Red River Athletic Conference Explained

Red River Athletic Conference
Color:	9f012d
Font Color:	white
Founded:	1998
Association:	NAIA
Teams:	14
Sports:	15
Mens:	7
Womens:	8
Region:	South Central United States
Headquarters:	Waco, Texas
Commissioner:	Tony Stigliano
Map:	RRAC conference map.png
Map Size:	250

The Red River Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The conference's 14 member institutions are located in Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico.

History

The Red River Athletic Conference began competition in fall 1998 with 16 charter members.^[1] The conference at present counts 14 members, one of the most recent additions being Texas A&M University–Texarkana in 2016.^[2] In 2019, St. Thomas Houston announced its departure from the conference to join the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) of the NCAA Division III as a provisional member.^[3] In March 2020, Texas A&M University–San Antonio was approved for membership into the NAIA and it was simultaneously announced that the Jaguars would begin competition in the conference starting in the 2020–21 academic year,^[4] followed by Xavier University of Louisiana and Louisiana Christian University (formerly Louisiana College) in September and October respectively.^[5] ^[6] Xavier and Louisiana Christian officially joined the RRAC for the 2021–22 academic year.

On January 20, 2022, the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) invited founding Red River member Wiley College (now Wiley University) to become the GCAC's first Texas institution, effective later in July.^[7]

On July 6, 2023, North American University was accepted as the RRAC's 14th conference member for the 2023–24 school year.^[8]

Chronological timeline

1998 - The Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) was founded. Charter members included Bacone College, Houston Baptist University (now Houston Christian University), Huston–Tillotson University, Jarvis Christian College (now Jarvis Christian University), Langston University, Northwestern Oklahoma State University, Northwood University–Texas, Paul Quinn College, the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, the University of the Southwest, Southwestern Adventist University, Southwestern Assemblies of God University (now Nelson University), the University of Texas Permian Basin, Texas College, and Wiley College (now Wiley University) beginning the 1998–99 academic year.
2000 - USAO left the RRAC to join the Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) after the 1999–2000 academic year.
2001 - Texas Wesleyan University joined the RRAC in the 2001–02 academic year.
2002 - Two institutions left the RRAC to join their respective new home primary conferences: Northwestern Oklahoma State to the Sooner, and Southwestern Adventist to become an Independent within the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA), both effective after the 2001–02 academic year.
2002 - Texas A&M International University joined the RRAC in the 2002–03 academic year.
2006 - Texas–Permian Basin and Texas A&M–International left the RRAC and the NAIA to join the Division II ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Heartland Conference after the 2005–06 academic year.
2006 - The University of Texas at Brownsville joined the RRAC in the 2006–07 academic year.
2007 - Houston Christian left the RRAC and the NAIA to join the NCAA Division I ranks as an independent (which would later join the Great West Conference beginning the 2008–09 academic year) after the 2006–07 academic year.
2008 - Our Lady of the Lake University joined the RRAC in the 2008–09 academic year.
2010 - Louisiana State University-Shreveport joined the RRAC in the 2010–11 academic year.
2012 - The University of St. Thomas joined the RRAC in the 2012–13 academic year.
2013 - Northwood–Texas, SAGU and Texas Wesleyan left the RRAC to join the Sooner after the 2012–13 academic year.
2014 - Louisiana State University-Alexandria joined the RRAC in the 2014–15 academic year.
2015 - Two institutions left the RRAC to join their respective new home primary conferences: Texas–Brownsville (UTB) athletics was discontinued due to the merger with the University of Texas–Pan American (UTPA) to become the University of Texas–Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), and Bacone to join the Sooner after the 2014–15 academic year.
2015 - The University of Houston–Victoria joined the RRAC in the 2015–16 academic year.
2016 - Texas A&M University–Texarkana joined the RRAC in the 2016–17 academic year.
2018 - Langston left the RRAC to join the Sooner after the 2017–18 academic year.
2019 - St. Thomas (Tex.) left the RRAC to join the NCAA Division III ranks and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) after the 2018–19 academic year.
2020 - Texas A&M University–San Antonio joined the RRAC in the 2020–21 academic year.
2021 - Louisiana Christian University and Xavier University of Louisiana joined the RRAC in the 2021–22 academic year.
2022 - Wiley left the RRAC to join the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) after the 2021–22 academic year.
2023 - North American University joined the RRAC in the 2023–24 academic year.

