Categories
  • Defunct college sports conferences in the United States
  • College sports in Tennessee
    •   Encyclosphere.org ENCYCLOREADER
      supported by EncyclosphereKSF

    Tennessee Collegiate Athletic Conference

    From Wikipedia - Reading time: 4 min
    TCAC logo

    The Tennessee Collegiate Athletic Conference (TCAC) was a former college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA); which was predominantly for smaller, private colleges in Western and Middle Tennessee.

    History

    [edit]

    The TCAC was created in 1985 from the western division of the old Volunteer State Athletic Conference. The charter members were Belmont University, Bethel College, Christian Brothers University, Cumberland University, David Lipscomb University, Freed–Hardeman University, Lambuth University, Martin Methodist College, Trevecca Nazarene University, and Union University. The TCAC survived in that form until 1995 when both Belmont and Christian Brothers announced their intentions to go to the NCAA. The remaining teams formed a new conference, the TranSouth Athletic Conference which existed until the 2012–2013 school year.

    Chronological timeline

    [edit]
    • 1985 - The Tennessee Collegiate Athletic Conference (TCAC) was founded. Charter members included Belmont University, Bethel College, Christian Brothers University, Cumberland University, David Lipscomb University, Freed–Hardeman University, Lambuth University, Trevecca Nazarene University and Union University, beginning the 1985–86 academic year.
    • 1994 - Martin Methodist College (now the University of Tennessee Southern) joined the TCAC in the 1994–95 academic year.
    • 1996 - The TCAC would cease operations as an athletic conference after the 1995–96 academic year; as many schools left to join their respective new home primary conferences, beginning the 1996–97 academic year: Bethel (Tenn.), David Lipscomb, Freed–Hardeman, Martin Methodist (now UT Southern), Trevecca Nazarene and Union (Tenn.) to form the TranSouth Athletic Conference (TranSouth or TSAC); with Cumberland (Tenn.) and Lambuth to the Mid-South Conference (MSC); Belmont to the Division I ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as an NCAA D-I Independent (which would later join the Atlantic Sun Conference, beginning the 2001–02 academic year); and Christian Brothers to the NCAA Division II ranks and the Gulf South Conference (GSC).

    Member schools

    [edit]

