First Athletic Conference

In 1892 Dr. Charles W. Kent of UT was among representatives of eight southern colleges and universities (University of North Carolina, Wake Forest, Sewanee, University of Virginia, St. John’s College, Johns Hopkins, University of Alabama, and UT) that met in Richmond to form a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The group elected J. B. Robertson of the University of Virginia as president; decided that the cost of membership would be $30; and divided the territory into two circuits. This organization did not flourish however, and in 1895 Dr. William Dudley, dean of the Vanderbilt University Medical School convened representatives of six universities (University of Alabama, Auburn, University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, University of North Carolina, and Vanderbilt) and formed the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association, which is credited as being the first athletic conference in the United States. Tennessee, Clemson, Kentucky, Louisiana State University, Mississippi State, and Tulane joined the next year (1896).