The Washington University Bears football team represents Washington University in St. Louis in college football. The team competes at the NCAA Division III level as an affiliate member of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW). They are a primary member of the University Athletic Association, of which they were a founding member. They were previously a founding member of the Missouri Valley Conference whose bigger schools split into the Big Eight Conference and then added a few members to form the Big 12 Conference.