In the early 1990’s, Aussie Rules Football in Victoria was undergoing a major transition.
With the focus of the then VFL (now AFL) moving rapidly towards a national competition, the old metropolitan and country Victorian zoning recruitment method for VFL/AFL clubs was no longer applicable.
It was eventually phased out and at the start of 1992 the league's Under 19 competition was disbanded.
A new elite level competition, sponsored by the Transport Accident Commission was formed as a replacement, providing an avenue for young Victorian under-18 players to transition to the AFL.
In the inaugural 1992 TAC Cup season the competition consisted of five metropolitan teams and one country team - Northern Knights, Eastern Ranges, Southern Stingrays, Western Jets, Central Dragons and Geelong Falcons.
Geelong Falcons were the first ever TAC Cup premiers, winning the 92 flag with a 42-point victory over Western Jets.
Dustin Fletcher was one of the first TAC Cup draftees, selected by Essendon in the 1992 draft. His career lasting the distance, 22 years later he is still on the Essendon list.
Further Country teams were included in the TAC Cup in the competitions second year.
Murray Bushrangers, Bendigo Pioneers, Gippsland Power, and North Ballarat Rebels were all added to the TAC Cup in 1993, bringing the number of teams in the competition to 10.
In 1995 two additional metropolitan regions were established with Oakleigh Chargers and Calder Cannons included in the competition, with each geographical region around metropolitan Melbourne and country Victoria now covered.
From 1993 to 1996 Northern Knights were the dominant team, winning four premierships in a row.
Tassie Mariners became the league's first non-Victorian side in 1995, NSW/ACT Rams followed in 1996.
The Mariners and RAMS both played in the competition full time until the end of 2002. From 2003 onwards they, along with Queensland and Northern Territory have played games in the TAC Cup as a part of their Under 18 National Championship preparation.
With the AFL introducing expansion clubs, the initial Gold Coast (2009) and Greater Western Sydney (2010) teams were introduced into the TAC cup competition for a season as a part of their development pathway.
Since its inception, the TAC Cup has become the major source of AFL Draftees with more players recruited to the AFL from the TAC Cup than from any other competition throughout Australia.
More TAC Cup players drafted into the AFL also go on to receive NAB Rising Star nominations.
The TAC Cup has also been very successful in providing an opportunity for talented country players to play in a very high standard competition without having to relocate to Melbourne and for providing quality young players, not only to the AFL, but also to the senior VFL competition and local country and metropolitan football.
Importantly, 95 per cent of TAC Cup graduates continue to play football.