The Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference (AIC) was an athletic conference in existence from 1927 or 1928 to 1995 affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The conference membership consisted entirely of colleges and universities in the state of Arkansas.

History Some references indicate that the league started competition in 1927 while others list a 1928 date. The league seems to have competed in baseball and basketball in 1927-28 and started football competition in 1929. Some references list football championships for 1927 and 1928 while others do not so these may have been unofficial titles that anticipated the start of the league's football competition.

In 1941, with many member institutions suffering from reduced male student populations, the AIC suspended competition in order to save gasoline and other resources necessary for the war effort. Competition was not resumed until the 1945 season.

In December 1952 the AIC schools implemented new "amateurism" rules that no scholarships or subsidies would be offered to athletes beyond those that were available to regular students. Southern Arkansas and Arkansas Tech were opposed to the new rules and did not strictly enforce them. In December 1955 several AIC schools declared that they would no longer play SAU or Tech due to unspecified violations of the rule and neither school was able to compete for titles in any sport during the 1956 and 1957 school years. This situation was finally resolved in 1959 when a compromise was reached and Southern Arkansas and Tech were "restored" to the conference.

In 1983, the conference sanctioned women's sports for the first time. Prior to this most women's teams competed in the Arkansas Women's Extramural Sports Association (AWESA) which was founded in 1965 and later renamed as the Arkansas Women's Intercollegiate Sports Association (AWISA) in 1973.

In 1993, Central Arkansas and Henderson State elected to move to the NCAA Division II Gulf South Conference and were followed by the remaining public schools in 1995 which marked the end of the conference. Two of the remaining private schools, Ouachita Baptist and Harding, were accepted into the Lone Star Conference. The other private school, John Brown University, joined the Sooner Athletic Conference as the AIC dissolved.The Oklahoman

The New South Intercollegiate Swim Conference was formed after the dissolution to provide several of the old AIC school's swimming programs a chance to compete for championships.

Member schools Final members Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Left Subsequentconference(s) Currentconference Arkansas Tech University Russellville 1909 Public 12,009 Wonder Boys &Golden Suns 1928–29 1994–95 Gulf South (GSC) (NCAA D-II)(1995–96 to 2010–11) Great American (GAC) (NCAA D-II)(2011–12 to present) Monticello 1909 Public 3,659 Boll Weevils &Cotton Blossoms 1928–29 1994–95 Gulf South (GSC) (NCAA D-II)(1995–96 to 2010–11) Great American (GAC) (NCAA D-II)(2011–12 to present) Harding University Searcy 1924 Churches of Christ 6,009 Bisons 1960–61 1994–95 Lone Star (LSC) (NCAA D-II)(1996–97 to 1999–2000)Gulf South (GSC) (NCAA D-II)(2000–01 to 2010–11) Great American (GAC) (NCAA D-II)(2011–12 to present) John Brown University Siloam Springs 1919 Interdenominational 2,708 Golden Eagles 1993–94 1994–95 Sooner (SAC)(1995–96 to present) Lyon College Batesville 1872 Presbyterian 700 Scots 1994–95 NAIA Independent(1995–96 to 1996–97)TranSouth (TSAC)(1997–98 to 2011–12)American Midwest (AMC)(2012–13 to 2022–23) St. Louis (SLIAC) (NCAA D-III)(2023–24 to present) Ouachita Baptist University Arkadelphia 1886 Baptist 1,569 Tigers 1931–32 1994–95 Lone Star (LSC) (NCAA D-II)(1996–97 to 1999–2000)Gulf South (GSC) (NCAA D-II)(2000–01 to 2010–11) Great American (GAC) (NCAA D-II)(2011–12 to present) Clarksville 1834 Presbyterian 630 Eagles 1947–48 1994–95 D-III Independent(1995–96) American Southwest (NCAA D-III)(1996–97 to present) Southern Arkansas University Magnolia 1909 Public 4,138 Muleriders 1929–30 1994–95 Gulf South (GSC) (NCAA D-II)(1995–96 to 2010–11) Great American (GAC) (NCAA D-II)(2011–12 to present) Williams Baptist College Walnut Ridge 1941 Baptist 700 Eagles 1994–95 TranSouth (TSAC)(1995–96 to 2000–01) American Midwest(2001–02 to present)

