Red River Athletic Conference

Red River Athletic Conference
Association	NAIA
Founded	1998
Commissioner	Tony Stigliano
Sports fielded	15 men's: 7; women's: 8; ;
No. of teams	14
Headquarters	Waco, Texas
Region	South Central United States
Official website	www.redriverconference.com
Locations

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.

History

Red River Athletic Conference

🌍

Location of RRAC members:

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 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

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, the University of Texas Permian Basin, Texas College, and Wiley College 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 in 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 College 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

Current members

The RRAC currently has 14 full members, all but five are private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined^{[lower-alpha 1]}	Basketball?
University of Houston–Victoria	Victoria, Texas	1973	Public	4,407	Jaguars	2015	none
Huston–Tillotson University	Austin, Texas	1881	United Methodist; Church of Christ	800	Rams	1998	both
Jarvis Christian University	Hawkins, Texas	1912	Disciples of Christ	550	Bulldogs	1998	both
Louisiana Christian University	Pineville, Louisiana	1906	Baptist	1,200	Wildcats	2021	both
Louisiana State University of Alexandria	Alexandria, Louisiana	1959	Public	3,378	Generals	2014	both
Louisiana State University Shreveport	Shreveport, Louisiana	1967	Public	4,200	Pilots	2010	both
North American University	Stafford, Texas	2007	Nonsectarian	785	Stallions	2023	both
Our Lady of the Lake University	San Antonio, Texas	1895	Catholic (C.D.P.)	2,660	Saints	2008	both^{[lower-alpha 2]}
Paul Quinn College	Dallas, Texas	1872	A.M.E. Church	700	Tigers	1998	both
University of the Southwest	Hobbs, New Mexico	1962	Nondenominational	550	Mustangs	1998	both^{[lower-alpha 3]}
Texas College	Tyler, Texas	1894	C.M.E. Church	800	Steers	1998	both
Texas A&M University–San Antonio	San Antonio, Texas	2009	Public	7,000	Jaguars	2020	both (in 2024)
Texas A&M University–Texarkana	Texarkana, Texas	1971	Public	1,865	Eagles	2016	both^{[lower-alpha 4]}
Xavier University of Louisiana	New Orleans, Louisiana	1925	Catholic (S.B.S.)	3,200	Gold Rush & Gold Nuggets	2021	both

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

The RRAC had 14 former full members, all but five were private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined^{[lower-alpha 1]}	Left^{[lower-alpha 2]}	Current conference
Bacone College	Muskogee, Oklahoma	1880	Tribal college	900	Warriors	1998^{[lower-alpha 3]}	2015	Continental
Houston Baptist University^{[lower-alpha 4]}	Houston, Texas	1960	Baptist	4,120	Huskies	1998	2007	Southland^{[lower-alpha 5]}
Langston University	Langston, Oklahoma	1897	Public (HBCU)	2,554	Lions	1998	2018	Sooner (SAC)
Northwestern Oklahoma State University	Alva, Oklahoma	1897	Public	1,857	Rangers	1998	2001	Great American (GAC)^{[lower-alpha 6]}
Northwood University	Cedar Hill, Texas	1966	Nonsectarian	N/A	Knights	1998^{[lower-alpha 7]}	2013	Closed in 2014
University of St. Thomas	Houston, Texas	1947	Catholic (C.S.B.)	1,626	Celts	2011	2019	Southern (SCAC)^{[lower-alpha 8]}
University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma	Chickasha, Oklahoma	1908	Public	813	Drovers	1998	2000	Sooner (SAC)
Southwestern Adventist University	Keene, Texas	1893	Seventh-day Adventist	800	Knights	1998	2002	USCAA Independent
Southwestern Assemblies of God University	Waxahachie, Texas	1927	Assemblies of God	2,080	Lions	1998	2013	Sooner (SAC)
Texas A&M International University	Laredo, Texas	1969	Public	4,298	Dustdevils	2002^{[lower-alpha 9]}	2006	Lone Star (LSC)^{[lower-alpha 6]}
Texas Wesleyan University	Fort Worth, Texas	1890	United Methodist	2,373	Rams	2001	2013	Sooner (SAC)
University of Texas at Brownsville^{[lower-alpha 10]}	Brownsville, Texas	1991	Public	N/A	Ocelots^{[lower-alpha 11]}	2006	2015	N/A^{[lower-alpha 12]}
University of Texas Permian Basin	Odessa, Texas	1973	Public	7,628	Falcons	1998^{[lower-alpha 13]}	2006	Lone Star (LSC)^{[lower-alpha 6]}
Wiley College	Marshall, Texas	1873	United Methodist	1,250	Wildcats	1998^{[lower-alpha 14]}	2022	Gulf Coast (GCAC)

