(Last Updated 7/13/25)
From its modest origin as a six-team alliance over nine decades ago, the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference has matured into a 16-team union of upper Midwest colleges and universities to form arguably the strongest affiliation in NCAA Division II.

The NSIC can trace its roots to 1932 when six schools, including Bemidji State University, Minnesota State University, Mankato, Minnesota State University Moorhead, St. Cloud State University, University of Minnesota Duluth and Winona State University signed on as charter members. All remain active subscribers of the league today.

Southwest Minnesota State University was added in 1969, followed by Northern State University in 1978, Wayne State College (NE) in 1998, Concordia University-St. Paul and the University of Minnesota Crookston in 1999, the University of Mary and Upper Iowa University in 2006, Augustana University in 2008, Minot State University & the University of Sioux Falls in 2012 and the University of Jamestown in 2025. Upper Iowa departed the league following the 2022-23 season, as the NSIC was a 15-team league through 2024-25 until the University of Jamestown joined on July 10, 2025 to bring the league back to 16 teams. 

Minnesota State, St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth left the league to join the North Central Conference but returned to the NSIC in 2008. University of Minnesota, Morris and Michigan Tech University were once part of the NSIC family as well. Upper Iowa left the league following the 2022-23 season. 

In 1992 the NSIC became a true athletic showcase for both men and women with the merger of the traditional Northern Intercollegiate Conference (NIC) and the Northern Sun Conference (NSC), the home of women's athletics since 1979. 

Before NSIC affiliates became certified for championship competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 1995, its member institutions filled prominent roles in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).  NIC and NSC clubs annually dispatched qualified student-athletes to national tournaments and captured several NAIA teams and individual championships.

The NSIC continues to make a major imprint nationally, winning 27 national titles since 2006. Winona State men claimed NCAA II Basketball Championships in 2006 and 2008 and narrowly missed a third crown, falling in a last second shot in 2007. In addition, the Warriors established an NCAA II record of 57 consecutive victories.

Concordia University launched an ongoing streak of seven consecutive NCAA II Volleyball Championships in 2007.  In 2008 the Golden Bears won 37 straight matches after a season opening loss on their way to a second consecutive title and scripted a marvelous encore in 2009 with a perfect 37-0 finish, a third straight national crown and a winning streak of 74 straight matches. In 2010 the Golden Bear extended that NCAA record win streak to 75 before dropping their second match of the season.  They started 2010 with a 10-4 record before ripping off 22 straight wins on their way to their fourth straight national title. In 2011, after overcoming midseason injuries, the Golden Bears hit their stride.  The Golden Bears knocked off No. 1 and undefeated Cal State San Bernardino to become the first team in the history of NCAA Division II women's volleyball, to capture a fifth consecutive NCAA Division II Championship. Then in 2012, the Golden Bears again made a late season and championship match surge as they defeated Tampa 3-2 after trailing 0-2 to win their sixth straight NCAA DII Volleyball National Championship.  In 2013 Concordia-St. Paul won the NSIC regular season title, but was defeated in the NSIC Tournament Championship by Minnesota Duluth.  But from there the Golden Bears ripped off six straight NCAA postseason wins, extending their streak to 42, on their way to a 3-0 sweep of BYU-Hawaii to win another NCAA National Championship.  After a two year hiatus, the Golden Bears return to the top of Division II volleyball as they won the 2016 and 2017 national championships. 

In a most surprising run, Minnesota Duluth completed a perfect 15-0 season by winning the 2008 NCAA Division II Football Championship. The Bulldogs, limited to only 24 scholarships by league rule, swept a field of fully-funded teams, including top ranked Grand Valley State and number three Northwest Missouri State.  Two years later, in 2010, the Bulldogs repeated that feat, going 15-0 again to win the national championship. The Bulldogs became the first NCAA DII football squad to win two national championships with undefeated records.

Minnesota State added more luster to the league by finishing 32-2 and claiming the 2008-09 NCAA II Women's Basketball Championship. The Mavericks rolled to a wild 103-94 victory over Franklin Pierce to set a NCAA record for total points in the title game.
In 2017 the Maverick softball team went 64-7 to win the National Championship.  The Mavericks went 10-1 in NCAA play, including 5-0 in Salem, Virginia as they defeated Angelo State 5-1 in the championship game. 
The Mavericks added their third team national championship in 2021-22 when they took home the women's indoor track & field championship. Makayla Jackson took home individual national championships in the long jump and the 60m dash, while Denisha Cartwright won the 60m hurdles title, helping the Mavericks score 56 team points. 
In 2023-24, Minnesota State became just the second institution in NCAA Division II history to win both the men's and women's basketball national titles.  The men's team used a last second three pointer by Kyreese Willingham, assisted by his brother Malik, to defeat Nova Southeastern 88-85, while the women avenged three regular-season losses in their playoff run, including defeating Texas Women's University 89-73 in the title game.  

Augustana got into the mix of national championships in 2011 when their women's cross country team turned in a true team performance in Spokane, Washington.  All five Viking runners earned All-American status as Augustana won the first cross country national championship in NSIC history.
The Vikings men's basketball team won the 2015-16 National Championship after going 34-2 and defeating Lincoln Memorial 90-81 in Frisco, Texas.
The 2018 Augustana baseball team became the first NSIC institution to win a national championship in baseball, as the Vikings had an impressive post season, going 8-1 in NCAA play and a perfect 4-0 in Cary, North Carolina, to finish the season 52-9.
In 2019 it was the Augustana Softball team that made a run to the national championship as the Vikings went 61-11 and defeated Texas A&M Kingsville twice by the score of 6-4 to win the National Championship.

After multiple runner-up finishes, the St. Cloud State Huskies finally captured the national championship in wrestling in 2015. They repeated in 2016 and then took home the title again in 2018, 2019 & 2021.

Member schools continue to emphasize the educational, entertainment and unifying value of sports while pointing with pride to the many advantages to be gained by attending these colleges and universities. The NSIC is committed to providing rewarding experiences for its student-athletes, and while the challenges that loom are sizable, indeed, the NSIC is surely well positioned for the future.