Editing Midwest Conference (section)

==History==
{{OSM Location map 
| float = right 
| width = 375
| height = 400 
| coord = {{coord|42.25|-90.5}} 
| nolabels = 1 
| title = Midwest Conference 
| mark-coord = {{coord|42.503|-89.031}} |label=Beloit |label-pos= top |mark= Location dot black.svg |mark-size= 10|label-color= black
| mark-coord1 = {{coord|40.942953|-90.370982}} |label1=Knox |label-pos1= right |mark1= Location dot black.svg |mark-size1= 10|label-color1= black
| mark-coord2 = {{coord|44.261|-88.4}} |label2=Lawrence |label-pos2= left |mark2= Location dot black.svg |mark-size2= 10|label-color2= black
| mark-coord3 = {{coord|43.8436| -88.8413}} |label3=Ripon |label-pos3= bottom |mark3= Location dot black.svg |mark-size3= 10|label-color3= black
| mark-coord4 = {{coord|40.914444|-90.637222}} |label4=Monmouth |label-pos4= left |mark4= Location dot black.svg |mark-size4= 10|label-color4= black
| mark-coord5 = {{coord|41.749057|-92.72013}} |label5=Grinnell |label-pos5= left |mark5= Location dot black.svg |mark-size5= 10|label-color5= black
| mark-coord6 = {{coord|42.2496|-87.8285}} |label6=Lake Forest |label-pos6= top |mark6= Location dot black.svg |mark-size6= 10|label-color6= black
| mark-coord7 = {{coord|39.730278|-90.246667}} |label7=Illinois College |label-pos7= bottom |mark7= Location dot black.svg |mark-size7= 10|label-color7= black
| mark-coord8 = {{coord|41.926111|-91.425833}} |label8=Cornell College |label-pos8= top |mark8= Location dot black.svg |mark-size8= 10|label-color8= black
| mark-coord9 = {{coord|41.7904|-87.6004}} |label9=Chicago |label-pos9= left |mark9= Location dot orange.svg |mark-size9= 10|label-color9= black
| mark-coord10 = {{coord|45.0724|-88.1644}} |label10=St. Norbert |label-pos10=left |mark10= Location dot orange.svg |mark-size10= 10|label-color10= black
| mark-coord11 = {{coord|43.0451|-87.9080}} |label11=MSOE |label-pos11=left |mark11= Location dot orange.svg |mark-size11= 10|label-color11= black
| zoom = 6 <!--(1=whole world, 18=a street)--> 
| caption = Location of Midwest members: [[Image:Location dot black.svg|10px]] current, [[Image:Location dot orange.svg|10px]] affiliate
}}

The organization of the '''Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference''' ('''MCAC''') was conceived at a meeting at [[Coe College]] on May 12, 1921. Charter members were [[Beloit College]], [[Carleton College]], [[Coe College]], [[Cornell College]], [[Knox College (Illinois)]] and [[Lawrence University]]. [[Hamline University]] and [[Millikin University]] joined the league in December 1921, but both of them later withdrew: Hamline after the 1929–30 academic year, and Millikin after the 1924–25 academic year.

[[Ripon College (Wisconsin)|Ripon College]] joined the conference in 1923, followed by [[Monmouth College]] in 1924, [[Grinnell College]] in 1940 and [[Lake Forest College]] in 1974. [[Illinois College]] and [[St. Norbert College]] joined in 1982 and [[Carroll University]] followed in 1992. Carleton withdrew following the 1982–83 academic year. [[St. Olaf College]] also competed in the conference from 1952 to 1974, as did the [[University of Chicago]] from 1976 to 1987. Coe and Cornell withdrew following the 1996–97 academic year with Cornell rejoining the league starting in the 2012–13 year. [[Macalester College]] joined as a football-only member starting in 2014.  The [[University of Chicago]] returned as a football-only member in 2017, and added baseball to its conference membership in the 2019 season (2018–19 school year).

The MWC split into North and South divisions for football, men's and women's tennis, baseball, and softball from 2012 through 2016. Divisional play ended with the departure of [[Carroll University|Carroll]] after the 2015–16 school year,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jsonline.com/sports/statecolleges/carroll-university-leaving-midwest-conference-for-cciw-b99256013z1-256783281.html|title=Carroll University leaving Midwest Conference for CCIW|website=www.jsonline.com}}</ref> and resumed for football only with the addition of the [[University of Chicago]] as an affiliate member for the 2017–18 season.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://midwestconference.org/news/2017/8/29/football-season-preview.aspx|title=Football Season Preview|website=Midwest Conference|language=en|access-date=2017-08-30}}</ref> St. Norbert left in 2021 for the [[Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference]].<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.naccsports.org/general/2018-19/releases/20190403150irt |title=NACC Welcomes St. Norbert College as Full Member in 2020-21 |publisher=Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference |date=April 3, 2019 |access-date=April 14, 2019}}</ref>

