Another Division III conference has formed a partnership with Special Olympics.

The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic  Conference announced a partnership with Special Olympics Wisconsin, in which the nearly 5,000 student-athletes competing at WIAC member schools will assist with nearly 80 events and activities conducted by the organization.

Another league, the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, also recently announced a partnership with the organization.

“The WIAC is extremely pleased and fortunate to be associated with Special Olympics Wisconsin and we intend to not only engage our student-athletes in this effort, but also to encourage the involvement of our administrations, coaches, officials and fans in supporting and assisting with Special Olympics activities across the state,” said WIAC Commissioner Gary Karner.

“We also will be posting and updating information on our conference Web site to keep everyone informed of upcoming Special Olympics events and to promote and facilitate the active involvement of those associated with the WIAC in Special Olympics activities.”

The partnership is the latest in a series of conference-wide initiatives that WIAC student-athletes have been involved in through the past decade.

Student-athletes also have been involved in an organ-donor campaign, collected and distributed more than 60,000 food items for local food pantries, solicited more than $34,000 for the Susan G. Koman Foundation through the “Dig for the Cure” program in women’s volleyball, and pursued community-service activities in communities during an annual two-week period in April.