Border Conference
| Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association (Border Conference) |
|
|---|---|
| Established | 1931 |
| Dissolved | 1962 |
| Association | NCAA |
| Division | Division I |
| Members | 6 (final) 9 (total) |
| Region | Southwestern United States |
| Locations | |
The Border Conference (officially known as the Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association), was an NCAA-affiliated college athletic conference founded in 1931 that disbanded following the 1961-1962 season. Centered in the southwestern United States, the conference formerly included nine member institutions located in the states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.
Contents |
Members
Charter members playing American football (and years of membership) included:
- Arizona (1931–1961)
- Arizona State Teachers'-Flagstaff (now Northern Arizona; 1931–1952)
- Arizona State Teachers'-Tempe (now Arizona State; 1931–1961)
- University of New Mexico (1931–1951)
- New Mexico A&M (now New Mexico State; 1931–1961).
Other members competing in football (and years of membership) included:
- Texas Technological College (1932–1956) (now Texas Tech)
- Texas Mines (later Texas Western and now the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP); 1935–1961)
- Hardin-Simmons (1941–1961)
- West Texas Teachers’ (later West Texas State and now West Texas A&M; 1941–1961).
Membership timeline
Football champions
Texas Tech holds the most conference championships at 7. Arizona State won 6 conference championships followed by Arizona (3), Hardin-Simmons (2) and both West Texas State and the Texas State School of Mines hold 1 each. From 1932-1934, and 1943-1945 no champion was named. There were only two seasons where the title was split and two co-champions were named; 1938, New Mexico and New Mexico State and in 1942 Hardin-Simmons and Texas Tech. The winner of the conference title often received an invite to the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas. [1]
Current conference affiliations of former members
The nine former football-playing members of the Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association are currently affiliated with the following eight conferences (all NCAA Division I FBS unless indicated):
- Arizona State University and University of Arizona - Pacific-12 Conference
- Hardin-Simmons University - American Southwest Conference (Division III)
- University of New Mexico - Mountain West Conference
- New Mexico State University - Western Athletic Conference
- Northern Arizona University - Big Sky Conference (Division I FCS)
- University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) - Conference USA
- Texas Tech University - Big 12 Conference
- West Texas A&M University - Lone Star Conference (Division II)