Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference

The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the western Midwestern United States. Nine of its members are in Minnesota, with three members in South Dakota, two members in North Dakota, and one member each in the states of Iowa and Nebraska. It participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division II level. It was founded in 1932. With the recent NSIC expansion, the original six member schools have been reunited. With the inclusion of the several new member institutions, it is one of the largest Division II conferences in the country with 16 members.

The conference sponsors 18 sports; ten for women and eight for men. Both men and women compete in basketball, cross country, golf, and indoor and outdoor track and field. Men compete in baseball, football, and wrestling. Women compete in soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, and volleyball.

History
The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference was founded in 1932 as the Northern Teachers Athletic Conference. Charter members included Bemidji State Teachers College (Bemidji State University), Duluth State Teachers College (University of Minnesota Duluth), Mankato State Teachers College (Minnesota State University, Mankato), Moorhead State Teachers College (Minnesota State University Moorhead), St. Cloud State Teachers College (St. Cloud State University), and Winona State Teachers College (Winona State University). In 1942 the conference name was changed to the State Teacher's College Conference of Minnesota. The conference switched its name to the Northern Intercollegiate Conference (NIC) in 1962. In the spring of 1992 the NSIC was formed out of the merger of the NIC, the men's conference, and the women's Northern Sun Conference (NSC). The NSC had existed since 1979.

In the 1998–99 academic year, the NSIC became an expanded eight-team league from a previous seven-member conference by adding Wayne State College, and in 1999–2000 became a 10-member conference by adding Concordia University, St. Paul, and the University of Minnesota Crookston. The conference existed as an eight-member league from 2004–05 until 2005–06 with the departure of Minnesota–Duluth to the now defunct North Central Conference, and the University of Minnesota Morris to NCAA Division III. The University of Mary and Upper Iowa University were admitted in the fall of 2006 to again expand the NSIC to 10 members.

In 2007 the NSIC Board of Directors voted to expand the conference to 14 schools. League presidents voted to accept into membership Augustana College (now Augustana University), St. Cloud State, Minnesota–Duluth, and Minnesota State. These four schools were members of the North Central Conference which disbanded after the 2007-2008 academic year. They became official members of the NSIC on July 1, 2008.

On January 20, 2010 the NSIC Board of Directors voted to expand the conference again, this time to 16 members. The league accepted into membership the University of Sioux Falls and Minot State University. Both schools moved from the NAIA, with USF leaving the Great Plains Athletic Conference, and Minot State leaving the Dakota Athletic Conference. The two schools became active members in the 2012-13 academic year.

The NSIC and its member institutions have been members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Mankato State won wrestling national titles in 1958 and 1959, while Moorhead State won a wrestling national title in 1964. Forty-one wrestlers have claimed individual national titles in wrestling. Nine individuals have won national titles in Men's Swimming and Diving. Northern State claimed national titles in women's basketball in 1992 and 1994. Seven individuals have won individual titles in men's indoor track and field. Four individuals have won national titles in women's indoor track and field. Eleven athletes have won national titles in men's outdoor track and field. Six female athletes have won individual titles in outdoor track and field. Winona State won two team titles in women's gymnastics. In 1992, the NSIC entered the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). In the Fall of 1995, the NSIC and its member institutions became eligible for championship competition in the NCAA Division II ranks. The Northern Sun earned its first Division II national championship in a team sport sponsored by the conference when Winona State won the men's basketball championship in 2005-06.

Since becoming affiliated with NCAA Division II, NSIC members have won 17 team national championships and has also crowned 47 individual national champions.

The highest-ranking team in the NSIC in football that does not make the playoffs plays in the Mineral Water Bowl in Excelsior Springs, Missouri, against the highest-ranking team from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association that does not make the playoffs.

Current members
Note: On December 13, 2018, Augustana University announced plans to leave the NSIC and Division II and transition to NCAA Division I, with the earliest likely date for the move being 2021.

Membership evolution
Since 1932, 18 institutions have competed in the NSIC. Although all six charter members are in the conference today, only three of them have remained in the conference for the 80 years of its existence: Bemidji State, Minnesota State University Moorhead, and Winona State.


