The Red River Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The conference's 13 member institutions are located in Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico. History The conference began competition in 1998 with 16 charter members. The conference at present counts 14 members, one of the most recent additions being Texas A&M University–Texarkana in 2016. In 2018, St. Thomas Houston announced its departure from the conference to join the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) of the NCAA Division III as a provisional member in 2019. In March 2020, Texas A&M University–San Antonio was approved for membership into the NAIA and it was simultaneously announced that the Jaguars would begin competition in the conference starting in the 2020–21 academic year, followed by Xavier University of Louisiana and Louisiana Christian University (formerly Louisiana College) in September and October respectively. Xavier and Louisiana Christian officially joined the RRAC for the 2021–22 academic year. On January 20, 2022, the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) invited founding Red River member Wiley College to become the GCAC's first Texas institution, effective later in July. Chronological timeline 1998 - The Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) was founded. Charter members included Bacone College, Houston Baptist University (now Houston Christian University), Huston–Tillotson University, Jarvis Christian College (now Jarvis Christian University), Langston University, Northwestern Oklahoma State University, Northwood University–Texas, Paul Quinn College, the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, the University of the Southwest, Southwestern Adventist University, Southwestern Assemblies of God University, the University of Texas Permian Basin, Texas College, and Wiley College, effective beginning the 1998-99 academic year. 2000 - USAO left the RRAC to join the Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC), effective after the 1999-2000 academic year. 2001 - Texas Wesleyan University joined the RRAC, effective in the 2001-02 academic year. 2002 - Two institutions left the RRAC to join their respective new home primary conferences: Northwestern Oklahoma State to the Sooner, and Southwestern Adventist to become an Independent within the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA), both effective after the 2001-02 academic year. 2002 - Texas A&M International University joined the RRAC, effective in the 2002-03 academic year. 2006 - Texas–Permian Basin and Texas A&M–International left the RRAC and the NAIA to join the Division II ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Heartland Conference, effective after the 2005-06 academic year. 2006 - The University of Texas