Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association

The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) was one of the first collegiate athletic conferences in the United States. Twenty-seven of the current Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A) football programs were members of this conference at some point, as were at least 19 other schools. Every member of the current Southeastern Conference except Arkansas and Missouri, as well as six of the 15 current members of the Atlantic Coast Conference plus the University of Texas at Austin, now of the Big 12 Conference (and previously of the now defunct Southwest Conference), formerly held membership in the SIAA.

Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
SIAA
Established	1894
Dissolved	1942
Association	NCAA
Members	72 (total)
Region	Southern United States Deep South
Locations

History

Conference Presidents

William Lofland Dudley	1894–1912
Walter Riggs	1912–1915
Buz M. Walker	1917
Henry D. Phillips	1919–1922
J. W. Provine	1927–1942

The SIAA was founded on December 21, 1894, by Dr. William Dudley, a chemistry professor at Vanderbilt,[1] at the Kimball House in Atlanta.[2] Dudley was a member of the Vanderbilt Athletic Association, formed in 1886 with Dr. W. M. Baskerville as president. Most students at Vanderbilt were members. The early sports played on the Vanderbilt campus were baseball, bicycling, and track and field events.[3] Dudley was primarily responsible for the formation of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The first advance in the direction of its formation was in March 1888 when the Vanderbilt Athletic Association endeavored to secure track and field meets at Vanderbilt from Southwestern Presbyterian University, Sewanee, and Tennessee. Sewanee's opposition stopped it from occurring.[4]

The original members were Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Johns Hopkins, North Carolina, Sewanee, Vanderbilt, and Virginia.[5][6] Virginia and North Carolina soon dropped out, even before the inaugural 1895 season.[7][8]

Central (Eastern Kentucky), Clemson, Cumberland, Kentucky, LSU, Mercer, Mississippi A&M (Mississippi State), Southwestern Presbyterian University, Texas, Tulane, and the University of Nashville joined the following year in 1895 as invited charter members.[9][10] The conference was originally formed for "the development and purification of college athletics throughout the South".[11] They crafted a constitution, created an Executive Committee, elected officers, and set rules for:[11]

• annual conventions
• officiating
• limiting players to five years of eligibility
• banning professional athletes
• requiring athletes to attend the school they represent
• banning instructors and professors from playing
• suspensions of individuals and schools
• expenses

Kimball House

The league did not, however, sponsor much in the way of championship competition for its member schools. It did hold an annual track and field competition for a trophy, and it also held some basketball tournaments over the years, but apparently some member schools did not compete in the tournament during some years, and sometimes non-member southern schools were even allowed to compete in it as well. In 1903, a single-game football playoff occurred, but it seems to have been coordinated more so by the two competing schools (Clemson and Cumberland) than the conference itself. Several other efforts over the years by individual schools (rather than by the SIAA) to hold a conference title game fell through. Most SIAA titles claimed by schools in various sports were actually more mythical in nature than officially sanctioned by the league. Indeed, some schools centrally-located in the conference played far more conference games than others on the periphery, making it difficult to form a fair comparison to determine just which team was truly the best, especially once the league began to constantly expand its membership.

In 1915, a disagreement arose within the conference regarding the eligibility of freshman athletes, the so-called "one-year rule." Generally, the larger universities opposed the eligibility of freshman players, while the smaller schools favored it. As a result, some of the large universities formed the Southern Intercollegiate Conference (now the Southern Conference), which used the one-year rule, while still maintaining membership within the SIAA.[12]

At the conference's annual meeting on December 10, 1920, the SIAA rejected proposals to ban freshman athletes and abolish paid summer baseball.[13] In protest, some schools that had voted in favor of the propositions immediately announced they would seek to form a new conference.[13] On February 25, 1921, Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Mississippi State, and Tennessee left the SIAA to form the Southern Conference, along with non-SIAA members Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Washington and Lee.[14] In 1922, the Southern Conference underwent an expansion and added six more members, all at the expense of the SIAA: Florida, Louisiana State, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tulane, and Vanderbilt.[12]

With the departure of most of the major colleges, the SIAA became a de facto small college conference in 1923. In the 1920s and 1930s, the SIAA increased its membership with the addition of many additional small universities. The conference eventually disbanded in 1942 with the onset of American involvement in World War II.[12] League archives were kept at Vanderbilt, the league's founding school, but the building housing the archives was eventually gutted with fire, taking countless irreplaceable items pertaining to the SIAA's history with it.

In 1947 there was an attempt, led by Western Kentucky, to revive the SIAA. Western Kentucky hosted an SIAA basketball tournament that turned out to be little more than an invitational tournament because former SIAA members declined to participate.[15]

Membership

Original charter members are denoted in boldface. Invited charter members are denoted with an asterisk.[9] In the era in which the SIAA operated, teams tended to join in December; therefore, the first year of conference play in a given sport was often the following calendar year.[16]

Conference affiliations reflect those for the 2016–17 school year.

