Southland Conference
| Southland Conference | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Established | 1963 |
| Association | NCAA |
| Division |
Division I D-IAA/FCS (1982–) NCAA D-IA (1978–1981) NCAA D-I (1975–1977) NCAA D-II (1964–1974) |
| Members | 13 |
| Sports fielded | 17 (men's: 8; women's: 9) |
| Region | West South Central |
| Former names | Southland Football League (1996–2002, football-only) |
| Headquarters | Frisco, Texas |
| Commissioner | Tom Burnett (since 2002) |
| Website | southland.org |
| Locations | |
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The Southland Conference is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it participates in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The Southland sponsors 17 sports, nine for women and eight for men, and is governed by a presidential Board of Directors and an Advisory Council of athletic and academic administrators. Tom Burnett was named the Southland's sixth commissioner on Dec. 23, 2002. From 1996 to 2002, for football only, the Southland Conference was known as the Southland Football League.
The conference's offices are located in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas.
Founded in 1963, its members were Abilene Christian College (now Abilene Christian University; departed in 1973 for NCAA Division II, but moved to Division I and re-joined the Southland in 2013), Arkansas State College (now Arkansas State University; departed in 1987, now a member of the Sun Belt Conference), Arlington State College (now The University of Texas at Arlington, departed in 2012 now also in the Sun Belt), Lamar State College of Technology (now Lamar University; departed in 1987, but re-joined in 1999), and Trinity University (departed in 1971, now participating in NCAA Division III).
Since its founding, the Southland Conference has been the home for 18 college and university all-sports programs (see membership timeline below). In addition, the conference has also been home to some schools for one sport only. In the case of football, Troy University fielded a team from 1996 to 2000 and Jacksonville State University did so from 1997 to 2002. This has also been the case for some Olympic sports like men's tennis, in which the University of Texas–Pan American (UTPA) and the University of New Orleans (UNO) fielded teams as affiliate members before 2013, when UTPA joined the WAC and UNO became a full Southland member.
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