Southern Athletic Association

NCAA Division III collegiate division

Southern Athletic Association

Association| NCAA
Founded| Chartered: 2011
Began play: 2012
Commissioner| Stacey LaDew
Sports fielded|

* 23
* men's: 11
* women's: 12

Division| Division III
No. of teams| 8 + 2 football-only affiliates (9 in 2026–27)
Headquarters| Atlanta, Georgia
Official website| saa-sports.com
Locations

Southern Athletic Association

240km
149miles

Berry

Trinity

Southwestern

Maryville

Sewanee

Rhodes

Oglethorpe

Millsaps

Centre

Location of SAA members:
Current members
Future members

The Southern Athletic Association (SAA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III that began play in the 2012–13 school year. It was formed in 2011 by seven former members of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference and independent Berry College.[1]

## History

[edit]

### Chronological timeline

[edit]

* 2011 – The Southern Athletic Association (SAA) was founded, whose charter members include seven member schools that were competing for the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC): (Birmingham–Southern College, Centre College, Hendrix College, Millsaps College, Oglethorpe University, Rhodes College and Sewanee: The University of the South), and NCAA Division III independent Berry College, with competition to begin effective in the 2012–13 academic year.
* 2015 – The University of Chicago and Washington University in St. Louis joined the SAA as affiliate members for football in the 2015 fall season (2015–16 school year).
* 2017
* Chicago and Washington (MO) left the SAA as affiliate members for football after the 2016 fall season (2016–17 school year).
* Austin College and Trinity University joined the SAA as affiliate members for football in the 2017 fall season (2017–18 school year).
* 2021
* Austin College left the SAA as an affiliate member for football after the 2020 fall season (2020–21 school year).
* Southwestern University of Texas joined the SAA as an affiliate member for football, beginning the 2023 fall season (2023-24 school year).
* 2023 – Trinity University and Southwestern University of Texas announced they would join the SAA as full members, beginning in the fall of 2025.[2]
* 2024
* Birmingham–Southern closed at the end of the 2023–24 school year (more precisely, on May 31).[3]
* Hendrix announced it would return to the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) after the 2024–25 school year.[4]
* Maryville College was accepted to the SAA as a full member, to join during the fall of 2026. Maryville's football and women's golf joined SAA competition for the fall of 2025 as an associate member.[5]

## Member schools

[edit]

Every member in the history of the SAA, whether current, former, full, or associate, has been a private school.

### Full members

[edit]

#### Current full members

[edit]

The SAA currently has eight full members.

Institution  | Location  | Founded  | Affiliation  | Enrollment  | Endowment  | Nickname  | Joined[a] | Colors  | Football?

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Berry College | Mount Berry, Georgia | 1902  | Nondenominational | 2,367[6] | $1,261,304,000  | Vikings | 2012  |  | Yes
Centre College | Danville, Kentucky | 1819  | Presbyterian | 1,400[7] | $ 391,321,000  | Colonels | 2012  |  | Yes
Millsaps College | Jackson, Mississippi | 1890  | United Methodist  | 700[8] | $81,847,000  | Majors | 2012  |  | Yes
Oglethorpe University | Atlanta, Georgia | 1835  | Nondenominational  | 1,494[9] | $462,795,000  | Stormy Petrels | 2012  |  | No
Rhodes College | Memphis, Tennessee | 1848  | Presbyterian  | 2,070[10] | $406,964,000  | Lynx | 2012  |  | Yes
Sewanee: The University of the South | Sewanee, Tennessee | 1857  | Episcopal | 1,735[11] | $462,795,000  | Tigers | 2012  |  | Yes
Southwestern University | Georgetown, Texas | 1840  | United Methodist | 1,536  | $255,955,000  | Pirates | 2025  |  | Yes
Trinity University | San Antonio, Texas | 1869  | Nonsectarian[b] | 2,759[12] | $1,856,100,000  | Tigers | 2025  |  | Yes

Notes

1. ^ Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
2. ^ Partially affiliated with the Presbyterian Church.

#### Future full members

[edit]

Institution  | Location  | Founded  | Affiliation  | Enrollment  | Endowment  | Nickname  | Joining[a] | Colors  | Football  | Current
conference

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Maryville College | Maryville, Tennessee | 1819  | Presbyterian
(PCUSA) | 1,103  | $93,100,000  | Scots | 2026[b] |  | Yes  | CCS

Notes

1. ^ Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
2. ^ Maryville will join the SAA as an affiliate for football and women's golf in 2025 before becoming a full member in 2026.

