Horizon League facts for kids
The Horizon League is a NCAA conference that plays in the NCAA Division I. The conference is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana and features universities and colleges from the Great Lakes Region. While it plays many sports, it has never played football.
History
The Horizon League was founded in 1979 as the Midwestern City Conference (MCC) with six members. None of these schools are in the league now. The school that has been in the league the longest is Detroit Mercy, which joined in 1980 (when it was known as simply "Detroit").
The conference changed its name in 1985 to Midwestern Collegiate Conference. In 1993, the largest conference expansion in NCAA history that did not involve a merger was announced. Six schools left the Mid-Continent Conference, now known as The Summit League, to join the Midwestern Collegiate Conference for the 1994–95 school year. In June 2001, the conference changed its name to the current Horizon League to avoid confusion with the "other" MCC (which did not become The Summit League until 2007).
Today, nine of the Horizon League's 12 full members (those playing most, if not all, of their sports in the league) are former members of The Summit League. At this time, the only exceptions are longtime member Detroit Mercy, 2015 arrival Northern Kentucky, and 2020 arrival Robert Morris.
The most recent changes in the conference membership happened in July 2020 when Purdue Fort Wayne and Robert Morris joined.
Members
Currently, the Horizon League has 12 full members.
| School | Location | Founded | Type | Nickname | Joined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland State University | Cleveland, Ohio | 1964 | Public | Vikings | 1994 |
| University of Detroit Mercy | Detroit. Michigan | 1877 | Private | Titans | 1980 |
| University of Wisconsin–Green Bay (Green Bay) | Green Bay, Wisconsin | 1965 | Public | Phoenix | 1994 |
| Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) | Indianapolis, Indiana | 1969 | Public | Jaguars | 2017 |
| University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (Milwaukee) | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | 1956 | Public | Panthers | 1994 |
| Northern Kentucky University | Highland Heights, Kentucky | 1968 | Public | Norse | 2015 |
| Oakland University | Rochester, Michigan | 1957 | Public | Golden Grizzlies | 2013 |
| Purdue University Fort Wayne | Fort Wayne, Indiana | 1964 | Public | Mastodons | 2020 |
| Robert Morris University | Moon Township, Pennsylvania | 1921 | Private | Colonials | 2020 |
| University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) | Chicago, Illinois | 1946 | Public | Flames | 1994 |
| Wright State University | Dayton, Ohio | 1964 | Public | Raiders | 1994 |
| Youngstown State University | Youngstown, Ohio | 1908 | Public | Penguins | 2001 |
Former full members
A total of 14 schools have been full members, but are no longer in the league.
Nicknames are those used when the schools were conference members.
| School | Location | Founded | Joined | Left | Type | Nickname | Current Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butler University | Indianapolis, Indiana | 1855 | 1979 | 2012 | Private | Bulldogs | Big East |
| University of Dayton | Dayton, Ohio | 1850 | 1987 | 1993 | Private | Flyers | Atlantic 10 |
| Duquesne University | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 1878 | 1992 | 1993 | Private | Dukes | Atlantic 10 |
| University of Evansville | Evansville, Indiana | 1854 | 1979 | 1994 | Private | Purple Aces | Missouri Valley |
| La Salle University | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1863 | 1992 | 1995 | Private | Explorers | Atlantic 10 |
| Loyola University Chicago | Chicago, Illinois | 1870 | 1979 | 2013 | Private | Ramblers | Missouri Valley |
| Marquette University | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | 1881 | 1988 | 1991 | Private | Warriors | Big East |
| Northern Illinois University | DeKalb, Illinois | 1895 | 1994 | 1997 | Public | Huskies | MAC |
| University of Notre Dame | South Bend, Indiana | 1842 | 1982 1987/1988 |
1986 1995 |
Private | Fighting Irish | ACC |
| Oklahoma City University | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | 1904 | 1979 | 1985 | Private | Chiefs | Sooner (NAIA) |
| Oral Roberts University | Tulsa, Oklahoma | 1963 | 1979 | 1987 | Private | Titans | The Summit |
| Saint Louis University | St. Louis, Missouri | 1818 | 1981 | 1991 | Private | Billikens | Atlantic 10 |
| Valparaiso University | Valparaiso, Indiana | 1859 | 2007 | 2017 | Private | Crusaders | Missouri Valley |
| Xavier University | Cincinnati, Ohio | 1831 | 1979 | 1995 | Private | Musketeers | Big East |
Former associate members
Many NCAA conferences have one or more "associate" members that play only a limited number of sports in the conference, usually one. The Horizon League does not have such a member now, but has had one in the past.
| School | Location | Founded | Type | Nickname | Horizon League sport |
Joined | Left | Main conference | Conference in former Horizon sport |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belmont University | Nashville, Tennessee | 1890 | Private | Bruins | Men's soccer | 2014 | 2018 | OVC | SoCon |
See also
In Spanish: Horizon League para niños
