The A-R-C dates back to December 8, 1922, when representatives from 12 colleges formed the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

After a three-year ban, athletics were reinstated at the University of Dubuque in 1928–29, and it joined the conference in 1929.

The Conference was at 11 schools until its 80th-anniversary year (2001–02) when William Penn decided to leave and switch its affiliation from the NCAA to the NAIA.

The IIAC became a nine-school conference when Upper Iowa reclassified to NCAA Division II prior to the start of the 2003–04 academic year and fell back to eight schools with Cornell's return to the Midwest Conference following the 2011–12 academic year.

[1] On August 9, 2018, the league changed its name to the American Rivers Conference to reflect its current makeup.