The Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) is a

college athletic conference In college athletics in the United States, institutions typically join in conferences for regular play under different governing bodies. Varsity sports There are several national and regional associations governing the varsity teams of colleges ...

affiliated with 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 ...

(NAIA). Originally developed as a five-team conference of Oklahoma-based schools, the SAC now boasts 12 schools in a league that spans four states –

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. 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, 4 in men's outdoor track and field, 4 in men's indoor track and field, 2 in baseball, 2 in competitive cheer, and 1 in men's soccer for a total of 111.

History

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 Southern Nazarene University (SNU) is a private Nazarene university in Bethany, Oklahoma. History The history of the institution is one of various mergers and, therefore, one of differing institutions. While SNU claims its founding date as ...

(now Southern Nazarene University),

Oklahoma Baptist University Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU) is a private Baptist university in Shawnee, Oklahoma. It was established in 1910 under the original name of The Baptist University of Oklahoma. OBU is owned and was founded by the Baptist General Convention of ...

Oklahoma Christian University Oklahoma Christian University (OC) is a private Christian university in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was founded in 1950 by members of the Churches of Christ. History Oklahoma Christian University, originally named Central Christian College, w ...

Phillips University Phillips University was a private university Enid, Oklahoma. It opened in 1906 and closed in 1998. It was affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It included an undergraduate college and a graduate seminary. The university wa ...

and the

University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma The University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (USAO) is a public liberal arts college in Chickasha, Oklahoma. It is the only public college in Oklahoma with a strictly liberal arts–focused curriculum and is a member of the Council of Public ...

(USAO), effective beginning the 1978-79 academic year. * 1980 - John Brown University joined the Sooner, effective in the 1980-81 academic year. * 1983 - John Brown left the Sooner to become an NAIA Independent, effective after the 1982-83 academic year. * 1986 -

Oklahoma City University Oklahoma City University (OCU) is a private university historically affiliated with the United Methodist Church and located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The university offers undergraduate bachelor's degrees, graduate master's degrees and doctor ...

joined the Sooner, effective in the 1986-87 academic year. * 1994 - USAO left the Sooner to join the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference (OIC), effective after the 1993-94 academic year. * 1994 -

Lubbock Christian University Lubbock Christian University (LCU) is a private Christian university associated with the Churches of Christ and located in Lubbock, Texas. Chartered originally as part of a grade school called Lubbock Christian School in 1954, the institutio ...

and

Wayland Baptist University Wayland Baptist University (WBU) is a private Baptist university based in Plainview, Texas. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas (Southern Baptist Convention). Wayland Baptist has 11 campuses in five Texas cities, six ...

joined the Sooner, effective in the 1994-95 academic year. * 1995 - John Brown re-joined back to the Sooner, effective in the 1995-96 academic year. * 1998 - Phillips left the Sooner as the school announced that it would close, effective after the 1997-98 academic year. * 1999 - St. Gregory's University joined the Sooner, effective in the 1999-2000 academic year. * 2000 - USAO re-joined back to the Sooner, effective in the 2000-01 academic year. * 2002 - Northwestern Oklahoma State University joined the Sooner, effective in the 2002-03 academic year. * 2007 -

Mid-America Christian University Mid-America Christian University (MACU) is a private Christian university in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. MACU is an endorsed agency of the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. MACU was initially fou ...

and

Rogers State University Rogers State University (RSU) is a public university in Claremore, Oklahoma. It also has branch campuses in Bartlesville and Pryor Creek. History The institution that is now RSU has gone through several stages, from its foundation as a stat ...

joined the Sooner, effective 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 The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA) and to join their respective new home primary conferences: Northwestern Oklahoma State and Southern Nazarene to the

Great American Conference The Great American Conference (GAC) is a List of NCAA conferences, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division II, Division II level, with headquarters located in Russellvill ...

