The Southern Conference Tournament is the granddaddy of postseason competition. The first Southern Conference Tournament can be traced to 1921, the same year that officials from 14 colleges that currently comprise many of the members in the ACC and SEC met in Atlanta and established the Southern Intercollegiate Conference. During that same year, officials from the Atlanta Athletic Club were also meeting in an attempt to eliminate longstanding disputes that arose because of the rankings of various Southern teams. In the early 1900s, championships in basketball were always uncertain and generally disputed.

The AAC's proposal came in the form of a tournament that would be conducted on a neutral court in Atlanta. For the first three seasons (1921-23), the tournament was called the Southern Intercollegiate Tournament and was open to all Southern colleges. The winner of the event, which had as many as 25 teams participate, was declared the "Champion of Dixie."

The Southern Intercollegiate Tournament was the forerunner of the Southern Conference Tournament, which has been conducted exclusively among Southern Conference members since 1924 with fields ranging from seven to 17 teams.

Follow either the links at the top or bottom to see a summary of top conferences' postseason tournament history:

Mike Douchant is a writer for College Sports Xchange.