Red River Athletic Conference

The Red River Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. The conference's 13 member institutions are located in Louisiana, New Mexico, and Texas.

History

The Red River Athletic Conference began competition in fall 1998 with 16 charter members. The conference at present counts 14 members, one of the most recent additions being Texas A&M University–Texarkana in 2016. In 2019, St. Thomas Houston announced its departure from the conference to join the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference of the NCAA Division III as a provisional member. In March 2020, Texas A&M University–San Antonio was approved for membership into the NAIA and it was simultaneously announced that the Jaguars would begin competition in the conference starting in the 2020–21 academic year, followed by Xavier University of Louisiana and Louisiana Christian University in September and October respectively. Xavier and Louisiana Christian officially joined the RRAC for the 2021–22 academic year.
On January 20, 2022, the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference invited founding Red River member Wiley College to become the GCAC's first Texas institution, effective later in July.
On July 6, 2023, North American University was accepted as the RRAC's 14th conference member for the 2023–24 school year.
On July 1, 2025, the RRAC announced the addition of the University of North Texas at Dallas as a full conference member. UNTD was previously a full member of the Sooner Athletic Conference.

Chronological timeline

1998 – The Red River Athletic Conference was founded. Charter members included Bacone College, Houston Baptist University, Huston–Tillotson University, Jarvis Christian College, Langston University, Northwestern Oklahoma State University, Northwood University–Texas, Paul Quinn College, the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, the University of the Southwest, Southwestern Adventist University, Southwestern Assemblies of God University, the University of Texas Permian Basin, Texas College and Wiley College, beginning the 1998–99 academic year.
2000 – USAO left the RRAC to join the Sooner Athletic Conference after the 1999–2000 academic year.
2001:
* Northwestern Oklahoma State left the RRAC to join the Sooner after the 2000–01 academic year.
* Texas Wesleyan University joined the RRAC in the 2001–02 academic year.
2002:
* Southwestern Adventist left the RRAC and the NAIA to become an Independent within the United States Collegiate Athletic Association after the 2001–02 academic year.
* Texas A&M International University joined the RRAC in the 2002–03 academic year.
2006:
* Texas–Permian Basin and Texas A&M–International left the RRAC and the NAIA to join the Division II ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Heartland Conference after the 2005–06 academic year.
* The University of Texas at Brownsville joined the RRAC in the 2006–07 academic year.
2007 – Houston Baptist left the RRAC and the NAIA to join the NCAA Division I ranks as an NCAA D-I Independent after the 2006–07 academic year.
2008 – Our Lady of the Lake University joined the RRAC in the 2008–09 academic year.
2010 – Louisiana State University–Shreveport joined the RRAC in the 2010–11 academic year.
2012 – The University of St. Thomas joined the RRAC in the 2012–13 academic year.
2013 – Northwood–Texas, SAGU and Texas Wesleyan left the RRAC to join the Sooner after the 2012–13 academic year.
2014 – Louisiana State University–Alexandria joined the RRAC in the 2014–15 academic year.
2015:
* Two institutions left the RRAC to join their respective new home primary conferences, both effective after the 2014–15 academic year:
** Bacone to join the Sooner
** and Texas–Brownsville athletics was discontinued due to the merger with the University of Texas–Pan American to become the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
* The University of Houston–Victoria joined the RRAC in the 2015–16 academic year.
2016 – Texas A&M University–Texarkana joined the RRAC in the 2016–17 academic year.
2018 – Langston left the RRAC to join the Sooner after the 2017–18 academic year.
2019 – St. Thomas left the RRAC to join the NCAA Division III ranks and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference after the 2018–19 academic year.
2020 – Texas A&M University–San Antonio joined the RRAC in the 2020–21 academic year.
2021 – Louisiana Christian University and Xavier University of Louisiana joined the RRAC in the 2021–22 academic year.
2022:
* Wiley left the RRAC to join the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference after the 2021–22 academic year.
* Lewis–Clark State College joined the RRAC as an affiliate member for women's tennis in the 2023 spring season.
2023:
* North American University joined the RRAC in the 2023–24 academic year.
* Carroll College, Montana Technological University, the University of Providence and Rocky Mountain College joined the RRAC as affiliate members for men's golf in the 2024 spring season.
2024 – Five institutions left the RRAC as affiliate members, all effective after the 2024 spring season :
* Lewis–Clark State for women's tennis
* and Carroll, Montana Tech, Providence and Rocky Mountain for men's golf
2025:
* Huston–Tillotson and Paul Quinn left the RRAC to join the HBCU Athletic Conference after the 2024–25 academic year.
* The University of North Texas at Dallas joined the RRAC in the 2025–26 academic year.
* Houston–Victoria was transferred to the Texas A&M University System, becoming Texas A&M–Victoria, effective September 1, 2025. The school remains in the RRAC.
2026 – Two institutions will leave the RRAC to join their respective new home primary conferences, both effective beginning 2026–27 academic year:
* Xavier to join the Southern States Athletic Conference
* Texas A&M–Texarkana to join the NCAA Division II ranks and the Lone Star Conference
Member schools

