Southern Athletic Association

The Southern Athletic Association (SAA) is a college athletic conference in NCAA Division III that began play in the 2012–13 school year. It was formed in 2011 by seven former members of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference and independent Berry College.[1]

Southern Athletic Association
SAA
EstablishedChartered: 2011
Began play: 2012
AssociationNCAA
DivisionDivision III
Members8 (+2 football-only affiliates)
Sports fielded
  • 21
    • men's: 10
    • women's: 11
HeadquartersAtlanta, Georgia
CommissionerJay Gardiner
Websitewww.saa-sports.com
Locations

Member schools

Full members
Institution Location Founded Type Enrollment Nickname Colors Football?
Berry College Mount Berry, Georgia 1902 Private/Non-denominational 1,937 Vikings           Yes
Birmingham–Southern College Birmingham, Alabama 1856 Private/United Methodist 1,600 Panthers           Yes
Centre College Danville, Kentucky 1819 Private 1,415 Colonels           Yes
Hendrix College Conway, Arkansas 1876 Private/United Methodist 1,400 Warriors           Yes
Millsaps College Jackson, Mississippi 1890 Private/United Methodist 1,146 Majors           Yes
Oglethorpe University Atlanta, Georgia 1835 Private 1,000 Stormy Petrels           No
Rhodes College Memphis, Tennessee 1848 Private/Presbyterian 2,000 Lynx                Yes
Sewanee: The University of the South Sewanee, Tennessee 1857 Private/Episcopal 1,384 Tigers           Yes

Affiliate members

Two schools, the University of Chicago and Washington University in St. Louis (WashU), announced their intention to become affiliate members of the conference for football, effective in 2015. Both are members of the University Athletic Association (UAA), which at the time had a football scheduling alliance with the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). However, after the 2012 season, the NCAC adopted a full round-robin football schedule, making it impossible for that conference to fill in all of its non-conference dates with the four UAA members that sponsor the sport.

Over the summer of 2015, Chicago and WashU announced that they would leave the SAA after two seasons of competition in order to join more geographically-convenient conferences.[2] WashU will maintain its football affiliation with the UAA for the 2017 season before joining the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin in 2018 as a football-only member. For nearly a year, Chicago did not announce a future league affiliation, but it announced in May 2016 that it would become a football-only member of the Midwest Conference in 2017.[3]

On November 18, 2015, Trinity University (Texas) and Austin College announced [4] they would affiliate with the SAA for football, renewing a relationship that was lost when the SAA split from the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. As a result, the SCAC will no longer offer football as a sport from 2017.

Institution Location Founded Type Enrollment Nickname Colors SAA Sport
University of Chicago Chicago, Illinois 1890 Private/Non-denominational 5,134 Maroons           Football (2015–2016)
Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, Missouri 1853 Private 5,997 Bears           Football (2015–2016)
Austin College Sherman, Texas 1849 Private/Presbyterian 1,278 'Roos           Football (2017–)
Trinity University San Antonio, Texas 1869 Private/Presbyterian 2,353 Tigers           Football (2017–)

Membership timeline
Austin CollegeWashington University in St. LouisUniversity of ChicagoSewanee: The University of the SouthRhodes CollegeOglethorpe UniversityMillsaps CollegeHendrix CollegeCentre CollegeBirmingham–Southern CollegeBerry College

Blue = Full member, Green = Full member except football, Red = Associate member for football

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References
  1. "Eight Division III Southeastern Colleges Form Southern Athletic Association". Rhodes College. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
  2. "Wash U, Chicago already leaving SAA". [d3football.com]. June 12, 2015. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  3. "UChicago football set to join Midwest Conference as affiliate member in 2017" (Press release). Athletics & Recreation, The University of Chicago. May 11, 2016. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  4. "Austin College; Trinity Accept Football Affiliate Membership Offer from SAA". Retrieved December 21, 2015.
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