 * 1932: The Northern Teacher's Athletic Conference was founded with six charter members: Bemidji State Teachers College, Duluth State Teachers College, Mankato State Teachers College, Moorhead State Teachers College, St. Cloud State Teachers College and Winona State Teachers College.
 * 1942: The conference changes its name to the State Teacher's College Conference of Minnesota.
 * 1947: Duluth State Teachers College is renamed the University of Minnesota Duluth.
 * 1951: Minnesota–Duluth leaves for the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). The conference is left with five teams.
 * 1957: The Michigan College of Mining and Technology joins the conference to give the league six members. Bemidji State Teachers College is renamed Bemidji State College. Mankato State Teachers College is renamed Mankato State College. Moorhead State Teachers College becomes known as Moorhead State College. St. Cloud State Teachers College becomes St. Cloud State College and Winona State Teachers College becomes Winona State College.
 * 1962: The conference changes its name to the Northern Intercollegiate Conference (NIC).
 * 1964: The Michigan College of Mining and Technology renames itself to Michigan Technological University.
 * 1966: The University of Minnesota Morris joins, membership stands at seven schools.
 * 1968: Mankato State leaves to join the North Central Conference, leaving the conference with six members.
 * 1969: Southwest Minnesota State College joins as the seventh member.
 * 1975: Minnesota–Duluth rejoins, giving the NIC eight teams. Bemidji State College is renamed Bemidji State University. Mankato State College is renamed Mankato State University and Moorhead State College is renamed Moorhead State University. Also, St. Cloud State College becomes St. Cloud State University and Winona State College is renamed to Winona State University. Southwest Minnesota State College also undergoes a name change, becoming Southwest State University.
 * 1978: Mankato State rejoins the NIC and Northern State College joins the league as the ninth and tenth teams, respectively.
 * 1979: The Northern Sun Conference (NSC) is created for women's athletics.
 * 1980: Michigan Tech leaves for the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC), leaving the NIC with nine teams.
 * 1981: St. Cloud State and Mankato State leave for the North Central Conference. The league is left with seven members.
 * 1989: Northern State College is renamed to Northern State University.
 * 1992: The Northern Intercollegiate Conference (men's conference) and the Northern Sun Conference (women's conference) merged to form the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).
 * 1995: The NSIC becomes eligible for NCAA Division II championship competition, having moved from the NAIA level.
 * 1998: Mankato State University is renamed Minnesota State University, Mankato.
 * 1998: Wayne State College joins as the NSIC's eighth member.
 * 1999: Concordia University, St. Paul and the University of Minnesota Crookston join to give the NSIC 10 teams.
 * 2000: Moorhead State University is renamed Minnesota State University Moorhead.
 * 2003: Minnesota Morris leaves the conference and drops down to the NCAA Division III level and the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference, dropping NSIC membership to nine teams. Also, Southwest State University changes its name to Southwest Minnesota State University.
 * 2004: Minnesota–Duluth leaves the conference to join the North Central Conference, leaving the NSIC with eight schools.
 * 2006: The University of Mary (NAIA) and Upper Iowa University (NCAA Division III) move up to Division II and join the conference to bring membership back up to 10 schools.
 * 2008: The North Central Conference disbands as various members in that league make a move to NCAA Division I. Former NSIC members Minnesota–Duluth, Minnesota State, and St. Cloud State rejoin the Northern Sun. Another NCC refugee, Augustana College joins the NSIC for the first time, increasing membership to 14 schools.
 * 2012: Minot State University and the University of Sioux Falls begin full membership after joining NCAA Division II from the NAIA. This gave the league its largest membership at 16 schools.
 * 2012: Lindenwood University and the University of Nebraska at Kearney, both members of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association became associate members of the NSIC in the sport of Women's Swimming & Diving. Following the end of the 2013-14 season, both schools left the NSIC to join the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) for that sport.

Other sponsored sports by school

 * ‡ — D-I sport
 * Upper Iowa - lacrosse (W) starts play in 2019-2020 season.

NCAA Division II
The NSIC has had 24 national championship teams in NCAA Division II play:

NCAA Division II National Champions

NAIA
NAIA National Champions

Commissioners
The NSIC has had five full-time commissioners in its history.


 * 1) Tom Wistrcill (1993–1997)
 * 2) Kurt Patberg (1997–2000)
 * 3) Mike Lockrem (2000–2003)
 * 4) Butch Raymond (2004–2014)
 * 5) Erin Lind (2014–present)

Conference championships
Last updated November 9, 2015

Football

 * NSIC Championships Won or Shared Per School


 * NSIC All-Time Standings (1932–2014)


 * NSIC North Division All-Time Standings (2008-2018)


 * NSIC South Division All-Time Standings (2008-2018)


 * NSIC Champions

''*Minnesota State finished 2012 with an 11-0 overall conference record and 7-0 division record, however the conference and division titles were stripped after Mankato was found to have played with two ineligible players. Minnesota–Duluth (overall) and Winona State (South Division) were granted the 2012 titles retroactively. Mankato's win-loss record, however, remains the same.''

Volleyball
The NSIC Tournament was only held from 2004 to 2007, then resumed in 2012.
 * NSIC Championships Per School


 * NSIC All-Time Standings (1979 to 2014)


 * NSIC Regular Season Champions


 * NSIC Tournament Champions

Men's Basketball

 * NSIC championships won per school


 * NSIC All-Time Standings (1932 to 2015)


 * NSIC Regular Season Champions


 * NSIC Tournament Champions

Women's Basketball

 * NSIC Championships Per School


 * NSIC All-Time Standings (1979-80 to 2014-15)


 * NSIC Regular Season Champions


 * NSIC Tournament Champions

Baseball

 * NSIC Championships Per School

The NSIC Tournament was used to determine the overall NSIC Champion from 2002–2006.
 * NSIC Regular Season Champions


 * NSIC Tournament Champions

Softball

 * NSIC Championships Per School


 * NSIC All-Time Standings (1984 to 2015)


 * NSIC Regular Season Champions


 * NSIC Tournament Champions