School	City	State	Tenure	Conference left for	Current conference
Alabama	Tuscaloosa	Alabama	1895–1917, 1919–1921[5][14]	Southern Conference	Southeastern Conference
Auburn	Auburn	Alabama	1895–1921[5][14]	Southern Conference	Southeastern Conference
Centenary	Shreveport	Louisiana	1925–1941		Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (D-III)
Central University	Richmond	Kentucky	1896-1897, 1899-1900		merged with Centre College in 1901
Centre	Danville	Kentucky	1910–1917, 1919–1941		Southern Athletic Association (D-III)
Chattanooga	Chattanooga	Tennessee	1914–1916, 1919–1932	Dixie Conference	Southern Conference
The Citadel	Charleston	South Carolina	1908–1935[17]	Southern Conference	Southern Conference
Clemson	Clemson	South Carolina	1896–1921[9][14]	Southern Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Cumberland*	Lebanon	Tennessee	1896–1907[9]		Mid-South Conference (NAIA)
Delta State	Cleveland	Mississippi	1936–1941		Gulf South Conference (D-II)
Emory & Henry	Emory	Virginia	1936–1941		Old Dominion Athletic Conference (D-III)
Erskine	Due West	South Carolina	1925–1941[18]		Conference Carolinas (D-II)
Florida	Gainesville	Florida	1912–1917, 1919–1921	Southern Conference	Southeastern Conference
Furman	Greenville	South Carolina	1902–1904, 1906–1910, 1914–1929, 1932–1935	Southern Conference	Southern Conference
Georgetown (Kentucky)	Georgetown	Kentucky	1915–1916, 1919–1941		Mid-South Conference (NAIA)
Georgia	Athens	Georgia	1895–1916, 1919–1921[5][14]	Southern Conference	Southeastern Conference
Georgia Tech	Atlanta	Georgia	1896–1900,[19] 1902–1913, 1916–1921[14]	Southern Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Howard College (Samford)	Homewood	Alabama	1909–1912, 1914–1917, 1919–1931	Dixie Conference	Southern Conference
Jacksonville State	Jacksonville	Alabama	1939–1940		Ohio Valley Conference
Johns Hopkins		Maryland	Part of 1894[5]		Centennial Conference (D-III)
Kentucky*	Lexington	Kentucky	1896[9]–1904, 1911–1916, 1919–1921[14]	Southern Conference	Southeastern Conference
Kentucky Wesleyan	Owensboro	Kentucky	1925–1930		Great Midwest Athletic Conference (D-II)
Louisiana College	Pineville	Louisiana	1922–1941		American Southwest Conference (D-III)
Louisiana State*	Baton Rouge	Louisiana	1896–1917, 1919–1921[9]	Southern Conference	Southeastern Conference
Louisiana Tech	Ruston	Louisiana	1925–1942	Louisiana Intercollegiate Conference	Conference USA
Louisville	Louisville	Kentucky	1914–1941		Atlantic Coast Conference
Loyola University New Orleans	New Orleans	Louisiana	1925, 1930–1937		Southern States Athletic Conference (NAIA)
Memphis State (Memphis)	Memphis	Tennessee	1935–1942	Independent	American Athletic Conference
Mercer*	Macon	Georgia	1896–1937[9]		Southern Conference
Miami (Florida)	Coral Gables	Florida	1929–1942	Independent	Atlantic Coast Conference
Middle Tennessee	Murfreesboro	Tennessee	1931–1942		Conference USA
Millsaps	Jackson	Mississippi	1908–1909, 1913–1938		Southern Athletic Association (D-III)
Mississippi	Oxford	Mississippi	1898–1921	Southern Conference	Southeastern Conference
Mississippi College	Clinton	Mississippi	1910–1917, 1919–1941		American Southwest Conference (D-III)
Mississippi A&M* (Mississippi State)	Starkville	Mississippi	1896–1921[9][14]	Southern Conference	Southeastern Conference
Morehead State	Morehead	Kentucky	1934–1942		Ohio Valley Conference
Murray State	Murray	Kentucky	1931–1942		Ohio Valley Conference
Nashville*	Nashville	Tennessee	1896–1900,[19] 1902–1908[9]		University closed in 1909
Newberry	Newberry	South Carolina	1922–1942		South Atlantic Conference (D-II)
North Carolina	Chapel Hill	North Carolina	Part of 1894,[5] 1899–1901[19]	South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association	Atlantic Coast Conference
Northwestern State	Natchitoches	Louisiana	1928–1941		Southland Conference
Oglethorpe	Atlanta	Georgia	1919–1929,[20][21] 1937–1941[22]		Southern Athletic Association (D-III)
Presbyterian	Clinton	South Carolina	1921–1942		Big South Conference
Rollins	Winter Park	Florida	1925–1942		Sunshine State Conference (D-II)
University of the South (Sewanee)	Sewanee	Tennessee	1895–1900, 1902–1924[5][19]	Southern Conference	Southern Athletic Association (D-III)
South Carolina	Columbia	South Carolina	1915–1921	Southern Conference	Southeastern Conference
Southern (Florida)	Lakeland	Florida	1925–1930		Sunshine State Conference (D-II)
Southern Mississippi	Hattiesburg	Mississippi	1928–1941		Conference USA
Southern University (Birmingham-Southern)	Birmingham	Alabama	1901–1912; 1930–1931	Dixie Conference	Southern Athletic Association (D-III)
Southwestern Presbyterian* (Rhodes)	Memphis	Tennessee	1896[9]–1900, 1902–1903		Southern Athletic Association (D-III)
Southwestern Louisiana (Louisiana–Lafayette)	Lafayette	Louisiana	1925–1942		Sun Belt Conference
Spring Hill	Mobile	Alabama	1927–1931	Dixie Conference	Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (D-II)
Stetson	DeLand	Florida	1925–1931, 1933–1940		Atlantic Sun Conference (Pioneer Football League for football)
Tampa	Tampa	Florida	1936–1942		Sunshine State Conference (D-II)
Tennessee	Knoxville	Tennessee	1897–1916, 1919–1921[14]	Southern Conference	Southeastern Conference
Tennessee Tech	Cookeville	Tennessee	1933–1942		Ohio Valley Conference
Texas*	Austin	Texas	1896–1903[23]	SWIAA	Big 12 Conference
Transylvania	Lexington	Kentucky	1914–1916, 1919–1924, 1926–1941		Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (D-III)
Trinity College (Duke)	Durham	North Carolina	1903[24]–1912		Atlantic Coast Conference
Troy State (Troy)	Troy	Alabama	1936–1942	no team (WWII)	Sun Belt Conference
Tulane*	New Orleans	Louisiana	1896[9]–1906, 1911–1917, 1919–1921	Southern Conference	American Athletic Conference
Union (Kentucky)	Barbourville	Kentucky	1933–1941		Appalachian Athletic Conference (NAIA)
Union (Tennessee)	Jackson	Tennessee	1925–1942		Gulf South Conference (NCAA D-II)
Vanderbilt	Nashville	Tennessee	1895–1924[5]	Southern Conference	Southeastern Conference
Virginia	Charlottesville	Virginia	Part of 1894[5]
Western Kentucky	Bowling Green	Kentucky	1926–1942		Conference USA
Wofford	Spartanburg	South Carolina	1903–1942[24]		Southern Conference

