Dixie Conference

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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.

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Dixie Conference (1930)

Formation and relationship with the SIAA

At 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

List of conference football champions by year:

YearChampion
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

After 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)

Formation of purely amateur conference

In 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

In 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

In 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]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association</span> Defunct American college athletic conference

The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) was one of the first collegiate athletic conferences in the United States. Twenty-seven of the current Division I FBS football programs were members of this conference at some point, as were at least 19 other schools. Every member of the current Southeastern Conference except Arkansas and Missouri, as well as six of the 15 current members of the Atlantic Coast Conference plus future SEC member University of Texas at Austin, currently of the Big 12 Conference, formerly held membership in the SIAA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1914 Alabama Crimson Tide football team</span> American college football season

The 1914 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama in the 1914 college football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 22nd overall and 19th season as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA). The team was led by head coach D. V. Graves, in his fourth year, and played their home games at the University of Alabama Quad in Tuscaloosa and at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama. They finished the season with a record of five wins and four losses.

The 1913 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama in the 1913 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 21st overall and 18th season as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA). The team was led by head coach D. V. Graves, in his third year, and played their home games at the University of Alabama Quad in Tuscaloosa and at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama. They finished the season with a record of six wins and three losses.

The 1917 Sewanee Tigers football team represented Sewanee: The University of the South during the 1917 college football season as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA). The Tigers were led by head coach Charles Best in his first season and finished with a record of five wins, two losses, and one tie.

The 1926 Chattanooga Moccasins football team represented the University of Chattanooga as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) during the 1926 college football season. The team tied for the SIAA championship. Frank Thomas was head coach.

The 1909 Howard Crimson and Blue football team was an American football team that represented Howard College as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) during the 1909 college football season. In their first year under head coach John B. Longwell, the team compiled an 5–2–1 record.

The 1916 Chattanooga Moccasins football team represented the University of Chattanooga—now known as the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga—as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) during the 1916 college football season. Led by Johnny Spiegel in his second and final year as head coach, the Moccasins compiled an overall record of 3–5 with a mark of 1–4 in conference play.

The 1934 Howard Bulldogs football team was an American football team that represented Howard College—now known as Samford University—as a member of the Dixie Conference and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) in the 1934 college football season. Led by Clyde Propst in his first and only season as head coach, the team compiled an overall record of 3–4–2 and with a mark of 0–1 in Dixie Conference play and 2–1–1 against SIAA competition.

The 1934 Mercer Bears football team was an American football that represented Mercer University as a member of the Dixie Conference and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) in the 1934 college football season. Led by Lake Russell in his sixth season as head coach, the team comped an overall record of 3–6–1 and with a mark of 0–2–1 in Dixie Conference play and 1–4 against SIAA competition.

The 1934 Millsaps Majors football team was an American football team that represented Millsaps College as a member of the Dixie Conference and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) in the 1934 college football season. Led by Tranny Lee Gaddy in his third season as head coach, the team compiled an overall record of 7–1–2 and with a mark of 2–1–1 in Dixie Conference play and 4–0–2 against SIAA competition.

The 1934 Centre Colonels football team was an American football team that represented Centre College as a member of the Dixie Conference and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) in the 1934 college football season. Led by Ed Kubale in his seventh season as head coach, the team compiled an overall record of 5–5 and with a mark of 1–1 in Dixie Conference play and 4–1 against SIAA competition.

The 1934 Southwestern Lynx football team was an American football team that represented Southwestern University—now known as Rhodes College— as a member of the Dixie Conference and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) in the 1934 college football season. Led by Jimmy R. Haygood in fourth and final season as head coach, the team compiled an overall record of 3–6–1 and with a mark of 1–3–1 in Dixie Conference play and 1–1–1 against SIAA competition.

The 1938 Birmingham–Southern Panthers football team was an American football team that represented Birmingham–Southern College as a member of the Dixie Conference during the 1938 college football season. In their eleventh season under head coach Jenks Gillem, the team compiled a 4–5 record.

The 1931 Howard Bulldogs football team was an American football team that represented Howard College as a member of the Dixie Conference and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) during the 1931 college football season. In their third year under head coach Eddie McLane, the team compiled a 8–2–2.

