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94-490: Originally called University Track, Arkansas' outdoor track facility has gone through four major renovations. First in the late 1980s, prior to hosting the Southwest Conference Championships a new track surface was laid and the press box facility was renovated. When Arkansas hosted the 1994 Southeastern Conference Championships the runways and jumping areas were updated. During the same renovation project,

188-459: A "counter" as "an individual who is receiving institutional financial aid that is countable against the aid limitations in a sport." The number of scholarships that Division I members may award in each sport is listed below. In this table, scholarship numbers for head-count sports are indicated without a decimal point ; for equivalency sports, they are listed with a decimal point, with a trailing zero if required. The NCAA also has rules specifying

282-456: A bowl game was Texas A&M, who beat Notre Dame in the 1988 Cotton Bowl Classic by a score of 35–10. Since then, the final eight SWC champions lost in their bowl games. After SMU's second-place finish in most polls in 1982 , SWC programs usually were not serious contenders for the national title. For instance: Texas had strong teams in 1981 , 1983 , 1990 , and 1995 . Arkansas earned national recognition in 1988 and 1989 , and Texas A&M

376-505: A common athletic training room were added under the east stands. Capacity is currently set at 7,000 but can potentially hold up to 10,000 with additional construction or temporary seating. The new John McDonnell Field was rededicated on May 12, 2006 during the 2006 SEC Championships, which was the first meet held at complex since renovations. In 2008 the facility hosted the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships and hosted

470-674: A conference and show the NCAA it has the financial ability to support a D-I program. Division I athletic programs generated $ 8.7 billion in revenue in the 2009–10 academic year. Men's teams provided 55%, women's teams 15%, and 30% was not categorized by sex or sport. Football and men's basketball are usually a university's only profitable sports, and are called "revenue sports". From 2008 to 2012, 205 varsity teams were dropped in NCAA Division I – 72 for women and 133 for men, with men's tennis, gymnastics and wrestling hit particularly hard. In

564-690: A conference member for one year (1920). Oklahoma departed in 1919 to join the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association (later reorganized as the Big Eight Conference ) and was followed by Oklahoma A&M in 1925. The series between Texas and Oklahoma would still continue as a non-conference matchup in the annual Red River Rivalry game held in Dallas. From 1925 until 1991, the University of Arkansas would be

658-756: A decimal point. Numbers for equivalency sports are indicated with a decimal point, with a trailing zero if needed. Notes: The following table lists the men's individual D-I sports with at least 1,000 participating athletes. Sports are ranked by number of athletes. D-I college wrestling has lost almost half of its programs since 1982. The following table lists the women's individual D-I sports with at least 1,000 participating athletes. Sports are ranked by number of athletes. NCAA Division I schools have broadcasting contracts that showcase their more popular sports — typically football and men's basketball — on network television and in basic cable channels. These contracts can be quite lucrative, particularly for D-I schools from

752-515: A formal meeting at the Rice Hotel in Houston . Its early years saw fluctuation in membership; Southwestern (a comparatively smaller school) dropped out of the conference in 1916, and Southern Methodist University (SMU) joined in 1918, while Texas Christian University (TCU) became a member in 1923. Rice University left the conference in 1916, only to rejoin in 1918. Phillips University competed as

846-409: A fully automated computer timing system and scoreboard located in the southeast corner of the track were added. In 1998 the track was stripped down to its foundation and resurfaced, the press box was gutted to its frame and built to twice its original capacity and wrought-iron fencing was erected around the perimeter of the facility. The two-year project continued with the pouring of concrete runways for

940-422: A later vote of the league's school presidents and athletic directors and has since increased to 45. The Patriot League only began awarding football scholarships in the 2013 season, with the first scholarships awarded only to incoming freshmen. Before the conference began its transition to scholarship football, athletes receiving scholarships in other sports were ineligible to play football for member schools. Since

1034-626: A near-complete membership turnover that saw the conference stripped of all but two of its football-sponsoring members. The two remaining football-sponsoring schools, Idaho and New Mexico State , played the 2013 season as FBS independents before becoming football-only members of the Sun Belt Conference in 2014. Both left Sun Belt football in 2018, with Idaho downgrading to FCS status and adding football to its all-sports Big Sky Conference membership and New Mexico State becoming an FBS independent. The WAC added two more football-sponsoring schools with

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1128-544: A number of the stronger programs saw opportunities for better deals outside of the CFA. This was spearheaded by Notre Dame, who left the CFA and sold their home game broadcast rights to NBC in time for the 1991 season. When the Southeastern Conference (SEC) invited the University of Arkansas and the University of South Carolina to join the conference in 1990, it created shockwaves across the CFA. The other conferences in