(GAC), and Oklahoma Christian to the Heartland Conference, effective after the 2011-12 academic year. * 2013 - Lubbock Christian and Rogers State left the Sooner and joined the NCAA Division II ranks and the Heartland, effective after the 2012-13 academic year. * 2013 - Northwood University–Texas,

Southwestern Assemblies of God University Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) is a private Christian university in Waxahachie, Texas. SAGU is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and officially endorsed by the Assemblies of Go ...

Southwestern Christian University Southwestern Christian University is a private Pentecostal university in Bethany, Oklahoma. It was founded in 1946 as Southwestern Bible College in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and was the first Pentecostal educational institution in the state. Whi ...

and

Texas Wesleyan University Texas Wesleyan University is a private Methodist university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was founded in 1890 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The main campus is located in the Polytechnic Heights neighborhood of Fort Worth. Its mascot is th ...

joined the Sooner, effective in the 2013-14 academic year. * 2014 - Northwood–Texas left the Sooner as the school announced that it would close, effective 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, effective after the 2014-15 academic year. * 2015 -

Bacone College Bacone College, formerly Bacone Indian University, is a private tribal college in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Founded in 1880 as the Indian University by missionary Almon C. Bacone, it was originally affiliated with the mission arm of what is now Americ ...

joined the Sooner, effective in the 2015-16 academic year. * 2017 - St. Gregory's (Okla.) left the Sooner as the school announced that it would close at the end of the fall 2017 semester, effective during the 2017-18 academic year. * 2017 - Central Christian College of Kansas and

Oklahoma Panhandle State University Oklahoma Panhandle State University (OPSU) is a public college in Goodwell, Oklahoma. OPSU is a baccalaureate degree-granting institution. General governance of the institution is provided by the Board of Regents of the Oklahoma Agricultural and ...

joined the Sooner, effective in the 2017-18 academic year. * 2017 - Five institutions joined the Sooner as associate members:

Indiana Institute of Technology Indiana Institute of Technology (Indiana Tech) is a private university in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It was founded in 1930 as Indiana Technical College by John A. Kalbfleisch, who was also the school's first president. The university today is organ ...

(Indiana Tech) and

Lourdes University Lourdes University is a private Franciscan university in Sylvania, Ohio. Established in 1958, the university is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania. History In 1916 Mother Adelaide Sandusky traveled from Minnesota to Northwest ...

for men's wrestling, while the

University of Houston–Victoria The University of Houston–Victoria (UHV) is a public university in Victoria, Texas. It is part of the University of Houston System. Its campus spans in Victoria with a satellite location at UHV Katy. Founded in 1971, UHV has an enrollment o ...

, the

University of the Southwest The University of the Southwest is a private Christian university located in Hobbs, New Mexico. The university was incorporated under as College of the Southwest in 1962, although the college had existed for several years prior as a two-year ...

and the

University of St. Thomas St. Thomas University or University of St. Thomas may refer to: *Saint Thomas Aquinas University, Colombia *Saint Thomas Aquinas University of the North, Tucumán province, Argentina *St. Thomas University (Canada), Fredericton, New Brunswick *St. ...

for women's golf, all effective in the 2017-18 academic year. * 2018 -

Langston University Langston University (LU) is a public land-grant historically black university in Langston, Oklahoma. It is the only historically black college in the state. Though located in a rural setting east of Guthrie, Langston also serves an urban missio ...

joined the Sooner, effective in the 2018-19 academic year. * 2018 - Five institutions joined the Sooner as associate members:

Arizona Christian University Arizona Christian University is a private Christian university in Glendale, Arizona. History Founded in 1960 as Southwestern Conservative Baptist Bible College, Arizona Christian University's original campus was located at 2625 E. Cactus ...

Lyon College , mottoeng = Perseverance Conquers All, God Willing. , established = , type = Private college , president = Melissa Taverner , city = Batesville , state = Arkansas , country = United States , students = 665 , faculty = 61 , campus = Rural town ...

