The death of a conference

When it all came down to it, money beat tradition.

by Christof Spieler, Seema Chandra and Angelique Siy

The Southwest Conference was born in a May 1914 meeting of representatives from seven schools in Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas. The new conference played its first season in 1915 with Baylor University, Southwestern University, Oklahoma A&M University (now Oklahoma State University), Texas A&M University, Louisiana State University, Arkansas University and the University of Texas. Over the next decade, membership fluctuated (Rice didn't play in 1916 or 1917). By 1958, with the addition of Texas Tech, the SWC had nearly reached its present form. Houston joined in 1972, and Arkansas withdrew in 1991, leaving the SWC an all-Texas conference.

Over the years, the SWC has recorded its share of successes. In the 50s and60s, it was a football powerhouse with teams like Texas, Texas A&M, Arkansas and Rice receiving national rankings. In recent years, though, the conference has lost respect since many of the best Texas high school players leave the state.

"We don't win the big games. We're one of the weaker conferences. I guess that's why so many people go out of state," Texas Tech linebacker Zach Thomas said after his team was buried by University of Southern California in this year's Cotton Bowl. The SWC's bowl record since 1987 is 6-15, with 7 consecutive Cotton Bowl losses.

The widening dichotomy in the conference between powerful teams like Texas and Texas A&M, as well as perennial also-rans like Rice helped bring on end of the conference. In February 1994, Baylor Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech were invited to join the Big Eight. Eager to join a "big-time" conference and perceiving the SWC as a backwater, all four schools accepted, creating the Big 12. Thus, the fate of the SWC was sealed.

The remaining members, Rice, Southern Methodist University, Texas Christian University and Houston, were left scrambling for options. In May 1994, Rice, SMU and TCU agreed to join the Western Athletic Conference. That left only Houston, which joined the Metro Conference -- renamed Conference-USA -- later in the year.

The death of the SWC has led to a wave of nostalgia and remembrances of the "glory days." Not everyone, though, has been so sad to see it go.

Texas A&M athletic director Wally Groof, for example, said, "I think it was obvious to everyone that the status quo was not going to cut it. You may love [Rice, SMU, TCU and Houston] but if they don't put enough change in your pocket when the game is over, it's pretty hard to justify the game."

"I welcome it," said a Rice professor commenting on the breakup. "I think the SWC was never appropriate for Rice. It's the most scandalized and penalized conference in college athletics."

In the end, the story of the SWC is one of increasing commercialization of college athletics. Large state schools like A&M run semi-professional programs and bring in significant revenue. They want bigger oponents, better players and national respect. Smaller private schools like Rice get left behind.

The end of the SWC has also meant the end of a number of long-standing rivalries. After Saturday's game, the last SWC football game, Rice and Houston will notlikely meet again. The four new Big 12 members have scheduled few meetings with their former SWC foes. One exception is Rice's 1997 game against Texas, scheduled after Rice upset UT last year, 19-17.

This item appeared in the Features section of the December 1, 1995 issue.

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