The Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association (TIAA) was a college sports association that operated from 1909 to 1932. All of its members were located in the US state of
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
.
History
Founded in 1909 by
Southwestern University
Southwestern University (Southwestern or SU) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Georgetown, Texas. Formed in 1873 from a revival of collegiate charters granted in 1840, Southwester ...
,
Austin College
Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Sherman, Texas.Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private university, private research university in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison Clark, Addison and Randolph Clark as the AddRan Male & Female College. It i ...
,
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
,
Texas A&M
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...
,
Baylor University
Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...
and Trinity University the TIAA had a changing set of members that spun off into the
Southwest Conference
The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference also included schools from Oklaho ...
,
Lone Star Conference
The Lone Star Conference (LSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the South Central states, with schools in Texas
...
and the
Texas Conference
The Texas Conference was a college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1926 to 1956. During its existence, a total of 11 different colleges in Texas, and one from New Mexico, were members.
History
The conference was created ...
. The league had been formed to rid college athletics of objectionable elements like gambling and place them entirely under the control of the schools. At first the league worked well, but soon the disparity in the sizes of the schools became an issue. The large state schools, with bigger stadiums and crowds, began to refuse to travel to the smaller schools and insisted on playing them at home.
This battle between the large and small schools led to the first big change in 1914, when Texas, A&M, Baylor and Southwestern left to form the
Southwest Conference
The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference also included schools from Oklaho ...
, with some considering themselves to be members of both. After two seasons, Southwestern left the Southwest conference and returned to the TIAA. The conferences became completely separate in 1917. In 1922, TIAA expanded by including North Texas. In 1923, TCU left to join the Southwest Conference and in 1924,
Rice
Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...
followed suit.
In 1925, the TIAA was split between members who wanted to allow freshmen and transfers to play and schools that did not. This fault line also separated the teachers colleges that had joined over the years and the church-sponsored schools that had been founders. In May 1925, those that wanted to allow them to play—Trinity, Simmons University (now
Hardin–Simmons University
Hardin–Simmons University (HSU) is a private Baptist university in Abilene, Texas, United States. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
History
Hardin–Simmons University was founded as Abilene Baptist College in 189 ...
),
Austin College
Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Sherman, Texas.Howard Payne, and Southwestern—left to form the
Texas Conference
The Texas Conference was a college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1926 to 1956. During its existence, a total of 11 different colleges in Texas, and one from New Mexico, were members.
History
The conference was created ...
, but they agreed to play out the fall 1925 football season within the TIAA. Play within the Texas Conference began with the 1926 basketball season. The five departing schools were all church supported and agreed to ally themselves "along denominational lines."
By 1930, the TIAA had expanded back to 11 members. This included teachers colleges such as Sul Ross,
West Texas
West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the desert climate, arid and semiarid climate, semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Texas, Wichita Falls, Abilene, Texa ...
,
East Texas
East Texas is a broadly defined cultural, geographic, and ecological region in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas that consists of approximately 38 counties. It is roughly divided into Northeast Texas, Northeast, Southeast Texas, Sout ...
,
North Texas
North Texas is a term used primarily by residents of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex to refer to a geographic area of Texas, generally considered to include the area south of Oklahoma, east of Abilene, Texas, Abilene, west of Paris, Texas, Par ...
,
Sam Houston
Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two indi ...
McMurry McMurry is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Frank Morton McMurry (1862–1936), American educator
* John E. McMurry, whose name is given to the McMurry reaction
*Lillian McMurry (1921–1999), American record producer
See also
...
. But in May 1931, five TIAA schools joined together to form the
Lone Star Conference
The Lone Star Conference (LSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the South Central states, with schools in Texas
...
. These were Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, East Texas, Southwest Texas and North Texas. As a result, the conference was dissolved in 1932. Many of the members became independents and eventually wound up in the short-lived
Alamo Conference
The Alamo Conference was a short-lived College athletics, intercollegiate athletic conference composed of member schools located in the state of Texas. The league was established in 1935 with St. Mary's University, Texas, St. Mary's, Sul Ross State ...