===Chronological timeline===
* 1921: The Midwest Conference (MWC) was founded as the Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC). Charter members included [[Beloit College]], [[Carleton College]], [[Coe College]], [[Cornell College]], [[Knox College (Illinois)|Knox College]] and [[Lawrence University|Lawrence College]] (now Lawrence University), effective beginning the 1921–22 academic year.
* 1922: [[Hamline University]] and [[Millikin University|Millikin College]] (now Millikin University) joined the MCAC, effective in the 1922–23 academic year.
* 1923: [[Ripon College (Wisconsin)|Ripon College]] joined the MCAC, effective in the 1923–24 academic year.
* 1924: [[Monmouth College]] joined the MCAC, effective in the 1924–25 academic year.
* 1925: Millikin left the MCAC, effective after the 1924–25 academic year.
* 1930: Hamline left the MCAC, effective after the 1929–30 academic year.
* 1940: [[Grinnell College]] joined the MCAC, effective in the 1940–41 academic year.
* 1941: Carleton withdrew from the conference in June 1941.<ref>{{cite news |last=McHugh |first=Roy |title=Carleton Still At Odds With Midwest |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-gazette/143326449/ |newspaper=[[The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa)|Cedar Rapids Gazette]] |location=[[Cedar Rapids, Iowa]] |date=July 24, 1941 |page=11 |access-date=March 13, 2024 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{Open access}} }}</ref>
* 1946: Carleton rejoined the conference, effective for the spring 1946 track season.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Carleton Returns To Midwest Loop In All Athletics |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-gazette/143327147/ |newspaper=[[The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa)|Cedar Rapids Gazette]] |location=[[Cedar Rapids, Iowa]] |date=March 16, 1946 |page=3 |access-date=March 13, 2024 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{Open access}} }}</ref>
* 1952: [[St. Olaf College]] joined the MCAC, effective in the 1952–53 academic year.
* 1974: St. Olaf left the MCAC, effective after the 1973–74 academic year.
* 1974: [[Lake Forest College]] joined the MCAC, effective in the 1974–75 academic year.
* 1976: The [[University of Chicago]] joined the MCAC, effective in the 1976–77 academic year.
* 1982: [[Illinois College]] and [[St. Norbert College]] joined the MCAC, effective in the 1982–83 academic year.
* 1983: Carleton left the MCAC, effective after the 1982–83 academic year.
* 1987: U. of Chicago left the MCAC to join the [[University Athletic Association]] (UAA), effective after the 1986–87 academic year.
* 1992: [[Carroll University|Carroll College]] joined the MCAC, effective in the 1992–93 academic year.
* 1994: The MCAC has been rebranded when the conference merged with the women's-only [[Midwest Athletic Conference for Women]] (MACW; founded since the 1977–78 school year) to become the Midwest Conference (MWC), effective in the 1994–95 academic year.
* 1997: Coe and Cornell left the MWC, effective after the 1996–97 academic year.
* 2012: Cornell re-joined back to the MWC, effective in the 2012–13 academic year.
* 2014: [[Macalester College]] joined the MWC as an affiliate member for football, effective in the 2014 fall season (2014–15 academic year).
* 2016: Carroll left the MWC to join the [[College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin]] (CCIW), effective after the 2015–16 academic year.
* 2017: The University of Chicago re-joined back to the MWC, but as an affiliate member for football, effective in the 2017 fall season (2017–18 academic year).
* 2018: The University of Chicago added baseball into its MWC affiliate membership, effective in the 2019 spring season (2018–19 academic year).
* 2021: St. Norbert left the MWC as a full member to join the [[Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference]] (NACC), effective after the 2020–21 academic year. St. Norbert would remain as an affiliate member for swimming & diving.
* 2021: Macalester left the MWC as an affiliate member for football, effective after the 2020 fall season (2020–21 academic year).
* 2025: The [[Milwaukee School of Engineering]] joined the MWC as an affiliate member for swimming & diving, effective in the 2025-26 winter season.<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://midwestconference.org/news/2025/3/11/general-mwc-welcomes-milwaukee-school-of-engineering-as-affiliate-member-in-swimming-diving.aspx |title=MWC Welcomes Milwaukee School of Engineering as Affiliate Member in Swimming & Diving |publisher=Midwest Conference |date=March 11, 2025 |access-date=March 22, 2025}}</ref>