1222-488: A plaque at the northwest end. The scoreboard at the north end was enclosed and a 18x38 foot backlit Razorback logo was installed on the back, making it the largest logo displayed on campus. At the base of the scoreboard are 5 plaques, commemorating the accomplishments of Arkansas' 5 Triple Crown (NCAA Team Champions in Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor track in the same year) winning teams. Finally, 52 9-foot tall pillars adorn

1316-697: A score of 17–12 in the Orange Bowl . Since its first Cotton Bowl Classic and lasting until 1995, the Southwest Conference Champion automatically received an invitation to be the "host" team in the Cotton Bowl Classic game on New Year's Day in Dallas. Opponents usually were the runners-up from the Big Eight Conference or the Southeastern Conference although independents Penn State and Notre Dame were also often featured. Circa

1410-410: A specific bowl game bid for which the conference has a tie-in. Some conferences have numbers in their names but this often has no relation to the number of member institutions in the conference. The Big Ten Conference did not formally adopt the "Big Ten" name until 1987, but unofficially used that name when it had 10 members from 1917 to 1946, and again from 1949 forward. However, it has continued to use

1504-820: A substantial number of players in Championship Subdivision programs are on full scholarships. A former difference was that FCS schools had a limit of 30 players that could be provided with financial aid in a given season, while FBS schools were limited to 25 such additions per season. These limits were suspended in 2020 before being completely eliminated for both subdivisions in 2023. Finally, FCS schools are limited to 95 individuals participating in preseason practices, as opposed to 105 at FBS schools (the three service academies that play FBS football are exempt from preseason practice player limits by NCAA rule). A few Championship Subdivision conferences are composed of schools that offer no athletic scholarships at all, most notably

1598-625: A television deal that covered SEC schools only. This led The Dallas Morning News to proclaim that "the College Football Association as a television entity is dead". In 1995, the SEC and the Big East broke from the CFA, signing a national deal with CBS. The SEC would earn a then-staggering $ 95 million from the deal. More significantly, this change in television contracts ultimately would lead to significant realignment of college conferences, with

1692-566: A title game, the NCAA Division I Football Championship . As of the 2018 season, the tournament begins with 24 teams; 10 conference champions that received automatic bids, and 14 teams selected at-large by a selection committee. The postseason tournament traditionally begins on Thanksgiving weekend in late November. When I-AA was formed 46 years ago in 1978, the playoffs included just four teams for its first three seasons, doubling to eight teams for one season in 1981. From 1982 to 1985, there

1786-521: Is considered an FBS member for scheduling purposes. The newest full FBS members are Jacksonville State , James Madison , and Sam Houston , which completed the transition from FCS prior to the 2024 season . The next school to become a full FBS member is Kennesaw State , which joined Conference USA (CUSA) in 2024 and will become a full FBS member a year later. Delaware and Missouri State are set to join CUSA in 2025 and become full FBS members in 2026. Since

1880-424: Is flanked by two large grandstands to the east and west that run the length of the 100-meter front and back stretches. Luxury suites were also supposed to be included in the large press box that runs the length of the east grandstand, however in the summer of 2008 they were converted into offices for men's and women's coaching staff as well as a team lounge. During that time, men's and women's locker rooms which share

1974-407: Is installed in the north end of the stadium. The start-finish line was moved from the southwest to northeast corner of the track. Originally designed to be a bowl-shaped structure, seating in the north and south was omitted from construction due to budget and deadline issues. During track meets large tents are set up and teams usually set up camp on a large grass area in the open south end. The track

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2068-440: Is nine lanes. All competition areas are surfaced with a Mondo Super X Performance track surface. There are multiple jumping and throwing areas, with the vaulting and jumping areas being reversible to take advantage of wind conditions. There also two sets of pole vault and jumping areas so that multiple events (usually men's and women's) can be contested simultaneously. A 16-foot (4.9 m) by 9-foot (2.7 m) LED video board

2162-658: Is the Atlantic Coast Conference . For the first 60 years after its 1953 founding, the ACC consisted entirely of schools in Atlantic Coast states. However, in 2013 , the conference added three new schools, two of which ( Pittsburgh and, for non-football sports, Indiana-based Notre Dame ) were in states without an Atlantic shoreline. The following year saw the ACC add another non-Atlantic school in Louisville . Then, in 2023 ,

