The Sooner Athletic Conference ( SAC ) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Originally developed as a five-team conference of Oklahoma-based schools, the SAC now boasts 13 schools in a league that spans six states – Arkansas , Kansas , Missouri , Oklahoma , Texas , and Louisiana.
7-644: As of August 2021, SAC member institutions have collected 109 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) team championships – the most among NAIA conferences – since the league formed in 1978. The SAC crowns league champions in 18 intercollegiate sports – nine for women and nine for men. Women's sports are basketball, softball, golf, tennis, cross country, soccer, volleyball, indoor track & field, outdoor track & field, and wrestling. Men's sports are football, basketball, baseball, golf, tennis, cross country, indoor track & field, outdoor track & field, soccer, and wrestling. The newest conference sport
14-576: A per-sport basis, with University of Houston–Victoria, University of the Southwest, and University of St. Thomas being part of the SAC in women's golf since 2017. Lyon College has been an associate member for women's wrestling since 2019. Past members of the SAC include: Oklahoma Baptist, Oklahoma Christian, Southern Nazarene, Rogers State, Lubbock Christian, Northwestern Oklahoma State, Northwood, St. Gregory's and Bacone. The league also includes associate members on
21-792: A per-sport basis. Arizona Christian University, Lyon (Ark.) College, Ottawa University-Arizona and Texas College became SAC members for football in 2018-19 with Louisiana College joining for 2021–22. The Sooner currently has 13 full members, all but four are private schools: The Sooner currently has eight associate members, all but one are private schools: The Sooner had ten former full members, all but two were private schools: The Sooner had seven former associate members, all were private schools: Full member (all sports) Full member (non-football) Associate member (football-only) Associate member (sport) NAIA national men%27s basketball championship Too Many Requests If you report this error to
28-507: A total of 112. Originally developed as a five-team conference of Oklahoma-based schools, the SAC now boasts 12 schools in a league that spans four states (Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Kansas). The league's newest addition is the University of North Texas Dallas, which entered the conference as an full member for 2021-22 and an associate member in 2020-21. The SAC added Central Christian College of Kansas and Oklahoma Panhandle State University to
35-575: Is women's wrestling, added for the 2019–20 season. The conference is known for a rich basketball tradition. Member schools have won the men's NAIA tournament 12 times and women's NAIA tournament 16 times. SAC member schools also boast 14 NAIA national titles in men's golf, 13 in softball, 12 in women's indoor track and field, 10 in women's golf, 10 in men's cross country, 6 in men's tennis, 5 in women's outdoor track and field, 5 in men's indoor track and field, 4 in men's outdoor track and field, 2 in baseball, 2 in competitive cheer, and 1 in men's soccer for
42-795: The SAC banner over the years. Today only the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma remains from the original group that was formed when Bethany Nazarene (now Southern Nazarene), Oklahoma Baptist, Oklahoma Christian, and Phillips University withdrew from the Texoma Conference to form the SAC. Membership has changed over the years with today's current members being admitted as follows: Oklahoma City (1986), Wayland Baptist (1994), John Brown (1995), Mid-America Christian (2007), Southwestern Assemblies of God (2013), Texas Wesleyan (2013), Southwestern Christian (2013), Bacone (2014), Central Christian (2017), Oklahoma Panhandle State (2017), and North Texas–Dallas (2020). The league also includes associate members on
49-483: The fold for 2017-18, then dropped to 11 schools when St. Gregory's announced its closure in November 2017. The league added Langston University in 2018-19 as its first Historically Black College and University (HBCU) member, then dropped Bacone (Okla.) College after that same year. Throughout the league's history, the SAC continues to be known as the conference "Where Champions Play". Various institutions have competed under
#805194