The Red River Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The conference's 14 member institutions are located in Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico.
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| Association | NAIA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1998 |
| Commissioner | Tony Stigliano |
| Sports fielded |
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| No. of teams | 14 |
| Headquarters | Waco, Texas |
| Region | South Central United States |
| Official website | www |
| Locations | |
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History
editRed River Athletic Conference
300km
200miles
200miles
Huston–Tillotson
North American
Xavier (La.)
Louisiana Christian
Texas A&M–San Antonio
Texas A&M–Texarkana
Houston–Victoria
LSU Alexandria
LSU Shreveport
Our Lady
of the Lake
of the Lake
Texas College
Southwest
Paul Quinn
Jarvis Christian
Location of RRAC members: 
current, east division 
current, east division (non-basketball) 
current, west division 
current, west division (non-basketball)
current, east division 
current, east division (non-basketball) 
current, west division 
current, west division (non-basketball)The Red River Athletic Conference began competition in fall 1998 with 16 charter members.[1] The conference at present counts 14 members, one of the most recent additions being Texas A&M University–Texarkana in 2016.[2] In 2019, St. Thomas Houston announced its departure from the conference to join the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) of the NCAA Division III as a provisional member.[3] In March 2020, Texas A&M University–San Antonio was approved for membership into the NAIA and it was simultaneously announced that the Jaguars would begin competition in the conference starting in the 2020–21 academic year,[4] followed by Xavier University of Louisiana and Louisiana Christian University (formerly Louisiana College) in September and October respectively.[5][6] Xavier and Louisiana Christian officially joined the RRAC for the 2021–22 academic year.
On January 20, 2022, the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) invited founding Red River member Wiley College (now Wiley University) to become the GCAC's first Texas institution, effective later in July.[7]
On July 6, 2023, North American University was accepted as the RRAC's 14th conference member for the 2023–24 school year.[8]
Chronological timeline
edit- 1998 - The Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) was founded. Charter members included Bacone College, Houston Baptist University (now Houston Christian University), Huston–Tillotson University, Jarvis Christian College (now Jarvis Christian University), Langston University, Northwestern Oklahoma State University, Northwood University–Texas, Paul Quinn College, the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, the University of the Southwest, Southwestern Adventist University, Southwestern Assemblies of God University (now Nelson University), the University of Texas Permian Basin, Texas College, and Wiley College (now Wiley University) beginning the 1998–99 academic year.
- 2000 - USAO left the RRAC to join the Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) after the 1999–2000 academic year.
- 2001 - Texas Wesleyan University joined the RRAC in the 2001–02 academic year.
- 2002 - Two institutions left the RRAC to join their respective new home primary conferences: Northwestern Oklahoma State to the Sooner, and Southwestern Adventist to become an Independent within the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA), both effective after the 2001–02 academic year.
- 2002 - Texas A&M International University joined the RRAC in the 2002–03 academic year.
- 2006 - Texas–Permian Basin and Texas A&M–International left the RRAC and the NAIA to join the Division II ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Heartland Conference after the 2005–06 academic year.
- 2006 - The University of Texas at Brownsville joined the RRAC in the 2006–07 academic year.
- 2007 - Houston Christian left the RRAC and the NAIA to join the NCAA Division I ranks as an independent (which would later join the Great West Conference beginning the 2008–09 academic year) after the 2006–07 academic year.
- 2008 - Our Lady of the Lake University joined the RRAC in the 2008–09 academic year.
- 2010 - Louisiana State University-Shreveport joined the RRAC in the 2010–11 academic year.
- 2012 - The University of St. Thomas joined the RRAC in the 2012–13 academic year.
- 2013 - Northwood–Texas, SAGU and Texas Wesleyan left the RRAC to join the Sooner after the 2012–13 academic year.
- 2014 - Louisiana State University-Alexandria joined the RRAC in the 2014–15 academic year.
- 2015 - Two institutions left the RRAC to join their respective new home primary conferences: Texas–Brownsville (UTB) athletics was discontinued due to the merger with the University of Texas–Pan American (UTPA) to become the University of Texas–Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), and Bacone to join the Sooner after the 2014–15 academic year.
- 2015 - The University of Houston–Victoria joined the RRAC in the 2015–16 academic year.
