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 distances led seven former members to announce the formation of a new Southeastern US-based conference, the Southern Athletic Association, starting with the 2012–13 academic year.
Prior to 1991, the conference was known as the College Athletic Conference (CAC). The commissioner of the SCAC is Dwayne Hanberry. The chair of the Executive Committee of the SCAC for 2022-23 is L. Song Richardson, Colorado College president.
History
Chronological timeline
1962 - On September 1, 1962, the SCAC was founded as the College Athletic Conference (CAC). Charter members included Centre College, Southwestern University at Memphis, The University of the South of Sewanee and Washington and Lee University, which later added Washington University in St. Louis during that same year; effective beginning the 1962-63 academic year. 1972 - WashU left the CAC, effective after the 1971-72 academic year. 1973 - Washington and Lee left the CAC, effective after the 1972-73 academic year. 1974 - Principia College and Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology joined the CAC, effective in the 1974-75 academic year. 1980 - Illinois College joined the CAC, effective in the 1980-81 academic year. 1983 - Illinois College left the CAC, effective after the 1982-83 academic year. 1983 - Fisk University joined the CAC, effective in the 1983-84 academic year. 1984 - Principia left the CAC, effective after the 1983-84 academic year. 1984 - Earlham College joined the CAC, effective in the 1984-85 academic year. 1989 - Two institutions left the CAC to join their respective new home primary conferences: Earlham to join the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC), and Rose–Hulman to the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC), both effective after the 1988-89 academic year. 1989 - Millsaps College and Trinity University joined the SCAC, effective in the 1989-90 academic year. 1990 - Oglethorpe University joined the SCAC, effective in the 1990-91 academic year. 1991 - The CAC was re-designated as the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), while women's programs became part of the SCAC, effective in the 1991-92 academic year. 1991 - Hendrix College joined the SCAC, effective in the 1991-92 academic year. 1994 - Fisk left the SCAC to join the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), effective after the 1993-94 academic year. 1994 - Southwestern University joined the SCAC, effective in the 1994-95 academic year. 1998 - DePauw University joined the SCAC (with Rose–Hulman re-joining), effective in the 1998-99 academic year. 2006 - Rose–Hulman left the SCAC again to re-join the HCAC, effective after the 2005-06 academic year. 2006 - Austin College and Colorado College joined the SCAC, effective in the 2006-07 academic year. 2007 - Birmingham–Southern College joined the SCAC, effective in the 2007-08 academic year. 2011 - DePauw left the SCAC to join the NCAC, effective after the 2010-11 academic year. 2011 - The University of Dallas joined the SCAC, effective in the 2011-12 academic year. 2012 - Centre, Rhodes, Sewanee, Millsaps, Oglethorpe, Hendrix and Birmingham–Southern left the SCAC, effective after the 2011-12 academic year, to form the Southern Athletic Association (SAA), along with NCAA D-III Independent Berry College. 2012 - The Centenary College of Louisiana joined the SCAC, effective in the 2012-13 academic year. 2013 - Schreiner University and Texas Lutheran joined the SCAC, effective in the 2013-14 academic year. 2013 - The University of California at Santa Cruz joined the SCAC as an affiliate member for men's swimming & diving, effective in the 2013-14 academic year. 2014 - UC Santa Cruz left the SCAC as an affiliate member for men's swimming & diving, effective after the 2013-14 academic year. 2016 - McMurry University and the University of the Ozarks joined the SCAC as affiliate members for men's and women's swimming & diving, effective in the 2016-17 academic year. 2018 - The Denver campus of Johnson & Wales University joined the SCAC, effective in the 2018-19 academic year. 2019 - The University of St. Thomas joined the SCAC, effective in the 2019-20 academic year. 2020 - Johnson & Wales–Denver left the SCAC as the school announced that it would close, effective after the 2019-20 academic year. 2022 - McMurry University will join as a full member in the fall of 2024. 2023 - Trinity and Southwestern announce their departure from the conference, joining the Southern Athletic Association in 2025.