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Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference

{{Short description|20th century American athletic conference}}

{{Use American English|date=October 2023}}{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}}

{{Infobox sports league

| name = Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference

| logo_size = 150

| founded = 1927 or 1928

| dissolved = 1995

| conference = NAIA

| teams = 14

| formerly = Arkansas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

| 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

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.{{Cite web |url=http://www.couriernews.com/view/full_story/23133465/article-Wonder-Boys-1-1-in-Rice-Bowl |title=The Courier - Your Messenger for the River Valley - Wonder Boys 1 1 in Rice Bowl |access-date=December 23, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224101335/http://www.couriernews.com/view/full_story/23133465/article-Wonder-Boys-1-1-in-Rice-Bowl |archive-date=December 24, 2013 |url-status=dead }} This situation was finally resolved in 1959 when a compromise was reached and Southern Arkansas and Tech were "restored" to the conference.{{Cite web|url=http://web.saumag.edu/archives/archives/history/illustrated/ssc/other-sports/|title = Football's Decline and the Rise of Other Sports}}

In 1983, the conference sanctioned women's sports for the first time.{{Cite web|url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/arkansas-intercollegiate-conference-6372/|title=Encyclopedia of Arkansas|website=Encyclopedia of Arkansas|accessdate=13 October 2023}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://issuu.com/hendersonstate/docs/rrfall-2004|title = Reddie Report Fall 2004 by Henderson State - Issuu}}

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.[https://web.archive.org/web/20131224111823/http://newsok.com/expansion-hits-the-sac-john-brown-university-will-join-league/article/2480966 The Oklahoman]

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.{{Cite web |url=http://thecabin.net/stories/021199/spo_0211990032.shtml |title=Water Warriors tune up for SCAC with LR meet | TheCabin.net |access-date=December 23, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224104103/http://thecabin.net/stories/021199/spo_0211990032.shtml |archive-date=December 24, 2013 |url-status=dead }}

Member schools

=Final members=

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"

! Institution

! Location{{efn|group=final|All locations were within the State of Arkansas.}}

! 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)

{{sort|Arkansas–Monticello|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

| colspan="2" | Sooner (SAC)
(1995–96 to present)

Lyon College

| Batesville

| 1872

| Presbyterian
{{small|(PCUSA)}}

| 700

| Scots

| {{efn|group=final|Lyon (Arkansas College) joined the AIC before 1980–81.}}

| 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)

{{sort|Ozarks|University of the Ozarks}}

| Clarksville

| 1834

| Presbyterian
{{small|(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{{efn|group=final|Currently known as Williams Baptist University since 2018.}}

| Walnut Ridge

| 1941

| Baptist

| 700

| Eagles

| {{efn|group=final|Williams Baptist joined the AIC about 1990–91.}}

| 1994–95

| TranSouth (TSAC)
(1995–96 to 2000–01)

| American Midwest
(2001–02 to present)

;Notes:

{{notelist|group=final}}

=Former members=

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"

! Institution

! Location{{efn|group=final|All locations were within the State of Arkansas.}}

! 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 (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)

{{sort|Arkansas–Little Rock|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){{efn|group=former|Later known as the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2001, currently known as the ASUN Conference since 2016.}}
(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)

{{sort|Arkansas–Pine Bluff|University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff}}

| Pine Bluff

| 1873

| Public

| 2,498

| Golden Lions

| 1970–71{{efn|group=former|name=UAPB|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.}}

| 1986–87{{efn|group=former|name=UAPB}}

| NAIA Independent
(1987–88 to 1997–98)

| Southwestern (SWAC) (NCAA D-I)
(1998–99 to present)

{{sort|Central Arkansas|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 (NCAA D-I)
(2006–07 to 2020–21)

| Atlantic Sun (ASUN) (NCAA D-I)
(2021–22 to present)

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{{efn|group=former|Hendrix disbanded its football program after the 1960 fall season (1960–61 school year), but continued to compete in the AIC in other sports.}}

| 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:

{{notelist|group=former}}

=Membership 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"

  1. > 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.

