Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association

The Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association (TIAA) was the name of two different Texas-based college sports association that operated from 1909 to 1932 and then from 1976 to 1997. From 1976 till its dissolution, it was an NCAA-affiliated Division III college athletic association.

Originally founded in 1909 by Southwestern University, Austin College, Texas Christian University, Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor University and Trinity University the TIAA had a changing set of members that spun off into the Southwest Conference, Lone Star Conference and the Texas Conference. The league had been formed to rid college athletics of objectionable elements like gambling and place them entirely under the control of the schools. At first the league worked well, but soon the disparity in the sizes of the schools became an issue. The large state schools, with bigger stadiums and crowds, began to refuse to travel to the smaller schools and insisted on playing that at home.

This battle between the large and small schools led to the first big change in 1914, when Texas, A&M, Baylor and Southwestern left to form the Southwest Conference, with some considering themselves to be members of both. After two seasons, Southwestern left the Southwest conference and returned to the TIAA. The conferences became completely separate in 1917. In 1922, TIAA expanded by including North Texas. In 1923, TCU left to join the Southwest Conference and in 1924, Rice followed suit.

In 1925 the TIAA was split between members who wanted to allow freshmen and transfers to play and schools that did not. This fault line also separated the teachers colleges that had joined over the years and the church-sponsored schools that had been founders. In May 1925 those that wanted to allow them to play, Trinity, Simmons, Austin College, Howard Payne, Southwestern and Daniel Baker left to form the Texas Conference, but they agreed to play out the fall 1925 football season within the TIAA. Play within the Texas Conference began with the 1926 basketball season. The five departing schools were all church supported and agreed to ally themselves "along denominational lines."

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