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American Midwest Conference
Locations

Formerly	Show-Me Conference (1986–1994)
Conference	NAIA
Founded	1986
Commissioner	Will Wolper
Sports fielded	17 men's: 8 women's: 9
No. of teams	11 (10 in 2023)
Headquarters	St. Louis, Missouri
Region	Midwest and South
Official website	www.amcsportsonline.com

The American Midwest Conference (AMC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) with 10 member institutions located in Arkansas and Missouri in the United States.

History

The conference began as the Show-Me Conference in 1986, then changed to its current name in 1994, reflecting that its footprint had expanded beyond Missouri.

Chronological timeline

1986 - The American Midwest Conference was founded as the Show-Me Conference. Charter members included Columbia College of Missouri, Hannibal–LaGrange College (now Hannibal–LaGrange University), Harris-Stowe State College (now Harris-Stowe State University), Missouri Baptist College (now Missouri Baptist University) and Park College (now Park University), effective beginning the 1986-87 academic year.
1987 - McKendree College (now McKendree University) joined the Show-Me, effective in the 1987-88 academic year.
1990 - Fontbonne left the Show-Me and the NAIA to fully align with the Division III ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NAIA) and the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC), effective after the 1989-90 academic year.
1993 - Iowa Wesleyan College (now Iowa Wesleyan University), Lindenwood College (now Lindenwood University) and William Woods College (now William Woods University) joined the Show-Me, effective in the 1993-94 academic year.
1994 - Park left the Show-Me to join the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC) for most sports, while its men's basketball team had become an NAIA Independent, effective after the 1993-94 academic year.
1994 - The Show-Me Conference was renamed as the American Midwest Conference, effective in the 1994-95 academic year.
1995 - Iowa Wesleyan left the American Midwest to join the Midwest Classic Conference, effective after the 1994-95 academic year.
1996 - Lindenwood left the American Midwest to join the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC), effective after the 1995-96 academic year.
2001 - Williams Baptist College (now Williams Baptist University) joined the American Midwest, effective in the 2001-02 academic year.
2003 - The University of Illinois at Springfield joined the American Midwest, effective in the 2003-04 academic year.
2008 - Stephens College joined the American Midwest, effective in the 2008-09 academic year.
2009 - Park re-joined back to the American Midwest, effective in the 2009-10 academic year.
2011 - McKendree left the American Midwest and the NAIA to join the NCAA Division II ranks as an Division II Independent (which would later join the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC), effective beginning the 2012-13 academic year), effective after the 2010-11 academic year.
2011 - Benedictine University at Springfield joined the American Midwest, effective in the 2011-12 academic year.
2012 - Lyon College joined the American Midwest, effective in the 2012-13 academic year.
2013 - Freed–Hardeman University and Mid-Continent University joined the American Midwest, effective in the 2013-14 academic year.
2014 - Mid-Continent left the American Midwest after spending one season, as the school announced that it would close, effective after the 2013-14 academic year.
2014 - Lindenwood University at Belleville and the St. Louis College of Pharmacy (now the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis, a.k.a. UHSP) joined the American Midwest, effective in the 2014-15 academic year.
2015 - Benedictine–Springfield left the American Midwest, as the school announced that it would close, effective after the 2014-15 academic year.
2015 - Central Baptist College joined the American Midwest, effective in the 2015-16 academic year.
2017 - Calumet College of St. Joseph and Marian University joined the American Midwest as associate members for men's wrestling, effective in the 2017-18 academic year.
2020 - Three institutions left the American Midwest to join their respective new home primary conferences: Freed–Hardeman to join the Mid-South Conference, Lindenwood–Belleville announced that it would close, and Park to join the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC), all effective after the 2019-20 academic year.
2020 - Marian (Ind.) left the American Midwest as an associate member for men's wrestling, effective after the 2019-20 academic year.
2020 - Lincoln College of Illinois joined the American Midwest as an associate member for men's wrestling, effective in the 2020-21 academic year.
2022 - Lyon announced that it will leave the American Midwest and the NAIA to join the NCAA Division III ranks and the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC), effective after the 2022-23 academic year.^[1] Currently Lyon will compete in NCAA Division III as a provisional full independent for 2022-23.
2022 - Cottey College joined the American Midwest from the Independent ranks, effective in the 2022-23 academic year.

Member schools

Current members

The American Midwest currently has 11 full members, all but one are private schools:
Departing members are highlighted in pink.

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined
Central Baptist College	Conway, Arkansas	1952	Baptist Missionary	739	Mustangs	2015
Columbia College	Columbia, Missouri	1851	Nonsectarian	4,000	Cougars	1986
Cottey College^[a]	Nevada, Missouri	1884	Nonsectarian	300	Comets	2022^[2]
Hannibal–LaGrange University	Hannibal, Missouri	1858	Southern Baptist	1,200	Trojans	1986
Harris–Stowe State University	St. Louis, Missouri	1857	Public	1,900	Hornets	1986
Lyon College	Batesville, Arkansas	1872	Presbyterian (PCUSA)	700	Scots	2012
Missouri Baptist University	Creve Coeur, Missouri	1828	Southern Baptist	2,800	Spartans	1986
University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis	St. Louis, Missouri	1864	Nonsectarian	1,260	Eutectics	2014
Stephens College^[a]	Columbia, Missouri	1833	Nonsectarian	754	Stars	2008
William Woods University^[b]	Fulton, Missouri	1870	Disciples of Christ	2,300	Owls	1993
Williams Baptist University	Walnut Ridge, Arkansas	1941	Baptist	700	Eagles & Lady Eagles	2001

Notes

^ ^a ^b This institution is a women's college, therefore it does not field men's sports.
^ This institution is a former women's college, which has eventually turned into a co-educational college (William Woods since 1997–98).

