Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference
| Formerly | Arkansas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference |
|---|---|
| Conference | NAIA |
| Founded | 1927 or 1928 |
| Ceased | 1995 |
| No. of teams | 14 |
| Headquarters | North Little Rock, Arkansas |
The Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference (AIC) was an athletic conference in existence from 1927 or 1928 to 1995 affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The conference membership consisted entirely of colleges and universities in the state of Arkansas.
History
[edit | edit source]Some references indicate that the league started competition in 1927 while others list a 1928 date. The league seems to have competed in baseball and basketball in 1927-28 and started football competition in 1929. Some references list football championships for 1927 and 1928 while others do not so these may have been unofficial titles that anticipated the start of the league's football competition.
In 1941, with many member institutions suffering from reduced male student populations, the AIC suspended competition in order to save gasoline and other resources necessary for the war effort. Competition was not resumed until the 1945 season.
In December 1952 the AIC schools implemented new "amateurism" rules that no scholarships or subsidies would be offered to athletes beyond those that were available to regular students. Southern Arkansas and Arkansas Tech were opposed to the new rules and did not strictly enforce them. In December 1955 several AIC schools declared that they would no longer play SAU or Tech due to unspecified violations of the rule and neither school was able to compete for titles in any sport during the 1956 and 1957 school years.[1] This situation was finally resolved in 1959 when a compromise was reached and Southern Arkansas and Tech were "restored" to the conference.[2]
In 1983, the conference sanctioned women's sports for the first time.[3] Prior to this most women's teams competed in the Arkansas Women's Extramural Sports Association (AWESA) which was founded in 1965 and later renamed as the Arkansas Women's Intercollegiate Sports Association (AWISA) in 1973.[4]
In 1993, Central Arkansas and Henderson State elected to move to the NCAA Division II Gulf South Conference and were followed by the remaining public schools in 1995 which marked the end of the conference. Two of the remaining private schools, Ouachita Baptist and Harding, were accepted into the Lone Star Conference. The other private school, John Brown University, joined the Sooner Athletic Conference as the AIC dissolved.[5]
The New South Intercollegiate Swim Conference was formed after the dissolution to provide several of the old AIC school's swimming programs a chance to compete for championships.[6]
Member schools
[edit | edit source]Final members
[edit | edit source]| Institution | Location[a] | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Left | Subsequent conference(s) |
Current conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas Tech University | Russellville | 1909 | Public | 12,009 | Wonder Boys & Golden Suns |
1928–29 | 1994–95 | Gulf South (GSC) (NCAA D-II) (1995–96 to 2010–11) |
Great American (GAC) (NCAA D-II) (2011–12 to present) |
| University of Arkansas at Monticello | Monticello | 1909 | Public | 3,659 | Boll Weevils & Cotton Blossoms |
1928–29 | 1994–95 | Gulf South (GSC) (NCAA D-II) (1995–96 to 2010–11) |
Great American (GAC) (NCAA D-II) (2011–12 to present) |
| Harding University | Searcy | 1924 | Churches of Christ | 6,009 | Bisons | 1960–61 | 1994–95 | Lone Star (LSC) (NCAA D-II) (1996–97 to 1999–2000) Gulf South (GSC) (NCAA D-II) (2000–01 to 2010–11) |
Great American (GAC) (NCAA D-II) (2011–12 to present) |
| John Brown University | Siloam Springs | 1919 | Interdenominational | 2,708 | Golden Eagles | 1993–94 | 1994–95 | Sooner (SAC) (1995–96 to present) | |
| Lyon College | Batesville | 1872 | Presbyterian (PCUSA) |
700 | Scots | [b] | 1994–95 | NAIA Independent (1995–96 to 1996–97) TranSouth (TSAC) (1997–98 to 2011–12) American Midwest (AMC) (2012–13 to 2022–23) |
St. Louis (SLIAC) (NCAA D-III) (2023–24 to present) |
| Ouachita Baptist University | Arkadelphia | 1886 | Baptist | 1,569 | Tigers | 1931–32 | 1994–95 | Lone Star (LSC) (NCAA D-II) (1996–97 to 1999–2000) Gulf South (GSC) (NCAA D-II) (2000–01 to 2010–11) |
Great American (GAC) (NCAA D-II) (2011–12 to present) |
| University of the Ozarks | Clarksville | 1834 | Presbyterian (PCUSA) |
630 | Eagles | 1947–48 | 1994–95 | D-III Independent (1995–96) |
American Southwest (NCAA D-III) (1996–97 to present) |
| Southern Arkansas University | Magnolia | 1909 | Public | 4,138 | Muleriders | 1929–30 | 1994–95 | Gulf South (GSC) (NCAA D-II) (1995–96 to 2010–11) |
Great American (GAC) (NCAA D-II) (2011–12 to present) |
| Williams Baptist College[c] | Walnut Ridge | 1941 | Baptist | 700 | Eagles | [d] | 1994–95 | TranSouth (TSAC) (1995–96 to 2000–01) |
American Midwest (2001–02 to present) |
- Notes
Former members
[edit | edit source]| Institution | Location[a] | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Left | Subsequent conference(s) |
Current conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas State University | Jonesboro | 1909 | Public | 13,891 | Red Wolves | 1930–31 | 1949–50 | NAIA Independent (1950–51 to 1956–57) College Div. Independent (1957–58 to 1962–63) Southland (SLC) (NCAA D-I) (1963–64 to 1986–87) American South (NCAA D-I) (1987–88 to 1990–91) |
