In 1976, four members from the
Great Plains Athletic Conference decided to move away from that conference, which was affiliated with the
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and form the
Central States Intercollegiate Conference (
CSIC). Those were
Fort Hays State College (now Fort Hays State University),
Kansas State College of Emporia (now Emporia State University),
Kansas State College of Pittsburg (now Pittsburg State University) and
Washburn University. Other institutions who joined the CSIC were
Kearney State College (now the University of Nebraska at Kearney) and
Wayne State College, who competed in the
Nebraska College Conference; and
Missouri Southern State College (now Missouri Southern State University) and
Missouri Western State College (now Missouri Southern State University), who competed as
NAIA independents. In 1987, all institutions in the CSIC applied for
NCAA membership, with the announcement of four schools Missouri Southern, Missouri Western, Pittsburg State and Washburn already becoming a member of the
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA, now the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association), effective beginning in the 1989–90 school year. ==Member schools==