Division III started Aug. 6, 1973, with 240 member schools and conferences. On Nov. 10, 1973, Ashland became the first Division III national champion by winning the inaugural men's cross country championship hosted by Wheaton (Illinois).
The 50th anniversary campaign will mark significant moments in the division's past, such as first national champions. It also will celebrate both current and former student-athletes and recognize the relationship the division shares with Special Olympics. In addition, members should look for a division-wide week of service later this year.
Today, Division III is the NCAA's largest division, with 433 active schools and 44 voting conferences. Of 477 total members, more than 180 have been part of the division since its creation 50 years ago.
NCAA Release
The Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference was formed in 1915 when five Southern California institutions combined for the purpose of promoting and governing competition in intercollegiate sports with the fundamental principle of the conference being to encourage the highest ideals of amateur sports in an environment of high academic standards.
While the mission of the conference has remained intact since the beginning, the membership has varied over the years. The conference stood at eight members from 1991-2011, and with the addition of Chapman University in 2011 now stands at nine. The five original SCIAC schools are still members: California Institute of Technology, Occidental College, Pomona College, University of Redlands, and Whittier College. Occidental and Redlands are, however, the only ones to have uninterrupted membership. They have since been joined by California Lutheran University, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges, and University of La Verne to comprise the current membership. (Pomona College now has become Pomona-Pitzer Colleges for athletics).
Follow the SCIAC on Threads (@theSCIAC), Twitter (@theSCIAC) and Instagram (@thesciac) with hashtags #SCIACtion and #SoCalSoGood. Watch most SCIAC games, matches, and meets online via mobile devices and on OTT apps - Roku, AppleTV, Amazon Fire TV, and Android - search for 'SCIAC' and download the channel.