The Great South Athletic Conference (GSAC) was an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

’s

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

. Member institutions were located nationwide, but was originally based in the

southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern por ...

History

The Great South Athletic Conference was founded in 1999 as a group of

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA)

member institutions from the Southeast with similar academic and athletic interests. Charter members included

Fisk University Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1930, Fisk was the first Africa ...

, LaGrange College,

Maryville College Maryville College is a private liberal arts college in Maryville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1819 by Presbyterian minister Isaac L. Anderson for the purpose of furthering education and enlightenment into the West. The college is one of the ...

Piedmont College Piedmont University is a private university in Demorest and Athens, Georgia. Founded in 1897, Piedmont's Demorest campus includes 300 acres in a traditional residential-college setting located in the foothills of the northeast Georgia Blue Rid ...

and

Stillman College Stillman College is a private historically black Presbyterian college in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It awards the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in 17 disciplines/majors housed within three academic schools (Arts and Sciences, Busi ...

. In 2002,

Huntingdon College Huntingdon College is a private Methodist college in Montgomery, Alabama. It was founded in 1854 as a women's college. History Huntingdon College was chartered on February 2, 1854, as " Tuskegee Female College" by the Alabama State Legislature ...

and women’s colleges

Agnes Scott College Agnes Scott College is a private women's liberal arts college in Decatur, Georgia. The college enrolls approximately 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The college is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church and is considered one of the ...

and

Wesleyan College Wesleyan College is a private, liberal arts women's college in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1836, Wesleyan was the first college in the world chartered to grant degrees to women. History The school was chartered on December 23, 1836, as the Geo ...

were granted membership. In 2003,

Spelman College Spelman College is a private, historically black, women's liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. It is part of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium in Atlanta. Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman re ...

and Wesleyan (Ga.) were admitted to the GSAC on a provisional basis and given full membership status in 2005.

Salem College Salem College is a private women's liberal arts college in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1772 as a primary school, it later became an academy (high school) and ultimately added the college. It is the oldest female educational establ ...

, a women’s school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, became the conference’s eighth member for the 2009-10 season.

Covenant College Covenant College is a private, liberal arts, Christian college in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, located near Chattanooga, Tennessee. As the college of the Presbyterian Church in America, Covenant teaches subjects from a Reformed theological wor ...

, located on top of Lookout Mountain in northwest Georgia, joined the conference in spring 2010 and began playing in fall 2010, while completing its requirements for NCAA Division III provisional status. Stillman, a charter member, dropped out of the conference following the 2001-02 season, now currently competing in the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Formed in 1913, it consists mostly of historically black co ...

(SIAC); while Fisk, another charter member, dropped out of the conference following the 2005-06 season, to compete in the

Gulf Coast Athletic Conference The Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) is a college athletic conference made up entirely of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) that's affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Member inst ...

(GCAC) of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...

(NAIA). Three schools (also charter members of the GSAC) left for the

USA South Athletic Conference The USA South Athletic Conference (formerly the Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference or the Dixie Conference) is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member schools are located in North Carolina and Virginia. H ...

beginning with the 2012–13 season: Piedmont, LaGrange and Maryville.

Pine Manor College Pine Manor College (PMC) was a private college in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1911 and was historically a women's college until 2014. It currently serves fewer than 400 students, many of whom live on the 40-acre campus. Origin ...

and

Trinity Washington University Trinity Washington University is a private Catholic university in Washington, D.C. Trinity is a comprehensive university with five schools; the undergraduate College of Arts & Sciences maintains its original mission as a liberal arts women's ...

joined the conference in the 2012–13 season to replace those schools. Due to the lack of men's athletic programs in the GSAC, the conference stopped sponsoring men's sports championships at the end of the 2011–12 season. On May 10, 2012, Covenant College and Huntingdon College announced plans to leave the Great South and join USA South Athletic Conference beginning in the 2013–14 season. In the 2012–13 season, the Covenant and Huntingdon women's sports competed as full members of the GSAC, while their men's sports competed as NCAA Division III independents. On November 1, 2012, Spelman College announced that they would be dropping all intercollegiate sports at the end of the 2012–13 academic year. On January 14, 2013, the GSAC announced that

Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University is a private college in Oakland, California and part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was ...

Finlandia University Finlandia University is a private Lutheran university in Hancock, Michigan. It is the only private university in the Upper Peninsula. Founded in 1896 as The Suomi College and Theological Seminary, it is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Ch ...

