West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

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The West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) is a college athletic conference which historically operated exclusively in the state of West Virginia, but has now expanded into Pennsylvania. It participates in the NCAA's Division II. Within West Virginia, the conference is more often referred to as the WVC.

The conference rates as one of the oldest in intercollegiate athletics dating back to its founding in 1924 by the West Virginia Department of Education. West Virginia University and Marshall University joined Broaddus (one of the predecessors to today's Alderson-Broaddus), Bethany, Concord, Davis & Elkins, Fairmont State, Glenville State, Morris Harvey (now the University of Charleston), New River State (now West Virginia Tech), Potomac State, Salem, Shepherd, West Liberty State, and West Virginia Wesleyan as charter members.

The WVIAC offers championships in 16 sports and is headquartered in Princeton, West Virginia. Men's championships are offered in football, basketball, baseball, track, cross country, soccer, tennis, and golf. Women's titles are contested in volleyball, softball, basketball, cross country, soccer, track, tennis, and golf. The 16-school membership makes it the largest conference in NCAA Division II.

2006 brought about a shakeup in the league's mostly stable membership. Charter member West Virginia Tech dropped back to NAIA membership after struggling competitively in recent seasons. The University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown and Seton Hill University were invited to become the WVIAC's first out-of-state members since Morehead State left the conference in 1932.

The WVIAC moved into the NCAA in 1994 after a long affiliation with the NAIA. The conference was the only one in Division II to place a team in the national quarterfinals in men's basketball, football, and baseball during the 1998-99 academic year. In addition, the WVIAC, along with two other conferences, became the first league to earn four bids into the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship.

2006-07 marks the 25th anniversary of women's sports in the WVIAC. The conference brought women's athletics under its umbrella when the West Virginia Women's Intercollegiate Athletic Association was absorbed into the WVIAC.

Its post-season basketball tournament, which was first conducted in 1936, is the oldest college post-season tournament in continuous existence—predating the NCAA tournament (1939), the NIT (1938), and the NAIA national championship (1937).


[edit] Member schools

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment
Alderson-Broaddus College* Philippi, West Virginia 1871 Private/Baptist 800
Bluefield State College* Bluefield, West Virginia 1895 Public 1,800
University of Charleston Charleston, West Virginia 1888 Private/Non-sectarian 1,000
Concord University Athens, West Virginia 1872 Public 3,000
Davis and Elkins College* Elkins, West Virginia 1904 Private/Presbyterian 654
Fairmont State University Fairmont, West Virginia 1865 Public 7,000
Glenville State College Glenville, West Virginia 1872 Public 1,600
Ohio Valley University* Vienna, West Virginia 1960 Private/Church of Christ 512
University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown* Johnstown, Pennsylvania 1927 Public 3,029
Salem International University* Salem, West Virginia 1888 Private/Seventh-day Adventist 1,000
Seton Hill University Greensburg, Pennsylvania 1883 Private/Catholic 1,860
Shepherd University Shepherdstown, West Virginia 1871 Public 3,900
West Liberty State College West Liberty, West Virginia 1837 Public 2,400
West Virginia State University Institute, West Virginia 1891 Public 5,000
West Virginia Wesleyan College Buckhannon, West Virginia 1890 Private/Methodist 1,400
Wheeling Jesuit University* Wheeling, West Virginia 1954 Private/Catholic 1,232
  • * - Denotes a non-football member

[edit] Teams

[edit] External link

West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Football: Charleston • Concord • Fairmont State • Glenville State • Shepherd • West Liberty State • West Virginia State • WVU Tech (until mid–2006) • West Virginia Wesleyan
Non-football: Alderson–Broaddus • Bluefield State • Davis & Elkins • Ohio Valley • Salem International • Wheeling Jesuit


NCAA Division II Football Conferences
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Great Lakes Football Conference – Great Northwest Athletic Conference – Gulf South Conference – Lone Star Conference – Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association – North Central Conference – Northeast Ten Conference – Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference – Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference – Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – South Atlantic Conference – Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Independents
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