    Final members

    [edit]
    Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Left Subsequent
    conference(s)     		Current
    conference
    Belmont University Nashville, Tennessee 1890 Nondenominational 8,700 Bruins 1985 1996 various[a] Missouri Valley (MVC)[b]
    (2022–present)
    Bethel College[c] McKenzie, Tennessee 1842 Cumberland
    Presbyterian     		2,975 Wildcats 1985 1996 various[d] Mid-South (MSC)
    (2020–present)
    Christian Brothers University Memphis, Tennessee 1871 Catholic
    (R.S.F.)     		1,968 Buccaneers 1985 1996 Gulf South (GSC)[e]
    (1996–present)
    Cumberland University Lebanon, Tennessee 1842 Nonsectarian 1,500 Bulldogs[f] 1985 1996 Mid-South (MSC)
    (1996–2002)
    TranSouth (TSAC)
    (2002–12)     		Mid-South (MSC)
    (2012–present)
    David Lipscomb University Nashville, Tennessee 1891 Churches
    of Christ     		4,278 Bisons 1985 1996 TranSouth (TSAC)
    (1996–2001)
    D-I Independent
    (2001–03)     		Atlantic Sun (ASUN)[b]
    (2003–present)
    Freed–Hardeman University Henderson, Tennessee 1869 Churches
    of Christ     		2,027 Lions 1985 1996 TranSouth (TSAC)
    (1996–2013)
    American Midwest (AMC)
    (2013–20)     		Mid-South (MSC)
    (2020–present)
    Lambuth University Jackson, Tennessee 1843 United
    Methodist     		800 Eagles 1985 1996 various[g] Closed in 2011
    Martin Methodist College[h] Pulaski, Tennessee 1870 Public[i] 1,000 FireHawks 1994 1996 various[j] Southern States (SSAC)
    (2023–present)
    Trevecca Nazarene University[k] Nashville, Tennessee 1901 Nazarene 2,345 Trojans 1985 1996 TranSouth (TSAC)
    (1996–2012)
    Great Midwest (G-MAC)[e]
    (2012–24)     		Gulf South (GSC)[e]
    (2024–present)
    Union University Jackson, Tennessee 1823 Baptist 4,259 Bulldogs 1985 1996 TranSouth (TSAC)
    (1996–2012)     		Gulf South (GSC)[e]
    (2012–present)
    Notes
    1. ^ Belmont had joined the following subsequent conferences: as an NCAA D-I Independent from 1996–97 to 2000–01; the Atlantic Sun Conference from 2001–02 to 2011–12; and the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) from 2012–13 to 2021–22.
    2. ^ a b Currently an NCAA Division I athletic conference.
    3. ^ Currently known as Bethel University since 2009.
    4. ^ Bethel (Tenn.) had joined the following subsequent conferences: the TranSouth Athletic Conference (TSAC) from 1996–97 to 1997–98 (and again from 2006–07 to 2012–13); the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC) from 1998–99 to 2005–06; and the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) from 2013–14 to 2019–20.
    5. ^ a b c d Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.
    6. ^ Cumberland (Tenn.) changed its nickname from Bulldogs to Phoenix in 2016.
    7. ^ Lambuth had joined the following subsequent conferences: the Mid-South Conference (MSC) from 1996–97 to 2005–06; the TranSouth Athletic Conference (TSAC) from 2006–07 to 2008–09; and as an NAIA/NCAA D-II Independent from 2009–10 to 2010–11.
    8. ^ Currently known as the University of Tennessee Southern since 2021.
    9. ^ UT Southern (formerly Martin Methodist) was a private institution affiliated with the United Methodist Church until July 2021.
    10. ^ UT Southern (formerly Martin Methodist) had joined the following subsequent conferences: the TranSouth Athletic Conference (TSAC) from 1996–97 to 2012–13; the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) from 2013–14 to 2019–20; and the Mid-South Conference (MSC) from 2020–21 to 2022–23.
    11. ^ Formerly known as Trevecca Nazarene College until 1995.

    Membership timeline

    [edit]
    Mid-South ConferenceSouthern States Athletic ConferenceTranSouth Athletic ConferenceUniversity of Tennessee SouthernGulf South ConferenceTranSouth Athletic ConferenceUnion UniversityGulf South ConferenceGreat Midwest Athletic ConferenceTranSouth Athletic ConferenceTrevecca Nazarene UniversityASUN ConferenceNCAA Division I independent schoolsTranSouth Athletic ConferenceLipscomb UniversityNCAA Division II independent schoolsTranSouth Athletic ConferenceMid-South ConferenceLambuth UniversityMid-South ConferenceAmerican Midwest ConferenceTranSouth Athletic ConferenceFreed–Hardeman UniversityMid-South ConferenceTranSouth Athletic ConferenceMid-South ConferenceCumberland UniversityGulf South ConferenceChristian Brothers UniversityMid-South ConferenceSouthern States Athletic ConferenceTranSouth Athletic ConferenceRiver States ConferenceTranSouth Athletic ConferenceBethel University (Tennessee)Missouri Valley ConferenceOhio Valley ConferenceASUN ConferenceNCAA Division I independent schoolsBelmont University

     Full member (non-football) 

    [edit]

    The TCAC sponsored 9 sports for men and women including baseball, basketball, golf, tennis, softball, and volleyball. Bethel and Cumberland play football in the Mid-South Conference. Defunct Lambuth also played football.

    This article is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
    Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee Collegiate Athletic Conference
    Status: article is cached
    Encyclosphere.org EncycloReader is supported by the EncyclosphereKSF