#### Former full members

[edit]

Institution  | Location  | Founded  | Affiliation  | Nickname  | Joined[a] | Left[b] | Colors  | Football?  | Current
conference

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Birmingham–Southern College | Birmingham, Alabama | 1856  | United Methodist | Panthers | 2012  | 2024  |  | Yes  | Closed in 2024
Hendrix College | Conway, Arkansas | 1876  | United Methodist  | Warriors | 2012  | 2025  |  | Yes  | Southern Collegiate (SCAC)

Notes

1. ^ Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
2. ^ Represents the calendar year when spring sports competition ends.

### Affiliate members

[edit]

Two schools, the University of Chicago and Washington University in St. Louis (WashU), announced their intention to become affiliate members of the conference for football, effective in 2015. Both are members of the University Athletic Association (UAA), which at the time had a football scheduling alliance with the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). However, after the 2012 season, the NCAC adopted a full round-robin football schedule, making it impossible for that conference to fill in all of its non-conference dates with the four UAA members that sponsor the sport.

Over the summer of 2015, Chicago and WashU announced that they would leave the SAA after two seasons of competition in order to join more geographically-convenient conferences.[13] WashU will maintain its football affiliation with the UAA for the 2017 season before joining the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin in 2018 as a football-only member. For nearly a year, Chicago did not announce a future league affiliation, but it announced in May 2016 that it would become a football-only member of the Midwest Conference in 2017.[14]

On November 18, 2015, Trinity University and Austin College announced they would affiliate with the SAA for football, renewing a relationship that was lost when the SAA split from the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.[15] As a result, the SCAC will no longer offer football as a sport from 2017. On August 13, 2020, Austin College announced it would move to the American Southwest Conference as a football-only affiliate beginning with the 2021 season, committing to at least four years as an affiliate.[16]

On August 19, 2021, the conference announced that Southwestern University, a current football-only affiliate member of the American Southwest Conference, would join the SAA as a football-only affiliate effective with the 2023 football season.[17] On March 9, 2023, the SAA announced that Southwestern University and Trinity University will join the SAA as full members in 2025.[2]

#### Current affiliate members

[edit]

The SAA currently has one affiliate member, which will become a full member in 2026.

Institution  | Location  | Founded  | Affiliation  | Enrollment  | Nickname  | Joined[a] | Colors  | SAA
sport  | Primary
conference

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Maryville College | Maryville, Tennessee | 1819  | Presbyterian
(PCUSA) | 1,103  | Scots | 2025  |  | football
women's golf  | CCS (primary)

Notes

1. ^ Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.

#### Former affiliate members

[edit]

Five schools have been SAA affiliate members but have since either left the conference or upgraded to full membership.

Institution  | Location  | Founded  | Affiliation  | Enrollment  | Nickname  | Joined[a] | Left[b] | Colors  | SAA
sport  | Primary
conference  | Conference
in former
SAA sport

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Austin College | Sherman, Texas | 1849  | Presbyterian | 1,278  | 'Roos | 2017  | 2021  |  | football  | Southern (SCAC) | American Southwest (ASC)
University of Chicago | Chicago, Illinois | 1890  | Non-denominational  | 5,134  | Maroons | 2015  | 2017  |  | University (UAA) | Midwest (MWC)
Southwestern University | Georgetown, Texas | 1840  | United Methodist | 1,507  | Pirates | 2017  | 2025  |  | SAA
Trinity University | San Antonio, Texas | 1869  | Nonsectarian[c] | 2,759[12] | Tigers | 2017  | 2025  |  | SAA
Washington University in St. Louis | St. Louis, Missouri | 1853  | Nonsectarian  | 5,997  | Bears | 2015  | 2017  |  | University (UAA) | Illinois–Wisconsin (CCIW)

Notes

1. ^ Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
2. ^ Represents the calendar year when spring sports competition ends.
3. ^ Partially affiliated with the Presbyterian Church.

### Membership timeline

[edit]

Full member Full member except football Associate member for football Other conference

## Sports

[edit]

The Southern Athletic Association sponsors 11 men's sports and 12 women's sports. The members mostly sponsor all the sports in the conference except that Oglethorpe University does not have a football team.