, Ottawa University–Arizona and

Texas College Texas College is a private, historically black Christian Methodist Episcopal college in Tyler, Texas. It is affiliated with the United Negro College Fund. It was founded in 1894 by a group of ministers affiliated with the Christian Methodist Epi ...

for football, and

Rochester University Rochester University (formerly Rochester College) is a private Christian college in Rochester Hills, Michigan. It was founded by members of the Churches of Christ in 1959. Rochester University is primarily undergraduate (though it offers some ...

for men's wrestling, effective in the 2018-19 academic year. * 2019 - Bacone left the Sooner to become an NAIA Independent as part of the

Association of Independent Institutions NAIA independent schools are four-year institutional members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) that do not have formal conference affiliations. NAIA schools that are not members of any other athletic conference are ...

(AII), effective after the 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 NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their stu ...

ranks and the

Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), founded in 1962, is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in Colorado, Louisiana, and Texas. Difficulties related to travel distanc ...

(SCAC), effective after the 2019 spring season (2018-19 academic year). * 2019 -

Cleary University Cleary University is a private university focused on business education with its main campus in Livingston County, Michigan. It also has an education center located in Detroit. Cleary University offers certificate, ABA, BBA, MS, and MBA programs. ...

joined the Sooner as an associate member for men's wrestling, while Lyon added women's wrestling to its Sooner associate membership, both effective in the 2019-20 academic year. * 2020 - Cleary, Indiana Tech, Lourdes and Rochester left the Sooner as associate members for men's wrestling, effective after the 2019-20 academic year. * 2020 - The

University of North Texas at Dallas The University of North Texas at Dallas (UNTD) is a public university in Dallas, Texas. It opened in 2000 as a branch campus of the University of North Texas, offering upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses in multiple disciplines. In 20 ...

joined the Sooner as a provisional member for some sports, effective in the 2020-21 academic year. * 2021 - North Texas–Dallas has upgraded to full membership within the Sooner, effective in the 2021-22 academic year. * 2021 -

Louisiana College Louisiana Christian University (LCU) is a private Baptist university in Pineville, Louisiana. It enrolls 1,100 to 1,200 students. It is affiliated with the Louisiana Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention). Louisiana Christ ...

(now Louisiana Christian University) joined the Sooner as an associate member for football, effective in the 2021 fall season (2021-22 academic year). * 2022 - Lyon announced that it will leave the Sooner and the NAIA as an associate member for football to join the

ranks, effective after the 2022 fall season (2022-23 academic year). * 2022 - Arizona Christian announced that it will leave the Sooner as an associate member for football to join the

Frontier Conference The Frontier Conference is a List of college athletic conferences in the United States, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The conference was founded in 1934. Member institut ...

for that sport, effective after the 2022 fall season (2022-23 academic year).

Member schools

Current members

The Sooner currently has 12 full members, all but four are

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

schools: ;Notes:

Associate members

The Sooner currently has seven associate members, all but one are

schools: ;Notes:

Former members

The Sooner had ten former full members, all but two were

schools: ;Notes:

Former associate members

The Sooner had five former associate members, all were

schools: ;Notes:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1978 till:2028 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:5 left:5 bottom:50 top:5 Colors = id:line value:black 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 id:AssocF value:rgb(0.9,0.7,0.8) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only 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 PlotData = 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 Heartland or Heartlands may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Heartland Bank, a New Zealand-based financial institution * Heartland Inn, a chain of hotels based in Iowa, United States * Heartland Alliance, an anti-poverty organization i ...

bar:2 color:OtherC2 from:2019 till:end text: Lone Star bar:3 color:FullxF from:1978 till:1998 text: Phillips (1978–1998) bar:4 color:FullxF from:1978 till:2012 text:

Southern Nazarene Southern Nazarene University (SNU) is a private Nazarene university in Bethany, Oklahoma. History The history of the institution is one of various mergers and, therefore, one of differing institutions. While SNU claims its founding date as 1 ...

