Hello, Midwest Conference!

The Gerdin Fieldhouse for Athletics and Wellness is one signal of an exciting new era for Luther athletics. Our conference change, starting this school year, from the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) to the Midwest Conference (MWC) is another.  

The MWC is a group of liberal arts schools in Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin that shares Luther’s vision, philosophy, and goals for athletics. The schools in the conference, President Chamberlain says, “give primary attention to the educational purposes of athletics and maintain that academic and athletic achievement are not mutually exclusive.” 

Athletic Director Megan Wilson says, “Just like we expect a lot from our musicians at Luther, we expect a lot from our athletes. We expect extra time and practice and events. So we want to do whatever we can to alleviate some of that and not put them in a position where they have to make tough choices between academics or athletics. This conference change will help.” 

Wilson offers an example: in the A-R-C, basketball teams always play games on Wednesdays and Saturdays. In the Midwest Conference, midweek games alternate between Wednesdays and Tuesdays to ensure that students aren’t consistently missing the same class. 

In addition to a better student-athlete experience in the new conference, Wilson is excited for new rivalries. She’s excited for recruitment opportunities in new geographic areas. And she’s excited for new opportunities for Norse athletes: “They should be competing for something meaningful these four years—a championship opportunity, access to the NCAA tournament, a kind of a pinnacle of their career. In this new conference, I think our student-athletes will have many opportunities for that.”

Meet the Midwest Conference

Affiliate MWC members

• Milwaukee School of Engineering (men’s and women’s swimming and diving)
• St. Norbert College (men’s and women’s swimming and diving)
• University of Chicago (football)

Luther’s men’s and women’s wrestling and bowling programs are not sponsored by the Midwest Conference and will compete independently.