Lyon College to play football in Southern Athletic Conference in 2024

The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference will reinstate the sport of football as an officially sponsored conference sport effective the 2024 playing season. In conjunction with that announcement, the SCAC has offered football affiliate membership to Lyon College, with that partnership also beginning in 2024.

The SCAC Presidents Council agreed in its most recent meeting that the conference will officially recognize and sponsor the sport beginning in 2024, provided that at least four institutions (via a combination of core and/or affiliate members) are willing to participate as an SCAC football member (independent of being an affiliate member of another conference).

Following internal discussions, it is expected that Austin College, Centenary College, Lyon College and McMurry University will each participate as football playing members in the fall of 2024. The league plans to play a double round robin schedule (home and home) to provide a six-game conference schedule in that initial season’s return to the gridiron.

The SCAC Presidents Council also agreed to a flexible pathway for member schools whose preference is to continue to provide AQ opportunities for their football student-athletes throughout the transition process from their current football affiliate relationship. This transition would culminate with every conference member that sponsors the sport expected back under the SCAC umbrella by no later than the 2026 season.

With yesterday’s announcement of McMurry joining the league as a core member, and Schreiner University announcing its intent to add varsity football with a tentative start date of the fall of 2025 (and by no later than 2026), the SCAC will eventually have eight total members participating in the sport – seven core members (Austin College, Centenary College, McMurry University, Schreiner University, Southwestern University, Texas Lutheran University and Trinity University) and one affiliate (Lyon College).

In conjunction with current NCAA policy, the SCAC will have an automatic bid in the sport of football by no later than the 2026 season.