In March 2016, the KIAC announced it would change its name to the River States Conference, effective July 1, 2016, to better reflect its membership, which has expanded beyond Kentucky and now includes members in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia.[1]
1948 – Eastern Kentucky, Louisville, Morehead State, Murray State, and Western Kentucky left the KIAC to join the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) major-college ranks and to form most of the charter members of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) after the 1947–48 academic year.
1951 – Bellarmine College (now Bellarmine University) joined the KIAC in the 1951–52 academic year.
1955
Kentucky Wesleyan left the KIAC after the 1954–55 academic year.
Thomas More College (now Thomas More University) joined the KIAC in the 1955–56 academic year.
1958 – Pikeville College (now the University of Pikeville) joined the KIAC in the 1958–59 academic year.
UVA Wise left the KIAC to become an independent within the NAIA (which would later join the Tennessee-Virginia Athletic Conference (TVAC) beginning the 1995–96 academic year) after the 1993–94 academic year.
1995 – Campbellsville, Georgetown (KY), and Union (KY) left the KIAC to form part as charter members of the Mid-South Conference after the 1994–95 academic year.
1999 – Bethel College of Tennessee (now Bethel University of Tennessee) joined the KIAC in the 1999–2000 academic year.
2000
Lindsey Wilson and Pikeville left the KIAC to join the Mid-South after the 1999–2000 academic year.
2013 – Indiana University Kokomo (athletically IU Kokomo) joined the KIAC in the 2013–14 academic year.
2014
Two institutions left the KIAC to join their respective new home primary conferences: Berea left the NAIA to join the NCAA Division III ranks as an independent (which would later join the USA South Athletic Conference (USA South) beginning the 2017–18 academic year), and UHSP St. Louis to join the American Midwest Conference, both effective after the 2013–14 academic year.
Rio Grande rejoined the KIAC in the 2014–15 academic year.
2016 – The KIAC was rebranded as the River States Conference (RSC) in the 2016–17 academic year.
2019 – Cincinnati Christian left the RSC as the school announced that it would close at the end of the fall 2019 semester during the 2019–20 academic year.
2020 – Oakland City rejoined the RSC in the 2020–21 academic year.
Ohio Valley left the RSC as the school announced that it would close at the end of the fall 2021 semester, during the 2021–22 academic year.
2022
Carlow announced on July 6 that it would leave the RSC and the NAIA to join the NCAA Division III ranks and the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) after the 2022–23 academic year, starting in the 2023–24 season.[2]
2023 – Ohio Christian announced it would leave the RSC and the NAIA to fully align with the Division I ranks of the NCCAA after the 2023–24 academic year.[3]
2024 – Point Park announced it would leave the RSC and the NAIA to join the NCAA Division II ranks and the Mountain East Conference after the 2023–24 academic year.[4]
^Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
^Alice Lloyd left the KIAC after the 1991–92 school year, before re-joining in the 2005–06 school year.
^The Brescia men's and women's basketball teams joined the RSC 25 years after becoming a full member for other sports (2009–10).
^IU Columbus did not exist as a standalone institution until 2024, but traces its history through its academic and athletic predecessor of Indiana University–Purdue University Columbus (IUPUC).
^IU Columbus joined the River States (RSC) as IUPUC, an extension of Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). When IUPUI was split in 2024 into separate institutions affiliated with the Indiana University and Purdue University systems, almost all of IUPUC's academic programs and its athletic program transferred to the new IU Columbus.
^The IU East women's basketball team joined the KIAC/RSC seven years after becoming a full member for other sports (2014–15).
^The IU Kokomo women's basketball team joined the KIAC/RSC a year after becoming a full member for other sports (2014–15).
^ abThis institution was a women's college, but has since then been a co-educational institution, therefore it does compete in some men's sports (Midway since 2016–17[5]).
^Oakland City[6] had been a member until after the 1974–75 school year, during the conference's KIAC era.
^Rio Grande left the KIAC after the 1970–71 school year, before re-joining the 2014–15 school year.
The River States has thirty former full members, all but six were private schools. School names and nicknames reflect those used in the final school year each institution was a conference member:
current
Y
