Athletics
Southern Arkansas University is in the NCAA Division II as a member of the Great American Conference.
The university's athletic nicknames are Muleriders and Lady Muleriders. The Muleriders take their name from the legend that the football team in the early 1900s had to ride mules from the college's agricultural department to catch the nearest train 6 miles (9.7 km) north of the college in order to reach out-of-town football games. The teams are the only sports team in the US with the nickname and are often listed in top 10 lists of the most unusual or unique mascot names.
In each of 1953 and 1954, the then Southern State College Mulerider tennis team went undefeated winning the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference in both singles and doubles and was invited by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics to represent their district in their National Tennis Championships in 1953.
In 2006, and 2009 The Mulerider baseball team won the Gulf South Conference championship. In 2009 the Mulerider Baseball team hosted the NCAA Division Two South Regional for the first time in school history.
In 2007, the Mulerider coed cheerleading squad competed at the NCA National Competition and placed 4th in Division II. In 2008, the cheerleading squad went back to nationals and took 5th in their division.
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