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.
1 2 3 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.
↑ 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).
↑ 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

Full member (non-football) Associate member (sport)

Sports

A divisional format is used for basketball (M / W), softball, and volleyball.
East Jarvis Christian Louisiana Christian LSU Alexandria LSU Shreveport Texas College Texas A&M-Texarkana Xavier	West Houston-Victoria Huston-Tillotson North American Our Lady of the Lake Paul Quinn Southwest Texas A&M-San Antonio

The Red River Athletic Conference sponsors championships in seven men's and eight women's sports.

Conference sports
Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	Y
Basketball	Y	Y
Cross Country	Y	Y
Golf	Y	Y
Soccer	Y	Y
Softball		Y
Tennis	Y	Y
Track and Field (Outdoor)	Y	Y
Volleyball		Y

References

↑ "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.

External links

Official website

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[9] Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.

[10] 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).

[11] 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).

[12] 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).

[13] Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.

[14] Represents the calendar year when spring sports competition ends.

[15] The Bacone men's and women's basketball teams joined the RRAC three years after becoming a full member for other sports (2001–02).

[16] Currently known as Houston Christian University since 2022.

[D1-17] Currently an NCAA Division I athletic conference.

[D2-18] 1 2 3 Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.

[19] 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).

[D3-20] Currently an NCAA Division III athletic conference.

[21] 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).

[22] Non-basketball full member.

[23] 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.

[24] 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.

[25] 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).

[26] The Wiley men's and women's basketball teams joined the RRAC four years after becoming a full member for other sports (2002–03).

[1] "Looking Back at the Past 15 Years of RRAC Basketball". Victory Sports Network. June 18, 2013. Retrieved July 20, 2015.

[2] "LSUA Joins the Red River Athletic Conference". LSU Alexandria. October 23, 2013. Retrieved July 20, 2015.

[3] "NCAA Advances UST Houston to Provisional Members Division III". University of St. Thomas. February 25, 2019.

[2020NAIAnewmembers-4] "NAIA Approves Five Institutions for Membership". NAIA. March 31, 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2020.

[5] "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.

[6] "Louisiana College accepted into NAIA, joins RRAC and SAC". Crescent City Sports. October 5, 2020. Retrieved October 24, 2020.

[7] "GCAC Extends Membership To Oakwood University, Wiley College, Southern University at New Orleans". Gulf Coast Athletic Conference. January 20, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2022.

[rrac-8] "North American University Joins RRAC as 14th Member Institution". Red River Athletic Conference. July 6, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.

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NAIA conferences
Single Division	American Midwest Conference Appalachian Athletic Conference^† California Pacific Conference Cascade Collegiate Conference Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Continental Athletic Conference (Independent schools) Crossroads League Frontier Conference^† Golden State Athletic Conference Great Plains Athletic Conference^† Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Heart of America Athletic Conference^† Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference^† Mid-South Conference^† North Star Athletic Association^† Red River Athletic Conference River States Conference Sooner Athletic Conference^† Southern States Athletic Conference Sun Conference^† Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference
Football-only	Mid-States Football Association^† NAIA independent football schools^†
^†Conference sponsors football