(1978–2012) bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:end text: Great American bar:5 color:FullxF from:1978 till:1994 text: USAO (1978–1994) bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:1994 till:1997 text: OIC bar:5 color:OtherC2 from:1997 till:1998 text: bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:1998 till:2000 text: RRAC bar:5 color:FullxF from:2000 till:end text:(2000–present) bar:6 color:FullxF from:1980 till:1983 text:

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

(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 AIC may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Alice in Chains, American rock band * Alice in Chains: AIC 23, a 2013 mockumentary * Anime International Company, a Japanese animation studio * Art Institute of Chicago, an art museum in Chicago Busin ...

bar:6 color:FullxF from:1995 till:end text:(1995–present) bar:7 color:FullxF from:1986 till:end text:

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

(1986–present) bar:8 color:FullxF from:1994 till:2013 text: Lubbock Christian (1994–2013) bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:2019 text:

bar:8 color:OtherC2 from:2019 till:end text: Lone Star bar:9 color:FullxF from:1994 till:2018 text:

Wayland Baptist Wayland Baptist University (WBU) is a private Baptist university based in Plainview, Texas. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas (Southern Baptist Convention). Wayland Baptist has 11 campuses in five Texas cities, six s ...

(1994–present) bar:9 color:Full from:2018 till:end bar:10 color:FullxF from:1999 till:2017 text: St. Gregory's (1999–2017) bar:10 color:AssocOS from:2017 till:2018 text: bar:11 color:FullxF from:2002 till:2012 text: Northwestern Oklahoma State (2002–2012) bar:11 shift:(40) color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:end text: Great American bar:12 color:FullxF from:2007 till:end text: Mid-America Christian (2007–present) bar:13 color:FullxF from:2007 till:2013 text:

Rogers State Rogers State University (RSU) is a public university in Claremore, Oklahoma. It also has branch campuses in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Bartlesville and Pryor Creek, Oklahoma, Pryor Creek. History The institution that is now RSU has gone through ...

(2007–2013) bar:13 shift:(30) color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:2019 text:

bar:13 color:OtherC2 from:2019 till:end text: Mid-America bar:14 color:FullxF from:2013 till:2014 text: Northwood (Tex.) (2013–2014) bar:15 color:FullxF from:2013 till:2018 text: Southwestern Assemblies of God (2013–present) bar:15 color:Full from:2018 till:end 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:end text: NAIA Ind. bar:19 color:FullxF from:2017 till:end text: Central Christian (2017–present) bar:20 color:FullxF from:2017 till:2018 text: Oklahoma Panhandle State (2017–present) bar:20 color:Full from:2018 till:end bar:21 color:AssocOS from:2017 till:end text: Houston–Victoria (2017–present) bar:22 color:AssocOS from:2017 till:2020 text:

Indiana Tech Indiana Institute of Technology (Indiana Tech) is a private university in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It was founded in 1930 as Indiana Technical College by John A. Kalbfleisch, who was also the school's first president. The university today is organi ...

(2017–2020) bar:23 color:AssocOS from:2017 till:2020 text:

Lourdes Lourdes (, also , ; oc, Lorda ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for the Château ...

(2017–2020) bar:24 color:AssocOS from:2017 till:2019 text: St. Thomas (Tex.) (2017–2019) bar:25 color:AssocOS from:2017 till:end text: Southwest (N.Mex.) (2017–present) 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 Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

(2018–2023) bar:29 color:AssocF from:2018 till:end text: Ottawa (Ariz.) (2018–present) bar:30 color:AssocF from:2018 till:end text:

(2018–present) bar:31 color:AssocOS from:2018 till:2020 text:

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

(2018–2020) bar:32 color:AssocOS from:2019 till:2020 text: Cleary (2019–2020) bar:33 shift:(-20) color:AssocOS from:2020 till:2021 text: North Texas–Dallas (2020–present) bar:33 color:FullxF from:2021 till:end text: bar:34 shift:(-40) color:AssocF from:2021 till:end text: Louisiana Christian (2021–present) ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1980 TextData = fontsize:M textcolor:black pos:(0,25) tabs:(400-center) text:^"Sooner Athletic Conference membership history" #> If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following three options (use only the colors that are used in the graphic.) Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space <#

References

External links

* {{NAIA conference navbox