2256-540: Is usually counted among the greatest college football games ever played. Texas also won the 1970 United Press International (UPI) National Championship (i.e., the coaches' poll), which until 1974 was awarded prior to the bowl games. Texas lost the Cotton Bowl Classic following the 1970 season to Notre Dame by a score of 24–11, giving the Associated Press (AP) Championship to Nebraska after they beat LSU by

2350-407: The 2016 season , all FBS conferences have been allowed to conduct a championship game that does not count against the limit of 12 regular-season contests. Under the current rules, most recently changed in advance of the 2022 season, conferences have complete freedom to determine the participants in their championship games. From 2016 to 2021, FBS rules allowed such a game to be held either (1) between

2444-457: The 2022 season , with all participating in one of 14 conferences. The "I-AA" designation was dropped by the NCAA in 2006, although it is still informally and commonly used. FCS teams are limited to 63 players on scholarship (compared to 85 for FBS teams) and usually play an 11-game schedule (compared to 12 games for FBS teams). The FCS determines its national champion through an NCAA-sanctioned single-elimination bracket tournament , culminating in

2538-557: The Big 12 Conference , while Rice, SMU, TCU, and Houston found homes in less prominent conferences, with TCU and Houston later joining the Big 12 themselves. L. Theo Bellmont , the University of Texas athletic director, sent out questionnaires to schools in Texas and neighboring states to gauge their interest in organizing an athletic conference. By March 1, 1914, a number of schools had responded favorably to

2632-656: The Football Bowl Subdivision (130 schools in 2017), between 50 and 60 percent of football and men's basketball programs generated positive revenues (above program expenses). However, in the Football Championship Subdivision (124 schools in 2017), only four percent of football and five percent of men's basketball programs generated positive revenues. In 2012, 2% of athletic budgets were spent on equipment, uniforms and supplies for male athletes at NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision school, with

2726-568: The Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), and those institutions that do not have any football program. FBS teams have more players receiving athletic scholarships than FCS teams and formerly (until 2024) had minimum game-attendance requirements. The FBS is named for its series of postseason bowl games , with various polls ranking teams after the conclusion of these games, while

2820-622: The Ivy League and the Pioneer Football League (PFL), a football-only conference. The Ivy League allows no athletic scholarships at all, while the PFL consists of schools that offer scholarships in other sports but choose not to take on the expense of a scholarship football program. The Northeast Conference also sponsored non-scholarship football, but began offering a maximum of 30 full scholarship equivalents in 2006, which grew to 40 in 2011 after

2914-453: The University of Arkansas . After a long period of stability and success, the conference's overall athletic prowess began to decline throughout the 1980s, due in part to numerous member schools violating NCAA recruiting rules, culminating in the suspension of the entire SMU football program ("death penalty") for the 1987 and 1988 seasons. Arkansas, after years of feeling like an outsider in

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3008-426: The access bowls . FBS schools are limited to a total of 85 football players receiving financial assistance. For competitive reasons, a student receiving partial scholarship counts fully against the total of 85. Nearly all FBS schools that are not on NCAA probation give 85 full scholarships. As of the current 2024 college football season, there are 133 full members of Division I FBS, plus one transitional school that

3102-487: The 1940s onward, the Cotton Bowl Classic was included among the four major bowl games and not infrequently had national championship implications. Near the turn of the century however, the game declined in importance largely due to the decline of SWC prominence. In 1977, Notre Dame became the last team to win a national championship in the Cotton Bowl Classic by beating Texas in the January 1978 game. Texas might have been awarded

3196-567: The 1987 and 1989 seasons. The Hogs have continued this tradition since moving to the SEC, reaching the CWS four times under Arkansas alumnus Dave Van Horn , and were the 2018 national runners-up. Texas A&M rose to power in the late 1980s, going 58–5 in 1989 before losing twice in the regional championship round on its home field to LSU . The Aggies reached the College World Series in 1993. Rice began its ascent to college baseball's elite in

3290-693: The 1995–96 school year, the conference's last. Capacities and venue names are also current for 1995–96. NCAA Division I NCAA Division I ( D-I ) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States , which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic powers, with large budgets, more elaborate facilities and more athletic scholarships than Division II and Division III as well as many smaller schools committed to

3384-774: The 2006 Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships, Arkansas razed the old facility and rebuilt from the ground up. The original 2,000-seat venue was transformed into one that would hold potentially 10,000 spectators. The facility is one of only five IAAF Class 1 certified track and field complexes in the United States (along with Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon , Hutsell-Rosen Track in Auburn, Alabama , Icahn Stadium in New York City and Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence, Kansas ). The track itself

