Sooner Athletic Conference
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The Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Originally developed as a five-team conference of Oklahoma-based schools, the SAC now boasts 13 schools in a league that spans five states – Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas.
As of August 2021, SAC member institutions have collected 109 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) team championships – the most among NAIA conferences – since the league formed in 1978.
The SAC crowns league champions in 18 intercollegiate sports – nine for women and nine for men. Women's sports are basketball, softball, golf, tennis, cross country, soccer, volleyball, indoor track & field, outdoor track & field, and wrestling. Men's sports are football, basketball, baseball, golf, tennis, cross country, indoor track & field, outdoor track & field, soccer, and wrestling. The newest conference sport is women's wrestling, added for the 2019–20 season.
The conference is known for a rich basketball tradition. Member schools have won the men's NAIA tournament 12 times and women's NAIA tournament 16 times. SAC member schools also boast 14 NAIA national titles in men's golf, 13 in softball, 12 in women's indoor track and field, 10 in women's golf, 10 in men's cross country, 6 in men's tennis, 5 in women's outdoor track and field, 5 in men's indoor track and field, 4 in men's outdoor track and field, 2 in baseball, 2 in competitive cheer, and 1 in men's soccer for a total of 112.[1]
History
Originally developed as a five-team conference of Oklahoma-based schools, the SAC now boasts 12 schools in a league that spans four states (Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Kansas). The league's newest addition is the University of North Texas Dallas, which entered the conference as a full member for 2021-22 and an associate member in 2020-21. The SAC added Central Christian College of Kansas and Oklahoma Panhandle State University to the fold for 2017-18, then dropped to 11 schools when St. Gregory's announced its closure in November 2017. The league added Langston University in 2018-19 as its first Historically Black College and University (HBCU) member, then dropped Bacone (Okla.) College after that same year.
Throughout the league's history, the SAC continues to be known as the conference "Where Champions Play". Various institutions have competed under the SAC banner over the years. Today only the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma remains from the original group that was formed when Bethany Nazarene (now Southern Nazarene), Oklahoma Baptist, Oklahoma Christian, and Phillips University withdrew from the Texoma Conference to form the SAC.
Membership has changed over the years with today's current members being admitted as follows: Oklahoma City (1986), Wayland Baptist (1994), John Brown (1995), Mid-America Christian (2007), Southwestern Assemblies of God (2013), Texas Wesleyan (2013), Southwestern Christian (2013), Bacone (2014), Central Christian (2017), Oklahoma Panhandle State (2017), and North Texas–Dallas (2020).
The league also includes associate members on a per-sport basis, with University of Houston–Victoria, University of the Southwest, and University of St. Thomas being part of the SAC in women's golf since 2017. Lyon College has been an associate member for women's wrestling since 2019.
Past members of the SAC include: Oklahoma Baptist, Oklahoma Christian, Southern Nazarene, Rogers State, Lubbock Christian, Northwestern Oklahoma State, Northwood, St. Gregory's and Bacone.
The league also includes associate members on a per-sport basis. Arizona Christian University, Lyon (Ark.) College, Ottawa University-Arizona and Texas College became SAC members for football in 2018-19 with Louisiana College joining for 2021–22.
Chronological timeline
- 1978 – The Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) was founded. Charter members included Bethany Nazarene College (now Southern Nazarene University), Oklahoma Baptist University, Oklahoma Christian University, Phillips University and the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (USAO), beginning the 1978–79 academic year.
- 1980 – John Brown University joined the Sooner in the 1980–81 academic year.
- 1983 – John Brown left the Sooner to become an NAIA Independent after the 1982–83 academic year.
- 1986 – Oklahoma City University joined the Sooner in the 1986–87 academic year.
- 1994 – USAO left the Sooner to join the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference (OIC) after the 1993–94 academic year.
- 1994 – Lubbock Christian University and Wayland Baptist University joined the Sooner in the 1994–95 academic year.
- 1995 – John Brown rejoined the Sooner in the 1995–96 academic year.
- 1998 – Phillips left the Sooner as the school ceased operations after the 1997–98 academic year.
- 1998 – St. Gregory's University joined the Sooner in the 1998–99 academic year.
- 2000 – USAO rejoined the Sooner in the 2000–01 academic year.
- 2001 – Northwestern Oklahoma State University joined the Sooner in the 2001–02 academic year.
- 2007 – Mid-America Christian University and Rogers State University joined the Sooner in the 2007–08 academic year.
- 2012 – Three institutions left the Sooner and the NAIA to join the Division II ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and to join their respective new home primary conferences, all effective after the 2011–12 academic year:
- Northwestern Oklahoma State and Southern Nazarene to the Great American Conference (GAC)
- and Oklahoma Christian to the Heartland Conference
- 2013 – Lubbock Christian and Rogers State left the Sooner and joined the NCAA Division II ranks and the Heartland after the 2012–13 academic year.
- 2013 – Northwood University–Texas, Southwestern Assemblies of God University (now Nelson University), Southwestern Christian University and Texas Wesleyan University joined the Sooner in the 2013–14 academic year.
