15 Schools•Division I•Est. 1979
The Horizon League was founded on June 16, 1979, as the Midwestern City Conference, built by six charter members around a shared belief in basketball. Butler, Evansville, Loyola Chicago, Oklahoma City, Oral Roberts and Xavier signed on first, with Detroit joining a year later. The name changed twice over the next two decades before the league took the one it carries today. Headquarters sit in downtown Indianapolis, blocks from the NCAA national office and the arenas where March gets decided.
Basketball built the reputation. Butler reached back to back national championship games. Loyola won a national title in 1963, beating the two time defending champion to do it. The league has sent teams into the Sweet 16 in five different tournaments, and it co-hosted a Final Four while one of its own members was playing in it, the first conference ever to do so.
The alumni roster reads like a map of college sports. Xavier, Marquette, Notre Dame, Dayton, Saint Louis and Loyola all built here before moving on.
The Olympic pipeline runs deep. Detroit's Spencer Haywood led the United States to basketball gold in 1968. Titans have taken silver in diving and in rowing. Loyola's Blake Schilb played for the Czech Republic in Tokyo. Butler's Victoria Mitchell won the league's first individual NCAA title in the steeplechase.
Rivalries give the calendar its shape. Green Bay and Milwaukee split Wisconsin every winter. Milwaukee and Northern Illinois play soccer for the John LeWang Cup, named for a coach both programs lost in 1980. The regional footprint means bus rides instead of red eyes and families in the stands on a Tuesday night. Everything points at March, where the McCafferty Trophy crowns the all sport champion and the tournament decides who dances.
Official Website
The Horizon League was founded on June 16, 1979, as the Midwestern City Conference, built by six charter members around a shared belief in basketball. Butler, Evansville, Loyola Chicago, Oklahoma City, Oral Roberts and Xavier signed on first, with Detroit joining a year later. The name changed twice over the next two decades before the league took the one it carries today. Headquarters sit in downtown Indianapolis, blocks from the NCAA national office and the arenas where March gets decided.
Basketball built the reputation. Butler reached back to back national championship games. Loyola won a national title in 1963, beating the two time defending champion to do it. The league has sent teams into the Sweet 16 in five different tournaments, and it co-hosted a Final Four while one of its own members was playing in it, the first conference ever to do so.
The alumni roster reads like a map of college sports. Xavier, Marquette, Notre Dame, Dayton, Saint Louis and Loyola all built here before moving on.
The Olympic pipeline runs deep. Detroit's Spencer Haywood led the United States to basketball gold in 1968. Titans have taken silver in diving and in rowing. Loyola's Blake Schilb played for the Czech Republic in Tokyo. Butler's Victoria Mitchell won the league's first individual NCAA title in the steeplechase.
Rivalries give the calendar its shape. Green Bay and Milwaukee split Wisconsin every winter. Milwaukee and Northern Illinois play soccer for the John LeWang Cup, named for a coach both programs lost in 1980. The regional footprint means bus rides instead of red eyes and families in the stands on a Tuesday night. Everything points at March, where the McCafferty Trophy crowns the all sport champion and the tournament decides who dances.
Official Website