The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) was founded in 1913 as the Inter-Normal Athletic Conference of Wisconsin. This conference is the ninth oldest conference in the nation. The conference first started with eight normal schools: Superior, River Falls, Stevens Point and La Crosse, which were to become known as the Northern Division and Oshkosh, Whitewater, Milwaukee and Platteville forming the membership of the Southern Division. The Eau Claire State Normal School became a member in 1917.

The conference changed and evolved over the years and experienced several name changes. The first was the Inter-Normal Athletic Conference of Wisconsin. Its name changed to the Wisconsin State Teachers College Conference in 1926, and then the Wisconsin State College Conference in 1951. Finally, in 1964, it became the Wisconsin State University Conference. The only change in membership has been UW-Milwaukee's departure in 1964. In 1971, the member schools of the Wisconsin State University Conference joined with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Wisconsin-Parkside and Carthage College to form the Wisconsin Women's Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. By 1975, UW-Milwaukee, Carroll College, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and Marquette University had also joined. This conference operates the majority of the college athletics in Wisconsin.

In 1997, the nine members of the former Wisconsin State University Conference (WSUC) and the Wisconsin Women’s Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WWIAC) were joined together to form a single conference, the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). The conference is widely recognized as the premier Division III conference in the country.