The Southern Athletic Association (SAA) is an NCAA Division III athletic conference located in the southeastern United States.
Introduction To The Conference
The Southern Athletic Association was founded in 2011 and consists of ten current member institutions. It is composed of private, liberal arts schools located in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee. The conference was formerly known as the Great South Athletic Conference, which folded in 2011.
History Of The Conference
The Southern Athletic Association was founded in July of 2011 by Birmingham-Southern College, Centre College, Hendrix College, Millsaps College, Oglethorpe University, Rhodes College, and Sewanee. Berry College, Birmingham-Southern’s former rival in the Great South, joined in 2012. Hendrix and Millsaps left the conference in 2017 to join the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, and Belhaven University and University of the Ozarks joined the SAA. The current membership consists of the ten institutions listed above.
Member Institutions/Sports
The Southern Athletic Association consists of ten member institutions, listed below in alphabetical order:
- Belhaven University
- Birmingham-Southern College
- Centre College
- Rhodes College
- Sewanee: The University of the South
- University of the Ozarks
- Berry College
- Millsaps College
- Oglethorpe University
- Hendrix College
The Southern Athletic Association sponsors 18 sports, including baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and wrestling for men; and basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and wrestling for women.
Notable Achievements and Rivalries
The Southern Athletic Association has been home to some notable achievements for its individual schools. Birmingham-Southern College, for example, won the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field national championship in 2017. Rhodes College won the Division III baseball championship in 2017, and Sewanee: The University of the South had a championship soccer program.
Many of the schools in the conference have rivalry games among themselves, creating memorable match-ups all throughout the season. The most notable of these rivalries is between Sewanee and Centre, which is one of the oldest football rivalries in the South. This rivalry began in 1899 and is referred to as the “Battle of the Grits”.
Conference Operational Policies
The Southern Athletic Association is governed by a five-member executive board, consisting of presidents of member institutions. The conference is divided into two divisions – East and West – for five sports – basketball, lacrosse, soccer, softball, and volleyball. Schedules are made on an annual basis and games are played in the traditional home-and-away format.
Conference championship events are run on an annual basis in each of the respective sports. Both individual and team champions are crowned at each of these events.
Role & Impact Of The Conference
The Southern Athletic Association plays an important role in the local and national sports scene. Its member institutions provide a high quality of education and athletic competition to athletes from all over the country. The conference also provides a platform for student-athletes to compete against some of the top athletics programs in the country.
The SAA also plays an important role in the region by providing athletic competitions, conferences, and events which promote healthy competition and sportsmanship. These events bring in fans, revenue, and recognition to the member schools, thus helping to support the conference’s objectives of providing opportunities for student-athletes and supporting member institutions.
Future Prospects Of The Southern Athletic Association
Recent trends in collegiate athletics suggest that the Southern Athletic Association is well positioned for the future. The conference is well-respected by coaches and athletes from around the country and is in a great position to continue to grow and expand its reach. The SAA has already taken steps to increase its presence in the region, by hosting conference championships and hosting tournaments in some of its member institutions.
The Southern Athletic Association has the potential to become one of the top Division III conferences in the country. The future looks bright for the SAA, as it continues to grow and gain more recognition for its members and their successes.