:1973 till:end text:Marion (1973–present) bar:8 color:FullxF from:1986 till:1988 bar:8 color:FullxF from:1988 till:end text:(Indiana Wesleyan since 1988)

bar:9 color:FullxW from:1981 till:1986 text:Bethel (1981–present) bar:9 color:FullxF from:1986 till:end

bar:10 color:FullxF from:1987 till:end text:Marian (1987–present)

bar:11 color:FullxF from:1994 till:end text:Taylor (1994–present)

bar:12 color:FullxF from:2004 till:end text:Spring Arbor (2004–present)

bar:13 color:FullxF from:2011 till:end text:Mount Vernon Nazarene (2011–present)

bar:N color:skyblue from:1959 till:2012 text:Mid-Central College Conference bar:N color:blue from:2012 till:end text:Crossroads League

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1960

TextData = fontsize:M textcolor:black pos:(0,30) tabs:(400-center) text:^"Crossroads League membership history"

> If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following six options (use only the colors that are used in the graphic.) Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space. <#

Commissioners Cup

Each year, the member institution with the most points based on final rankings in each sport, is awarded the Commissioners Cup (formerly known as the All Sports Trophy). The current holder is Indiana Wesleyan University, which has won the last twelve cups in a row and holds the record for cups won, with eighteen.^[2]

Notable athletes

Stevimir Ercegovac (Taylor University), 4-time national shot put champion, Olympian
Steve Platt (Huntington University), professional basketball player
Steve Smith (University of St. Francis), College Slam Dunk Champion
Eric Stults (Bethel College), pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers
Justin Masterson (Bethel College), pitcher with the Boston Red Sox
Katie Sowers (Goshen College), first female and first openly gay coach to coach in a Super Bowl
Addison Wiley (Huntington University), professional distance runner

Notes and References

Web site: MCC Becomes Crossroads League . dead . https://archive.today/20121212051854/http://www.indwes.edu/News/2012/MCC-Becomes-Crossroads-League/ . 2012-12-12 . 2012-08-01 . Indiana Wesleyan University.
Web site: 2007-08 All Sport Points Standings . 2009-02-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110716113658/http://www.mid-centralconf.org/allSportChampionship.php?seasonID=5 . 2011-07-16 . dead .