Realignment Grows Tulane’s Place in SEC Football History
Tulane’s conference affiliation history has seen it join four different leagues since before the start of the 20th century, along with a long stretch of being independent in football.
These days, the Green Wave is one of the longest-tenured teams in the American Athletic Conference. But, for more than 30 years, it was a member of the Southeastern Conference, which is now unquestionably the most powerful football conference in the land.
Tulane joined the SEC in 1932 and called it home until 1965. College football was a bit more balanced back then and Tulane won three SEC titles in 1934, 1939 and 1949.
In the rich history of the SEC the Green Wave holds a distinction that only grew with the additions of Oklahoma and Texas on July 1.
Even though Tulane hasn’t been a member of the SEC in nearly 60 years, it has won more SEC football titles than nine current SEC teams. Yes, that’s more than half of the conference membership.
OU and Texas, obviously, are each getting its first crack at winning an SEC crown this season. The Sooners and Longhorns were members of the Big 12 and, before that, the Big 8 and Southwest Conference, respectively.
Five current members have never won an SEC crown. Four of them joined after 1990 — Arkansas, Missouri, South Carolina and Texas A&M. The fifth, Vanderbilt, joined the league in 1932, the same year Tulane did.
The final two have SEC titles but haven’t caught Tulane. Mississippi State has one SEC title, which it won in 1941. The other, Kentucky, has won the conference twice but hasn’t since 1976.
The programs all ahead of Tulane are the schools you would expect — Alabama (30), Georgia (14), Tennessee (13), LSU (12), Florida (8), Auburn (8) and Ole Miss (6).
Georgia Tech is the only former SEC program with more titles than Tulane. The Yellow Jackets, now in the ACC, won five titles, with their last coming in 1952.
Tulane’s football history goes all the way back to 1896 when it was part of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association. It was one of the first attempts at a conference in the south and the Green Wave joined in the league’s second season. Tulane won its only SIAA title in 1920.
Tulane joined the Southern Conference in 1922, which still exists. The Green Wave won four SoCon titles from 1925-31.
Tulane then helped form the SEC in 1932. While successful, a reduction in scholarships by then-university president Rufus Harris eventually eroded the quality of the program and the Green Wave went independent in 1966.
So while the Green Wave continue to work to contend in the American under new coach Jon Sumrall, their history in the SEC appears secured for quite some time.