Former members

The American Midwest had ten former full members, all but one were private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affilation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Left	Subsequent conference(s)	Current conference
Benedictine University at Springfield	Springfield, Illinois	1927	Catholic (Ursulines)	N/A	Bulldogs	2011^[a]	2015	Discontinued athletics	Closed in 2018
Fontbonne College^[b]	Clayton, Missouri	1923	Catholic (C.S.J.)	2,900	Griffins	1986	1990	St. Louis (SLIAC)^[c] (1990–present)
Freed–Hardeman University	Henderson, Tennessee	1869	Churches of Christ	2,050+	Lions	2013	2020	Mid-South (MSC) (2020–present)
University of Illinois at Springfield	Springfield, Illinois	1969	Public	2,654	Prairie Stars	2003	2009	Great Lakes Valley (GLVC)^[c] (2009–present)
Iowa Wesleyan College^[d]	Mount Pleasant, Iowa	1842	United Methodist	570	Tigers	1993	1995	various^[f]	Continental (2021–present)
Lindenwood University^[g]	St. Charles, Missouri	1827	Presbyterian (PCUSA)	4,822	Lions	1993	1996	various^[h]	Ohio Valley (OVC)^[i] (2022–present)
Lindenwood University at Belleville	Belleville, Illinois	2003	Presbyterian (PCUSA)	N/A	Lynx	2014	2020	Closed in 2020
McKendree University	Lebanon, Illinois	1828	United Methodist	1,702	Bearcats	1987	2011	NAIA/D-II Independent (2011–12)	Great Lakes Valley (GLVC)^[c] (2012–present)
Mid-Continent University	Mayfield, Kentucky	1949	Baptist	N/A	Cougars	2013	2014	Closed in 2014
Park University	Parkville, Missouri	1875	Nonsectarian	2,340	Pirates	1986; 2009	1994; 2020	Midlands (MCAC) (1994–2009)	Heart of America (HAAC) (2020–present)

Notes

^ The Benedictine–Springfield men's and women's basketball teams joined the American Midwest a year after becoming a full member for other sports (2012–13).
^ Currently known as Fontbonne University since 2002.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.
^ Currently known as Iowa Wesleyan University since 2015.
^ Currently an NCAA Division III athletic conference.
^ Iowa Wesleyan had joined the following subsequent conferences: the Midwest Collegiate Conference (MCC) from 1995–96 to 2011–12; as an NAIA/NCAA D-III Independent during the 2012–13 school year; and the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference^[e] (SLIAC) from 2013–14 to 2020–21.
^ Currently known as Lindenwood University since 1997.
^ Lindenwood had joined the following subsequent conferences: the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) from 1996–97 to 2010–11; as an NCAA D-II Independent during the 2011–12 school year; the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association^[c] (MIAA) from 2012–13 to 2018–19; and the Great Lakes Valley Conference^[c] (GLVC) from 2019–20 to 2021–22.
^ Currently an NCAA Division I athletic conference.

Former associate members

The American Midwest had two former associate members, both were private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Left	AMC sport	Primary conference
Calumet College of St. Joseph	Whiting, Indiana	1951	Catholic (C.PP.S.)	1,292	Crimson Wave	2017–18	2021–22	men's wrestling	Chicagoland (CCAC)
Lincoln College	Lincoln, Illinois	1865	Nonsectarian	800	Lynx	2020–21	2021–22		N/A in 2022^[a]
Marian University	Indianapolis, Indiana	1851	Catholic (S.S.F.)	3,595	Knights	2017–18	2019–20		Crossroads

Notes

^ Lincoln (Ill.) had announced that it would close after the 2021–22 school year, therefore it would discontinue its athletic program.

Membership timeline

Full member (non-football) Associate member (sport)

Sports

Conference sports
Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	Y
Basketball	Y	Y
Cross Country	Y	Y
Golf	Y	Y
Soccer	Y	Y
Softball		Y
Tennis	Y	Y
Track & Field Indoor	Y	Y
Track & Field Outdoor	Y	Y
Volleyball		Y
Wrestling	Y

References

External links

American Midwest Conference

American Midwest Conference
Central Baptist College Columbia Cottey Hannibal–LaGrange Harris–Stowe State Lyon (leaving in 2023) Missouri Baptist St. Louis Pharmacy Stephens William Woods Williams Baptist

NAIA conferences

NAIA conferences
Single Division	American Midwest Conference Appalachian Athletic Conference California Pacific Conference Cascade Collegiate Conference Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Continental Athletic Conference (Independent schools) Crossroads League Frontier Conference^† Golden State Athletic Conference Great Plains Athletic Conference^† Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Heart of America Athletic Conference^† Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference^† Mid-South Conference^† North Star Athletic Association^† Red River Athletic Conference River States Conference Sooner Athletic Conference^† Southern States Athletic Conference Sun Conference Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference
Football-only	Mid-States Football Association^† NAIA independent football schools^†
^†Conference sponsors football