North Star Athletic Association
The North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) that began play in the 2013–14 school year.[1] The conference currently has eight full member institutions in Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
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| Association | NAIA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2013 |
| Commissioner | Roger Ternes |
| Sports fielded |
|
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Headquarters | Jamestown, North Dakota |
| Region | |
| Official website | www.playnorthstar.com |
| Locations | |
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History
Chronological timeline
- 2013 - The North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) was founded. Charter members included Dakota State University, the University of Jamestown, Mayville State University, Presentation College and Valley City State University, effective beginning the 2013-14 academic year.
- 2014 - Dickinson State University joined the NSAA, effective in the 2014-15 academic year.
- 2014 - Waldorf University joined the NSAA as an affiliate member for football, effective in the 2014 fall season (2014-15 academic year).
- 2015 - Bellevue University and Viterbo University joined the NSAA (along with Waldorf upgrading to join for all sports), effective in the 2015-16 academic year.
- 2015 - The University of Winnipeg joined the NSAA as an affiliate member for baseball, effective the 2016 spring season (2015-16 academic year).
- 2017 - Winnipeg left the NSAA as an affiliate member for baseball as the school dropped the sport, effective after the 2017 spring season (2016-17 academic year).
- 2018 - Jamestown left the NSAA to join the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC), effective after the 2017-18 academic year.
- 2021 - Iowa Wesleyan University joined the NSAA as an affiliate member for football, effective in the 2021 fall season (2021-22 academic year).
- 2023 - Presentation (S.D.) will leave the NSAA as it has announced that it will close, effective after the 2022-23 academic year.[2]
- 2023 - Iowa Wesleyan will end its affiliate status with the NSAA as it has announced that it will close, effective after the 2022-23 academic year.[3]
Member schools
Current members
The NSAA currently has eight full members, half are private schools:
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined[lower-alpha 1] | Colors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellevue University | Bellevue, Nebraska | 1966 | Nonsectarian | 8,300 | Bruins | 2015 | |
| Dakota State University | Madison, South Dakota | 1881 | Public | 3,307 | Trojans | 2013 | |
| Dickinson State University | Dickinson, North Dakota | 1918 | Public | 1,800 | Blue Hawks | 2014 | |
| Mayville State University | Mayville, North Dakota | 1889 | Public | 1,130 | Comets | 2013 | |
| Presentation College[lower-alpha 2] | Aberdeen, South Dakota | 1922 | Catholic (P.B.V.M.) |
825 | Saints | 2013 | |
| Valley City State University | Valley City, North Dakota | 1890 | Public | 1,423 | Vikings | 2013 | |
| Viterbo University | La Crosse, Wisconsin | 1923 | Catholic (Franciscan) |
3,088 | V-Hawks | 2015 | |
| Waldorf University | Forest City, Iowa | 1903 | For-profit[lower-alpha 3] | 720 | Warriors | 2015[lower-alpha 4] |
- Notes
- Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
- Presentation College will close at the end of the 2022-23 academic year[2]
- Formerly affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) until 2010.
- Waldorf competed in the NSAA as an affiliate member for football only during the 2014 fall season (2014–15 school year); before becoming a full member, effective in the 2015–16 school year.
Affiliate member
The NSAA currently has one affiliate member, which is also a private school:
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined[lower-alpha 1] | NSAA sport |
Current conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa Wesleyan University[lower-alpha 2] | Mount Pleasant, Iowa | 1842 | United Methodist | 700 | Tigers | 2021 | football | Continental[lower-alpha 3] |
- Notes
- Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
- Iowa Wesleyan will close at the end of the 2022-23 calendar year.[3]
- Prior to closing, Iowa Wesleyan was slated to join the American Midwest Conference starting in 2023-24 and remain a NSAA associate member for football.[4]
Former member
The NSAA had one former full member, which was also a private school:
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Nickname | Joined[lower-alpha 1] | Left[lower-alpha 2] | Subsequent conference |
Current conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Jamestown[5] | Jamestown, North Dakota | 1883 | Presbyterian (PCUSA) |
Jimmies | 2013 | 2017 | Great Plains (GPAC) (2018–present) | |
- Notes
- Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
- Represents the calendar year when spring sports competition end.
Former affiliate member
The NSAA had one former affiliate member, which was a public school:
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Nickname | Joined[lower-alpha 1] | Left[lower-alpha 2] | NSAA sport |
Current primary conference |
Conference in former NSAA sport |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Winnipeg[6] | Winnipeg, Manitoba | 1871 | Public | Wesmen | 2015 | 2017 | baseball | Canada West (U Sports) |
dropped program |
- Notes
- Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
- Represents the calendar year when spring sports competition end.
Membership timeline

Full member (all sports) Full member (non-football) Associate member (football-only) Associate member (baseball-only)
Conference sports
The North Star Athletic Association currently fields 18 sports (9 men's and 9 women's):
| Sport | Men's | Women's |
|---|---|---|
| Baseball | ||
| Basketball | ||
| Cross Country | ||
| Football | ||
| Golf | ||
| Softball | ||
| Track & Field - Indoor | ||
| Track & Field - Outdoor | ||
| Volleyball |
Men's sports
| School | Baseball | Basketball | Cross country |
Football | Golf | Track & field (indoor) | Track & field (outdoor) | Total NSAA Sports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellevue | 6 | |||||||
| Dakota State | 7 | |||||||
| Dickinson State | 7 | |||||||
| Mayville State | 4 | |||||||
| Presentation | 4 | |||||||
| Valley City State | 7 | |||||||
| Viterbo | 6 | |||||||
| Waldorf | 7 | |||||||
| Totals | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6+1 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 48+1 |
| Affiliate Members | ||||||||
| Iowa Wesleyan | 1 | |||||||
Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the North Star Athletic Association which are played by NSAA schools
| School | Soccer | Volleyball | Wrestling |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bellevue | CAC | — | — |
| Dickinson State | — | — | Heart of America |
| Presentation | GPAC | — | — |
| Viterbo | CAC[lower-alpha 2] | CCAC | — |
| Waldorf | CAC[lower-alpha 3] | — | Heart of America |
- Mayville State is adding a men's golf program for the 2023-24 season.[7]
- Viterbo's men's soccer program will be joining the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference for the 2023-24 season.[8]
- Waldorf's men's soccer program will be joining the Great Plains Athletic Conference for the 2023-24 season.[9]
Women's sports
| School | Basketball | Cross country | Golf | Softball | Track & field (indoor) | Track & field (outdoor) |
Volleyball | Total NSAA Sports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellevue | 7 | |||||||
| Dakota State | 7 | |||||||
| Dickinson State | 7 | |||||||
| Mayville State | 4 | |||||||
| Presentation | 5 | |||||||
| Valley City State | 7 | |||||||
| Viterbo | 7 | |||||||
| Waldorf | 7 | |||||||
| Totals | 8 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 51 |
Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the North Star Athletic Association which are played by NSAA schools
| School | Soccer | Wrestling |
|---|---|---|
| Bellevue | CAC | — |
| Presentation | GPAC | — |
| Viterbo | CAC[lower-alpha 2] | — |
| Waldorf | CAC[lower-alpha 3] | Heart of America |
- Mayville State is adding a women's golf program for the 2023-24 school year.[7]
- Viterbo's women's soccer program will be joining the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference for the 2023-24 season.[8]
- Waldorf's women's soccer program will be joining the Great Plains Athletic Conference for the 2023-24 season.[9]
Conference Championships
Football
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- NSAA champions by year
Volleyball
Men's basketball
Women's basketball
Baseball
References
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