The league had been formed to rid college athletics of objectionable elements like gambling and place them entirely under the control of the schools.
[1] This battle between the large and small schools led to the first big change in 1914, when Texas, A&M, Baylor and Southwestern left to form the Southwest Conference, with some considering themselves to be members of both.
In 1925, the TIAA was split between members who wanted to allow freshmen and transfers to play and schools that did not.
This fault line also separated the teachers colleges that had joined over the years and the church-sponsored schools that had been founders.
The five departing schools were all church supported and agreed to ally themselves "along denominational lines.