The Southern States Conference (SSC) was an affiliate of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...

that included member institutions in the U.S. states of

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, Georgia,

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. The league existed from 1938 to 1997.

History

The league was established in December 1938 as the Alabama Intercollegiate Conference (AIC), comprising schools from just that state. The six charter members were: Jacksonville State Teachers College,

Saint Bernard College Southern Benedictine College was a Catholic Benedictine college and seminary in Cullman, Alabama. Previously called Saint Bernard College, it closed in 1979. Since then, the campus has since been repurposed into St. Bernard Preparatory School by ...

, Troy State Teachers College, Snead Junior College, Livingston State Teachers College, and

Marion Military Institute Marion Military Institute, the Military College of Alabama, (MMI, sometimes Marion Institute, Marion Military, or simply Marion) is a Public college, public military junior college in Marion, Alabama. Founded in 1842, it is the official state mil ...

. The league ceased operations in 1942 because of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and because several member schools dropped their intercollegiate athletics programs. The AIC was reformed again in January 1948 after a five year lapse. In 1959 it was renamed the Alabama Collegiate Conference (ACC), and then in May 1972, the league was rebranded as Southern States Conference. At the conclusion of the 1994–95 school year, two schools left the SSC, causing league membership to dip below the six required to have an NAIA championship in every sport except basketball. The SSC then existed in 1995–96 as a basketball-only conference. It returned to an all-sports conference for 1996–97 before dissolving.

Members

Champions

Football

*1939 –

Troy State Troy University is a public university in Troy, Alabama. It was founded in 1887 as Troy State Normal School within the Alabama State University System, and is now the flagship university of the Troy University System. Troy University is accredi ...

*1940 – *1941 –

*1942–1946 – ''None (

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

)'' *1947 –

Jacksonville State Jacksonville State University (JSU) is a public university in Jacksonville, Alabama. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in six academic schools leading to bachelor's, master's, education specialist, and doctorate degrees ...

*1948 –

*1949 – ,

*1950 – *1951 – *1952 – *1953 – *1954 – *1955 – *1956 – *1957 – ,

*1958 – *1959 – ,

*1960 – *1961 – *1962 – ,

*1963 – ,

*1964 –

*1965 –

*1966 –

*1967 –

*1968 –

*1969 –

References

{{Reflist * College sports in Alabama College sports in Florida College sports in Georgia (U.S. state) College sports in Mississippi Defunct college sports conferences in the United States 1938 establishments in Alabama 1990s disestablishments in Alabama 1990s disestablishments in Georgia (U.S. state)