Notes

Former members Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Left Subsequentconference(s) Currentconference Arkansas State University Jonesboro 1909 Public 13,891 Red Wolves 1930–31 1949–50 NAIA Independent(1950–51 to 1956–57)College Div. Independent(1957–58 to 1962–63)Southland (SLC) (NCAA D-I)(1963–64 to 1986–87)American South (NCAA D-I)(1987–88 to 1990–91) Sun Belt (NCAA D-I)(1991–92 to present) Little Rock 1927 Public 9,759 Trojans 1961–62 1976–77 D-I Independent(1977–78 to 1978–79)Trans America (TAAC) (NCAA D-I)(1979–80 to 1990–91)Sun Belt (SBC) (NCAA D-I)(1991–92 to 2021–22) Ohio Valley (OVC) (NCAA D-I)(2022–23 to present) Pine Bluff 1873 Public 2,498 Golden Lions 1970–71 1986–87 NAIA Independent(1987–88 to 1997–98) Southwestern (SWAC) (NCAA D-I)(1998–99 to present) Conway 1907 Public 10,869 Bears &Sugar Bears 1928–29 1992–93 Gulf South (GSC) (NCAA D-II)(1993–94 to 2005–06)Southland (SLC) (NCAA D-I)(2006–07 to 2020–21) Atlantic Sun (ASUN) (NCAA D-I)(2021–22 to present)(United (UAC) (NCAA D-I) in 2026–27) Henderson State University Arkadelphia 1890 Public 3,530 Reddies 1930–31 1992–93 Gulf South (GSC) (NCAA D-II)(1993–94 to 2010–11) Great American (GAC) (NCAA D-II)(2011–12 to present) Hendrix College Conway 1876 United Methodist 1,400 Warriors 1929–30 1991–92 Southern (SCAC) (NCAA D-III)(1992–93 to 2011–12) Southern (SAA) (NCAA D-III)(2012–13 to present)

Notes

Membership timeline

Commissioners Heber Lowery McAlister (1948–1956) Cliff Shaw (1956–1971) Charles Mabern Adcock (1971–1974) Leroy Nix Jr. (1974–1978) Sid Simpson (1978–1979) Harry T. Hall (1979–1993) Don Cleek (1994–1995)

Football

Football champions Shared championships are shown in italics:

Football conference championships (1927–1995) School Total titles Outright titles Years Central Arkansas 22 16 1936 • 1937 • 1938 • 1940 • 1959 • 1962 • 1965 • 1966 • 1976 • 1978 • 1980 • 1981 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992 Arkansas Tech 18 15 1928 • 1931 • 1935 • 1939 • 1945 • 1946 • 1947 • 1948 • 1949 • 1954 • 1958 • 1960 • 1961 • 1964 • 1968 • 1970 • 1971 • 1994 Henderson State 13 9 1930 • 1932 • 1933 • 1934 • 1950 • 1959 • 1963 • 1969 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1977 • 1985 Arkansas–Monticello 11 7 1953 • 1955 • 1956 • 1957 • 1958 • 1963 • 1965 • 1966 • 1967 • 1979 • 1993 Ouachita Baptist 6 3 1934 • 1941 • 1966 • 1970 • 1975 • 1982 Southern Arkansas 5 3 1929 • 1948 • 1951 • 1952 • 1972 Harding 3 0 1972 • 1976 • 1989

Basketball

Men's basketball champions Following are the AIC regular-season conference champions from 1928 to 1995 (showing shared championships in italics) NOTE: Information is incomplete.

Men's basketball regular-season championships (1928–1995) School Total titles Outright titles Years Central Arkansas 16 16 1927 • 1928 • 1929 • 1936 • 1937 • 1938 • 1939 • 1945 • 1946 • 1947 • 1956 • 1958 • 1964 • 1985 • 1986 • 1991 Arkansas Tech 16 16 1949 • 1950 • 1951 • 1952 • 1953 • 1954 • 1955 • 1958 • 1960 • 1961 • 1962 • 1985 • 1988 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 Henderson State 10 10 1957 • 1968 • 1972 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1981 Hendrix 7 7 1932 • 1979 • 1984 • 1990 Southern Arkansas 6 6 1934 • 1935 • 1966 • 1967 • 1971 • 1989 Ozarks 2 1 1983 • 1992 Arkansas–Monticello 1 1 1956 Ouachita Baptist 1 1 1976

Baseball

Baseball champions NOTE: Information is incomplete

Baseball conference championships (1927–1995) School Total titles Outright titles Years Central Arkansas 20 19 1928 • 1929 • 1930 • 1933 • 1934 • 1935 • 1936 • 1937 • 1948 • 1949 • 1951 • 1959 • 1961 • 1962 • 1963 • 1967 • 1970 • 1978 • 1980 • 1981 Southern Arkansas 17 14 1953 • 1954 • 1956 • 1968 • 1974 • 1975 • 1977 • 1983 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1994 • 1995Ouachita Baptist 8 4 1960 • 1961 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969 • 1970 • 1971 • 1972 Arkansas Tech 7 7 1950 • 1964 • 1976 • 1981 • 1985 • 1988 • 1992 Henderson State 7 5 1953 • 1958 • 1965 • 1973 • 1974 • 1979 • 1982 Harding 6 6 1932 • 1933 • 1938 • 1972 • 1976 • 1984 Ozarks 2 1 1949 • 1956

References