Lindenwood University - Athletics

Athletics

Main article: Lindenwood Lions See also: Lindenwood Lions football, Lindenwood Lady Lions ice hockey, and Lindenwood Lions men's rugby

Lindenwood University is currently in the process of transitioning to the NCAA Division II. The university is a provisional member of the NCAA during the 2012-13 academic year before becoming a full member in the 2013-14 academic year. Lindenwood competes in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) for its primary conference and competes in the MIAA for all 15 sports sponsored by the conference. In addition to the MIAA, men's lacrosse competes in the ECAC Division II Lacrosse League, women's lacrosse compete in the Western Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (WILA), swimming competes in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC), and field hockey competes as an independent Division II program. Lindenwood also sponsors three Division I sports, women's ice hockey competes at the College Hockey America (CHA), gymnastics competes as a member of the Midwest Independent Conference (MIC), and men's volleyball competes in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA). Lindenwood also sponsors over 20 other sports that compete in various other sport organizations for non-NCAA sports.

The university was previously a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and competed within the Heart of America Conference (HAAC) as its primary conference in addition to other athletic organizations for sports not sponsored by the HAAC. During the university's time in the NAIA it had a total of 46 varsity sports teams making LU one of the largest athletic departments in the United States. Lindenwood University competed in NAIA athletics for nearly 40 years before beginning the transition process for NCAA II membership. On July 12, 2010 Lindenwood was accepted into NCAA Division II and was approved as a member of the MIAA on September 24, 2010 with the affiliation taking place in 2012-2013 academic year. LU plans include the 21 sports that currently compete in NAIA to move to NCAA Division II along with non-NAIA sports field hockey, men’s lacrosse, and women’s lacrosse. Women’s ice hockey and men’s volleyball will compete in NCAA Division I, and all other sports will remain in their non-NCAA and non-NAIA sport organizations. Lindenwood officially concluded its NAIA and HAAC membership at the conclusion of the 2010-11 academic year. During the university's 15 seasons as a member of the HAAC the Lions set a conference record, winning 128 HAAC titles. Lindenwood averaged 8.5 conference titles a year and won at least one conference championship in sport sponsored by the conference.