National Conference

National Conference of Haesanite Universities 국민의 대학연합 La Conférence Nationale
Headquarters	280 Daehak-ro, Haeseomun-gu, Suyang, Haesan
Official languages	Haean, English
Other languages of member universities	French
Type	University association
Membership	12 universities
Leaders
• Chancellor	Kim Na-yeong
• Commissioner	Choi Hyeon-seong
Establishment	11 July 1976

The National Conference of Haesanite Universities, often referred to as simply the National Conference, is an academic and athletic association of Haesanite semi-private universities. The conference was founded in 1976 by the Higher Education Reform and Reconstruction Act as one of the five original conferences. The conference is generally regarded as the most prestigious in Haesan, with most member universities ranked highly both domestically and internationally. The conference is primarily an academic one, and universities in the conference must commit to only using academic measures, primarily the General Skills Examination (GSE), for domestic undergraduate admissions. As a result of their prestige, most universities in the conference only accept students in the top 10% of GSE takers, and accept fewer than 10% of international applicants. The conference has been comprised largely of schools in Suyang since its formation, but has a geographic footprint that extends over much of western Haesan.

History

While most members of the conference were founded long before the Great War, the modern university conference system was only established by the Higher Education Reform and Reconstruction Act in 1976. While in the pre-war period there had been university associations, there was no formal oversight committee that bound universities to a grouping. As the Reform and Reconstruction Act banned private universities, conferences like the National Conference became necessary as part of the governmental organizational system. The National Conference was one of five conferences listed in the legislation, and its initial members upon its formation were Albarine University, Université du Anfe, Baekseon University, Haesan University, University of Namhae, Namseon University, and Suyang University. Yeongsu University and Chunghwa University were added in 1990 due to their strong academic standards. Amid calls for greater representation from the north, Grandjean University and Université de Serrès were added in 2003.

Members

Institution	Location	Rank	Undergraduates	Postgraduates	Endowment	Nickname	Colors
Albarine University	Haeseomun-gu, Suyang	4	5,429	3,826	$3.55 billion	Mariners
Université du Anfe	8th Arr., Anfa	8	10,771	12,638	$9.24 billion	Eagles
Baekseon University	Sinju, Sinhan	18	7,492	6,204	$2.39 billion	Owls
Chunghwa University	Hyangsan, Sugang	16	9,303	6,150	$4.13 billion	Rams
Grandjean University	Levesque, Northlands	12	6,982	4,837	$3.01 billion	Saints
Haesan University	Eunhwa-gu, Suyang	2	7,360	5,938	$14.82 billion	Lions
University of Namhae	Anmi, Namhae	13	12,725	11,299	$5.17 billion	Cranes
Namseon University	Haeseomun-gu, Suyang	3	9,493	7,302	$7.91 billion	Tigers
Université de Serrès	Serrès, Northlands	21	4,361	3,578	$1.84 billion	Falcons
Seohae University	Haeseomun-gu, Suyang	6	6,818	4,945	$5.82 billion	Captains
Suyang University	Miyu-gu, Suyang	1	8,252	6,306	$20.73 billion	Dukes
Yeongsu University	Haeyang-gu, Suyang	11	8,650	5,932	$6.83 billion	Terriers

Rivalries

Haesujeon

A Haesan University cheerleader at a Hae-Su football match

A Université du Anfe student takes place in the Super Spiel du Nord

The rivalry between Haesan University and Suyang University, often referred to as the Haesujeon, or Haesandae-Suyangdae Rivalry, is the oldest college rivalry in Haesan and one of the oldest in the IDU. The two universities are some of the oldest in Haesan, with Haesan University having been founded in 1064, while Suyang University was incorporated in 1483. The rivalry is billed as having "over 500 years of history" with records showing intercollegiate competitions in archery, calligraphy, and poetry writing as early as the early 16th century. Today the rivalry across sports remains especially fierce as the universities have constantly remained as the two most prestigious in the nation. The most prominent feature of this rivalry is the Intercollegiate Cheer Festival, when students of both universities wear their universities' colors and fill the 10,000 seat Reynolds Arena in downtown Suyang and sing along to their school's cheer team. The Haesujeon is regarded as the quintessential Haesanite college rivalry.

Haeseomun Rivalry

Albarine Unversity and Seohae University have maintained a fierce rivalry for over 100 years, as two social science oriented schools whose campuses are less than a 15 minute walk from each other. Both schools also have a naval theme, and their annual boat race, named the Coastal Regatta, is held annually and was first held in 1892. This friendly rivalry between the two universities extends across many athletic events as well, especially football and baseball. The two colleges known for political science also have a spirited debate tradition, with an annual 11 on 11 series of debates held across a variety of current events topics held publicly at Haeseomun Square.

Heart of the North

Université du Anfe and Grandjean University were rivals long before the Great War, and even despite the schools being split in 1976, they maintained their rivalry throughout the intervening years. Now reunited since 2003, the universities have been able to fully reignite their rivalry. The "Battle for the Heart of the North" is fought across many different sports, most notably in curling, where every winter over a thousand students gather from the two schools to compete in the largest curling tournament in the IDU. This tournament, the Super Spiel du Nord, usually takes place over the week after the Lunar New Year, when students have off while most in the northern regions of Haesan do not stop work for the holiday season.

Namseon-Yeongsu Rivalry

Namseon University and Yeongsu University are both universities that specialize in science and technology, and since 1990 a rivalry has emerged between the Suyang schools. The most famous component of this is a prix organized by the universities' engineering departments, where teams from the two schools design F1 style cars over the course of a year and then race them in a specially designated street course in downtown Suyang. The schools carry this competitive spirit across athletic competitions, especially in archery, where both schools have been ranked #1 in the nation during the last half decade.