Teams in Southern Athletic Association competition Sport | Men's | Women's

|
|

Baseball | 7 | \-
Basketball | 7 | 7
Cross country | 7 | 7
Football | 8 | \-
Golf | 7 | 7
Lacrosse | 7 | 7
Soccer | 7 | 7
Softball | - | 7
Swimming & diving | 7 | 7
Tennis | 7 | 7
Indoor track & field | 7 | 7
Outdoor track & field | 7 | 7
Volleyball | - | 7

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Eight Division III Southeastern Colleges Form Southern Athletic Association". Rhodes College. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
2. ^ a b "SAA Welcomes Southwestern University and Trinity University (Texas) as Full-time Members" (Press release). Southern Athletic Association. March 9, 2023. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
3. ^ Taylor, Drew; McQueen, Maddie. "Birmingham-Southern College closing its doors May 31". CBS 42. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
4. ^ "Hendrix College Announces Return to SCAC in 2025". Hendrix College Athletics. June 11, 2024. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
5. ^ "Maryville College Approved for Full SAA Membership". saa-sports.com. SAA. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
6. ^ "BERRY QUICK FACTS". Berry College. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
7. ^ "ABOUT CENTRE COLLEGE". Centre College. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
8. ^ "About Millsaps". Millsaps College. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
9. ^ McCray, Vanessa (November 28, 2022). "How some Georgia colleges defy trend toward enrollment drops". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
10. ^ "About Rhodes". Rhodes College. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
11. ^ "SEWANEE AT A GLANCE". Sewanee University. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
12. ^ a b Perez, Danya (November 1, 2022). "San Antonio's big universities recover enrollment — but most smaller ones still have post-pandemic blues". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
13. ^ "Wash U, Chicago already leaving SAA". d3football.com. June 12, 2015. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
14. ^ "UChicago football set to join Midwest Conference as affiliate member in 2017" (Press release). Athletics & Recreation, The University of Chicago. May 11, 2016. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
15. ^ "Austin College; Trinity Accept Football Affiliate Membership Offer from SAA" (Press release). Retrieved December 21, 2015.
16. ^ "'Roo Football to Join ASC as Affiliate Member" (Press release). Austin College Athletics. August 13, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
17. ^ "SAA announces that Southwestern University will join the league as an affiliate member in football" (Press release). August 19, 2021. Retrieved August 19, 2021.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Southern Athletic Association.

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Southern Athletic Association

Full members|

* Berry Vikings
* Centre Colonels
* Hendrix Warriors1
* Millsaps Majors
* Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels
* Rhodes Lynx
* Sewanee Tigers
* Southwestern Pirates
* Trinity Tigers

Future members|

* Maryville Scots (2026)

* 1leaving in 2025

* v
* t
* e

NCAA Division III all-sports conferences

* Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference
* American Rivers Conference
* American Southwest Conference
* Atlantic East Conference
* Centennial Conference
* City University of New York Athletic Conference
* Coast to Coast Athletic Conference
* College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
* Collegiate Conference of the South
* Conference of New England
* Empire 8
* Great Northeast Athletic Conference
* Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference
* Landmark Conference
* Liberty League
* Little East Conference
* Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference
* Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association
* Middle Atlantic Conferences (Commonwealth
* Freedom)
* Midwest Conference
* Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
* New England Small College Athletic Conference
* New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference
* New Jersey Athletic Conference
* North Atlantic Conference
* North Coast Athletic Conference
* Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference
* Northwest Conference
* Ohio Athletic Conference
* Old Dominion Athletic Conference
* Presidents' Athletic Conference
* St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
* Skyline Conference
* Southern Athletic Association
* Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
* Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
* State University of New York Athletic Conference
* United East Conference
* University Athletic Association
* Upper Midwest Athletic Conference
* USA South Athletic Conference
* Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
* Independents

* v
* t
* e

NCAA Division III football conferences

* American Rivers Conference
* American Southwest Conference
* Centennial Conference
* College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
* Conference of New England
* Empire 8
* Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference
* Landmark Conference
* Liberty League
* Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference
* Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association
* Middle Atlantic Conference
* Midwest Conference
* Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
* New England Small College Athletic Conference
* New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference
* New Jersey Athletic Conference
* North Coast Athletic Conference
* Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference
* Northwest Conference
* Ohio Athletic Conference
* Old Dominion Athletic Conference
* Presidents' Athletic Conference
* Southern Athletic Association
* Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
* Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
* Upper Midwest Athletic Conference
* USA South Athletic Conference
* Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
* Independents

NCAA Division III Football Championship
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