Morningside College

Morningside College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church and located in Sioux City, Iowa. Founded in 1894 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, Morningside College has 21 buildings on a 68-acre (280,000 m2) campus in Sioux City (area population 143,157 in 2008.). The Morningside College Historic District, which includes most of the campus, is on the National Register of Historic Places.

A group of Sioux City business leaders and Methodist ministers established the University of the Northwest in 1889 to provide educational, cultural and economic growth in the community. The location of the campus was the northern section of the farm of Edwin C. Peters, the founder of the suburb of Morningside.

The university was plagued with financial problems, and it became a victim of the financial Panic of 1893. It closed in 1894, the same year that the Methodist Episcopal Church incorporated Morningside College and took over the campus. Charles City College in Charles City, Iowa, was a German Methodist college that was absorbed into Morningside College in 1914.

Morningside College teams are known as the Mustangs (formerly known as the Maroon Chiefs). The college is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), competing in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC). The Mustangs formerly competed in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II level, primarily as a member of the now-defunct North Central Conference (NCC) until the 2000-01 season.