- 2016 - Texas A&M University–Texarkana joined the RRAC in the 2016–17 academic year.
- 2018 - Langston left the RRAC to join the Sooner after the 2017–18 academic year.
- 2019 - St. Thomas (Tex.) left the RRAC to join the NCAA Division III ranks and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) after the 2018–19 academic year.
- 2020 - Texas A&M University–San Antonio joined the RRAC in the 2020–21 academic year.
- 2021 - Louisiana Christian University and Xavier University of Louisiana joined the RRAC in the 2021–22 academic year.
- 2022 - Wiley left the RRAC to join the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) after the 2021–22 academic year.
- 2023 - North American University joined the RRAC in the 2023–24 academic year.
Member schools
editCurrent members
editThe RRAC currently has 14 full members, all but five are private schools:
- Notes
- ^ Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
- ^ The Our Lady of the Lake men's and women's basketball teams joined the RRAC a year after becoming a full member for other sports (2009–10).
- ^ The Southwest (N.Mex.) men's and women's basketball teams joined the RRAC a decade after becoming a full member for other sports (2008–09).
- ^ The Texas A&M–Texarkana men's and women's basketball teams joined the RRAC three years after becoming a full member for other sports (2019–20).
Former members
editThe RRAC had 14 former full members, all but five were private schools:
- Notes
- ^ Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
- ^ Represents the calendar year when spring sports competition ends.
- ^ The Bacone men's and women's basketball teams joined the RRAC three years after becoming a full member for other sports (2001–02).
- ^ Currently known as Houston Christian University since 2022.
- ^ Currently an NCAA Division I athletic conference.
- ^ a b c Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.
- ^ The Northwood–Texas men's and women's basketball teams joined the RRAC fourteen years after becoming a full member for other sports (2012–13).
- ^ Currently an NCAA Division III athletic conference.
- ^ Currently known as Nelson University since 2024.
- ^ The Texas A&M International men's and women's basketball teams joined the RRAC a year after becoming a full member for other sports (2003–04).
- ^ Non-basketball full member.
- ^ Texas–Brownsville's other nickname before the merger with Texas–Pan American (UTPA) was Scorpions until after the 2011–12 school year, then competed without a nickname during the 2012–13 school year, before accepting the Ocelots nickname for their final two seasons.
- ^ Texas–Brownsville (UTB) was merged with the University of Texas–Pan American (UTPA) to become the University of Texas–Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) in 2015.
- ^ The Texas–Permian Basin men's and women's basketball teams joined the RRAC four years after becoming a full member for other sports (2002–03).
- ^ Current known as Wiley University since 2023.
- ^ The Wiley men's and women's basketball teams joined the RRAC four years after becoming a full member for other sports (2002–03).
Membership timeline
edit
Full member (non-football) Associate member (sport)
Sports
edit| A divisional format is used for basketball (M / W), softball, and volleyball. | |
East
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West
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The Red River Athletic Conference sponsors championships in seven men's and eight women's sports.
| Sport | Men's | Women's |
|---|---|---|
| Baseball |  |
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| Basketball | |
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| Cross Country | |
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| Golf | |
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| Soccer | |
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| Softball |
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| Tennis | |
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| Track and Field (Outdoor) | |
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| Volleyball |
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References
edit- ^ "Looking Back at the Past 15 Years of RRAC Basketball". Victory Sports Network. June 18, 2013. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
- ^ "LSUA Joins the Red River Athletic Conference". LSU Alexandria. October 23, 2013. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
- ^ "NCAA Advances UST Houston to Provisional Members Division III". University of St. Thomas. February 25, 2019.
- ^ "NAIA Approves Five Institutions for Membership". NAIA. March 31, 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
- ^ "Xavier University of Louisiana to become RRAC's 13th member institution in 2021-22". Red River Athletic Conference. September 14, 2020. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
- ^ "Louisiana College accepted into NAIA, joins RRAC and SAC". Crescent City Sports. October 5, 2020. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
- ^ "GCAC Extends Membership To Oakwood University, Wiley College, Southern University at New Orleans". Gulf Coast Athletic Conference. January 20, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
- ^ "North American University Joins RRAC as 14th Member Institution". Red River Athletic Conference. July 6, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.