Border Conference
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| Association | NCAA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1931 |
| Ceased | 1962 |
| Division | University Division |
| No. of teams | 6 (final) 9 (total) |
| Region | Southwestern United States |
| Locations | |
| Location of teams in {{{title}}} | |
The Border Conference, officially known as the Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association, was an NCAA-affiliated college athletic conference founded in 1931 that disbanded following the 1961–62 school year. Centered in the southwestern United States, the conference included nine member institutions located in the states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.
History
[edit | edit source]Chronological timeline
[edit | edit source]- 1931 – The Border Conference (also known as the Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association) was founded. Charter members included the University of Arizona, Arizona State Teachers College at Flagstaff (now Northern Arizona University), Arizona State Teachers College at Tempe (now Arizona State University), the University of New Mexico and New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts (now New Mexico State University), beginning the 1931–32 academic year.
- 1932 – Texas Technological College (now Texas Tech University) joined the Border in the 1932–33 academic year.
- 1935 – The College of Mines and Metallurgy of the University of Texas (now the University of Texas at El Paso) joined the Border in the 1935–36 academic year.
- 1941 – Hardin–Simmons University and West Texas State Teachers College (now West Texas A&M University) joined the Border in the 1941–42 academic year.
- 1952 – New Mexico left the Border to join the Skyline Conference (a.k.a. the Mountain States Conference) after the 1951–52 academic year.
- 1953 – Northern Arizona left the Border to join the New Mexico Conference after the 1952–53 academic year.
- 1957 – Texas Tech left the Border to join the Southwest Conference after the 1956–57 academic year.
- 1957 - Border Conference considers expanding into California with Fresno State, University of the Pacific, San Diego State University, and San Jose State University considered.
- 1959 - Border Conference considers expanding by adding Abilene Christian University and Trinity University.
- 1960 - Border Conference considers expanding again by adding Abilene Christian University, University of New Mexico, University of North Texas, Trinity University, University of Tulsa, and Wichita State University.
- 1962 – The Border ceased operations as an athletic conference after the 1962–63 academic year; as many schools left to find new conference homes, beginning the 1963–64 academic year: Arizona and Arizona State to the Western Athletic Conference (WAC); while Hardin–Simmons, New Mexico State, UTEP and West Texas A&M began to compete as Independents.
Member schools
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Final members
[edit | edit source]| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Left | Subsequent conference(s) |
Current conference(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Arizona | Tucson, Arizona | 1885 | Public | 43,625 | Wildcats | 1931 | 1962 | Western (WAC) (1962-78) Pacific-12 (Pac-12) (1978-2024) |
Big 12 2024- |
| Arizona State University[a] | Tempe, Arizona | 1885 | Public | 71,946 | Sun Devils | 1931 | 1962 | Western (WAC) (1962-78) Pacific-12 (Pac-12) (1978-2024) |
Big 12 2024- |
| Hardin-Simmons University | Abilene, Texas | 1891 | Baptist | 2,333 | Cowboys & Cowgirls |
1941 | 1962 | various[b] | American Southwest[c] (1996) |
| New Mexico State University[d] | Las Cruces, New Mexico | 1888 | Public | 21,694 | Aggies | 1931 | 1962 | various[e] | Conference USA (C-USA) (2023) |
| University of Texas at El Paso[f] | El Paso, Texas | 1914 | Public | 25,151 | Miners | 1935[g] | 1962 | University Division Independent (1962–67) Western (WAC) (1967-2005) |
Conference USA (C-USA) (2005-) (Mountain West in 2026) |
| West Texas A&M University[h] | Canyon, Texas | 1910 | Public | 10,169 | Buffaloes | 1941 | 1962 | various[i] | Lone Star (LSC)[j] (1986-91; 1993-) |
- Notes
- ^ Formerly known as Arizona State Teachers College at Tempe until 1958.
- ^ Hardin-Simmons joined the following subsequent conferences: University Division Independent in 1962-63; College Division Independent from 1963-64 to 1972-73; NCAA D-III Independent from 1973-74 to 1989-90; and the Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association (TIAA) from 1990-91 to 1995-96.
- ^ Currently an NCAA Division III athletic conference.
- ^ Formerly known as the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts (New Mexico A&M) until 1960.
- ^ New Mexico State joined the following subsequent conferences: as an NCAA University Division Independent from 1962-63 to 1969-70; the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) from 1970-71 to 1982–83; the Big West Conference from 1983-84 to 1999-2000; the Sun Belt Conference from 2000–01 to 2004-05; and the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) from 2005-06 to 2022-23.
- ^ Formerly known as the College of Mines and Metallurgy of the University of Texas (Texas Mines), later Texas Western College until 1967.
- ^ The UTEP men's basketball team joined the Border a few years after it became a full member for other sports (1938-39).
- ^ Formerly known as West Texas State Teachers College until 1990.
- ^ West Texas A&M joined the following subsequent conferences: as an NCAA University Division Independent from 1962-63 to 1971-72; the Missouri Valley Conference from 1972-73 to 1985-86; and as an NCAA D-II Independent from 1991-92 to 1992-93.
- ^ Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.
