The Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), headquartered in Livonia, Michigan. The conference consists of ten 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 (WHAC) was founded. Charter members included Aquinas College, Concordia College Ann Arbor (now Concordia University Ann Arbor), Cornerstone College (now Cornerstone University), Siena Heights College (now Siena Heights University), Spring Arbor College (now Spring Arbor University) and Tri-State University (now Trine University), beginning the 1992–93 academic year. 1997 – Madonna University joined the WHAC in the 1997–98 academic year. 1998 – Indiana Institute of Technology (Indiana Tech) 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 (NCAA) as an NCAA D-III Independent (which would later join the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA), beginning the 2004–05 academic year) after the 2002–03 academic year. 2004 – Spring Arbor left the WHAC to join the Mid-Central College Conference (MCCC; now the Crossroads League) 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 (now Rochester Christian University) 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 (GLIAC) 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 (2018–19 academic year): 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 (and/or added other single sports into their affiliate memberships), all effective in the 2019 spring season (2018–19 academic year): Mount Vernon 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 (and/or removed other single sports from their affiliate memberships), 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 (and/or added other single sports into their affiliate memberships), all effective in the 2020–21 academic year: Bethel (Ind.) 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 (Ind.), 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 (and/or added other single sports into their affiliate memberships), all effective in the 2022–23 academic year: Bethel (Ind.) and Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College for men's volleyball and Marian (Ind.) for women's lacrosse 2023 – Brescia left the WHAC as an affiliate member for competitive cheer after the 2022–23 academic year. 2023 – Marian (Ind.) added competitive dance to its WHAC affiliate membership in the 2023–24 academic year: 2024 – Two institutions left the WHAC as affiliate members (and/or removed other single sports from their affiliate memberships), 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 (MEC) 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 (and/or added other single sports into their affiliate memberships), 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. 2026 – Lourdes and Siena Heights left the WHAC, as both schools announced that they would close at the end of the 2025–26 academic year.
Member schools Current members The WHAC currently has 10 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 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
Notes
Affiliate members The WHAC currently has seven affiliate members, all are private schools:
Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined WHACsport(s) Currentconference Bethel University Mishawaka, Indiana 1947 Missionary 1,222 Pilots 2018 women's lacrosse Crossroads 2022 men's volleyball Goshen College Goshen, Indiana 1894 Mennonite 824 Maple Leafs 2018 men's volleyball Crossroads Marian University Indianapolis, Indiana 1851 Catholic 3,586 Knights 202020222023 men's wrestlingwomen's lacrossecompetitive 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 20242024 men's bowlingwomen'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 seven former full members, all were private schools:
Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Left Currentconference 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) Lourdes University Sylvania, Ohio 1958 Catholic 1,014 Gray Wolves 2011 2026 Closed in 2026 Marygrove College Detroit, Michigan 1899 Catholic N/A Mustangs 2012 2018 Closed in 2019 Siena Heights University Adrian, Michigan 1919 Catholic 1,832 Saints 1992 2026 Closed in 2026 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:
Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Left WHACsport(s) Currentconference Bethel University Mishawaka, Indiana 1947 Missionary 1,222 Pilots 20202020 20212021 men's bowlingwomen's bowling Crossroads Brescia University Owensboro, Kentucky 1925 Catholic 638 Bearcats 2020 2023 competitive cheer River States (RSC) Huntington University Huntington, Indiana 1897 United Brethrenin Christ 1,504 Foresters 20182018 20212021 men's bowlingwomen's bowling Crossroads Mount Vernon Nazarene University Mount Vernon, Ohio 1964 Nazarene 1,845 Cougars 20192019 20202020 men's bowlingwomen's bowling Crossroads Point Park University Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1960 Nonsectarian 3,299 Pioneers 2020 2024 competitive cheer Mountain East (MEC) Rochester College Rochester Hills, Michigan 1959 Churches of Christ 1,173 Warriors 2016 2017 baseball Wolverine–Hoosier (WHAC) Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana 1840 Catholic 1,227 Pomeroys 2022 2024 men's volleyball River States (RSC) Spring Arbor University Spring Arbor, Michigan 1873 Free Methodist 2,390 Cougars 2016201620192019 2021202120202020 men's bowlingwomen's bowlingcompetitive cheercompetitive dance Crossroads Taylor University Upland, Indiana 1846 Nondenominational 2,398 Trojans 2019 2020 women's lacrosse Crossroads
Notes
Membership timeline
Sports
WHAC offers 14 men's and 13 women's sports. + Conference sportsSportMen'sWomen'sBaseball Basketball Bowling Cheer Cross Country Golf Dance Ice Hockey Lacrosse Soccer Softball Tennis Track & Field Indoor Track & Field Outdoor Volleyball Wrestling
References
External links