Current members

The RRAC currently has 13 full members, with a slight majority being private schools.

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Basketball?
Jarvis Christian University	Hawkins, Texas	1912	Disciples of Christ	800	Bulldogs	1998	both
Louisiana Christian University	Pineville, Louisiana	1906	Southern Baptist	950	Wildcats	2021	both
Louisiana State University of Alexandria	Alexandria, Louisiana	1959	Public	5,330	Generals	2014	both
Louisiana State University Shreveport	Shreveport, Louisiana	1967	Public	9,736	Pilots	2010	both
North American University	Stafford, Texas	2007	Nonsectarian	923	Stallions	2023	both
University of North Texas at Dallas	Dallas, Texas	2000	Public	3,797	Trailblazers	2025	both
Our Lady of the Lake University	San Antonio, Texas	1895	Catholic	2,096	Saints	2008	both
	Hobbs, New Mexico	1962	Nondenominational	1,034	Mustangs	1998	both
Texas College	Tyler, Texas	1894	C.M.E. Church	644	Steers	1998	both
	San Antonio, Texas	2009	Public	7,584	Jaguars	2020	both
	Texarkana, Texas	1971	Public	2,109	Eagles	2016	both
	Victoria, Texas	1973	Public	3,784	Jaguars	2015	none
Xavier University of Louisiana	New Orleans, Louisiana	1925	Catholic	3,181	Gold Rush & Gold Nuggets	2021	both

;Notes:

Former members

The RRAC has 16 former full members, all but five were private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Left	Current conference
Bacone College	Muskogee, Oklahoma	1880	Tribal college	N/A	Warriors	1998	2015	Closed in 2024
Houston Baptist University	Houston, Texas	1960	Baptist	4,189	Huskies	1998	2007	Southland
Huston-Tillotson University	Austin, Texas	1881	UMC & UCC	1,029	Rams	1998	2025	HBCU
Langston University	Langston, Oklahoma	1897	Public	1,910	Lions	1998	2018	Sooner
Northwestern Oklahoma State University	Alva, Oklahoma	1897	Public	1,929	Rangers	1998	2001	Great American
Northwood University	Cedar Hill, Texas	1966	Nonsectarian	N/A	Knights	1998	2013	Closed in 2014
Paul Quinn College	Dallas, Texas	1872	A.M.E. Church	602	Tigers	1998	2025	HBCU
	Houston, Texas	1947	Catholic	3,813	Celts	2011	2019	Southern
	Chickasha, Oklahoma	1908	Public	914	Drovers	1998	2000	Sooner
Southwestern Adventist University	Keene, Texas	1893	Seventh-day Adventist	817	Knights	1998	2002	USCAA Independent
Southwestern Assemblies of God University	Waxahachie, Texas	1927	Assemblies of God	1,725	Lions	1998	2013	Sooner
Texas A&M International University	Laredo, Texas	1969	Public	8,536	Dustdevils	2002	2006	Lone Star
Texas Wesleyan University	Fort Worth, Texas	1890	United Methodist	2,595	Rams	2001	2013	Sooner
	Brownsville, Texas	1991	Public	N/A	Ocelots	2006	2015	N/A
	Odessa, Texas	1973	Public	5,899	Falcons	1998	2006	Lone Star
Wiley University	Marshall, Texas	1873	United Methodist	636	Wildcats	1998	2022	HBCU