Location of WHAC members: full member, departing member.
The WHAC announced on January 27, 2012, added bowling and lacrosse for both men and women as conference sports effective the fall of 2012, becoming the first NAIA conference to offer championships in these sports.[1]
Men's ice hockey was added as a conference sport effective the fall of 2017, making the WHAC the first conference in the NAIA to offer ice hockey as a conference championship sport.[2] Initially, the five conference members that sponsor ice hockey will participate in a conference championship.[2][3]
2017 – Rochester had joined the WHAC for all sports in the 2017–18 academic year.
2017 – Marygrove left the WHAC as the school announced that it would close at the end of the fall 2017 semester, which occurred during the 2017–18 academic year.
2018 –Cleary University joined the WHAC in the 2018–19 academic year.
2018 – Four institutions joined the WHAC as affiliate members, all effective in the 2019 spring season (2018–19 academic year):
2019 – Two institutions joined the WHAC as affiliate members (and/or added other single sports into their affiliate memberships), all effective in the 2019 spring season (2018–19 academic year):
2020 – Three institutions left the WHAC as affiliate members (and/or removed other single sports from their affiliate memberships), all effective after the 2019–20 academic year:
Mount Vernon Nazarene for men's and women's bowling
Spring Arbor for competitive cheer and dance
and Taylor for women's lacrosse
2020 – Five institutions joined the WHAC as affiliate members (and/or added other single sports into their affiliate memberships), all effective in the 2020–21 academic year:
2021 – Bethel (Ind.), Huntington and Spring Arbor left the WHAC as affiliate members for men's and women's bowling after the 2020–21 academic year.
2022 – Three institutions joined the WHAC as affiliate members (and/or added other single sports into their affiliate memberships), all effective in the 2022–23 academic year:
2023 – Brescia left the WHAC as an affiliate member for competitive cheer after the 2022–23 academic year.
2023 – Marian (Ind.) added competitive dance to its WHAC affiliate membership in the 2023–24 academic year:
2024 – Two institutions left the WHAC as affiliate members (and/or removed other single sports from their affiliate memberships), both effective after the 2023–24 academic year:
2024 –Defiance College joined the WHAC in the 2024–25 academic year.
2024 – Two institutions joined the WHAC as affiliate members (and/or added other single sports into their affiliate memberships), both effective in the 2024–25 academic year:
2024 – Concordia–Ann Arbor announced that they would be discontinuing all athletic programs and leaving the WHAC at the end of the 2024–25 academic year.
2025 – Siena Heights will leave the WHAC as the school announced that it would close at the end of the 2025–26 academic year.
^abMarygrove announced that all athletics would cease after the 2017 fall season (with men's & women's soccer and volleyball remaining) of the 2017–18 academic year; with their August 2017 announcement of the closing of school's undergraduate programs.[6]
Y
