Question: At where did collegiate athletic conference which 16 teams out the West Alabama Tigers participated operated? 
Context: The 2012–13 Memphis Tigers men's basketball team represented the University of Memphis in the 2012–13 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, the 92nd season of Tiger basketball.  The Tigers were coached by head coach Josh Pastner, who was assisted by Damon Stoudamire, Jimmy Williams and Aki Collins.  Stoudamire and Williams both assisted Pastner in 2011–12, and Collins left Marquette in May 2012 to join Pastner's staff.  The Tigers played their home games at the FedExForum in Memphis.  The 2012–13 season was the final season the Tigers participated in Conference USA before joining the American Athletic Conference in 2013–14.  They finished the season 31–5, 16–0 in C-USA play to be Conference USA regular season champions.  They also were champions of the Conference USA Tournament, winning the championship game in two overtimes vs Southern Miss, to earn an automatic bid to the 2013 NCAA Tournament.  In the tournament, they defeated Saint Mary's in the second round before losing in the third round to Michigan State. Brett Gilliland (born June 2, 1981) is the head football coach at the University of West Alabama.  Previously Gilliland played quarterback for the Tigers from 2000 to 2003 where he set several school records.  He began his coaching career in 2004 and held assistant coaching positions at West Alabama, Georgia Tech, Georgia Southern and Kennesaw State.  Gilliland was announced as West Alabama's 21st head coach on December 9, 2013. The 2016 West Alabama Tigers football team represented the University of West Alabama in the 2016 NCAA Division II football season.  They were led by head coach Brett Gilliland, who was in his third season at West Alabama.  The Tigers played their home games at Tiger Stadium and were members of the Gulf South Conference.  They finished the season with a record of 7 wins and 4 losses (7–4 overall, 6–2 in the GSC), defeating two top 25 ranked teams and were not invited in the 2016 playoffs. The Ohio Collegiate Athletic Conference was a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) that began play as an athletic conference in 2009. The University of West Alabama currently features 18 sports teams.  Men's and women's outdoor track were added in Spring 2013.  Men's and women's golf will start fall of 2013.  Both the male and female athletic teams are called the West Alabama Tigers.  16 teams participate in the NCAA's Division II as a member of the Gulf South Conference.  Men's and women's rodeo compete in the Ozark Region of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association.  Athletics facilities on the campus include 7,000-seat Tiger Stadium, James P. Homer ye s, Pruitt Hall, Tartt Field, UWA Softball Complex, Dora Dahlberg Beard Indoor Practice Facility, Howard R. Vaughan Tennis Complex, Don C. Hines Rodeo Complex, and UWA Cross Country Facility. Tonya Butler (born ca. 1980) is an American athlete who is the first woman ever to score a field goal in a college football game.  She accomplished this feat on September 13, 2003, as a placekicker for the University of West Alabama Tigers, which was competing in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II.  She also played women's soccer for Georgia Southern. The West Alabama Tigers football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of West Alabama located in the U.S. state of Alabama.  The team competes in the NCAA Division II and are members of the Gulf South Conference.  West Alabama's first football team was fielded in 1938.  The team plays its home games at the 7,000 seat Tiger Stadium in Livingston, Alabama.  The Tigers are coached by Brett Gilliland. The North Alabama–West Alabama football rivalry is a college football rivalry game between two public universities in the U.S. state of Alabama, the University of North Alabama Lions and the University of West Alabama Tigers.  The current winner is West Alabama, who won 38–17, on September 23, 2017.  North Alabama leads the all-time series, 52–18–1. The West Alabama Tigers college football team represents the University of West Alabama in the Gulf South Conference (GSC).  The Tigers compete as part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division II.  The program has had 20 head coaches since it began play during the 1938 season.  Since December 2013, Brett Gilliland has served as West Alabama's head coach. The Gulf South Conference (GSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II level which operates in the southeastern United States.
Answer: southeastern United States