The Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), heaquartered 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.
 | |
| Association | NAIA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1992 |
| Commissioner | Eric Ward |
| Sports fielded |
|
| No. of teams | 12 (13 in 2024) |
| Headquarters | Livonia, Michigan |
| Region | Midwest (East North Central) |
| Official website | www.whac.net |
| Locations | |
 | |
History edit
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.[1]
On October 13, 2016, the Council of Presidents unanimously voted to accept Rochester College (now Rochester Christian University) into the conference beginning with the 2017–18 academic year.[2]
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.[3] Initially, the five conference members that sponsor ice hockey will participate in a conference championship.[3][4] In July 2017, Concordia University Ann Arbor announced that the university will begin an ice hockey program and begin competition in the NAIA Division and WHAC Hockey Conference in the 2018–19 season.[5]
Chronological timeline edit
- 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), effective beginning the 1992-93 academic year.
- 1997 - Madonna University joined the WHAC, effective in the 1997-98 academic year.
- 1998 - Indiana Institute of Technology (Indiana Tech) joined the WHAC, effective in the 1998-99 academic year.
- 2003 - Tri-State left the WHAC and the NAIA to join the NCAA 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), effective beginning the 2004-05 academic year), effective after the 2002-03 academic year.
- 2004 - Spring Arbor left the WHAC to join the Mid-Central College Conference (MCCC; now the Crossroads League), effective after the 2003-04 academic year.
- 2004 - The University of Michigan–Dearborn joined the WHAC, effective in the 2004-05 academic year.
- 2005 - Davenport University joined the WHAC, effective in the 2005-06 academic year.
- 2010 - The University of Northwestern Ohio joined the WHAC, effective in the 2010-11 academic year.
- 2011 - Lourdes University joined the WHAC, effective in the 2011-12 academic year.
- 2012 - Lawrence Technological University and Marygrove College joined the WHAC, effective in the 2012-13 academic year.
- 2016 - Two institutions joined the WHAC as affiliate members: Rochester College (now Rochester Christian University) for baseball, and Spring Arbor re-joining for bowling, both effective in the 2016-17 academic year.
- 2017 - Davenport left the WHAC and the NAIA to join the NCAA Division II ranks and the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC), effective after the 2016-17 academic year.
- 2017 - Rochester had uprgraded to join the WHAC for all sports, effective 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, effective during the 2017-18 academic year.
- 2018 - Cleary University joined the WHAC, effective in the 2018-19 academic year.
- 2018 - Four institutions joined the WHAC as affiliate members: Bethel University of Indiana for women's lacrosse, Goshen College for men's volleyball, Huntington University for bowling, and Taylor University for men's lacrosse, all effective in the 2019 spring season (2018-19 school year).
- 2019 - Mount Vernon Nazarene University joined the WHAC as an affiliate member for bowling; while Taylor added women's lacrosse to its WHAC affiliate membership, both effective in the 2019-20 academic year.
- 2020 - Taylor left the WHAC as an affiliate member for women's lacrosse, effective after the 2020 spring season (2019-20 academic year).
- 2020 - Four institutions joined the WHAC as affiliate members: Bethel (Ind.) adding bowling to its WHAC affiliate membership, Brescia University and Point Park University for competitive cheerleading, Marian University adding men's wrestling to its WHAC affiliate membership, and Mount Vernon Nazarene for men's volleyball, all effective in the 2020-21 academic year.
- 2024 - Defiance College has been granted the approval from the Board of Trustees to return to the NAIA for the first time since 1991. Ever since that year, the Defiance Yellow Jackets have been a Division III school and have competed in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC). They will officially join the conference on July 1, 2024, effective in the 2024–2025 academic year.
Member schools edit
Current members edit
The WHAC currently has 12 full members, all but one are private schools:
- Notes
- ^ Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
- ^ Part of the University of Michigan system.
- ^ Formerly known as Rochester University prior to 2024 and Rochester College until 2019.
- ^ Before joining for full membership, Rochester competed in the WHAC as an affiliate member for baseball during the 2016–17 school year.
Future members edit
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Basketball? | Current conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defiance College | Defiance, Ohio | 1850 | United Church | 505 | Yellow Jackets | 2024 | both | Heartland (HCAC) (NCAA D-III) |
Affiliate members edit
The WHAC currently has nine affiliate members, all are private schools:
- Notes
Former members edit
The WHAC had four former full members, all were private schools:
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined[a] | Left[b] | Current conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Davenport University | Grand Rapids, Michigan | 1866 | Nonsectarian | 6,456 | Panthers | 2005 | 2017 | Great Lakes (GLIAC)[c] |
| Marygrove College | Detroit, Michigan | 1899 | Catholic (I.H.M.) |
N/A | Mustangs | 2012 | 2018[d] | Closed in 2019 |
| Spring Arbor University[e] | Spring Arbor, Michigan | 1873 | Free Methodist | 2,600 | Cougars | 1992 | 2004 | Crossroads |
| Tri-State University[f] | Angola, Indiana | 1884 | Nonsectarian | 4,104 | Thunder | 1992 | 2003 | Michigan (MIAA)[g] |
- Notes
- ^ Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
- ^ Represents the calendar year when spring sports competition ends.
- ^ Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.
- ^ Marygrove announced that all athletics would cease after the 2017 fall season (with men's & women's soccer and volleyball remaining) of the 2017-18 academic year; with their August 2017 announcement of the closing of school's undergraduate programs.[6]
- ^ Spring Arbor rejoined to the WHAC as an affiliate member for bowling in the 2016–17 school year.
- ^ Currently known as Trine University since 2008.
- ^ Currently an NCAA Division III athletic conference.
Former affiliate members edit
The WHAC had one former affiliate member, which was also a private school:
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined[a] | Left[b] | WHAC sport(s) |
Current conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taylor University | Upland, Indiana | 1846 | Nondenominational | 1,887 | Trojans | 2019–20 | 2019–20 | women's lacrosse | Crossroads |
- Notes
Membership timeline edit
Full member (non-football) Associate member (sport)
Sports edit
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 | |
References edit
- ^ "WHAC Adds Two Conference Sports for 2012-13". WHAC. 27 January 2012. Retrieved January 28, 2012.
- ^ "Rochester College Unanimously Accepted Into Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference". Rochester College. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
- ^ a b "WHAC adds hockey and Tech gets tourney". The Journal Gazette. July 5, 2017. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
- ^ "2017-18 MEN'S ICE HOCKEY". WHAC. 2017. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
- ^ "HOCKEY TO BE ADDED TO CUAA ATHLETIC PROGRAM OFFERINGS". Concordia University Ann Arbor. June 23, 2017. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
- ^ "What you need to know about the closing of Marygrove College". model D. October 29, 2019.