In the early 20th century, collegiate aviation enthusiasts saw the need for a unified organization to promote aviation education and competition among universities. In response, representatives from five prestigious college aero clubs—Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, Williams, and Yale—came together to form the Intercollegiate Flying Association. This pivotal meeting marked the beginning of what would later become the National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA), dedicated to advancing aviation education, fostering a culture of safety, and promoting collaboration within the aviation community.

The first intercollegiate flight competition took place at Mitchell Field, Long Island, NY, marking a significant milestone in collegiate aviation history. This event saw fifty pilots, all reserve officers of the U.S. Air Service (the precursor to the Army Air Corps), representing twelve colleges. They competed in various challenging events, including a 100-mile cross-country race, maneuvering and aerobatics, takeoffs and landings to a mark, and an alert competition. Although an altitude test was planned, it was not conducted due to darkness. Yale emerged as the overall winner of this historic competition, setting a precedent for future collegiate aviation contests and cementing the importance of these events in fostering aviation skills and camaraderie among young aviators.

The Loening Intercollegiate Flying Contest, established by aviation pioneer Grover Loening, differed from modern flying competitions. Instead of focusing solely on flight maneuvers, the contest awarded the Loening Trophy based on each college flying club's success in getting student members airborne as pilots and student pilots. Harvard University won the first two years of the contest, showcasing their leadership in collegiate aviation. The Loening Trophy was presented annually and retired to the Smithsonian Institute in 1940. However, it was reinstated in 1952 and continues to be awarded each year, celebrating the enduring spirit of collegiate aviation and its contribution to training future aviators.

In a significant move to unify collegiate aviation efforts, 23 colleges came together to form the National Intercollegiate Flying Club (NIFC) as a chapter of the National Aeronautical Association (NAA).

The National Intercollegiate Flying Club (NIFC) conducts its first competition in Massachusetts. This inaugural event marked the beginning of structured collegiate aviation contests under the NIFC banner.

From 1941 to 1947, intercollegiate flight competitions were suspended due to World War II. The hiatus reflected the shifting priorities and resources towards the war effort.

In 1948, the National Intercollegiate Flying Club (NIFC) was rebranded as the National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA). Troy A. Stimson was elected as the first Executive Director of NIFA.

In 1949, Texas Christian University hosted the first competition under the newly formed National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA). This event marked the beginning of NIFA's structured and competitive collegiate aviation programs.

Between 1951 and 1977, several major awards were created and introduced at SAFECON. These included the Championship Award Trophy (1951), the Safety Award (1951), the Collegiate Progress Award (1966), and the Judges Trophy (1977).

In 1955, the University Aviation Association (UAA) assumed judging responsibilities for NIFA competitions. This transition helped to ensure standardized and professional evaluation criteria for collegiate aviation contests.

In 1956, NIFA members voted to accept the University Aviation Association (UAA) as its sponsor. Subsequently, the UAA established the NIFA Ad Hoc Committee to oversee and support NIFA's activities and competitions.

In 1959, Troy Simpson stepped down as the Executive Director of NIFA. His leadership had a lasting impact on the organization and its mission to advance collegiate aviation.

From 1959 to 1986, Harold Wood served as the second Executive Director of NIFA. His tenure was marked by significant growth and development in collegiate aviation programs.

From 1966 to 1982, NIFA experienced a period of significant expansion in the variety of events conducted at competitions. Beyond the traditional Accuracy Landings, Navigation, and Message Drop events that had been part of the organization since its inception, several new events were introduced. These included the Instrument Proficiency (Ground Trainer) event, Computer Accuracy event, Preflight event, Aircraft Recognition event, IFR event, and the SCAN event. This diversification reflected NIFA's commitment to comprehensive aviation education and skill development.

In late 1972 and early 1973, NIFA membership surged to 114 schools, with 60 schools competing at the National SAFECON. This rapid growth necessitated a major reorganization of competition rules, leading to the development of a more manageable elimination process. The outcome of these efforts was the creation of the "Red Book," which established standardized NIFA rules and ensured fair and consistent competition practices moving forward.

Between 1972 and 1973, NIFA established 12 regions, which were later reduced to 11. In 2014, regions V and VI combined, further reducing the number of regions to 10. In 2019, the number of regions was reduced to 9.

In the spring of 1973, 26 schools were invited to participate in SAFECON based on their standings in the respective regional competitions. This selective process leveraged a specific scoring formula to ensure the top-performing schools competed at the national level.

In 1986, Gary Hemphill became the third Executive Director of NIFA. His leadership continued to guide the organization in advancing collegiate aviation.

In 1996, the NIFA Council assumed all governance responsibilities following a student membership vote to change the by-laws. This change also altered the appointment process of regional representatives to the NIFA Council, shifting to a majority vote by regional members instead of appointments by the UAA Board.

In 2003, the position of NIFA Executive Director was made a full-time role. This change underscored the growing importance and complexity of NIFA's operations and activities.

Developed by Sam Potterf, Expedien was developed to be NIFA's entry into electronic scoring.  It significantly increased scoring accuracy and display.

After twenty-six years of service, Gary Hemphill retires from NIFA leaving a robust organization for Richard Smith III.  Richard brought acumen from Ohio State University, NetJets Inc. and the Knowlton Foundation.

Developed by Jared Testa, the new scoring program gave the judges an upgraded user experience.  It also allowed for further implementation of technology-based scoring.

Taylor Newman assumes the Executive Director role, bringing years of NIFA competition and judging experience, as well as small business insight.

Though the COVID pandemic caused great challenges in the aviation industry, NIFA persisted and was able to compete a ground events only National SAFECON, virtually.