Mississippi Athletic Conference

The Mississippi Athletic Conference (MAC Conference) is a high school athletic conference whose members are located in the Iowa Quad-Cities, plus three other schools in eastern and southeastern Iowa.

Member Schools

There are 10 full members of the Mississippi Athletic Conference. Nine of those schools are in Class 4A, Iowa's largest enrollment class. The smallest — Davenport Assumption — is in Class 2A (the third largest among Iowa's four enrollment classes); however, Assumption does play with the Class 4A schools in football and boys' golf.

Sports

The conference offers the following sports:

• Fall — Football, volleyball, boys' cross-country, girls' cross-country, boys' golf and girls' swimming.
• Winter — Boys' basketball, girls' basketball, wrestling and boys' swimming. Bowling will be added as a sport starting in 2006-2007.
• Spring — Boys' track and field, girls' track and field, boys' soccer, girls' soccer, boys' tennis, girls' tennis and girls' golf.
• Summer — Baseball and softball.

Although the member schools field freshman — and in some cases, junior varsity — teams in many of the above-mentioned sports, conference championships are determined at sophomore and varsity levels only. Also, not all schools field teams in every sport (e.g., North Scott does not have its own swimming teams).

History

The MAC — as it is known to locals — was formed in 1978. Charter members Bettendorf, Clinton and Muscatine had been members of the Mississippi Valley Conference, while Davenport schools Assumption, Central and West were part of the Quad-City Metro Conference. North Scott, which was participating in its first "big school" conference, had been in the Big Bend Conference (along with several smaller schools), and Burlington was not affiliated with any conference. At the time, the conference was known as the "Mississippi Eight."

Davenport North opened its doors in 1985 and was immediately admitted to the newly-renamed MAC. Pleasant Valley also became a part-time member in 1985, although it didn't compete in football, basketball, wrestling, baseball or softball until 1987 when the school became a full-fledged member.

Successes

The conference has had a reputation for being one of the toughest in Iowa. For instance:

• Bettendorf — a perennial powerhouse in football — has won seven state championships between 1981 and 2007 and made the semifinals on numerous other occasions. The Bulldogs have also been very successful in many other sports, particularly boys' basketball, soccer, and swimming. In addition, the boys golf won four straight Iowa Class 4A titles between 2003-2006.

• Like Bettendorf, Davenport Assumption has also experienced widespread success in many sports, particularly football and baseball. The Bettendorf-Davenport Assumption rivalry is one of the best-known in the conference, and football games pitting the two schools are often highly anticipated.^[10]

• In softball, North Scott made 11 trips to the state softball tournament between 1987 and 2003, winning three state titles. Muscatine, another powerhouse in softball, has made 10 trips since 1981, winning two state championships. In the past decade, both Muscatine and North Scott have also been contenders in football, after years of struggling.

• Davenport North is well-known for its success in volleyball in the late 1980s and early 90's, and has had some state success in boys' basketball. Current NBA star Ricky Davis was part of the school's mid-1990s basketball surge.

• During the early years of the conference, Davenport Central was best-known for its football success, particularly with players such as future NFL star Roger Craig.

• Pleasant Valley has had much success the past couple years with cross country. The Spartans are the defending Iowa Class 4A boys' state champions (2006 and 2007) with plenty of talent for the future. The school has also had state success recently in several sports, including boys' basketball, track, swimming and softball, and in the past football.

In addition, in the middle of the boys' basketball season, six teams are selected to compete in the Quad Cities Shootout. This is a small tournament against six teams form the Illinois side of the river. It's held at Augustana College in Rock Island. Generally, the six metro teams (Davenport North, Davenport West, Davenport Central, Davenport Assumption, North Scott, and Bettendorf) participate. Each team is pitted against a team of a similar record from Illinois, with each team playing only one game (it is just a way for the teams to get a non-conference game over the Christmas break; no champion is crowned. However, the teams with the best record generally play the last game of the day). Generally, five of the participants from Illinois — Moline, United Township (of East Moline), Rock Island, Rock Island Alleman, and Galesburg — represent the Western Big Six conference; the sixth participating team is Geneseo.

A similar competition is held for the girls' teams at Black Hawk College in Rock Island. Generally, the four metro teams from Illinois (UTHS, Moline, Rock Island, and Alleman) play against West, North, Central, and Bettendorf (in no particular order).

References