The History of the Border Conference: College Sports' Wild West

With the eastern chunk of the Pac-12 Set to join BYU in the Big 12 in 2024, it will be a bit of a surprising reunion for Arizona, Arizona State, and Texas Tech. These three schools were once a part of what might be one of the weirdest conferences in NCAA history when viewed through a modern lens: the Border Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, or just the Border Conference.

Not only did this conference feature three eventual Power 5 teams, but it also featured G5 powers like the Mountain West's New Mexico, Conference USA's UTEP and New Mexico State, and an FCS mainstay in Northern Arizona. On top of that, D2 West Texas A&M and D3 Hardin-Simmons also called the short-lived conference home at points during its 30-year run.

In honor of realignment favoring monetary upside over regionality at all costs, I thought it would be a good idea to take a quick little surface level look at the Border, as it showcases what athletic conferences used to be, as a harsh contrast to what they are today. After all, nothing screams "Midwest" quite like Seattle and the beaches of New Jersey.