St. Ambrose and William Woods Football to Join the Heart of America Athletic Conference in 2024

The Heart of America Athletic Conference is pleased to announce the addition of the St. Ambrose University and William Woods University football programs as Associate Members to the conference. Both programs will join the Heart in the sport of football in the fall of 2024.

"The Heart of America Athletic Conference takes great pride in the strength of our institutions and its athletics programs, and I am delighted to see the conference continue to grow in the sport of football," said Heart Commissioner, Lori Thomas. "St. Ambrose and William Woods are outstanding institutions academically and athletically and both will be a perfect fit for our conference."

The Heart will now feature seven teams in the Heart North and seven in Heart South, becoming the largest football conference in the NAIA:

2024 Heart North Division:

Grand View University
William Penn University
Peru State College
St. Ambrose University
Graceland University
Culver-Stockton College
Clarke University

2024 Heart South Division

Baker University
Benedictine College
William Woods University
Central Methodist University
Missouri Valley College
Missouri Baptist University
MidAmerica Nazarene University

The Fighting Bees will compete in the Mid-States Football Association Midwest in 2023 and are led by head coach Vince Fillipp.

"While we have enjoyed our relationships in the Mid-States Football Association, the Heart of America Conference represents the opportunity for natural rivalries and stability for our players and coaches," said St. Ambrose Director of Athletics, Mike Holmes.

"St. Ambrose is excited to join the Heart of America in football," said St. Ambrose University President, Amy Novak. "We already compete in this conference in several sports and have found the experience to be very positive for our student-athletes. Within the Heart of America are several area universities that offer exciting regional competition in football. I appreciate the leadership in the conference and their willingness to allow us to be an associate member for football beginning in 2024. St. Ambrose has a strong athletic program, both in terms of the number of sports offered, but also in its academic performance as measured by the number of scholar-athletes, and its recognition for Champions of Character programs. We look forward to the strong and healthy competition between other great NAIA programs in the Heart of America Athletics Conference."

William Woods announced the creation of its football program in May and will begin its first year competing in football in the fall of 2024. They will be led by head coach Julian Mendez.

"We are thrilled with the invitation to play football in the Heart of America Athletic Conference," said William Woods Director of Athletics, Steve Wilson. "We owe a huge 'thank you' to Commissioner Thomas, along with the athletics directors and presidents of the Heart. In our search for a football home, we looked for multiple benefits to our institution, and the Heart fits the mold in that search. Geographically, the natural rivalries are perfect for William Woods, and the caliber of football played in the Heart is exactly the way we want to start our football program. The member institutions and football programs in the Heart believe in the NAIA and its values, and this sets the tone for what we want this program to be. William Woods is thrilled to align ourselves with like-minded institutions that have proven themselves to be transformational in the landscape of small college athletics."

"The invitation to join the storied Heart of America Athletic Conference is the latest milestone in our groundbreaking decision to add intercollegiate football for the first time in the 153-year history of William Woods University," said William Woods University President, Dr. Jeremy Moreland. "For more than a half-century, the institutions and football programs of the Heart of America have demonstrated excellence both on and off the field while committed to the mission of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), just as we are at The Woods. We couldn't be prouder to join the Heart beginning with our inaugural Owls football season of 2024." 

About the Heart:

Founded in 1971, the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) marked its 50th year during the 2020-21 season and continues to serve as one of the premier conferences in the NAIA. All 13 conference schools are members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).

The commissioner of the conference is Lori Thomas, who was named commissioner prior to the 2014-15 school year, and is the first female commissioner in the history of the NAIA.