Previous members
[edit | edit source]| Institution | Location | Founded | Type | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Left | Subsequent conference(s) |
Current conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Arizona University[a] | Flagstaff, Arizona | 1899 | Public | 22,791 | Lumberjacks | 1931[b] | 1953 | New Mexico/Frontier (1953–62) NAIA Independent (1962–70) |
Big Sky (1970–present) |
| University of New Mexico | Albuquerque, New Mexico | 1889 | Public | 25,441 | Lobos | 1931 | 1951 | Skyline (1951–62) Western (WAC) (1962–99) |
Mountain West (MWC) (1999–present) |
| Texas Tech University[c] | Lubbock, Texas | 1923 | Public | 40,666 | Red Raiders | 1932 | 1957[d] | Southwest (SWC) (1957–96) |
Big 12 (1996–present) |
- Notes
- ^ Formerly known as Arizona State Teachers College at Flagstaff until 1966.
- ^ The Northern Arizona men's basketball team joined the Border a year after it became a full member for other sports (1932–33).
- ^ Formerly known as Texas Technological College until 1969.
- ^ The Texas Tech men's basketball team competed on an Independent schedule on its final season in the Border for its transition to the Southwest Conference as a full member.
Membership timeline
[edit | edit source]<timeline> DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:925 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1931 till:2036 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5
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id:Full value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports
id:FullxF value:rgb(0.551,0.824,0.777) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football
id:AssocF value:rgb(0.98,0.5,0.445) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only
id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.5,0.691,0.824) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in some sports, but not all (consider identifying in legend or a footnote)
id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference
id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference where OtherC1 has already been used, to distinguish the two
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bar:2 color:Full from:1931 till:1962 text:Arizona State Teachers–Tempe (1931–1962) bar:2 color:OtherC2 from:1962 till:1978 text:WAC bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:2024 text:Pac-12 bar:2 color:Big12 from:2024 till:end text:Big 12
bar:3 color:Full from:1931 till:1953 text:Arizona State Teachers–Flagstaff (1931–1953) bar:3 shift:(35) color:OtherC2 from:1953 till:1962 text:NMIC bar:3 color:Ind from:1962 till:1970 text:NAIA Ind bar:3 color:OtherC1 from:1970 till:end text:Big Sky
bar:4 color:Full from:1931 till:1951 text:New Mexico (1931–1951) bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:1951 till:1962 text:Skyline bar:4 color:OtherC2 from:1962 till:1999 text:WAC bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:1999 till:end text:Mountain West
bar:5 color:Full from:1931 till:1962 text:New Mexico A&M (1931–1962) bar:5 color:Ind from:1962 till:1970 text:UD Ind bar:5 color:OtherC2 from:1970 till:1983 text:MVC bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:1983 till:2005 text:Big West bar:5 color:OtherC2 from:2005 till:2023 text:WAC bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:2023 till:end text:CUSA
bar:6 color:Full from:1932 till:1957 text:Texas Technological (1932–1957) bar:6 color:FullxF from:1957 till:1960 text:Southwest Conference bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:1960 till:1996 bar:6 color:Big12 from:1996 till:end text:Big 12
bar:7 color:Full from:1935 till:1962 text:Texas Mines (1935–1962) bar:7 color:Ind from:1962 till:1967 text:UD Ind bar:7 color:OtherC2 from:1967 till:2005 text:WAC bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:2026 text:CUSA bar:7 color:OtherC2 from:2026 till:end text:Mountain West
bar:8 color:Full from:1941 till:1962 text:Hardin-Simmons (1941–1962) bar:8 color:Ind from:1962 till:1973 text:pre-DIII Ind bar:8 color:Ind from:1973 till:1990 text:DIII Ind bar:8 color:OtherC2 from:1990 till:1996 text:TIAA bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:1996 till:end text:American Southwest
bar:9 color:Full from:1941 till:1962 text:West Texas Teachers' (1941–1962) bar:9 color:Ind from:1962 till:1972 text:UD Ind bar:9 color:OtherC2 from:1972 till:1986 text:MVC bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:1986 till:1991 text:LSC bar:9 color:Ind from:1991 till:1993 text:DII Ind bar:9 shift:(20) color:OtherC1 from:1993 till:end text:LSC
bar:N color:red from:1931 till:1962 text:Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association bar:N color:blue from:1962 till:end text:Post-Border
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</timeline>
Full members
Full members (non-football)
Independent
Other Conference
Other Conference
Big 12 Conference
Current conference affiliations of former members
[edit | edit source]The nine former football-playing members of the Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association are currently affiliated with the following nine conferences:
Football champions
[edit | edit source]Texas Tech holds the most conference championships at seven. Arizona State won six conference championships followed by Arizona (three), Hardin–Simmons (two) and both West Texas State and the Texas State School of Mines hold one each. From 1932 to 1934 and 1943 to 1945 no champion was named. There were only two seasons where the title was split and two co-champions were named; 1938, New Mexico and New Mexico A&M and in 1942 Hardin–Simmons and Texas Tech. The winner of the conference title generally received an invitation to serve as the host team for the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.[1]
See also
[edit | edit source]References
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