Although it was historically a Kentucky-only conference, it has now expanded to include members in Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia, and at various times in the past has also had members in Missouri, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia.

In March 2016, the KIAC announced it would change its name to the River States Conference, effective July 1, 2016, to better reflect its membership, which has expanded beyond Kentucky and now includes members in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia.

[1] The River States currently has 12 full members, with six being public schools, five being private schools, and one member that operates public and private institutions within a single entity.

The River States has thirty former full members, all but six were private schools.

School names and nicknames reflect those used in the final school year each institution was a conference member: Full member (non-football) Associate member (sport) Other conference The River States Conference currently sponsors 17 sports (8 men's and 9 women's).