The Dixie Conference was the name of two collegiate athletic leagues in the United States. The first operated from 1930 until the United States' entry into World War II in 1942. The second conference to use the name existed from 1948 to 1954.
Dixie Conference (1930)
editFormation and relationship with the SIAA
editAt the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) annual convention in 1930, nine of the association's members announced the formation of the Dixie Conference to facilitate scheduling of games among the group.[1] The charter members were Birmingham-Southern College, Howard College (now Samford University), Southwestern of Memphis (now Rhodes College), Centre College, University of Chattanooga (now the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga), Spring Hill College and Mercer University;[1] Loyola University New Orleans joined the Dixie two years later.[2]
At the time of formation, conference president Dean G. W. Meade of Birmingham-Southern stated, "We are still members of the S. I. A. A. and will continue to be so."[1] However, at the SIAA convention the following year, Birmingham-Southern, Howard and Spring Hill resigned from the association.[3] University officials at Chattanooga announced their resignation from the SIAA in 1932, explaining that they "saw no purpose in remaining in the unwieldy association after successful launching of the Dixie Conference two years ago".[4]
Two years prior to the SIAA, the Dixie Conference approved the use of scholarships in 1936.[5]
Football champions
editList of conference football champions by year:
| Year | Champion |
|---|---|
| 1931 | Chattanooga[6] |
| 1932 | Mercer[7] |
| 1933 | Howard (AL)[8] |
| 1934 | Birmingham–Southern[9] |
| 1935 | Howard (AL)[10] |
| 1936 | Howard (AL)[11] |
| 1937 | Birmingham–Southern[12] |
| 1938 | Southwestern (TN)[13] |
| 1939 | Southwestern (TN)[14][15] |
| 1940 | Chattanooga and Mississippi College[16] |
| 1941 | Chattanooga[17] |
Reduction then dissolution
editAfter a university planning committee recommendation to either drop competitive football or to compete at the "big time" level, on June 3, 1939, Birmingham-Southern announced that it was ending its football program in favor of an enlarged intramural athletic program.[18] Loyola followed suit the following December and also dropped football from the University's athletic program.[19] The remaining slate of Dixie Conference membership lasted until the American entry into World War II, when several league schools suspended athletics.[20][21]
Dixie Conference (1948)
editFormation of purely amateur conference
editIn 1948, the administration of Florida State University, which had returned to coeducation in 1947 after more than 40 years as a women's college, wrote leaders at other southern institutions seeking to create a "purely amateur" athletic conference.[22] The NCAA had recently tightened its rules on the amount of money that could be paid to collegiate athletes, which caused difficulty for many established athletic programs.[23] Florida State hoped to create a new conference based on the principle of complete amateurism, including no athletic scholarships.[22]
The original Dixie Conference lineup included, in addition to Florida State, Howard College (now Samford University) from Alabama, Stetson University and the University of Tampa from Florida, Lambuth College from Tennessee, Mercer University and Oglethorpe University from Georgia, and Millsaps College and Mississippi College from Mississippi.[24] Of the nine charter members, six (FSU, Howard, Millsaps, Mississippi, Stetson, and Tampa) played football.
Membership transitions
editIn 1949, Lambuth, Stetson and Tampa left the conference, while Florida Southern College joined.[25] In December 1950, after winning the first three Dixie football titles without losing a single conference game, founding member Florida State withdrew to become an independent and began offering scholarships.[26][27]
1951–1954
editIn the four years following the departure of Florida State, Millsaps won three conference football titles and Mississippi College won one. Citing "operation difficulties and limited competition between members", the league disbanded in December 1954 following the resignation of Howard, Millsaps and Mississippi College.[28]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Dixie Conference Formed in South", New York Times, p. 29, December 16, 1930.
- ^ Salor, Roger (February 1993), "Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association" (PDF), College Football Historical Society Newsletter, VI (II), College Football Historical Society: 13–14, archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-23, retrieved 2008-01-16
- ^ "3 Alabama College Resign from S.I.A.A.", New York Times, p. 35, December 15, 1931
- ^ "Chattanooga Quits Body", New York Times, p. 29, December 6, 1932
- ^ "South Relaxes Rules on Help to Athletes", New York Times, p. 28, December 19, 1938
- ^ "Gridiron Standings". Chattanooga Daily Times. Chattanooga, Tennessee. Associated Press. November 23, 1931. p. 8. Retrieved September 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com
.
- ^ "Football Standings". Chattanooga Daily Times. Chattanooga, Tennessee. November 14, 1932. p. 8. Retrieved September 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ "Final Standings". Chattanooga Daily Times. Chattanooga, Tennessee. December 1, 1933. p. 10. Retrieved September 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ Bryan, Jerry (December 3, 1934). "Moccasins End Dixie Program Without Loss". The Birmingham News. Birmingham, Alabama. p. 8. Retrieved September 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ "Howard Lone Unbeaten D.C. Team In Race". The Birmingham News. Birmingham, Alabama. Associated Press. November 29, 1935. p. 18. Retrieved September 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ Bryan, Jerry (November 29, 1936). "SIAA And Dixie Groups Meet Here". The Birmingham News. Birmingham, Alabama. p. 18. Retrieved September 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ "Dixie Honors Are At Stake in Game Here". The Birmingham News. Birmingham, Alabama. Associated Press. November 22, 1937. p. 11. Retrieved September 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ "Southwestern Tops Dixie Conference". Montgomery Advertiser. Montgomery, Alabama. Associated Press. November 26, 1938. p. 3. Retrieved September 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ Bryan, Jerry (November 27, 1939). "Loyola Grabs Crown In D. C. In Final Tilt". The Birmingham News. Birmingham, Alabama. p. 13. Retrieved September 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ "Dixie Conference Final Standings". Chattanooga Daily Times. Chattanooga, Tennessee. December 4, 1939. p. 8. Retrieved September 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ "'Nooga Finishes Tied For Title In Dixie Group". The Birmingham News. Birmingham, Alabama. December 3, 1940. p. 14. Retrieved September 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ "Moccasins Win in Dixie Point Race". Knoxville News Sentinel. Knoxville, Tennessee. December 2, 1941. p. 16. Retrieved September 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ "College Drops Football", New York Times, pp. S6, June 4, 1939
- ^ "Loyola Drops Football", New York Times, p. 83, December 17, 1939
- ^ "Mercer Sports Suspended", New York Times, p. 28, January 9, 1942
- ^ "Howard Suspends Football", New York Times, p. 22, January 10, 1942
- ^ a b Pettijohn, Fred (January 22, 1948), The Daily Democrat, Tallahassee, Florida, p. 10
{{citation}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Watterson, John Sayle (October 14, 2002), College Football: History, Spectacle, Controversy, The Johns Hopkins University Press, p. 210
- ^ Daily Democrat, Tallahassee, Florida, p. 6, May 11, 1948
{{citation}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Florida Times Union, Jacksonville, Florida, February 27, 1949
{{citation}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Jacksonville Journal, Jacksonville, Florida, p. 54, December 17, 1950
{{citation}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "Eligibility Back on Wartime Basis", New York Times, pp. S1, December 17, 1950
- ^ "COLLEGE GROUP DISBANDS; Dixie Conference Cites Lack of Competition of Members", The New York Times, p. 32, December 22, 1954