[12]

Timeline

Conference champions

• List of SIAA football champions
• List of SIAA basketball champions
• List of SIAA baseball champions

References

1. Greg Roza, Football in the SEC (Southeastern Conference), p. 1, 2007, ISBN 1-4042-1919-6.
2. "S. I. A. A. Was Started At The Kimball House". The Atlanta Constitution. December 17, 1905. p. 1. Retrieved May 16, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
3. William L Traughber (August 25, 2005). "William Dudley: a Father of Vanderbilt Athletics".
4. "Vanderbilt Paper Tells How First Efforts Succeeded in Formation of S. I. A. A. Order". Macon Telegraph. April 12, 1921.
5. "S. I. A. A." Times-Democrat. January 18, 1895. p. 3. Retrieved December 13, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Tulane Topics". January 18, 1895. p. 11. Retrieved December 13, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "To Make Strong Men". The Atlanta Constitution. December 23, 1895. p. 7. Retrieved December 13, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "A Foot Ball Sensation". The Tennessean. November 23, 1895. p. 6. Retrieved December 13, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
9. Bailey, John Wendell (1924). Handbook of Southern Intercollegiate Track and Field Athletics. Mississippi Agricultural and Mechanical College. p. 14.
10. http://assets.espn.go.com/SEC/basketball/ncw/2015/SEC WBB Media Guide.pdf
11. Southern Inter-Collegiate Athletic Association (PDF). Athens, GA: E. D. Stone. 1895. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
12. Roger Saylor, Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (PDF), College Football Historical Society, The LA84 Foundation, retrieved March 1, 2009.
13. "NEW COLLEGE BODY PLANNED IN SOUTH; Twelve Universities Take Steps to Break Away From Intercollegiate A. A" (PDF). The New York Times. December 12, 1920.
14. "The Southern Conference". Southern Conference. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
15. SIAA having trouble filling basketball tournament, , The Paducah Sun-Democrat 02 Mar 1947 Page 16, retrieved April 30, 2019.
16. Association, National Collegiate Athletic (1 January 1921). "Proceedings of the ... Annual Convention of the National Collegiate Athletic Association". The Association – via Google Books.
17. "Milestones-CFA Through The Years".
18. "Palmetto Members", Greenville News, Greenville, SC, p. 6, December 13, 1924
19. "Athletic Blacklist Has Widespread Effect". The Charlotte News. December 14, 1901. p. 11. Retrieved August 29, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
20. "Colleges Favor Mass Athletics", Tuscaloosa News, Tuscaloosa, AL, p. 1, February 18, 1919
21. "S.I.A.A. Will Not Be Split, Head of Organization Says", Tennessean, Nashville, TN, p. 10, December 16, 1929
22. "Sports Advisor Proposal Before S.I.A.A. Members", The Town Talk, Alexandria, LA, p. 11, December 7, 1936
23. "University of Texas Record". 1905.
24. "Southern Athletic Association". The Courier Journal. December 21, 1902. p. 26. Retrieved January 16, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.

External links

• SIAA Handbook, 1895