- 2014 – Northwood–Texas left the Sooner as the school ceased operations after the 2013–14 academic year.
- 2015 – Oklahoma Baptist left the Sooner and the NAIA to join the NCAA Division II ranks and the GAC after the 2014–15 academic year.
- 2015 – Bacone College joined the Sooner in the 2015–16 academic year.
- 2016 – The University of Houston–Victoria (UHV), the University of the Southwest and the University of St. Thomas joined the Sooner as associate members for women's golf in the 2017 spring season (2016–17 academic year).
- 2017 – Central Christian College of Kansas and Oklahoma Panhandle State University joined the Sooner in the 2017–18 academic year.
- 2017 – Indiana Institute of Technology (Indiana Tech) and Lourdes University joined the Sooner as associate members for men's wrestling in the 2017–18 academic year.
- the University of Houston–Victoria (UHV), the University of the Southwest and the University of St. Thomas for women's golf
- 2017 – St. Gregory's (Okla.) left the Sooner as the school announced that it would close at the end of the fall 2017 semester during the 2017–18 academic year.
- 2018 – Langston University joined the Sooner in the 2018–19 academic year.
- 2018 – Five institutions joined the Sooner as associate members, all effective in the 2018–19 academic year:
- Arizona Christian University, Lyon College, Ottawa University–Arizona and Texas College for football
- and Rochester College (later Rochester University, now Rochester Christian University) for men's wrestling
- 2019 – Bacone left the Sooner to become an NAIA Independent as part of the Association of Independent Institutions (AII) after the 2018–19 academic year.
- 2019 – Houston–Victoria (UHV) and Southwest (N.Mex.) left the Sooner as an associate member for women's golf after the 2019 spring season (2018–19 academic year).
- 2019 – St. Thomas (Tex.) left the Sooner as an associate member for women's golf, as the school announced to move up to the NCAA Division III ranks and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) after the 2019 spring season (2018–19 academic year).
- 2019 – Three institutions joined the Sooner as associate members (and/or added other single sports into their affiliate memberships), both effective in the 2019–20 academic year:
- Cleary University for men's wrestling
- and Lyon and Waldorf University for women's wrestling
- 2020 – Five institutions left the Sooner as associate members (and/or removed other single sports from their affiliate memberships), all effective after the 2019–20 academic year:
- Cleary, Indiana Tech, Lourdes and Rochester Christian for men's wrestling
- and Waldorf for women's wrestling
- 2020 – The University of North Texas at Dallas joined the Sooner as a provisional (associate) member for some sports in the 2020–21 academic year.
- 2021 – North Texas–Dallas has upgraded to full (active) membership within the Sooner in the 2021–22 academic year.
- 2021 – Arkansas Baptist College and Louisiana College (now Louisiana Christian University) joined the Sooner as associate members for football in the 2021 fall season (2021–22 academic year).
- 2022 – Jarvis Christian College (now Jarvis Christian University) joined the Sooner as an associate member for men's and women's wrestling in the 2022–23 academic year.
- 2023 – Two institutions left the Sooner and the NAIA as associate members for football, both effective after the 2022 fall season (2022–23 academic year):
- Lyon to join the NCAA Division III ranks as an NCAA Division III independent schools (while they now currently compete in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), beginning in the 2024 fall season) for that sport
- and Arizona Christian to join the Frontier Conference for that sport
- 2023 – Arkansas Baptist and North American University joined the Sooner as associate members for football in the 2023 fall season (2023–24 academic year).
- 2024 – The College of the Ozarks (CofO) joined the Sooner in the 2024–25 academic year.
- 2025 – North American left the Sooner as an associate member for football after the 2024 fall season (2024–25 academic year), as the school announced it would discontinue its football program.