3478-400: The 2006 season, it was possible for the number of Bowl Subdivision schools to drop in the future if those schools were not able to pull in enough fans into the games. Additionally, 14 FCS schools had enough attendance to be moved up in 2012. Under current NCAA rules, these schools must have an invitation from an FBS conference in order to move to FBS. The difference in the postseasons in each of

3572-558: The 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships. The track also hosts the annual John McDonnell Invitational as well as occasionally hosting Arkansas high school state championships. The facility hopes to eventually host national junior events, USA Outdoor Championships, and Olympic Trials. In 2008 John McDonnell Field was named the outdoor track and field facility of the year by the American Sports Builders Association for exhibiting excellence in design and construction. In 2014

3666-432: The 2014–15 fiscal year, the conferences that earned the most revenues (and that distributed the most revenues to each of their member schools) were: The NCAA has limits on the total financial aid each Division I member may award in each sport that the school sponsors. It divides sports that are sponsored into two types for purposes of scholarship limitations: The term "counter" is also key to this concept. The NCAA defines

3760-567: The 2020 arrival of Tarleton and Utah Tech (then Dixie State) from Division II; both schools planned to be FCS independents for the foreseeable future. The WAC would reinstate football at the FCS level in 2021, coinciding with the arrival of four new members with FCS football; for its first season, it entered into a formal partnership with the ASUN Conference to give it enough playoff-eligible members to receive an automatic playoff berth. This partnership

3854-513: The Big South Conference from 1996-2023), and retired assistant commissioner Bo Carter is considered as the SWC historian. Full members  Full members (non-football)  Independent  Other Conference  Other Conference  Big 12 Conference Founding members  Big 12 Conference Subsequent members  This is a listing of the conference facilities as of

John McDonnell Field - Misplaced Pages Continue

3948-433: The CFA correctly assumed the SEC made these additions to create a better TV product with the idea of leaving the CFA. The SEC represented one of the more valuable assets in the CFA. It seemed likely that if the SEC departed, other conferences would have a more difficult time securing preferable TV deals. In February 1994, the Southeastern Conference announced that they would be leaving the CFA and negotiate independently for

4042-624: The Division I Men's Basketball Championship and ticket sales for all championships. That money is distributed in more than a dozen ways — almost all of which directly support NCAA schools, conferences and nearly half a million student-athletes. About 60% of the NCAA's annual revenue — around $ 600 million — is annually distributed directly to Division I member schools and conferences, while more than $ 150 million funds Division I championships" (NCAA 2021). Finances Under NCAA regulations, all Division I conferences defined as "multisport conferences" must meet

4136-619: The FCS from a lower division (or from the NAIA ) are also ineligible for the playoffs. Division I FCS schools are currently restricted to giving financial assistance amounting to 63 full scholarships. As FCS football is an "equivalency" sport (as opposed to the "head-count" status of FBS football), Championship Subdivision schools may divide their allotment into partial scholarships. However, FCS schools may only have 85 players receiving any sort of athletic financial aid for football—the same numeric limit as FBS schools. Because of competitive forces, however,

4230-607: The FCS national champion is determined by a multi-team bracket tournament. For the 2020–21 school year, Division I contained 357 of the NCAA's 1,066 member institutions, with 130 in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), 127 in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), and 100 non-football schools, with six additional schools in the transition from Division II to Division I. There was a moratorium on any additional movement up to D-I until 2012, after which any school that wants to move to D-I must be accepted for membership by

4324-609: The I-AA playoffs was Jackson State in 1997 ; the SWAC never achieved success in the tournament, going winless in 19 games in twenty years (1978–97). It had greater success outside the conference while in Division II and the preceding College Division. From 2006 through 2009, the Pioneer Football League and Northeast Conference champions played in the Gridiron Classic . If a league champion

4418-543: The Midwest (Cincinnati, DePaul, Marquette, Notre Dame), Upper South (Louisville, Memphis) and Southwest (Houston, SMU). The non-football conference that assumed the Big East name when the original Big East split in 2013 is another example of this phenomenon, as half of its 10 inaugural schools (Butler, Creighton, DePaul, Marquette, Xavier) are traditionally regarded as being Midwestern. An even more extrema example of this phenomenon

4512-608: The Razorbacks won 14 NCAA national team championships and one NCAA team triple crown. The list of Arkansas individual SWC champions and individual NCAA champions is long. Standout coaches and athletes include the legendary John McDonnell of Arkansas, the winningest coach in NCAA history regardless of sport. Baylor's Michael Johnson , Texas A&M's Randy Matson , Rice's Fred Hansen, Houston's Carl Lewis , and Arkansas' Mike Conley all went on to win Olympic gold medals. The 1980s saw many of

