Frontier Conference (1940–1962)

Not to be confused with the current Frontier Conference, an NAIA athletic conference based on the Pacific Northwest region founded since about the 1934–35 season.

The Frontier Conference, known as the New Mexico Conference and New Mexico Intercollegiate Conference from 1940 to 1955, was an intercollegiate athletic conference composed of member schools located in the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. The league existed from 1940 to 1962.^[1]

Frontier Conference

Conference	NCAA NAIA
Founded	1940
Ceased	1962
No. of teams	9 (Football)
Region	Southwest
Locations

Membership

Former members

• The following is an incomplete list of the membership of the Frontier Conference.

Institution (former name)	Location	Founded	Type	Nickname	Joined	Left	Colors	Current conference
Adams State University (Adams State College)	Alamosa, Colorado	1921	Public	Grizzlies	1946	1955	Green & White	RMAC NCAA Division II
Northern Arizona University (Arizona State College)	Flagstaff, Arizona	1899	Public	Lumberjacks	1953	1962	Blue & Gold	Big Sky NCAA Division I FCS
Eastern New Mexico University	Portales, New Mexico	1927	Public	Greyhounds	1940	1953	Green & Silver	Lone Star NCAA Division II
New Mexico Highlands University	Las Vegas, New Mexico	1893	Public	Cowboys and Cowgirls	1940	1962	Purple & White	RMAC NCAA Division II
New Mexico Military Institute	Roswell, New Mexico	1891	Public	Broncos	1940	1957	Red & Black	WJCAC, SWJCFC NJCAA Division I
Western New Mexico University (New Mexico State Teachers' College)	Silver City, New Mexico	1893	Public	Mustangs	1940	1962	Royal Purple & Golden Yellow	Lone Star NCAA Division II
Oklahoma Panhandle State University (Panhandle Agricultural and Mechanical College)	Goodwell, Oklahoma	1909	Public	Aggies	1940	1950	Crimson & Blue	Sooner NAIA Division I
St. Michael's College	Santa Fe, New Mexico	1859	Roman Catholic	Horsemen	1948	1950	Light Navy & White	Defunct
Sul Ross State University (Sul Ross State College)	Alpine, Texas	1917	Public	Lobos	1946	1949	Scarlet & Grey	American Southwest NCAA Division III

Membership timeline

NMC members Frontier members

Football championships and postseason appearances

New Mexico Intercollegiate Conference football championships Season Champion[2] Conference record[2] Overall record 1940 New Mexico State Teachers' 4–0 4–3[3] 1941 New Mexico Military 4–0 6–1[4] 1942 New Mexico State Teachers' 1–0 2–2[3] 1943–1945 Competition suspended during World War II 1946 Adams State 4–0 5–1[5] 1947 Sul Ross 5–0 6–3[6] 1948 Sul Ross 5–0 10–0–1[6] 1949 Sul Ross 5–0 7–3[6] 1950 Eastern New Mexico 5–1 5–5[7] 1951 Eastern New Mexico 5–0 8–1[7] 1952 (co-champions) Eastern New Mexico 4–1 7–1–1[7] Panhandle A&M 4–1 7–3[8] 1953 Panhandle A&M 6–0 8–1–1[8] 1954 Panhandle A&M 5–0 6–3[8]

Frontier Conference football championships Season Champion[2] Conference record[2] Overall record 1955 (co-champions) Adams State 4–1 6–4[5] New Mexico Military 4–1 5–3[4] 1956 (co-champions) Arizona State–Flagstaff 3–0 8–2[9] New Mexico Military 3–0 6–3[4] 1957 Arizona State–Flagstaff 3–0 8–1[9] 1958 Arizona State–Flagstaff 3–0 11–1[9] 1959 Arizona State–Flagstaff 3–0 6–2–1[9] 1960 (co-champions) Arizona State–Flagstaff 2–0–1 6–3–2[9] New Mexico Highlands 2–0–1 6–2–1[10] 1961 Arizona State–Flagstaff 1–0–1 3–5–1[9] 1962 Arizona State–Flagstaff 2–0 6–4[9]

National playoff and bowl games

Conference team	Opponent	Result	Score	Location
1949 Tangerine Bowl
Sul Ross	Murray State	Tie	21–21[6]	Orlando, Florida
1958 NAIA Semifinal
Arizona State–Flagstaff	Gustavus Adolphus	Win	41–12[9]	Tucson, Arizona
1958 NAIA Championship (Holiday Bowl)
Arizona State–Flagstaff	Northeastern State	Loss	13–19[11]	St. Petersburg, Florida

See also

• List of defunct college football conferences