The Dakota Athletic Conference (DAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the NAIA

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...

. As the name implies, member teams are located in the states of North Dakota

North Dakota

North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....

 and South Dakota

South Dakota

South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...

.

History

The Dakota Athletic Conference was formed from a merger between the North Dakota College Athletic Conference

North Dakota College Athletic Conference

The North Dakota College Athletic Conference was an NAIA-associated collegiate athletic conference that ceased operations following the 1999–2000 academic school year when it merged with the South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference to form the Dakota Athletic Conference.The following is a list of...

 and the South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference

South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference

The South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference was an NAIA-associated collegiate athletic conference that ceased operations following the 1999–2000 academic school year when it merged with the North Dakota College Athletic Conference to form the Dakota Athletic Conference...

. Two schools have left the conference in its history: the University of Mary

University of Mary

The University of Mary is a four year Catholic university near Bismarck, North Dakota.The university is the largest degree granting institution in Bismarck...

 joined the NCAA

National Collegiate Athletic Association

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

 in 2006, and Si Tanka-Huron

Huron University

Huron University, also known as Si Tanka University at Huron, was a private university formerly located in Huron, South Dakota. It closed on April 1, 2005.-Beginnings:...

 closed in 2005. Dakota State University

Dakota State University

Dakota State University is a public university located in Madison, South Dakota. The university has a technology centric focus with programs in computer and information science, business, education, physical sciences, among other graduate and undergraduate programs...

 has announced they are leaving the DAC in July 2011 to become an NAIA independent. Additionally, member schools Minot State, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology is a public institution of higher learning in Rapid City, South Dakota governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents. Founded in 1885 as the Dakota School of Mines, Tech offers degree programs in engineering and science fields. 2,354 students were...

, and Black Hills State University

Black Hills State University

Black Hills State University, South Dakota's third largest comprehensive public university, offering both undergraduate and graduate programs. The campus is located in Spearfish, South Dakota. Close to 5,000 students attend classes at the Spearfish campus, at sites in Rapid City, Pierre, Yankton,...

 are also leaving the conference while in the process of transitioning to NCAA Division II.

Members

Institution	Nickname	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment
Dickinson State University Dickinson State University Dickinson State University is a four-year public university in Dickinson, North Dakota, United States, and is a part of the North Dakota University System...	Blue Hawks	Dickinson, North Dakota Dickinson, North Dakota As of the census of 2000, there were 16,010 people, 6,517 households, and 4,020 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,690.7 inhabitants per square mile . There were 7,033 housing units at an average density of 742.7 per square mile...	1916	Public	2,572
Jamestown College Jamestown College Jamestown College is a private liberal arts college founded by the Presbyterian Church located in Jamestown, North Dakota. It has about 1,000 students enrolled today and has been co-educational from its founding....	Jimmies	Jamestown, North Dakota Jamestown, North Dakota As of the census of 2000, there were 15,527 people, 6,505 households, and 3,798 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,246.7 per square mile . There were 6,970 housing units at an average density of 559.6 per square mile...	1883	Private/Presbyterian	900
Mayville State University Mayville State University Mayville State University is an institution of higher learning in Mayville, North Dakota, part of the North Dakota University System....	Comets	Mayville, North Dakota Mayville, North Dakota Mayville is a city in Traill County, North Dakota in the United States. The population was 1,858 at the 2010 census, which makes Mayville the largest community in Traill County. Mayville was founded in 1881....	1889	Public	780
Valley City State University Valley City State University Valley City State University is an institution of higher learning in Valley City, North Dakota, part of the eleven-member North Dakota University System. Founded in 1890 as a territorial normal school, VCSU offers four-year degrees in a number of fields in five academic divisions and graduate...	Vikings	Valley City, North Dakota Valley City, North Dakota As of the census of 2000, there were 6,826 people, 2,996 households, and 1,668 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,062.5 per square mile . There were 3,250 housing units at an average density of 982.0 per square mile...	1890	Public	1,220

Former members

Institution	Nickname	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Current conference
Black Hills State University Black Hills State University Black Hills State University, South Dakota's third largest comprehensive public university, offering both undergraduate and graduate programs. The campus is located in Spearfish, South Dakota. Close to 5,000 students attend classes at the Spearfish campus, at sites in Rapid City, Pierre, Yankton,...	Yellow Jackets	Spearfish, South Dakota Spearfish, South Dakota Spearfish is a city in Lawrence County, South Dakota,United States. The population was 10,494 at the 2010 census.- History :Prior to the Black Hills Gold Rush of 1876, the area was used by Native Americans who would spear fish in the creek...	1881	Public	4,739	Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the western United States, mostly in Colorado with some members in Nebraska and New Mexico...  (2012)
Dakota State University Dakota State University Dakota State University is a public university located in Madison, South Dakota. The university has a technology centric focus with programs in computer and information science, business, education, physical sciences, among other graduate and undergraduate programs...	Trojans	Madison, South Dakota Madison, South Dakota Madison is a city in Lake County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 6,474 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Lake County and is home to Dakota State University.-Geography:Madison is located at ....	1881	Public	2,282
Minot State University Minot State University Minot State University is a four-year institution of higher learning in Minot, North Dakota. Founded in 1913 as a normal school, Minot State University is the third-largest university in North Dakota, offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs.Minot State University was founded in 1913...	Beavers Minot State Beavers The Minot State Beavers are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Minot State University , located in Minot, North Dakota. The Beavers currently in the process of transitioning from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics to the NCAA Division II...	Minot, North Dakota Minot, North Dakota Minot is a city located in north central North Dakota in the United States. It is most widely known for the Air Force base located approximately 15 miles north of the city. With a population of 40,888 at the 2010 census, Minot is the fourth largest city in the state...	1913	Public	3,851	Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. Nine of its members are in Minnesota, with two members in South Dakota and one member each in the states of Iowa, Nebraska and North Dakota. It participates in the NCAA's...  (2012)
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology South Dakota School of Mines and Technology The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology is a public institution of higher learning in Rapid City, South Dakota governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents. Founded in 1885 as the Dakota School of Mines, Tech offers degree programs in engineering and science fields. 2,354 students were...	Hardrockers	Rapid City, South Dakota Rapid City, South Dakota Rapid City is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota, and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek on which the city is established, it is set against the eastern slope of the Black Hills mountain range. The population was 67,956 as of the 2010 Census. Rapid...	1885	Public	2,345	NCAA Division II independent NCAA Division II independent schools NCAA Division II independent schools are four-year institutions that field intercollegiate teams in football and other sports, but which are not formally affiliated with any athletic conference.-Full Division II member:...

Sports

Member schools field men's and women's teams in cross country

Cross country running

Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...

, basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

, track and field

Track and field

Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

 and golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

. Men's-only sports are baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

, football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 and wrestling

Collegiate wrestling

Collegiate wrestling, sometimes known in the United States as Folkstyle wrestling, is a style of amateur wrestling practised at the collegiate and university level in the United States. Collegiate wrestling emerged from the folk wrestling styles practised in the early history of the United States...

, while soccer, softball

Softball

Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...

 and volleyball

Volleyball

Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

are only offered for women.