4606-506: The SWC to join the conference as replacements for Arkansas. In March 1994, Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor, and Texas Tech accepted invitations to join with the members of the Big Eight Conference to form the Big 12 Conference . Soon afterward, Rice, SMU, and TCU accepted invitations to join the Western Athletic Conference , while Houston became a charter member of Conference USA . The Bayou Bucket game between Houston and Rice

4700-527: The SWC's demise triggering the first major realignment. (After the SWC's demise, another major realignment took place in the mid-2000s , with an even more dramatic realignment in the early 2010s and a third one now ongoing .) Arkansas' departure for the Southeastern Conference marked the beginning of the end for the Southwest Conference. After this announcement, Metro Conference member Tulane and Independent Miami were both seriously considered by

4794-593: The addition of Arizona and Arizona State, and "Pac-12" (instead of "Pacific-12") in 2011 when Colorado and Utah joined . Conferences also tend to ignore their regional names when adding new schools. For example, the Pac-8/10/12 retained its "Pacific" moniker even though its four most recent additions (Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Utah) are located in the inland West, and the original Big East kept its name even after adding schools (either in all sports or for football only) located in areas traditionally considered to be in

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4888-540: The biggest conferences. For example, the Big Ten conference in 2016 entered into contracts with Fox and ESPN that pay the conference $ 2.64 billion over six years. The NCAA also holds certain TV contracts. For example, the NCAA's contract to show the men's basketball championship tournament (widely known as March Madness) is currently under a 14-year deal with CBS and Turner that runs from 2010 to 2024 and pays $ 11 billion. For

4982-553: The champions of its East and West divisions. Also, three of its member schools traditionally do not finish their regular seasons until Thanksgiving weekend. Grambling State and Southern play each other in the Bayou Classic , and Alabama State plays Tuskegee (of Division II ) in the Turkey Day Classic . SWAC teams are eligible to accept at-large bids if their schedule is not in conflict. The last SWAC team to participate in

5076-556: The completion of the transition with the 2016 season, member schools have been allowed up to 60 full scholarship equivalents. Several Bowl Subdivision and Championship Subdivision conferences have member institutions that do not compete in football. Such schools are sometimes unofficially referred to as I-AAA. The following non-football conferences have full members that sponsor football: The following Division I conferences do not sponsor football . These conferences still compete in Division I for all sports that they sponsor. Of these,

5170-646: The conference announced it would expand in 2024 to the Pacific coast with San Francisco Bay Area rivals California and Stanford , and also add SMU from Dallas–Fort Worth . ** – "Big Four" or "Power Four" conferences that had guaranteed berths in the "access bowls" associated with the College Football Playoff before its 2024 expansion to 12 teams *** – "Group of Five" conferences The Division I Football Championship Subdivision ( FCS ), formerly known as Division I-AA , consists of 130 teams as of

5264-500: The conference happened during the 1930s and the 1960s. In 1935, the last year before the AP Poll, both SMU and TCU claimed the national title. The 2 teams had played in one of the first games labeled "game of the century" on November 30 of that year. In 1938, TCU won the AP national title. In 1939, the SWC achieved back to back national titles when Texas A&M won the AP Poll. In the 1960s, the SWC

5358-501: The conference took control of the then five-year-old Cotton Bowl Classic , which further established the prestige of both the bowl and the conference. Texas Technological College (now Texas Tech University ) joined the SWC in 1958 from the Border Conference followed by the University of Houston for the 1976 season (Houston proceeded to win the SWC football championship in its first season of league play). The two glory periods of

5452-602: The conference's athletic programs hit by recruiting scandals and NCAA probations. The only programs to escape probation in the 1980s were Arkansas, Baylor, and Rice. Because of repeated major violations , in 1987 , the SMU Mustangs football program became only the third in NCAA history to receive the so-called " death penalty " (after Kentucky basketball in 1952–53 and Southwestern Louisiana basketball from 1973 to 1975). The NCAA canceled SMU's 1987 season, and limited it to seven road games for 1988. However, nearly all of

5546-435: The conference's final years under coach Wayne Graham , reaching the CWS in 1997, the year after the conference disbanded. The Arkansas Razorbacks were dominant in track and field winning 15 SWC cross country team titles, 11 SWC indoor track team titles, 9 SWC outdoor track team titles, and an incredible 8 SWC triple crowns (cross country, indoor track and outdoor track champions all in the same season). During their SWC days,