Sun Belt (NCAA D-I) (1991–92 to present) |
| University of Arkansas at Little Rock | Little Rock | 1927 | Public | 9,759 | Trojans | 1961–62 | 1976–77 | D-I Independent (1977–78 to 1978–79) Trans America (TAAC) (NCAA D-I)[b] (1979–80 to 1990–91) Sun Belt (SBC) (NCAA D-I) (1991–92 to 2021–22) |
Ohio Valley (OVC) (NCAA D-I) (2022–23 to present) |
| University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff | Pine Bluff | 1873 | Public | 2,498 | Golden Lions | 1970–71[c] | 1986–87[c] | NAIA Independent (1987–88 to 1997–98) |
Southwestern (SWAC) (NCAA D-I) (1998–99 to present) |
| University of Central Arkansas | Conway | 1907 | Public | 10,869 | Bears & Sugar Bears |
1928–29 | 1992–93 | Gulf South (GSC) (NCAA D-II) (1993–94 to 2005–06) Southland (SLC) (NCAA D-I) (2006–07 to 2020–21) |
Atlantic Sun (ASUN) (NCAA D-I) (2021–22 to present) (United (UAC) (NCAA D-I) in 2026-27) |
| Henderson State University | Arkadelphia | 1890 | Public | 3,530 | Reddies | 1930–31 | 1992–93 | Gulf South (GSC) (NCAA D-II) (1993–94 to 2010–11) |
Great American (GAC) (NCAA D-II) (2011–12 to present) |
| Hendrix College[d] | Conway | 1876 | United Methodist | 1,400 | Warriors | 1929–30 | 1991–92 | Southern (SCAC) (NCAA D-III) (1992–93 to 2011–12) |
Southern (SAA) (NCAA D-III) (2012–13 to present) |
- Notes
- ^ All locations were within the State of Arkansas.
- ^ Later known as the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2001, currently known as the ASUN Conference since 2016.
- ^ a b Arkansas–Pine Bluff appears to have been a member of the AIC from 1970–71 to 1971–72; and then again from 1985–86 to 1986–87.
- ^ Hendrix disbanded its football program after the 1960 fall season (1960–61 school year), but continued to compete in the AIC in other sports.
Membership timeline
[edit | edit source]<timeline> DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1928 till:2005 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5
Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7)
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:Full from:1928 till:1995 text:Arkansas Tech (1928–1995) bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:1995 till:end text:GSC
bar:2 color:Full from:1928 till:1995 text:Arkansas–Monticello (1928–1995) bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:1995 till:end text:GSC
bar:3 color:Full from:1928 till:1993 text:Central Arkansas (1928–1993) bar:3 color:OtherC1 from:1992 till:end text:GSC
bar:4 color:Full from:1929 till:1961 text:Hendrix (1929–1992) bar:4 color:FullxF from:1961 till:1992 text: bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:1992 till:end text:SCAC
bar:5 color:Full from:1929 till:1995 text:Southern Arkansas (1929–1995) bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:1995 till:end text:GSC
bar:6 color:Full from:1930 till:1950 text:Arkansas State (1930–1950) bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:1950 till:1957 text:NAIA Ind. bar:6 color:OtherC2 from:1957 till:1963 text:Coll. Div. Ind. bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:1963 till:1987 text:Southland bar:6 color:OtherC2 from:1987 till:1991 text:AmSouth bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:1991 till:end text:Sun Belt
bar:7 color:Full from:1930 till:1993 text:Henderson State (1930–1993) bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:1993 till:end text:GSC
bar:8 color:Full from:1931 till:1995 text:Ouachita Baptist (1931–1995) bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:1995 till:2000 text:LSC bar:8 color:OtherC2 from:2000 till:end text:GSC
bar:9 color:Full from:1947 till:1966 text:Ozarks (Ark.) (1947–1995) bar:9 color:FullxF from:1966 till:1995 text: bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:1995 till:end text: bar:9 color:OtherC2 from:1996 till:end text:AmSW
bar:10 color:Full from:1960 till:1995 text:Harding (1960–1995) bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:1995 till:2000 text:LSC bar:10 color:OtherC2 from:2000 till:end text:GSC
bar:11 color:FullxF from:1961 till:1977 text:Arkansas–Little Rock (1961–1977) bar:11 shift:(-10) color:OtherC1 from:1977 till:1979 text:D-I Ind. bar:11 color:OtherC2 from:1979 till:1991 text:TAAC bar:11 color:OtherC1 from:1991 till:end text:Sun Belt
bar:12 color:Full from:1970 till:1972 text:Arkansas–Pine Bluff (1970–1972) bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:1972 till:1985 text: bar:12 color:Full from:1985 till:1987 text:(1985–1987) bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:1987 till:1997 text: bar:12 color:OtherC2 from:1997 till:end text:SWAC
bar:13 color:FullxF from:1980 till:1995 text:Lyon (1980–1995) bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:1995 till:1997 text: bar:13 color:OtherC2 from:1997 till:end text:TSAC
bar:14 shift:(-80) color:FullxF from:1990 till:1995 text:Williams Baptist (1990–1995) bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:1995 till:end text:TSAC
bar:15 shift:(-100) color:FullxF from:1993 till:1995 text:John Brown (1993–1995) bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:1995 till:end text:SAC
bar:N color:red from:1928 till:1995 text:Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference bar:N color:white from:1995 till:end text:Post-AIC
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1930
TextData =
fontsize:M textcolor:black pos:(0,25) tabs:(400-center) text:^"Arkansas Intercollegiate 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.