Member schools

Current members

The RRAC currently has 14 full members, all but five are private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Basketball?
	Victoria, Texas	1973	Public	4,407	Jaguars	2015	none
Huston–Tillotson University	Austin, Texas	1881	United Methodist Church of Christ	800	Rams	1998	both
Jarvis Christian University	Hawkins, Texas	1912	Disciples of Christ	550	Bulldogs	1998	both
Louisiana Christian University	Pineville, Louisiana	1906	Baptist	1,200	Wildcats	2021	both
Louisiana State University of Alexandria	Alexandria, Louisiana	1959	Public	3,378	Generals	2014	both
Louisiana State University Shreveport	Shreveport, Louisiana	1967	Public	4,200		2010	both
North American University	Stafford, Texas	2007	Nonsectarian	785	Stallions	2023	both
Our Lady of the Lake University		1895	Catholic	2,660	Saints	2008	both
Paul Quinn College	Dallas, Texas	1872	A.M.E. Church	700	Tigers	1998	both
	Hobbs, New Mexico	1962	Nondenominational	550	Mustangs	1998	both
Texas College	Tyler, Texas	1894	C.M.E. Church	800	Steers	1998	both
	San Antonio, Texas	2009	Public	7,000	Jaguars	2020	both
	Texarkana, Texas	1971	Public	1,865	Eagles	2016	both
Xavier University of Louisiana	New Orleans, Louisiana	1925	Catholic	3,200	Gold Rush &<br>Gold Nuggets	2021	both

Notes:

Former members

The RRAC had 14 former full members, all but five were private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Left	Current conference
Bacone College	Muskogee, Oklahoma	1880	Tribal college	900	Warriors	1998	2015	Continental
Houston Baptist University	Houston, Texas	1960	Baptist	4,120	Huskies	1998	2007	Southland
Langston University	Langston, Oklahoma	1897	Public	2,554	Lions	1998	2018	Sooner (SAC)
Northwestern Oklahoma State University	Alva, Oklahoma	1897	Public	1,857	Rangers	1998	2001	nowrap	Great American (GAC)
Northwood University	Cedar Hill, Texas	1966	Nonsectarian	N/A	Knights	1998	2013	Closed in 2014
	Houston, Texas	1947	Catholic	1,626	Celts	2011	2019	Southern (SCAC)
	Chickasha, Oklahoma	1908	Public	813	Drovers	1998	2000	Sooner (SAC)
Southwestern Adventist University	Keene, Texas	1893	Seventh-day Adventist	800	Knights	1998	2002	USCAA Independent
Southwestern Assemblies of God University	Waxahachie, Texas	1927	Assemblies of God	2,080	Lions	1998	2013	Sooner (SAC)
Texas A&M International University	Laredo, Texas	1969	Public	4,298	Dustdevils	2002	2006	Lone Star (LSC)
Texas Wesleyan University	Fort Worth, Texas	1890	United Methodist	2,373	Rams	2001	2013	Sooner (SAC)
	Brownsville, Texas	1991	Public	N/A	Ocelots	2006	2015	nowrap	N/A
	Odessa, Texas	1973	Public	7,628	Falcons	1998	2006	Lone Star (LSC)
Wiley College	Marshall, Texas	1873	United Methodist	1,250	Wildcats	1998	2022	HBCU (HBCUAC)

Notes:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyyImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20Period = from:1998 till:2028TimeAxis = orientation:horizontalPlotArea = right:5 left:5 bottom:40 top:5

Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7) id:line value:black id:bg value:white id:Full value:rgb(0.7,0.9,0.8) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports id:FullxF value:rgb(0.9,0.8,0.7) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football id:AssocF value:rgb(0.9,0.7,0.8) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.8,0.9,0.7) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for another sport only id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference when the other color has already been used

PlotData = width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s

bar:1 color:FullxF from:1998 till:2015 text:Bacone (1998–2015) bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2015 till:2019 text:Sooner bar:1 color:OtherC2 from:2019 till:end text:NAIA Ind.

bar:2 color:FullxF from:1998 till:2007 text:Houston Christian (1998–2007) bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:2007 till:2008 text:D-II Ind bar:2 shift:(20) color:OtherC2 from:2008 till:2013 text:Great West bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text:Southland

bar:3 color:FullxF from:1998 till:end text:Huston–Tillotson (1998–present)

bar:4 color:FullxF from:1998 till:end text:Jarvis Christian (1998–present)

bar:5 color:FullxF from:1998 till:2018 text:Langston (1998–2018) bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:2018 till:end text:Sooner

bar:6 color:FullxF from:1998 till:2002 text:Northwestern Oklahoma State (1998–2002) bar:6 shift:(100) color:OtherC1 from:2002 till:2012 text:Sooner bar:6 color:OtherC2 from:2012 till:end text:Great American