Member schools
Current members
The Sooner currently has 13 full members, all but four are private schools:
- Notes
Associate members
The Sooner currently has six associate members, all but one are private schools:
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | JoinedTemplate:Efn | Sooner sport |
Primary conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas Baptist CollegeTemplate:Efn | Little Rock, Arkansas | 1884 | Baptist | 525 | Buffaloes | 2023 | football | Continental |
| Jarvis Christian UniversityTemplate:Efn | Hawkins, Texas | 1912 | Disciples of ChristTemplate:Efn | 550 | Bulldogs | 2022m.wr. 2022w.wr. |
men's wrestling women's wrestling |
Red River (RRAC) |
| Louisiana Christian UniversityTemplate:Efn | Pineville, Louisiana | 1906 | Baptist | 1,200 | Wildcats | 2021[3] | football | Red River (RRAC) |
| Missouri Baptist University | Creve Coeur, Missouri | 1828 | Southern Baptist | 5,231 | Spartans | 2019 | women's wrestling | American Midwest |
| Ottawa University–Arizona | Surprise, Arizona | 2017 | American Baptist | 750 | Spirit | 2018 | football | Great Southwest (GSAC) |
| Texas College | Tyler, Texas | 1894 | C.M.E. Church (HBCU)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
972 | Steers | 2018 | football | Red River (RRAC) |
- Notes
Former members
The Sooner had ten former full members, all but two were private schools:
- Notes
Former associate members
The Sooner had 11 former associate members, all were private schools:
- Notes
Membership timeline
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id:bg value:white
id:Full value:rgb(0.7,0.9,0.8) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports
id:FullxF value:rgb(0.9,0.8,0.7) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football
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id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.8,0.9,0.7) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for another sport only
id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference
id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference when the other color has already been used
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width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s
bar:1 color:FullxF from:1978 till:2015 text:Oklahoma Baptist (1978–2015) bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2015 till:end text:Great American
bar:2 color:FullxF from:1978 till:2012 text:Oklahoma Christian (1978–2012) bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2019 text:Heartland bar:2 color:OtherC2 from:2019 till:end text:Lone Star
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bar:6 color:FullxF from:1980 till:1983 text:John Brown (1980–1983) bar:6 shift:(80) color:OtherC1 from:1983 till:1993 text:NAIA Ind. bar:6 color:OtherC2 from:1993 till:1995 text:AIC bar:6 color:FullxF from:1995 till:end text:(1995–present)
bar:7 color:FullxF from:1986 till:end text:Oklahoma City (1986–present)
bar:8 color:FullxF from:1994 till:2013 text:Lubbock Christian (1994–2013) bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:2019 text:Heartland bar:8 color:OtherC2 from:2019 till:end text:Lone Star
bar:9 color:FullxF from:1994 till:2018 text:Wayland Baptist (1994–present) bar:9 color:Full from:2018 till:end
bar:10 color:FullxF from:1998 till:2017 text:St. Gregory's (1998–2018) bar:10 color:AssocOS from:2017 till:2018 text:
bar:11 color:FullxF from:2001 till:2012 text:Northwestern Oklahoma State (2001–2012) bar:11 shift:(30) color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:end text:Great American
bar:12 color:FullxF from:2007 till:end text:Mid-America Christian (2007–present)
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bar:15 color:FullxF from:2013 till:2018 text:Nelson (2013–present) bar:15 color:Full from:2018 till:end text:
bar:16 color:FullxF from:2013 till:end text:Southwestern Christian (2013–present)
bar:17 color:FullxF from:2013 till:2018 text:Texas Wesleyan (2013–present) bar:17 color:Full from:2018 till:end
bar:18 color:FullxF from:2015 till:2019 text:Bacone (2015–2019) bar:18 shift:(40) color:OtherC1 from:2019 till:2024 text:NAIA Ind.
bar:19 color:AssocOS from:2016 till:2019 text:Houston–Victoria (2016–2019)
bar:20 color:AssocOS from:2016 till:2019 text:St. Thomas (Tex.) (2016–2019)
bar:21 color:AssocOS from:2016 till:2019 text:Southwest (N.Mex.) (2016–2019)
bar:22 color:FullxF from:2017 till:end text:Central Christian (2017–present)
bar:23 color:FullxF from:2017 till:2018 text:Oklahoma Panhandle State (2017–present) bar:23 color:Full from:2018 till:end
bar:24 color:AssocOS from:2017 till:2020 text:Indiana Tech (2017–2020)
bar:25 color:AssocOS from:2017 till:2020 text:Lourdes (2017–2020)
bar:26 color:Full from:2018 till:end text:Langston (2018–present)
bar:27 color:AssocF from:2018 till:2023 text:Arizona Christian (2018–2023)
bar:28 color:AssocF from:2018 till:2023 text:Lyon (2018–2023)
bar:29 color:AssocF from:2018 till:end text:Ottawa (Ariz.) (2018–present)
bar:30 color:AssocF from:2018 till:end text:Texas College (2018–present)
bar:31 color:AssocOS from:2018 till:2020 text:Rochester (2018–2020)
bar:32 color:AssocOS from:2019 till:2020 text:Cleary (2019–2020)
bar:33 color:AssocOS from:2019 till:end text:Missouri Baptist (2019–present)
bar:34 color:AssocOS from:2019 till:2020 text:Waldorf (2019–2020)
bar:35 shift:(-20) color:AssocOS from:2020 till:2021 text:North Texas–Dallas (2020–present) bar:35 color:FullxF from:2021 till:end text:
bar:36 shift:(-40) color:AssocF from:2021 till:end text:Louisiana Christian (2021–present)
bar:37 shift:(-40) color:AssocOS from:2021 till:2022 text:Arkansas Baptist (2021–present) bar:37 color:AssocF from:2023 till:end
bar:38 shift:(-40) color:AssocOS from:2022 till:end text:Jarvis Christian (2022–present)
bar:39 shift:(-50) color:AssocF from:2023 till:2025 text:North American (2023–2025)
bar:40 shift:(-60) color:FullxF from:2024 till:end text:Ozarks (Mo.) (2024–present)
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Template:Bg Template:Bg Template:Bg Template:Bg <# </timeline>
Full member (all sports) Full member (non-football) Associate member (football-only) Associate member (sport)
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
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External links
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