5640-408: The conference, left after the 1990–91 school year to join the Southeastern Conference , although they did compete in the SWC in football for the 1991 season. Five years later, the conference precipitously broke up as Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech (which had entered in 1956 from the Border Conference ) combined with the members of the former Big Eight Conference to form a new league,

5734-567: The eponymous post-season championship tournament. The Ivy League was reclassified to I-AA (FCS) following the 1981 season , and plays a strict ten-game schedule. Although it qualifies for an automatic bid, the Ivy League has not played any postseason games at all since becoming a conference, citing academic concerns. The Ivy League member to play in a bowl game was Columbia in the 1934 Rose Bowl . The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) has its own championship game in mid-December between

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5828-471: The existence of an official NCAA championship in the latter subdivision. Before the 2023 season, the NCAA required that FBS schools average at least 15,000 attendance, allowing schools to report either total tickets sold or the number of persons in attendance at the games. The requirement was a minimum average of 15,000 people in attendance every other year. These numbers are posted to the NCAA statistics website for football each year. With new rules starting in

5922-594: The following criteria: FBS conferences must meet a more stringent set of requirements for NCAA recognition than other conferences: † "Power Four" conferences that had guaranteed berths in the New Year's Six , the bowl games associated with the College Football Playoff , before the playoff's 2024 expansion to 12 teams ‡ "Group of Five" conferences Sports are ranked according to total possible scholarships (number of teams x number of scholarships per team). Scholarship numbers for head-count sports are indicated without

6016-703: The highest level of intercollegiate competition. This level was previously called the University Division of the NCAA, in contrast to the lower-level College Division; these terms were replaced with numeric divisions in 1973. The University Division was renamed Division I, while the College Division was split in two; the College Division members that offered scholarships or wanted to compete against those who did became Division II, while those who did not want to offer scholarships became Division III. For college football only, D-I schools are further divided into

6110-622: The idea. The first organizational meeting of the conference was set for April 30, 1914; since not all schools involved could send representatives to attend that date, it was ultimately held on May 5 and 7 at the Oriental Hotel in Dallas, Texas . It was chaired by Bellmont, who originally wanted Louisiana State University and the University of Mississippi to join the conference as well, but they declined to do so. The Southwest Intercollegiate Athletic Conference became an official body on December 8 at

6204-563: The latter of which will move football to the Patriot League in 2025). The MAAC stopped sponsoring football in 2007, after most of its members gradually stopped fielding teams. Among current MAAC members that were in the conference before 2007, only Marist , which plays in the Pioneer Football League, still sponsors football. From 2013 to 2021, the Western Athletic Conference was a non-football league, having dropped football after

6298-501: The median spending per-school at $ 742,000. In 2014, the NCAA and the student athletes debated whether student athletes should be paid. In April, the NCAA approved students-athletes getting free unlimited meals and snacks. The NCAA stated "The adoption of the meals legislation finished a conversation that began in the Awards, Benefits, Expenses and Financial Aid Cabinet. Members have worked to find appropriate ways to ensure student-athletes get

6392-526: The membership totals to 14 in 2023 and 16 effective in 2024. On the other hand, the Pac-12 Conference used names (official or unofficial) that have reflected the number of members from the establishment of its current charter in 1959 until its collapse in 2024 . The conference unofficially used "Big Five" (1959–62), "Big Six" (1962–64), and "Pacific-8" (1964–68) before officially adopting the "Pacific-8" name. The name duly changed to "Pacific-10" in 1978 with

6486-410: The name even after it expanded to 11 members with the addition of Penn State in 1990, 12 with the addition of Nebraska in 2011 , and 14 with the arrival of Maryland and Rutgers in 2014 . The Big 12 Conference was established in 1996 with 12 members, but continues to use that name even after a number of departures and a few replacements left the conference with 10 members, and later expansions brought

6580-691: The national championship in 1983 had they won the January 1984 game, but they were bested by Georgia 10-9. The early 1980s were the glory years of SWC basketball, including the Phi Slama Jama teams at the University of Houston . The most consistent program during the last quarter of the 20th century was the University of Arkansas with Sweet 16 appearances in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1990, 1991, Elite 8 appearances in 1978, 1979, 1990, and 1991, and Final Four appearances in 1978 and 1990. Arkansas's famed Triplets - Marvin Delph , Ron Brewer and Sidney Moncrief - gave

