The Horizon League continues to aspire toward its goal of being one of the nation's leading athletics conferences while being recognized as a leader in integrity and the development of students. Each of the League's nearly 3,000 Division I student-athletes has the opportunity to maximize athletic development and academic achievement, while also serving the broader community and growing in personal responsibility and accountability. Through athletics, the nearly 200,000 undergraduates among Horizon League institutions have the opportunity to come together, learn and grow in life skills and opportunities.

The Horizon League, entering its 46th year in 2024-25, features 11 public and private institutions that have impressive academic reputations and a storied tradition of broad-based athletic programs. Membership includes Cleveland State University, the University of Detroit Mercy, Indiana University-Indianapolis, Northern Kentucky University, Oakland University, Purdue University Fort Wayne, Robert Morris University, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Wright State University and Youngstown State University.  Northern Illinois University is set to join as the League's 12th member on July 1, 2026.

The Horizon League's primary focus is on adding value to the educational experience through its core values: student-athlete well-being, integrity, respect and stewardship. It is the League's belief that athletics is a powerful and visible resource tool that can be used to enhance student-athletes' collegiate experience. The Horizon League's goals are to enhance the holistic university experience for the student-athlete, to create an affiliation of institutions with similar athletic goals, and to adhere to the principals of integrity, diversity, excellence and growth.

The Horizon League sponsors competition in 19 sports - nine for men (baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming and diving, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field and tennis) and 10 for women (basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, tennis and volleyball).

The League receives automatic bids to NCAA championships in baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's tennis, and women's volleyball. The Horizon League is headquartered in Indianapolis, the "Amateur Sports Capital of the World," with offices in the J.F. Wild Building (129 East Market Street), located minutes from Gainbridge Life Fieldhouse, Lucas Oil Stadium, the State Capitol Building, Victory Field (home of the Indianapolis Indians, AAA affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates) and the NCAA national office.

A PROUD HISTORY
Founded on June 16, 1979, as the Midwestern City Conference with six charter members and a focus on basketball excellence, the League changed its name to the Midwestern Collegiate Conference in 1985 and added women's sports for the 1986-87 academic year. Charter members of the conference included Butler University, the University of Evansville, Loyola University Chicago, Oklahoma City University, Oral Roberts University and Xavier University.

Among current members, Detroit Mercy joined in 1980, and Cleveland State, Green Bay, Milwaukee and Wright State came aboard in 1994 (along with Northern Illinois University and UIC) in the largest non-merger conference expansion in history. Youngstown State joined in 2001, and Oakland in 2013. Northern Kentucky joined two years later in 2015 and IUPUI became a member in 2017. The newest members of the Horizon League, Purdue Fort Wayne and Robert Morris, officially joined the League on July 1, 2020. 

On June 4, 2001, the Horizon League unveiled its current name and ushered in a new dynamic direction that has brought the League closer to its stated goal of being one of the nation's top 10 collegiate athletic conferences with a focus on enhancing the student-athletes' experience by upgrading the League's market and competitive positions.

MAJOR IMPACT
In addition to its athletics success, the Horizon League has secured a well-earned reputation for its leadership in the community. The League has conference-wide partnerships with Special Olympics and Team IMPACT. Each institution hosts at least one Special Olympics event on their campus each year. Additionally, campus programs partner with Team IMPACT, which seeks to improve the quality of life for children facing life-threatening and chronic illnesses by partnering with local college teams.

In addition to leadership in the community, one of the Horizon League's points of emphasis is fostering collegial environments for competition among student-athletes, coaches, administrators and fans in a pro-active approach. Among the vehicles is the Ethical Conduct Pledge, which is signed each season by student-athletes, coaches, officials, and campus and League administrators. Its purpose is to make all the involved groups aware of the Horizon League expectations of behavior during conference events.

MAJOR EXPERIENCES
Horizon League institutions boast a combined enrollment of over 190,000 with over 1.1 million living alumni. League media markets include four of the nation's top 30 in  Detroit, Cleveland, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh, covering around 8 million television households.

The Horizon League continues to enhance its media visibility with a number of initiatives. The League is in the midst of an agreement with ESPN that includes selected regular-season men's basketball action (ESPN2 and ESPNU) and the men's and women's basketball championships (ESPN, ESPNU).

Additionally, the League was one of the first conferences in the nation to make its inventory of athletic events available in the digital space, launching the Horizon League Network in 2006. Having delivered over 3,300 live events in that span, the League began delivering events to ESPN3 in 2014 and provided over 600 live events in 2017-18.

While continuing to set the bar for live event streaming, the Horizon League has also played a role in supporting NCAA Championship events in Indianapolis. Most recently, the League co-hosted the 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball 1st and 2nd Rounds at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. After co-hosting the 2013 and 2014 Men's Basketball Midwest Regionals, the Horizon League was the co-host for the 2021 Men's Basketball Final Four, the seventh time (1991, 1997, 2000, 2006, 2010, 2015) the League has served in that role. In addition, the Horizon League co-hosted the 2016 Women's Basketball Final Four as well, marking the third time (2005, 2011) the conference has worked in that capacity.

In 2010, the Horizon League, along with national-runner up Butler University, co-hosted the 2010 NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, becoming the first conference to host a Final Four while one of its members participated. A year later, the League successfully co-hosted the 2011 Women's Final Four at Conseco Fieldhouse while Butler was playing in its second consecutive Men's Final Four.

The Horizon League is scheduled to co-host the Men's Basketball Final Four, with League member IU Indianapolis, in 2026 at Lucas Oil Stadium. 

GOVERNANCE
In 2017-18, the League led the way with its implementation of a first-of-its-kind governance structure that provides student-athletes with a voice and a vote on League issues. The governance framework includes permanent representation for student-athletes on each of the League's five standing cabinets and a seat on the Horizon League Council. 

The Horizon League is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of the 11 member institutions' chief executive officers. Dr. Ora Pescovitz, President of Oakland University, serves as Board Chair.

The Horizon League Council consists of the 11 member institutions' athletic directors, chairpersons of the Senior Woman's Administrators and Faculty Athletic Representatives and a student-athlete. 

Steve Waterfield, Director of Athletics at Oakland University, serves as Council chair while Purdue Fort Wayne Director of Athletics, Kelley Hartley Hutton, is vice chair. Laura Hue, Associate Athletic Director at IU Indianapolis, serves as the Senior Woman Administrator chair. Rob Kleidman of Cleveland State University serves as chair of the Faculty Athletics Representatives. 

LEADERSHIP
Julie Roe Lach was named Horizon League Commissioner on Jan. 1, 2021. She is the sixth commissioner in League history, succeeding Jonathan B. LeCrone (1992-2020), Daniel B. "Tucker" DiEdwardo (1989-92), James W. Shaffer (1984-89), Cecil N. Coleman (1980-84) and James J. McCafferty (1979-80). Roe Lach is in her tenth year overall with the Horizon League, joining as Deputy Commissioner in August 2014.