, and the

University of Maine at Presque Isle The University of Maine at Presque Isle (UMaine Presque Isle or UMPI) is a public college in Presque Isle, Maine. It is part of the University of Maine System and one of two University of Maine System schools in Aroostook County (the other being ...

would join the GSAC in the 2013–14 season. Finlandia and Maine–Presque Isle are co-educational colleges. The women's sports joined the GSAC, while the men's sports at the two schools remained Division III Independents. On May 6, 2015, the

announced that Agnes Scott College, Salem College, and Wesleyan College would be leaving the GSAC and joining the USA South beginning in the 2016-2017 season. On June 11, 2015, the GSAC announced that

Mount Mary University Mount Mary University is a private Roman Catholic women's university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The university was founded in 1913 by the School Sisters of Notre Dame UC Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. Located on Monterey Bay, on the edge of ...

would be joining the conference in women's soccer, volleyball, women's basketball, softball (Mount Mary only) and tennis (UC Santa Cruz only). The move was made effective immediately. Both schools were formerly affiliate members, playing tennis in the GSAC since 2013. Following the move of Agnes Scott, Salem, and Wesleyan to the USA South, the GSAC dissolved in the summer of 2016. The GSAC held its last conference championships in April 2016.

Chronological timeline

* 1999 - The Great South Athletic Conference (GSAC) was founded. Charter members included

, LaGrange College,

and

, effective beginning the 1999-2000 academic year. * 2002 - Stillman left the GSAC to join the Division II ranks of the

(NCAA) and the

(SIAC), effective after the 2001-02 academic year. * 2002 -

and

joined the GSAC, effective in the 2002-03 academic year. * 2003 -

and

joined the GSAC as provisional members, effective in the 2003-04 academic year. * 2006 - Fisk left the GSAC to join the

(NAIA) as an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

(which would later join the

(GCAC), effective beginning the 2010-11 academic year), effective after the 2005-06 academic year. * 2009 -

joined the GSAC, effective in the 2009-10 academic year. * 2010 -

joined the GSAC, effective in the 2010-11 academic year. * 2012 - LaGrange, Maryville and Piedmont left the GSAC to join the

(USA South), effective after the 2011-12 academic year. * 2012 - Due to lack of finding possible candidate schools with men's athletics programs, the GSAC was forced to drop men's sports, thus becoming a women's sports athletic conference, effective in the 2012-13 academic year. Co-ed schools Covenant and Huntingdon remained in the GSAC for women's sports, while their men's sports went to compete as NCAA D-III Independents. * 2012 -

and

joined the GSAC, effective in the 2012-13 academic year. * 2012 -

joined the GSAC as an affiliate member for softball, effective in the 2013 spring season (2012-13 academic year). * 2013 - Three institutions left the GSAC to join their respective new home primary conferences: Covenant and Huntingdon to align with their respective men's athletics programs and join the USA South, and Spelman to discontinue its athletic program as the school announced that it would close, all effective after the 2012-13 academic year. * 2013 - The

(Maine–Presque Isle or UMPI) and

(with Finlandia upgrading to join for all sports) joined the GSAC, effective in the 2013-14 academic year. Only Finlandia and Maine–Presque Isle (UMPI) were the co-educational schools whose men's sports still competed as NCAA D-III Independents. * 2013 -

Rust College Rust College is a private historically black college in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Founded in 1866, it is the second-oldest private college in the state. Affiliated with the United Methodist Church, it is one of ten historically black colleges ...

joined the GSAC as an affiliate member for softball, effective in the 2014 spring season (2013-14 academic year). * 2014 -

Mount Mary University Mount Mary University is a private Roman Catholic women's university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The university was founded in 1913 by the School Sisters of Notre Dame University of California at Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. Located on Monterey Bay, on the edge of ...

(UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) joined the GSAC as affiliate members for women's tennis, effective in the 2015 spring season (2014-15 academic year). * 2015 - Maine–Presque Isle (UMPI) and Trinity Washington left the GSAC to become NCAA D-III Independents, effective after the 2014-15 academic year. * 2015 - Rust left the GSAC as an affiliate member for softball, effective after the 2015 spring season (2014-15 academic year). * 2015 - Mount Marty and UC Santa Cruz (UCSC) had upgraded to join the GSAC for all sports, effective in the 2015-16 academic year. * 2016 - The GSAC ceased operations as an athletic conference, effective after the 2015-16 academic year; as many schools left to join their respective new home primary conferences, effective beginning the 2016-17 academic year: Agnes Scott, Salem (N.C.) and Wesleyan (Ga.) joined the USA South; while Finlandia, Mills, Mount Marty, Pine Manor and UC Santa Cruz returned to become NCAA D-III Independents.

Member schools

Full members

Final members

The GSAC had eight final full members before the conference dissolved, all but one were

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

schools: ;Notes:

Former members

The GSAC had ten other former full members during the conference's existence, all but one were

schools: ;Notes:

Former affiliate members

The GSAC had one former affiliate member that did not later become a full member during the conference's existence, which was also a

school: ;Notes:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1999 till:2024 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph, use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<# Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7) id:line value:black id:bg value:white id:Full value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports id:FullxF value:rgb(0.551,0.824,0.777) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football id:AssocF value:rgb(0.98,0.5,0.445) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.5,0.691,0.824) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in some sports, but not all (consider identifying in legend or a footnote) id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference where OtherC1 has already been used, to distinguish the two PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:Full from:1999 till:2006 text: Fisk (1999–2006) bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2006 till:2009 text: D-III Ind. bar:1 shift:(-10) color:OtherC2 from:2009 till:2010 text: NAIA Ind. bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2010 till:2014 text: GCAC bar:1 color:OtherC2 from:2014 till:2021 text: NAIA Ind. bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2021 till:end text: GCAC bar:2 color:Full from:1999 till:2012 text: LaGrange (1999–2012) bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2022 text: USA South bar:2 color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:end text: CCS bar:3 color:Full from:1999 till:2012 text: Maryville (1999–2012) bar:3 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2022 text: USA South bar:3 color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:end text: CCS bar:4 color:Full from:1999 till:2012 text:

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

(1999–2012) bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2022 text: USA South bar:4 color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:end text: CCS bar:5 color:Full from:1999 till:2002 text: Stillman (1999–2002) bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:2002 till:2016 text: SIAC bar:5 color:OtherC2 from:2016 till:2018 text: NAIA Ind. bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:2018 till:end text: SSAC bar:6 color:Full from:2002 till:2012 text:

Agnes Scott Agnes Scott College is a private women's liberal arts college in Decatur, Georgia. The college enrolls approximately 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The college is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church and is considered one of ...

(2002–2016) bar:6 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2016 bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:2016 till:2022 text: USA South bar:6 color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:end text: CCS bar:7 color:Full from:2002 till:2012 text:

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...

(2002–2013) bar:7 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2013 bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:2022 text: USA South bar:7 color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:end text: CCS bar:8 color:Full from:2003 till:2012 text: Spelman (2003–2013) bar:8 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2013 bar:9 color:Full from:2003 till:2012 text: Wesleyan (Ga.) (2003–2016) bar:9 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2016 bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:2016 till:2022 text: USA South bar:9 color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:end text: CCS bar:10 color:Full from:2009 till:2012 text: Salem (2009–2016) bar:10 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2016 bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:2016 till:end text: USA South bar:11 color:Full from:2010 till:2012 text:

Covenant Covenant may refer to: Religion * Covenant (religion), a formal alliance or agreement made by God with a religious community or with humanity in general ** Covenant (biblical), in the Hebrew Bible ** Covenant in Mormonism, a sacred agreement b ...

(2010–2013) bar:11 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2013 bar:11 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:2022 text: USA South bar:11 color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:end text: CCS bar:12 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2016 text: Pine Manor (2012–2016) bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:2016 till:2017 text: D-III Ind. bar:12 shift:(10) color:OtherC2 from:2017 till:2020 text: ACAA bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:2021 text:

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bar:13 shift:(-40) color:FullxF from:2012 till:2015 text: Trinity Washington (2012–2015) bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:2015 till:end text: D-III Ind. bar:14 color:AssocOS from:2012 till:2013 text: bar:14 shift:(-30) color:FullxF from:2013 till:2016 text:

Finlandia ''Finlandia'', Op. 26, is a tone poem by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. It was written in 1899 and revised in 1900. The piece was composed for the Press Celebrations of 1899, a covert protest against increasing censorship from the Russian ...

(2013–2016) bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:2016 till:2017 text: D-III Ind. bar:14 shift:(10) color:OtherC2 from:2017 till:2020 text: ACAA bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:end text:

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bar:15 shift:(-80) color:FullxF from:2013 till:2015 text: Maine–Presque Isle (2013–2015) bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:2015 till:2017 text: D-III Ind. bar:15 color:OtherC2 from:2017 till:2018 text: ACAA bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:2018 till:end text: NAC bar:16 color:FullxF from:2013 till:2016 text:

Mills Mills is the plural form of mill, but may also refer to: As a name *Mills (surname), a common family name of English or Gaelic origin * Mills (given name) *Mills, a fictional British secret agent in a trilogy by writer Manning O'Brine Places Unit ...

(2013–2016) bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:2016 till:2017 text: D-III Ind. bar:16 shift:(10) color:OtherC2 from:2017 till:2020 text: ACAA bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:end text:

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bar:17 color:AssocOS from:2013 till:2015 text:

Rust Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO(OH ...

(2013–2015; softball) bar:18 color:AssocOS from:2014 till:2015 text: bar:18 shift:(-90) color:FullxF from:2015 till:2016 text: Mount Mary (2015–2016) bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:2016 till:2018 text: D-III Ind. bar:18 color:OtherC2 from:2018 till:2020 text: ACAA bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:end text:

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bar:19 color:AssocOS from:2014 till:2015 text: bar:19 shift:(-60) color:FullxF from:2015 till:2016 text: UCSC (2015–2016) bar:19 color:OtherC1 from:2016 till:2019 text: D-III Ind. bar:19 color:OtherC2 from:2019 till:2020 text: ACAA bar:19 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:end text:

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bar:N color:green from:1999 till:2012 text:Great South Athletic Conference bar:N color:yellow from:2012 till:2016 text:Women's sports-only GSAC bar:N color:blue from:2016 till:end text:