6674-462: The northern end of the plaza, known as Championship Garden, displaying the names of all the members of each of Arkansas' NCAA championship teams, as well as several pillars dedicated to honoring the many Razorback Olympians (Olympic Garden). Even though the track was completely rebuilt, all of the old records carried over and are accepted to be the facility records. References Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference ( SWC )

6768-457: The nutrition they need without jeopardizing Pell Grants or other federal aid received by the neediest student-athletes. With their vote, members of the council said they believe loosening NCAA rules on what and when food can be provided from athletics departments is the best way to address the issue." According to the finance section of the NCAA page, "The NCAA receives most of its annual revenue from two sources: television and marketing rights for

6862-548: The official records of the conference from 1914 to 1996 were moved from Dallas to the campus of Texas Tech University , becoming part of the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library. The archive also contains an extensive assortment of images and memorabilia from each member university. The final commissioner of the Southwest Conference (1995-96) Kyle Kallander has the rights to all SWC brands and copyrights (he later served as commissioner of

6956-413: The only conference member geographically outside the state of Texas . By 1925, the conference's name was shortened to simply Southwest Conference. After its organizational years, the conference settled into regularly scheduled meetings among its members and began to gain stature nationwide. The SWC would be guided by seven commissioners, the first of whom, P. W. St. Clair, was appointed in 1938. In 1940,

7050-453: The pole vault along the outskirts of the infield, allowing nearly every outdoor track and field event to be competed simultaneously if needed. The nine-lane, 400-meter track had permanent seating for more than 2,000 spectators and was open to the public for recreational use. On September 26, 1998, the track was re-dedicated in honor of men's track coach John McDonnell. The most recent and dramatic renovations occurred in 2005. In preparation for

7144-592: The rest of the Division I-A football programs (what is now called the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision ) chose to sell their rights together through an organization called the College Football Association to ABC and CBS . The primary function of the CFA was to negotiate television broadcast rights for its member conferences and independent colleges. By 1990 , the television landscape had changed and

7238-414: The rest of the league fits. The Razorbacks' Lee Mayberry , Todd Day , and Oliver Miller won three straight SWC regular season and tournament titles from 1989 to 1991, the school's last three seasons in the conference. The passion of Arkansas fans for their Razorbacks often overran the confines of SWC basketball venues, so much so, that Reunion Arena in Dallas (annual site of the SWC postseason tournament)

7332-492: The same season. Outstanding basketball coaches included Nolan Richardson , Tom Penders , Eddie Sutton , Abe Lemons , Guy V. Lewis , Shelby Metcalf , and Gerald Myers . Great SWC hoops players included the aforementioned Triplets , Hakeem Olajuwon , Clyde Drexler , Vinnie Johnson , Jon Koncak , Alvin Robertson , Ricky Pierce , Darrell Walker , Joe Kleine , Day, Mayberry, Miller, and U.S. Reed among others. In 1997,

7426-477: The same season. The Pioneer Football League earned an automatic bid beginning in 2013. The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) began abstaining from the playoffs with the 2015 season. Like the SWAC, its members are eligible for at-large bids, and the two conferences have faced off in the Celebration Bowl as an alternative postseason game since the 2015 season. Schools in a transition period after joining

7520-427: The school's lettermen transferred elsewhere, forcing SMU to keep its football program shuttered for 1988 as well. SMU also remained on probation until 1990 . At that time, NCAA rules prohibited schools on probation from appearing on live television . As a result, the conference's market share in television coverage dwindled. The SWC's performance in football declined precipitously. The last SWC football champion to win

7614-447: The sport in which multi-sport athletes are to be counted, with the basic rules being: Subdivisions in Division I exist only in football . In all other sports, all Division I conferences are equivalent. The subdivisions were recently given names to reflect the differing levels of football play in them. As of the 2023 season, the main distinctions between Bowl Subdivision and Championship Subdivision schools are scholarship policies and

7708-570: The subdivisions grant the FCS an advantage to have the best record in college football history, 17–0, while the FBS only allows a 15–0 record. FBS attendance requirements were abolished early in the 2023 season, effective immediately. In their place, Division I added new requirements for athletic funding. Effective in 2027–28, FBS schools must fund the equivalent of at least 210 full scholarships across all of their NCAA sports; spend at least $ 6 million annually on athletic scholarships; and provide at least 90% of

7802-417: The total number of allowed scholarship equivalents across 16 sports, including football. Division I Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ), formerly known as Division I-A , is the top level of college football . Schools in Division I FBS compete in post-season bowl games , with the champions of five conferences, along with the highest-ranked champion of the other five conferences, receiving automatic bids to