bar:7 color:FullxF from:1998 till:2013 text:Northwood–Texas (1998–2013) bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:2014 text:Sooner

bar:8 color:FullxF from:1998 till:end text:Paul Quinn (1998–present)

bar:9 color:FullxF from:1998 till:end text:Southwest (N.Mex.) (1998–present)

bar:10 color:FullxF from:1998 till:2002 text:Southwestern Adventist (1998–2002) bar:10 shift:(70) color:OtherC1 from:2002 till:end text:USCAA

bar:11 color:FullxF from:1998 till:2013 text:Southwestern Assemblies of God (1998–2013) bar:11 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text:Sooner

bar:12 color:FullxF from:1998 till:2006 text:Texas–Permian Basin (1998–2006) bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:2006 till:2016 text:Heartland bar:12 color:OtherC2 from:2016 till:end text:Lone Star

bar:13 color:FullxF from:1998 till:end text:Texas College (1998–present)

bar:14 color:FullxF from:1998 till:2000 text:USAO (1998–2000) bar:14 shift:(50) color:OtherC1 from:2000 till:end text:Sooner

bar:15 color:FullxF from:1998 till:2022 text:Wiley (1998–2022) bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:2022 till:end text:GCAC

bar:16 color:FullxF from:2001 till:2013 text:Texas Weslayan (2001–2013) bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text:Sooner

bar:17 color:FullxF from:2002 till:2006 text:Texas A&M International (2002–2006) bar:17 shift:(70) color:OtherC1 from:2006 till:2019 text:Heartland bar:17 color:OtherC2 from:2019 till:end text:Lone Star

bar:18 color:FullxF from:2006 till:2015 text:Texas–Brownsville (2006–2015)

bar:19 color:FullxF from:2008 till:end text:Our Lady of the Lake (2008–present)

bar:20 color:FullxF from:2010 till:end text:Louisiana State–Shreveport (2010–present)

bar:21 color:FullxF from:2011 till:2019 text:Saint Thomas (Tex.) (2011–2019) bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:2019 till:end text:SCAC

bar:22 color:FullxF from:2014 till:end text:Louisiana State–Alexandria (2014–present)

bar:23 color:FullxF from:2015 till:end text:Houston–Victoria (2015–present)

bar:24 color:FullxF from:2016 till:end text:Texas A&M–Texarkana (2016–present)

bar:25 color:FullxF from:2020 till:end text:Texas A&M–San Antonio (2020–present)

bar:26 color:FullxF from:2021 till:end text:Louisiana Christian (2021–present)

bar:27 color:FullxF from:2021 till:end text:Xavier (La.) (2021–present)

bar:28 color:FullxF from:2023 till:end text:North American (2023–present)

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1998

TextData = fontsize:M textcolor:black pos:(0,25) tabs:(400-center) text:^"Red River Athletic Conference membership history"

> If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following three options (use only the colors that are used in the graphic.) Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space.

Sports

A divisional format is used for basketball (M / W), softball, and volleyball.
width=50%	Jarvis Christian Louisiana Christian LSU Alexandria LSU Shreveport Texas College Texas A&M-Texarkana Xavier	width=50%	Houston-Victoria Huston-Tillotson North American Our Lady of the Lake Paul Quinn Southwest Texas A&M-San Antonio

The Red River Athletic Conference sponsors championships in seven men's and eight women's sports.

Notes and References

Web site: Looking Back at the Past 15 Years of RRAC Basketball . Victory Sports Network . June 18, 2013 . July 20, 2015.
Web site: LSUA Joins the Red River Athletic Conference . LSU Alexandria . October 23, 2013 . July 20, 2015.
Web site: NCAA Advances UST Houston to Provisional Members Division III. University of St. Thomas. February 25, 2019.
News: NAIA Approves Five Institutions for Membership . March 31, 2020 . NAIA . March 31, 2020.
News: Xavier University of Louisiana to become RRAC's 13th member institution in 2021-22 . October 24, 2020 . Red River Athletic Conference . September 14, 2020.
Web site: Louisiana College accepted into NAIA, joins RRAC and SAC . Crescent City Sports . October 5, 2020 . October 24, 2020.
News: GCAC Extends Membership To Oakwood University, Wiley College, Southern University at New Orleans . February 2, 2022 . Gulf Coast Athletic Conference . January 20, 2022.
Web site: North American University Joins RRAC as 14th Member Institution . July 6, 2023 . Red River Athletic Conference . July 6, 2023.