Tri-State Conference (1960–1981)

See also: Tri-State Conference (1923–1934)

The Tri-State Conference was an intercollegiate athletic conference associated with National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) the that existed from 1960 to 1981 and one of two conferences to share this name. The league had members in the Midwestern states of Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Minnesota.

Tri-State Conference

Founded	1960 (1960)
Ceased	1981 (1981)
No. of teams	7
Region	Midwest

The Tri-State Conference began operations in 1960 with seven members: Concordia College (now known as Concordia University Nebraska in Seward, Nebraska), Dana College in Blair, Nebraska, Midland College (now known as Midland University) in Fremont, Nebraska, Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa, Sioux Falls College (now known as the University of Sioux Falls) in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Westmar University in Le Mars, Iowa, and Yankton College in Yankton, South Dakota. In 1971, the three Nebraska schools (Concordia, Dana, and Midland) withdrew; they joined the Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (now known as the Great Plains Athletic Conference) in 1969 and had been members of both conferences. The same year, 1971, Bethel College (now known as Bethel University) in Arden Hills, Minnesota and Concordia University in Saint Paul, Minnesota joined the Tri-State Conference. Concordia of St. Paul left in 1975 as did Bethel in 1977. Dordt College (now known as Dordt University) joined in 1976. Sioux Falls left in 1977 to join the South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference.

Football champions

• 1960 – Concordia (NE)
• 1961 – Midland
• 1962 – Concordia (NE) and Dana
• 1963 – Midland
• 1964 – Westmar
• 1965 – Midland and Westmar
• 1966 – Westmar and Yankton
• 1967 – Westmar
• 1968 – Westmar
• 1969 – Yankton
• 1970 – Yankton

• 1971 – Northwestern (IA)
• 1972 – Northwestern (IA)
• 1973 – Northwestern (IA)
• 1974 – Northwestern (IA)
• 1975 – Bethel (MN), Northwestern (IA), and Yankton
• 1976 – Northwestern (IA)
• 1977 – Northwestern (IA)
• 1978 – Northwestern (IA)
• 1979 – Northwestern (IA)
• 1980 – Northwestern (IA)

Yearly football standings

1960 Tri-State Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Concordia (NE) $ 5 – 0 – 1 7 – 1 – 1 Midland 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 Sioux Falls 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Westmar 3 – 2 – 1 3 – 4 – 1 Dana 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Yankton 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 Northwestern (IA) 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1961 Tri-State Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Midland $ 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Dana 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Westmar 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Northwestern (IA) 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 4 – 1 Concordia (NE) 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Yankton 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Sioux Falls 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1962 Tri-State Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Dana + 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Concordia (NE) + 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Midland 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Westmar 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Yankton 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Sioux Falls 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 Northwestern (IA) 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions
1963 Tri-State Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Midland $ 5 – 0 – 1 6 – 1 – 1 Concordia (NE) 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Westmar 4 – 1 – 1 6 – 1 – 2 Northwestern (IA) 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Dana 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Yankton 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 Sioux Falls 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1964 Tri-State Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Westmar $ 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Northwestern (IA) 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Yankton 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Midland 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Concordia (NE) 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Dana 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Sioux Falls 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1965 Tri-State Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Westmar + 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 1 Midland + 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Yankton 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Concordia (NE) 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Dana 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Northwestern (IA) 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Sioux Falls 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 + – Conference co-champions
1966 Tri-State Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Yankton + 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Westmar + 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Sioux Falls 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Dana 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Concordia (NE) 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 5 – 2 Midland 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Northwestern (IA) 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1967 Tri-State Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Westmar $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Yankton 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Sioux Falls 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Dana 2 – 3 – 1 2 – 4 – 2 Midland 1 – 3 – 2 2 – 6 – 0 Concordia (NE) 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Northwestern (IA) 0 – 5 – 1 0 – 7 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1968 Tri-State Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Westmar $ 6 – 0 – 0 9 – 0 – 0 Concordia (NE) 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Northwestern (IA) 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Dana 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Sioux Falls 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Yankton 1 – 4 – 1 1 – 7 – 1 Midland 0 – 5 – 1 0 – 8 – 1 $ – Conference champion
1969 Tri-State Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Yankton $ 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Concordia (NE) 4 – 1 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 Northwestern (IA) 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Westmar 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Dana 2 – 3 – 1 2 – 6 – 1 Midland 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 Sioux Falls 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1970 Tri-State Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 14 Yankton $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 No. 13 Concordia (NE) 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Northwestern (IA) 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Westmar 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Dana 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Midland 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 Sioux Falls 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1971 Tri-State Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Northwestern (IA) $ 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Westmar 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 1 Concordia-St. Paul 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Yankton 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 1 Bethel (MN) 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 Sioux Falls 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 8 – 1 $ – Conference champion
1972 Tri-State Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 2 Northwestern (IA) $^ 5 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0 Westmar 4 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Concordia (MN) 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Bethel (MN) 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Sioux Falls 1 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Yankton 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1973 Tri-State Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 1 Northwestern (IA) $^ 5 – 0 – 0 12 – 0 – 0 No. 14 Yankton 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Sioux Falls 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Westmar 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Bethel (MN) 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Concordia (MN) 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1974 Tri-State Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 10 Northwestern (IA) $ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 No. 20 Yankton 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Bethel (MN) 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Sioux Falls 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Westmar 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Concordia (MN) 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division II poll
1975 Tri-State Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Bethel (MN) + 3 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 No. 19 Northwestern (IA) + 3 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 1 Yankton + 3 – 1 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Westmar 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Sioux Falls 0 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 + – Conference co-champions Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1976 Tri-State Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Northwestern (IA) $ 4 – 0 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Bethel (MN) 3 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Yankton 2 – 2 – 0 0 – 6 – 4 Sioux Falls 1 – 3 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 Westmar 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1977 Tri-State Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Northwestern (IA) $ 2 – 0 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Westmar 1 – 1 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Sioux Falls 0 – 2 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion Northwestern (IA) and Sioux Falls played twice, but only the first meeting counted in the conference standings.
1978 Tri-State Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 7 Northwestern (IA) $^ 2 – 0 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 Westmar 2 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Yankton 0 – 3 – 0 1 – 8 – 1 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1979 Tri-State Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 3 Northwestern (IA) $^ 2 – 0 – 0 10 – 2 – 0 No. 20 Westmar 2 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Yankton 0 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1980 Tri-State Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Northwestern (IA) 2 – 0 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Westmar 1 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Yankton 0 – 2 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion

See also

• List of defunct college football conferences