7896-414: The track was resurfaced. While the surface remained Mondo Super X, the once all red track was updated to be gray with red exchange zones. In the same year, Champions Plaza was added outside the north end of the stadium. The northwest entrance was updated with a renovated sign and a 7 foot 6 inch statue of former head coach, John McDonnell. Additionally the names of every Arkansas All-American are displayed on

7990-524: The two that most recently sponsored football were the Atlantic 10 and MAAC. The A-10 football league dissolved in 2006 with its members going to CAA Football, the technically separate football league operated by the all-sports Coastal Athletic Association. In addition, four A-10 schools ( Dayton , Fordham , Duquesne , and Massachusetts ) play football in a conference other CAA Football, which still includes two full-time A-10 members ( Rhode Island and Richmond ,

8084-400: The winners of each of two divisions, with each team having played a full round-robin schedule within its division, or (2) between the conference's top two teams after a full round-robin conference schedule. Before 2016, "exempt" championship games could only be held between the divisional winners of conferences that had at least 12 football teams and split into divisions. The prize is normally

8178-715: The years. In football, John Heisman , Dana X. Bible , Paul "Bear" Bryant , Darrell Royal , Frank Broyles , Hayden Fry , Lou Holtz , Bill Yeoman , Gene Stallings , and Grant Teaff all served as head coaches in the conference. Some notable SWC players included Davey O'Brien , Sammy Baugh , Bobby Layne , Doak Walker , Tom Landry , Bob Lilly , Don Meredith , Earl Campbell , Andre Ware , Mike Singletary , John David Crow , Lance Alworth , Dan Hampton , Steve Atwater , Joe Ferguson , and Eric Dickerson . The trio of kicking contemporaries Steve Little of Arkansas, Tony Franklin of Texas A&M, and Russell Erxleben of Texas all kicked record setting field goals of 60 + yards in

8272-696: Was a 12-team tournament; this expanded to 16 teams in 1986. The playoffs expanded to 20 teams starting in 2010, then grew to 24 teams in 2013. Since the 2010 season, the title game is held in early January at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas . From 1997 through 2009, the title game was played in December in Chattanooga, Tennessee , preceded by five seasons in Huntington, West Virginia . The Football Championship Subdivision includes several conferences which do not participate in

8366-631: Was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas , at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma and Arkansas . For most of its history, the core members of the conference were Texas-based schools plus one in Arkansas: Baylor University , Rice University , Southern Methodist University , University of Texas at Austin , Texas A&M University , Texas Christian University , Texas Tech University , University of Houston , and

8460-600: Was competitive from 1985 to 1995. By the end of their respective seasons however, none of these football teams were able to remain in the national championship hunt. On June 27, 1984, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in NCAA v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma that the NCAA could not punish its membership for selling their media content. As a result, individual schools and athletic conferences were freed to negotiate contracts on their own behalf. The Big Ten and Pacific-10 conferences sold their rights to CBS and ABC. Most of

8554-440: Was deemed " Barnhill South" (after the Razorbacks' on-campus arena) based on the numbers and intensity of Hog fans present. The Texas Longhorns baseball program under coach Cliff Gustafson won national titles in 1975 and 1983 as well as titles under Bibb Falk in 1949 and 1950. The Arkansas Razorbacks also fielded fine teams that advanced to the College World Series. The Hogs finished 2nd in 1979, 3rd in 1985, and 5th in both

8648-617: Was dominated by two teams: Texas and Arkansas. Texas won the 1963 national championship , and Arkansas won a national championship in 1964 in the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and Helms Athletic Foundation (HAF) polls. In 1969, Texas won another national championship by beating #2-ranked Arkansas 15–14 in the regular season's final game (dubbed the "Big Shootout"). The 1969 Arkansas–Texas game in Fayetteville, Arkansas with President Richard Nixon in attendance

8742-635: Was invited to the national championship playoff as an at-large bid (something the Pioneer league, at least, never received), the second-place team would play in the Gridiron Classic. That game was scrapped after the 2009 season when its four-year contract ran out; this coincided with the NCAA's announcement that the Northeast Conference would get an automatic bid to the tournament starting in 2010. The Big South Conference also received an automatic bid in

8836-399: Was the last football game played in the conference. In May 1996, after the completion of championship matches in baseball and track & field , the Southwest Conference was officially dissolved. Over the course of its 82-year history, teams of the Southwest Conference garnered 64 recognized national championships in collegiate sports. The SWC had many legendary players and coaches over

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