Texas Tech University Athletics
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Manuscripts, Photographs of Southwest Athletic Conference Now AvailableTexas Tech is the official repository of the Soutthwest Conference records.
Feb. 2, 1998 LUBBOCK, Texas - As the official repository of the Southwest Conference Records, the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library at Texas Tech University processed 318 new boxes of manuscript and photographic materials documenting Southwest Conference history. Those records are now available to the public. Collected in 1996 from the Office of the Southwest Conference in Dallas, and processed in 1997, the Southwest Conference Collection represents the fourth largest manuscript collection of the Southwest Collection's holdings. The manuscript records contain correspondence, memorandums, financial and legal materials, various printed materials, game and player statistics as well as memorabilia. Of the printed material, the collection includes media guides, game programs and record books from each of the member universities. The collection's papers are organized in several categories including: Administrative Committee for Women's Sports; agenda and meeting information; athletic commissioner's files; legal and marketing documents; tennis and volleyball files; financial material; media guides; athletic compliance documents; and championship files. In addition to manuscripts, the collection has seven boxes of visual images containing slides, prints, contact sheets and negatives of athletic personalities and events. Most of the images document Southwest Conference happenings between 1970-1996, with a few materials representing the 1950's. Two additional, complementary collections were created from the records of the Southwest Conference. They are the National Collegiate Athletic Association's collection and materials unrelated to the Southwest Conference Collection. The NCAA Collection consists of general publications that previously were distributed to various athletics conferences. They include manuals and record books documenting football, baseball, basketball, volleyball, track and field as well as tennis from 1939-97. The Non-Southwest Conference Collection contains only media guides from non-SWC athletics. Although incomplete, it represents a sample of media guides published by other schools and conferences nationwide. Both collections represent important sources of background information complimentary to past, present and future national intercollegiate sports trends. The conference's records from 1914-96 cover every athletic program from football and basketball to diving and volleyball, including documentation of rules violations, officiating and the rise of women's athletics. Overall, the Southwest Athletic Conference records represent a unique collection with the history, glory and spirit of athleticism written on their pages. The Southwest Conference materials are now available at the reference desk of the Holden Reading Room in the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library. The materials complement the videos, microfilms, oversize materials and sound recordings. |