The 1932 Chattanooga Moccasins football team was an American football team that represented the University of Chattanooga in the Dixie Conference and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) during the 1932 college football season. In its second year under head coach Scrappy Moore, the team compiled a 3–6 record.

The 1928 Spring Hill Badgers football team was an American football team that represented Spring Hill College, a Jesuit college in Mobile, Alabama, as member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) during the 1928 college football season. In its fourth season under head coach William T. Daly, the team compiled an overall record of 2–5–1 with a mark of 2–3–1 in SIAA play.

The 1910 Howard Baptists football team was an American football team that represented Howard College as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) during the 1910 college football season. In their first year under head coach James C. Donnelly, the team compiled an 1–8 record.

The 1933 Mississippi College Choctaws football team was an American football team that represented Mississippi College as a member of the Dixie Conference and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) in the 1933 college football season. Led by Stanley L. Robinson in his ninth season as head coach, the team compiled an overall record of 3–4–1 and with a mark of 1–1–1 in Dixie Conference play and 2–3 against SIAA competition.

The 1941 Mississippi College Choctaws football team was an American football team that represented Mississippi College as a member of the Dixie Conference and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) in the 1941 college football season. Led by Stanley L. Robinson in his 17th season as head coach, the team compiled an overall record of 5–3 and with a mark of 3–1 in Dixie Conference play and 1–2 against SIAA competition.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Dixie Conference Formed in South", New York Times, p. 29, December 16, 1930.
  2. ↑ 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. ↑ "3 Alabama College Resign from S.I.A.A.", New York Times, p. 35, December 15, 1931
  4. ↑ "Chattanooga Quits Body", New York Times, p. 29, December 6, 1932
  5. ↑ "South Relaxes Rules on Help to Athletes", New York Times, p. 28, December 19, 1938
  6. ↑ "Gridiron Standings". Chattanooga Daily Times . Chattanooga, Tennessee. Associated Press. November 23, 1931. p. 8. Retrieved September 21, 2020– via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  7. ↑ "Football Standings". Chattanooga Daily Times . Chattanooga, Tennessee. November 14, 1932. p. 8. Retrieved September 21, 2020– via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  8. ↑ "Final Standings". Chattanooga Daily Times . Chattanooga, Tennessee. December 1, 1933. p. 10. Retrieved September 21, 2020– via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  9. ↑ 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 Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  10. ↑ "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 Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  11. ↑ 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 Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  12. ↑ "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 Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  13. ↑ "Southwestern Tops Dixie Conference". Montgomery Advertiser . Montgomery, Alabama. Associated Press. November 26, 1938. p. 3. Retrieved September 21, 2020– via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  14. ↑ 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 Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  15. ↑ "Dixie Conference Final Standings". Chattanooga Daily Times . Chattanooga, Tennessee. December 4, 1939. p. 8. Retrieved September 21, 2020– via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  16. ↑ "'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 Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  17. ↑ "Moccasins Win in Dixie Point Race". Knoxville News Sentinel . Knoxville, Tennessee. December 2, 1941. p. 16. Retrieved September 21, 2020– via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  18. ↑ "College Drops Football", New York Times, pp. S6, June 4, 1939
  19. ↑ "Loyola Drops Football", New York Times, p. 83, December 17, 1939
  20. ↑ "Mercer Sports Suspended", New York Times, p. 28, January 9, 1942
  21. ↑ "Howard Suspends Football", New York Times, p. 22, January 10, 1942
  22. 1 2 Pettijohn, Fred (January 22, 1948), The Daily Democrat, Tallahassee, Florida, p. 10{{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  23. ↑ Watterson, John Sayle (October 14, 2002), College Football: History, Spectacle, Controversy, The Johns Hopkins University Press, p. 210
  24. ↑ Daily Democrat, Tallahassee, Florida, p. 6, May 11, 1948{{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  25. ↑ Florida Times Union, Jacksonville, Florida, February 27, 1949{{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  26. ↑ Jacksonville Journal, Jacksonville, Florida, p. 54, December 17, 1950{{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  27. ↑ "Eligibility Back on Wartime Basis", New York Times, pp. S1, December 17, 1950
  28. ↑ "COLLEGE GROUP DISBANDS; Dixie Conference Cites Lack of Competition of Members", The New York Times, p. 32, December 22, 1954
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