The Conference dates back to December 8, 1922, when representatives from 12 colleges got together and formed the "Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Association." Charter members were Buena Vista, Central, Ellsworth, Iowa Wesleyan, Luther, Morningside, Parsons, St. Ambrose, Simpson, Upper Iowa, Western Union and William Penn. Des Moines University was voted into the conference at that meeting as well.
The first Conference constitution was published in January 1923. Also that year, Judge Hubert Utterback of Des Moines, Iowa was named the first conference commissioner and Iowa Teachers (now Northern Iowa) was accepted as a member.
Columbia College (now Loras) was admitted in 1926.
Ellsworth left the Conference in 1927. That spring, the Conference's name was changed to the "Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference."
After a three-year ban, athletics were reinstated at the University of Dubuque in 1928-29, and it joined the conference in 1929.
Wartburg was admitted to the conference in 1936, beginning competition the following year. Morningside dropped out in 1936 because of inactivity.
William Penn was suspended from the Conference in 1949 for using ineligible players. The school was back in the Conference in 1951, though it did not compete in football until later. In 1951, St. Ambrose and Loras dropped from football competition.
The Iowa Conference reorganized in 1953, effective with the 1954-55 school year. Nine schools remained in the Conference: Buena Vista, Central, Dubuque, Iowa Wesleyan, Luther, Parsons, Simpson, Upper Iowa and Wartburg. According to The Iowa Conference Story, "St. Ambrose and Loras were dropped because they were too strong for the others and Westmar (formerly Western Union) and William Penn because they were too weak."
William Penn was readmitted to the Conference in 1960, effective in the spring of 1962. Parsons left the Conference in 1963, while Iowa Wesleyan left effective June 1, 1965.
The Conference denied a proposal to sanction women's competition in 1960 but women's sports did become part of the Conference for the 1982-83 school year.
Loras rejoined the Conference in 1986, increasing the Conference membership to nine schools, which continued until 1997 when Coe and Cornell left the Midwest Conference to join the IIAC. The Conference was at 11 schools until its 80th Anniversary year (2001-02) when William Penn departed and switched its national affiliation from the NCAA to the NAIA. That same year, the Conference hired John T. Cochrane as its first full-time Commissioner.
In 2002-03, indoor track and field became an official Conference championship and the IIAC All-Sports Championship Trophy was first awarded to the school that displayed overall excellence in its athletics program.
The IIAC became a nine-school Conference when Upper Iowa reclassified to NCAA Division II prior to the start of the 2003-04 academic year. The Conference Championship procedure for team sports also changed in 2003-04. The Champion and all-sports trophy points are based on regular season competition. The winner of the post-season Tournament received the Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
On June 1, 2012, Cornell returned to the Midwest Conference, dropping the conference to eight members for the first time in over a quarter of a century. The IIAC returned to nine members with the addition of Nebraska Wesleyan University on July 1, 2016.
Honoring its heritage in Iowa and its expansion outside the state, the American Rivers Conference brand was established on August 9, 2018, to build on the academic and athletic success provided by its legacy, the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
The new name centers on key geographic features of the conference's birthplace. The Mississippi to the east, the most famous river in America and one of the most famous in the world, and the Missouri to the west, the country's longest river, make up most of the State of Iowa's borders. The conference's regional and national reach is reflected in the name. Not only did expanded membership bring a new era to the conference, some campuses' out-of-state student-athletes number is upwards of 70%.
"Boldly asserting 'American' shows that our rosters and general student bodies already include young people from all over the country and will continue to do so," said former Commissioner Chuck Yrigoyen at the time of the branding announcement.
| Conference Membership History |
Current Members
|
| Member |
Years of Competiton |
| * Buena Vista University |
1922-present |
| * Central College |
1922-present |
| Coe College |
1997-present |
| University of Dubuque |
1929-present |
| Loras College |
1926-1954, 1986-present |
| * Luther College |
1922-present |
| Nebraska Wesleyan University |
2016-present |
| * Simpson College |
1922-present |
| Wartburg College |
1937-present |
Former Members
|
| Member |
Years of Competiton |
| Cornell College |
1997-2012 |
| Des Moines University |
1922-29 |
| * Ellsworth College |
1922-27 |
| Iowa State Teachers College (now University of Northern Iowa) |
1923-35 |
| * Iowa Wesleyan College |
1922-65 |
| * Morningside College |
1922-35 |
| * Parsons College |
1922-63 |
| * St. Ambrose College (now University) |
1922-53 |
| * Upper Iowa University |
1922-2004 |
| * Western Union College (later Westmar College) |
1922-53 |
| * William Penn College (now University) |
1922-49, 1951-54, 1962-2001 |
| * — denotes charter member |
| Conference Leadership Through the Years |
| Commissioner |
|
Secretary/Treasurer |
| Hubert Utterback |
1923-29 |
|
Grover Hawk, William Penn FAR |
1922-44 |
| A.G. Reid |
1929-36 |
|
Elmer Hertel, Wartburg FAR |
1944-81 |
| Garner W. (Sec) Taylor |
1936-40 |
|
Duane Schroeder, Wartburg SID |
1981-2001 |
| Ed Moore |
1940-43 |
|
* — Duties split between Commissioner
and Director of Information in 2001 |
| Garner W. (Sec) Taylor |
1943-46 |
|
| Al Ney |
1946-47 |
|
| Robert Cass |
1947-50 |
|
Director of Information |
| Moray Eby |
1951-56 |
|
Duane Schroeder, Wartburg |
1966-92 |
| position vacant |
1956-58 |
|
Howard Thomas, Loras |
1992-95 |
| G.L. (Les) Duke |
1958-64 |
|
Vicki (Klinge) Born, Simpson |
1995-96 |
| Ken Blackman |
1964-66 |
|
Julie Schroeder, Upper Iowa |
1996-97 |
| Jim Ryan |
1966-69 |
|
Jon Gremmels |
1997-2001 |
| Wayne Lichty |
1969-89 |
|
Will Wolper |
2001-07 |
| John Van Why |
1989-2000 |
|
Joshua Schroeder |
2007-15 |
| Rick Wulkow (interim) |
2000-01 |
|
Jason Crane (interim) |
2015-16 |
| John T. Cochrane |
2001-08 |
|
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| Charles Yrigoyen III |
2008-2021 |
|
|
|
| Dan Hammes |
2021-2023 |
|
Deputy Commissioner |
| Keith Hackett (Interim) |
2023 |
|
Dan Hammes |
2016-2021 |
| Marie Stroman |
2023-present |
|
Hannah Halverson |
2022-present |
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|
Assistant Commissioner |
|
|
|
Ali Wilson |
2022-present |
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