As of August 2021, SAC member institutions have collected 109 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) team championships – the most among NAIA conferences – since the league formed in 1978.
The SAC crowns league champions in 18 intercollegiate sports – nine for women and nine for men. Women's sports are basketball, softball, golf, tennis, cross country, soccer, volleyball, indoor track & field, outdoor track & field, and wrestling. Men's sports are football, basketball, baseball, golf, tennis, cross country, indoor track & field, outdoor track & field, soccer, and wrestling. The newest conference sport is women's wrestling, added for the 2019–20 season.
The conference is known for a rich basketball tradition. Member schools have won themen's NAIA tournament 12 times andwomen's NAIA tournament 16 times. SAC member schools also boast 14 NAIA national titles in men's golf, 13 in softball, 12 in women's indoor track and field, 10 in women's golf, 10 in men's cross country, 6 in men's tennis, 5 in women's outdoor track and field, 5 in men's indoor track and field, 4 in men's outdoor track and field, 2 in baseball, 2 in competitive cheer, and 1 in men's soccer for a total of 112.[1]
Originally developed as a five-team conference of Oklahoma-based schools, the SAC now boasts 12 schools in a league that spans four states (Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Kansas). The league's newest addition is the University of North Texas Dallas, which entered the conference as a full member for 2021–22 and an associate member in 2020–21. The SAC added Central Christian College of Kansas and Oklahoma Panhandle State University to the fold for 2017–18, then dropped to 11 schools when St. Gregory's announced its closure in November 2017. The league added Langston University in 2018–19 as its first historically black college and university (HBCU) member, then dropped Bacone (Okla.) College after that same year.
Throughout the league's history, the SAC continues to be known as the conference "Where Champions Play". Various institutions have competed under the SAC banner over the years. Today only the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma remains from the original group that was formed when Bethany Nazarene (now Southern Nazarene), Oklahoma Baptist, Oklahoma Christian, and Phillips University withdrew from the Texoma Conference to form the SAC.
Membership has changed over the years with today's current members being admitted as follows: Oklahoma City (1986), Wayland Baptist (1994), John Brown (1995), Mid-America Christian (2007), Southwestern Assemblies of God (2013), Texas Wesleyan (2013), Southwestern Christian (2013), Bacone (2014), Central Christian (2017), Oklahoma Panhandle State (2017), and College of the Ozarks (2025).
The league also includes associate members on a per-sport basis, with University of Houston–Victoria, University of the Southwest, and University of St. Thomas being part of the SAC in women's golf since 2017. Lyon College has been an associate member for women's wrestling since 2019.
Past members of the SAC include: Oklahoma Baptist, Oklahoma Christian, Southern Nazarene, Rogers State, Lubbock Christian, Northwestern Oklahoma State, Northwood, St. Gregory's, and Bacone.
The league also includes associate members on a per-sport basis. Arizona Christian University, Lyon (Ark.) College, Ottawa University-Arizona, and Texas College became SAC members for football in 2018–19 with Louisiana College joining for 2021–22.
On July 1, 2025, North Texas–Dallas left the SAC to become a full member of theRed River Athletic Conference (RRAC), effective immediately for this school year.[2]
2012 – Three institutions left the Sooner and the NAIA to join theDivision II ranks of theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and to join their respective new home primary conferences, all effective after the 2011–12 academic year:
2017 – St. Gregory's (Okla.) left the Sooner as the school announced that it would close at the end of the fall 2017 semester during the 2017–18 academic year.
2019 – Houston–Victoria (UHV) and Southwest (N.Mex.) left the Sooner as an associate member for women's golf after the 2019 spring season (2018–19 academic year).
2019 – St. Thomas (Tex.) left the Sooner as an associate member for women's golf, as the school announced to move up to theNCAA Division III ranks and theSouthern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) after the 2019 spring season (2018–19 academic year).
2019 – Three institutions joined the Sooner as associate members (and/or added other single sports into their affiliate memberships), both effective in the 2019–20 academic year:
2020 – Five institutions left the Sooner as associate members (and/or removed other single sports from their affiliate memberships), all effective after the 2019–20 academic year:
Cleary, Indiana Tech, Lourdes and Rochester Christian for men's wrestling
and Waldorf for women's wrestling
2020 – TheUniversity of North Texas at Dallas (a.k.a. North Texas–Dallas or UNT Dallas) joined the Sooner as a provisional (associate) member for some sports in the 2020–21 academic year.
2021 – North Texas–Dallas (UNT Dallas) has upgraded as a full (active) member within the Sooner for all sports in the 2021–22 academic year.
2021 –Arkansas Baptist College andLouisiana College (now Louisiana Christian University) joined the Sooner as associate members for football in the 2021 fall season (2021–22 academic year).
2022 –Jarvis Christian College (now Jarvis Christian University) joined the Sooner as an associate member for men's and women's wrestling in the 2022–23 academic year.
2023 – Two institutions left the Sooner and the NAIA as associate members for football, both effective after the 2022 fall season (2022–23 academic year):
2023 – Arkansas Baptist andNorth American University joined the Sooner as associate members for football in the 2023 fall season (2023–24 academic year).
2024 – TheCollege of the Ozarks (CofO) joined the Sooner in the 2024–25 academic year.
2025:
North American left the Sooner as an associate member for football after the 2024 fall season (2024–25 academic year), as the school announced it would discontinue its football program.
