In Fall 2021, the staff of the respective student money management centers at the University of North Texas (UNT) and Texas Woman's University (TWU) in Denton came together to help provide a space for their student mentors to learn from and support each other as advocates for financial education at their institutions. As an established program of more than two decades, UNT welcomed TWU’s newly formed peer mentor group to provide guidance and support. The half-day meeting was a great success, and feedback from the students inspired the expansion to include centers at other institutions. In March 2022, TWU hosted the official launch of the Student Mentor Alliance Conference (SMAC), founded by UNT, TWU, and Tarleton State University (Tarleton).

SMAC was created to be a student-centric event that provides higher education financial peer mentors with a hands-on learning professional development experience. Mentors actively engage with each other throughout the sessions and speaker presentations, building valuable knowledge, practical skills, and networks to better support their peers in financial education efforts on Texas college campuses.

Since its inception, SMAC has continued to expand its reach and impact. In February 2023, Tarleton State University hosted the conference, welcoming participants from UNT, TWU, and the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). The following year, in February 2024, Southern Methodist University served as host, bringing together attendees from UNT, TWU, Tarleton, UTA, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Texas at Dallas. In February 2025, UTA hosted the conference, drawing participants from Baylor University, Tarleton, TWU, and UNT. Looking ahead, the 2026 Student Mentor Alliance Conference will be held on February 20, 2026, at The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, part of the University of North Texas System.