TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The ̽»¨Ô¼ÅÚ Department of Athletics has officially joined the newly named Historically Black Colleges & Universities Athletic Conference (HBCUAC), as of today, July 1, 2024. The HBCUAC is the new name of the former Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC), which began in 1981.
Announced in October 2023, the Tigers now make the transition to the HBCU Athletic Conference after spending the previous six seasons in the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC), its first conference home since returning to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in August 2016. ̽»¨Ô¼ÅÚ qualified for 10 national tournaments during its short time in the SSAC, appearing in five men’s basketball national tournaments, two men’s cross country championships, one softball tournament and one men’s track & field championship.
̽»¨Ô¼ÅÚ will bring a championship pedigree with it to the HBCUAC, as it returns to a conference made up entirely of HBCUs after decades competing in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in the NAIA and NCAA Division II.