Northern Indiana Athletic Conference

Northern Indiana Athletic Conference
(NIAC)
Established 1927
Members 7 Class 4A, 2 Class 3A
Region North Central Indiana
Locations
The Northern Indiana Conference in Indiana. Current Areas are in red, Former Areas are in Maroon

About

The Northern Indiana Conference is a high school athletic conference that was founded in 1927 and spanned from as far West as Hammond and Gary to South Bend/Mishawaka and Elkhart to the East and South to Plymouth. Since its start in 1927, a total of 32 separate schools have at one time called the NIC home. From its inception until 1963, the conference had been divided into East and West divisions. The West Division (as well as Valparaiso) left to form the Northwestern Conference in 1963. With membership dwindling to 7 members by the 1970s, the conference added former members of the Northern Indiana Valley Conference to its ranks. Currently, every former NIVC member is now a part of the NIC except for South Bend Jackson, which closed in 1973, and South Bend LaSalle, which joined the NIC in 1977, but closed in 2001.

Like the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference, the NIAC was also a superconference that spanned several counties, and a lot of driving miles, for a period between 1940 and 1965. Throughout the 1970s the membership dwindled as many schools left to form new conferences. From 1995 to 2015 the two conferences share the same setup with 7 or 8 schools in one county, 8 in this case from St. Joseph County and 1 from an adjacent county, Elkhart in this case. This will change in 2015, as four schools from the folding [[Northern State Conference {IHSAA}|Northern State Conference]] will join, making a 13 school conference.[1] This will also expand the conference footprint into two counties formerly represented in the NIAC: LaPorte (last represented in 1995) and Marshall (last represented in 1930).

Sponsored Sports

Boys

Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Soccer, Swimming & Diving, Tennis, Track & Field, Wrestling

Girls

Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Gymnastics, Soccer, Softball, Swimming & Diving, Tennis, Track & Field, Volleyball

Current members

School Location Mascot Colors County Enrollment
IHSAA Class		 Joined Previous
Conference
Elkhart
Central1		 Elkhart Blue Blazers           20
Elkhart		 1747
AAAA		 1927 Independents
Mishawaka Mishawaka Cavemen           71
St. Joseph		 1761
AAAA		 1927 Independents
Mishawaka
Marian		 Mishawaka Knights                71
St. Joseph		 768
AAA		 2005 Independents
Penn Mishawaka Kingsmen                71
St. Joseph		 3222
AAAAAA		 1977 Independents
South Bend
Adams		 South Bend Eagles                71
St. Joseph		 1773
AAAA		 1941 none (new school)
South Bend
Clay		 South Bend Colonials                71
St. Joseph		 1466
AAAA		 1979 Independents
South Bend
Riley		 South Bend Wildcats                71
St. Joseph		 1511
AAAA		 1931 none (new school)
South Bend
St. Joseph2		 South Bend Indians                71
St. Joseph		 793
AAA		 2005 Independents
South Bend
Washington		 South Bend Panthers           71
St. Joseph		 1428
AAAA		 1938 none (new school)
  1. Elkhart Central was known as Elkhart until 1972.
  2. South Bend St. Joseph was known as South Bend St. Joseph's until 2012.

Future Members

School Location Mascot Colors County Enrollment
IHSAA Class		 Joining Previous
Conference
Bremen Bremen Lions           50
Marshall		 485
AA		 2015 Northern State
Glenn Walkerton Falcons                71
St. Joseph		 625
AAA		 2015 Northern State
Jimtown Elkhart Jimmies                20
Elkhart		 586
AAA		 2015 Northern State
New Prairie New Carlisle Cougars                46 LaPorte
71 St. Joseph		 865
AAAA		 2015 Northern State

Former members

School Location Mascot Colors County Joined Previous
Conference		 Left Conference
joined
East Chicago Washington1 East Chicago Senators           45
Lake		 1927 Independents 1963 Northwestern
Gary Emerson Gary Golden Tornadoes           45
Lake		 1927 Independents 1963 Northwestern
Gary Froebel Gary Blue Devils           45
Lake		 1927 Independents 1963 Northwestern
Gary Mann Gary Horsemen           45
Lake		 1927 Independents 1963 Northwestern
Goshen Goshen Redskins           20
Elkhart		 1927 Independents 1969 Independents
Hammond Hammond Wildcats           45
Lake		 1927 Independents 1963 Northwestern
La Porte LaPorte Slicers           46
La Porte		 1927 Independents 1976 Duneland
Michigan City Elston2 Michigan City Red Devils           46
La Porte		 1927 Independents 1995 none (consolidated
into Michigan City)
Plymouth Plymouth Pilgrims           50
Marshall		 1927 Independents 1930 Independents
South Bend Central3 South Bend Bears           71
St. Joseph		 1927 Independents 1970 none (school closed)
Valparaiso Valparaiso Vikings           64
Porter		 1927
1945
1953		 Independents
Independents
Independents		 1930
1948
1963		 Independents
Independents
Northwestern
Whiting Whiting Oilers           45
Lake		 1927 Independents 1963 Northwestern
East Chicago Roosevelt East Chicago Rough Riders           45
Lake		 1929 Little 7 1963 Northwestern
Gary Wallace Gary Hornets           45
Lake		 1935 Little 7 1963 Northwestern
Hammond Tech Hammond Tigers           45
Lake		 1937 Independents 1963 Northwestern
Gary Tolleston Gary Blue Raiders           45
Lake		 1941 Independents 1963 Northwestern
Hammond Clark Hammond Pioneers           45
Lake		 1941 Independents 1963 Northwestern
Fort Wayne North Side4 Fort Wayne Redskins           02
Allen		 1942 Ft. Wayne City Series 1965 Ft. Wayne City Series
Elkhart Memorial5 Elkhart Crimson Chargers           20
Elkhart		 1972 Northern Indiana Conference 2000 Northern Lakes
South Bend LaSalle South Bend Lions           71
St. Joseph		 1977 Independents 2001 none (school closed)
  1. East Chicago Washington was known as East Chicago until 1928.
  2. Michigan City Elston was known as Michigan City until 1972.
  3. South Bend Central was known as South Bend until 1930.
  4. Fort Wayne North Side played concurrently in the NIC and FWCS their entire membership in the NIC.
  5. Elkhart Memorial played concurrently in the NIC and NLC for the 1999-2000 school year.

Membership timeline

John Glenn High School (Walkerton, Indiana) St. Joseph High School (South Bend, Indiana) Marian High School (Mishawaka, Indiana) Clay High School (Indiana) Penn High School North Side High School (Fort Wayne, Indiana) Washington High School (South Bend, Indiana) Lew Wallace High School James Whitcomb Riley High School Central High School (East Chicago, Indiana) Valparaiso High School Plymouth High School Mishawaka High School Michigan City High School Hammond High School (Indiana) Goshen High School Elkhart Central High School Central High School (East Chicago, Indiana)

Rivalries

Main rivalries:

Notable sub-rivalries

(Asterisk indicates non-member of NIAC)

(Degree indicates a non-NIAC sanctioned sport)

State Championships

Elkhart Central (6)

Mishawaka (7)

Mishawaka Marian (9)

Penn (16)

South Bend Adams (8)

South Bend Clay (2)

South Bend Riley (10)

South Bend St. Joseph (8)

South Bend Washington (2)

See also

Related links

References

  1. ↑ Pete Byrne (2014-04-23). "UPDATE: NIC expands, adding Bremen, Jimtown, New Prairie and Glenn". WSBT TV, South Bend, IN. Retrieved 2014-04-24.

Conference Champions