{{Font color||{{RGB|178|229|204}}| Full member (all sports) }}

{{Font color||{{RGB|229|204|178}}| Full member (non-football) }}

{{Font color||{{RGB|204|229|178}}| Associate member (sport) }}

<#

{{Font color||{{RGB|178|229|204}}| Full member (all sports) }}

Commissioners

  • 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){{Cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1665&dat=19940103&id=2oRPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=RSUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4815,961153|title=The Times-News - Google News Archive Search|website=news.google.com|accessdate=13 October 2023}}
  • Don Cleek (1994–1995)

Football

=Football champions=

Shared championships are shown in italics:

class="wikitable"
colspan=4 style="background:#003300; color:white"|Football conference championships (1927–1995)
SchoolTotal titlesOutright titlesYears
Central Arkansasalign=center| 22align=center| 161936 • 1937 • 1938 • 1940 • 1959 • 1962 • 1965 • 1966 • 1976 • 1978 • 1980 • 1981 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992
Arkansas Techalign=center| 18align=center| 151928 • 1931 • 1935 • 1939 • 1945 • 1946 • 1947 • 1948 • 1949 • 1954 • 1958 • 1960 • 1961 • 1964 • 1968 • 1970 • 1971 • 1994
Henderson Statealign=center| 13align=center| 91930 • 1932 • 1933 • 1934 • 1950 • 1959 • 1963 • 1969 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1977 • 1985
nowrap| Arkansas–Monticelloalign=center| 11align=center| 71953 • 1955 • 1956 • 1957 • 1958 • 1963 • 1965 • 1966 • 1967 • 1979 • 1993
Ouachita Baptistalign=center| 6align=center| 31934 • 1941 • 1966 • 1970 • 1975 • 1982
Southern Arkansasalign=center| 5align=center| 31929 • 1948 • 1951 • 1952 • 1972
Hardingalign=center| 3align=center| 01972 • 1976 • 1989

Basketball

=Men's basketball champions=

Following are the AIC regular-season conference champions from 1928 to 1995 (showing shared championships in italics)

NOTE: Information is incomplete.

class="wikitable"
colspan=4 style="background:#003300; color:white"|Men's basketball regular-season championships (1928–1995)
SchoolTotal titlesOutright titlesYears
Central Arkansasalign=center| 16align=center| 161927 • 1928 • 1929 • 1936 • 1937 • 1938 • 1939 • 1945 • 1946 • 1947 • 1956 • 1958 • 1964 • 1985 • 1986 • 1991
Arkansas Techalign=center| 16align=center| 161949 • 1950 • 1951 • 1952 • 1953 • 1954 • 1955 • 1958 • 1960 • 1961 • 1962 • 1985 • 1988 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995
Henderson Statealign=center| 10align=center| 101957 • 1968 • 1972 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1981
Hendrixalign=center| 7align=center| 71932 • 1979 • 1984 • 1990
Southern Arkansasalign=center| 6align=center| 61934 • 1935 • 1966 • 1967 • 1971 • 1989
Ozarksalign=center| 2align=center| 11983 • 1992
nowrap| Arkansas–Monticelloalign=center| 1align=center| 11956
Ouachita Baptistalign=center| 1align=center| 11976

Baseball

=Baseball champions=

NOTE: Information is incomplete

class="wikitable"
colspan=4 style="background:#003300; color:white"|Baseball conference championships (1927–1995)
SchoolTotal titlesOutright titlesYears
Central Arkansasalign=center| 20align=center| 191928 • 1929 • 1930 • 1933 • 1934 • 1935 • 1936 • 1937 • 1948 • 1949 • 1951 • 1959 • 1961 • 1962 • 1963 • 1967 • 1970 • 1978 • 1980 • 1981
nowrap| Southern Arkansasalign=center| 17align=center| 141953 • 1954 • 1956 • 1968 • 1974 • 1975 • 1977 • 1983 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1994 • 1995
Ouachita Baptistalign=center| 8align=center| 4

|1960 • 1961 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969 • 1970 • 1971 • 1972

Arkansas Techalign=center| 7align=center| 71950 • 1964 • 1976 • 1981 • 1985 • 1988 • 1992
Henderson Statealign=center| 7align=center| 51953 • 1958 • 1965 • 1973 • 1974 • 1979 • 1982
Hardingalign=center| 6align=center| 61932 • 1933 • 1938 • 1972 • 1976 • 1984
Ozarksalign=center| 2align=center| 11949 • 1956

References

{{Reflist}}

Category:Sports in the Southern United States

Category:Sports leagues established in 1928

Category:Sports leagues disestablished in 1995

Category:1928 establishments in Arkansas

Category:1995 disestablishments in Arkansas