Locations
Heart of America Athletic Conference
The Heart
Established	1971
Association	NAIA
Division	Division I
Members	14
Sports fielded	19  men's: 10 women's: 9
Region	West North Central
Headquarters	Overland Park, Kansas
Commissioner	Lori Thomas (since 2014)
Website	www.haacsports.com

The Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC or The Heart)^[1] is a college athletic conference affiliated with the NAIA. Member institutions are located in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska in the United States.

• 1History
• 2Member schools
  • 2.1Current members
  • 2.2Former members
  • 2.3Membership timeline
• 3Sports
• 4See also
• 5References
• 6External links

History[edit]

The HAAC's earliest ancestor was the Missouri College Athletic Union, which was formed in 1924 when the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association (now the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association) split in two. The old MIAA's private schools formed the Athletic Union, while the state teachers' colleges stayed in the MIAA.^[2] It was reorganized as the HAAC in 1971 when it began admitting schools outside Missouri. However, the HAAC does not presently claim the Athletic Union's history as its own.

In early 2014, Grand View University and William Penn University were announced as members for the 2015–16 school year.^[3] In April 2015, Clarke University and Mount Mercy University were also announced as members for the 2016–17 school year.^[4] In October 2019, Park University was approved for HAAC membership and joined in the 2020–21 school year.^[5]

The current commissioner of the conference is Lori Thomas. Thomas, the first female commissioner in NAIA history, began her term in 2014,^[6] succeeding Larry Lady who retired after 22 years as commissioner.^{[citation needed]}

Member schools[edit]

Current members[edit]

Former members[edit]

Membership timeline[edit]