ST. LOUIS – After nine seasons as a member of the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA), the Missouri Baptist University football program is set to join the Heart of America Athletic Conference as an associate member in Fall 2023. Heart Commissioner Lori Thomas officially announced the Spartans' addition on Thursday, April 28.
 
"The Heart of America takes pride in the strength of our institutions and their athletics programs, and I am so pleased that Missouri Baptist will be joining the Heart as an Associate Member in the sport of football," said Heart Commissioner Lori Thomas. "Missouri Baptist is a great institution in the NAIA both in commitment to community and enriching students' lives for the better."
 
Missouri Baptist will increase the number of institutions sponsoring football in the Heart to 12. Split into two divisions ­–North and South – the Spartans will become a part of the Heart South Division with Baker (Kan.), Benedictine (Kan.), Central Methodist (Mo.), MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), and Missouri Valley. The Heart North Division is comprised of Clarke (Iowa), Culver-Stockton (Mo.), Graceland (Iowa), Grand View (Iowa), Peru State (Neb.), and William Penn (Iowa).
 
Football represents the second Missouri Baptist sport to join the Heart of America Athletic Conference as an associate member. In 2021, the men's volleyball program joined the Heart after spending time in an Unaffiliated Grouping with schools from the American Midwest Conference (AMC), Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC), and Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) schools. Institutions may join a conference for a sport as an associate member if their home conference does not sponsor a specific sport. MBU's primary conference is the American Midwest Conference.
 
"We want to thank the MSFA for the opportunity to be a part of such a successful conference as a brand-new program back in 2014," said Missouri Baptist Associate Vice President & Director of Athletics Dr. Tom Smith. "The growth of this football program has been exciting to watch and joining the Heart of America Athletic Conference is just another step in the right direction. The Heart offers a competitive schedule year in year out with its strong history and tradition while minimizing travel and missed class time for our student-athletes. This move makes perfect sense for our future goals as a program."
 
Missouri Baptist began its football program in the fall of 2014 under the direction of head coach Jason Burianek, who will begin his ninth season at the helm in 2022. The Spartans went 4-7 in 2021, tying the program record for most wins in a single season, while collecting three NAIA All-American honors since 2019.
 
About the Heart:
Founded in 1971, the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) marked its 50th year during the 2020-21 season and continues to serve as one of the premier conferences in the NAIA. All 14 conference schools are members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
 
The conference has continued to expand with the total number of teams growing to 14 when competition began for the 2020-21 school year. The 2015-16 season saw Grand View University and William Penn begin full membership in the Heart, while Clarke University and Mount Mercy University joined the competition for the 2016-17 seasons. The most recent addition to the conference was Park University, who effectively became a member in the 2020-21 season. 
 
The commissioner of the conference is Lori Thomas, who was named commissioner prior to the 2014-15 school year, and is the first female commissioner in the history of the NAIA.