Full member (all sports) Full member (non-football) Associate member (sport) <# </timeline>
Full member (all sports)
Commissioners
[edit | edit source]- Heber Lowery McAlister (1948–1956)
- Cliff Shaw (1956–1971)
- Charles Mabern Adcock (1971–1974)
- Leroy Nix Jr. (1974–1978)
- Sid Simpson (1978–1979)
- Harry T. Hall (1979–1993)[7]
- Don Cleek (1994–1995)
Football
[edit | edit source]Football champions
[edit | edit source]Shared championships are shown in italics:
| Football conference championships (1927–1995) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| School | Total titles | Outright titles | Years |
| Central Arkansas | 22 | 16 | 1936 • 1937 • 1938 • 1940 • 1959 • 1962 • 1965 • 1966 • 1976 • 1978 • 1980 • 1981 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992 |
| Arkansas Tech | 18 | 15 | 1928 • 1931 • 1935 • 1939 • 1945 • 1946 • 1947 • 1948 • 1949 • 1954 • 1958 • 1960 • 1961 • 1964 • 1968 • 1970 • 1971 • 1994 |
| Henderson State | 13 | 9 | 1930 • 1932 • 1933 • 1934 • 1950 • 1959 • 1963 • 1969 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1977 • 1985 |
| Arkansas–Monticello | 11 | 7 | 1953 • 1955 • 1956 • 1957 • 1958 • 1963 • 1965 • 1966 • 1967 • 1979 • 1993 |
| Ouachita Baptist | 6 | 3 | 1934 • 1941 • 1966 • 1970 • 1975 • 1982 |
| Southern Arkansas | 5 | 3 | 1929 • 1948 • 1951 • 1952 • 1972 |
| Harding | 3 | 0 | 1972 • 1976 • 1989 |
Basketball
[edit | edit source]Men's basketball champions
[edit | edit source]Following are the AIC regular-season conference champions from 1928 to 1995 (showing shared championships in italics)
NOTE: Information is incomplete.
| Men's basketball regular-season championships (1928–1995) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| School | Total titles | Outright titles | Years |
| Central Arkansas | 16 | 16 | 1927 • 1928 • 1929 • 1936 • 1937 • 1938 • 1939 • 1945 • 1946 • 1947 • 1956 • 1958 • 1964 • 1985 • 1986 • 1991 |
| Arkansas Tech | 16 | 16 | 1949 • 1950 • 1951 • 1952 • 1953 • 1954 • 1955 • 1958 • 1960 • 1961 • 1962 • 1985 • 1988 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 |
| Henderson State | 10 | 10 | 1957 • 1968 • 1972 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1981 |
| Hendrix | 7 | 7 | 1932 • 1979 • 1984 • 1990 |
| Southern Arkansas | 6 | 6 | 1934 • 1935 • 1966 • 1967 • 1971 • 1989 |
| Ozarks | 2 | 1 | 1983 • 1992 |
| Arkansas–Monticello | 1 | 1 | 1956 |
| Ouachita Baptist | 1 | 1 | 1976 |
Baseball
[edit | edit source]Baseball champions
[edit | edit source]NOTE: Information is incomplete
| Baseball conference championships (1927–1995) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| School | Total titles | Outright titles | Years |
| Central Arkansas | 20 | 19 | 1928 • 1929 • 1930 • 1933 • 1934 • 1935 • 1936 • 1937 • 1948 • 1949 • 1951 • 1959 • 1961 • 1962 • 1963 • 1967 • 1970 • 1978 • 1980 • 1981 |
| Southern Arkansas | 17 | 14 | 1953 • 1954 • 1956 • 1968 • 1974 • 1975 • 1977 • 1983 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1994 • 1995 |
| Ouachita Baptist | 8 | 4 | 1960 • 1961 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969 • 1970 • 1971 • 1972 |
| Arkansas Tech | 7 | 7 | 1950 • 1964 • 1976 • 1981 • 1985 • 1988 • 1992 |
| Henderson State | 7 | 5 | 1953 • 1958 • 1965 • 1973 • 1974 • 1979 • 1982 |
| Harding | 6 | 6 | 1932 • 1933 • 1938 • 1972 • 1976 • 1984 |
| Ozarks | 2 | 1 | 1949 • 1956 |
References
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