Smoky Mountain Conference
The Smoky Mountain Conference – officially the Smoky Mountain Athletic Conference – was an intercollegiate athletic conference that existed from December 1926 to October 1966. Most teams in the league were located in Tennessee, and there were at times teams from Virginia and North Carolina. The first commissioner of the league was W. O. "Chink" Lowe, who had played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers; he served as commissioner until September 1941.
Members
The following is an incomplete list of the membership of the Smoky Mountain Conference.Charter members of the conference when it was formed were; Carson–Newman, Emory & Henry, King, Maryville, Milligan, and Tusculum.
| Institution | Location | Founded | Nickname | First season | Last season | Current conference | Current division | Ref |
| Boone, North Carolina | 1899 | Mountaineers | 1935 | 1937 | Sun Belt | DI FBS | ||
| Jefferson City, Tennessee | 1851 | Eagles | 1927 | 1951 | South Atlantic | DII | ||
| Lebanon, Tennessee | 1842 | Bulldogs | 1932 | 1941 | Mid-South | NAIA | ||
| Johnson City, Tennessee | 1911 | Buccaneers | 1930 | 1951 | Southern | DI FCS | ||
| Emory, Virginia | 1836 | Wasps | 1927 | South Atlantic | DII | |||
| Bristol, Tennessee | 1867 | Tornados | 1927 | 1939 | Carolinas | DII | ||
| Harrogate, Tennessee | 1897 | Railsplitters | 1930 | 1931 | South Atlantic | DII | ||
| Maryville, Tennessee | 1819 | Scots | 1927 | USA South | DIII | |||
| Milligan College, Tennessee | 1866 | Buffaloes | 1927 | Appalachian | NAIA | |||
| Athens, Tennessee | 1857 | Bulldogs | 1956 | Appalachian | NAIA | |||
| Tusculum, Tennessee | 1794 | Pioneers | 1927 | South Atlantic | DII | |||
| Cullowhee, North Carolina | 1889 | Catamounts | 1934 | Southern | DI FCS |
School does not currently have an active football program.
Cumberland's team is now nicknamed the Phoenix.
Football champions
The conference did not operate from late 1941 until mid-1946, due to World War II.After the 1950 season, rarely were there more than two teams competing in football. Typically, those two teams were Carson-Newman and Emory & Henry. Usually, the winner of that game was "declared" the conference title holder.
- 1927: No champion
- 1928: Emory and Henry
- 1929: Milligan
- 1930: Carson–Newman
- 1931:
- 1932: King
- 1933:
- 1934:
- 1935:
- 1936:
- 1937:
- 1938:
- 1939:
- 1940: Milligan
- 1941: King
- 1942: N/A
- 1943: N/A
- 1944: N/A
- 1945: N/A
- 1946:
- 1947:
- 1948: No champion
- 1949: Emory and Henry
- 1950: Emory and Henry
- 1951: Emory and Henry
- 1952:
- 1953:
- 1954: and
- 1955:
- 1956:
- 1957:
- 1958:
- 1959:
- 1960:
- 1961:
- 1962:
- 1963:
- 1964:
- 1965:
Basketball champions
Regular season
- 1929: Milligan
- 1930: Milligan
- 1931: Milligan
- 1932: Milligan
- 1933: Milligan
- 1934: Milligan
- 1935: Maryville
- 1936: Maryville
- 1937: Carson–Newman
- 1938: Milligan
- 1939: Milligan
- 1940: Lincoln Memorial
- 1941: Lincoln Memorial
- 1942: Carson–Newman
- 1951 – Lincoln Memorial
- 1956 – Lincoln Memorial
Tournament
- 1929: Emory & Henry
- 1930: Milligan
- 1931: Milligan
- 1946: East Tennessee State; tourney played on February 21-23, 1946, as officials worked to reform conference after WWII, which was finalized on March 30, 1946, in Greeneville, TN.
- 1947: Lincoln Memorial
- 1948: Milligan
- 1949: Lincoln Memorial
- 1950: Union (KY)
- 1951: East Tennessee State
- 1952: East Tennessee State
- 1953: Tusculum
- 1954: Emory & Henry
- 1955: Lincoln Memorial
- 1956: Tusculum
- 1957: Lincoln Memorial
- 1958: Lincoln Memorial
- 1959: No postseason tournament
- 1960: Lincoln Memorial
- 1961: Milligan
- 1962: No postseason tournament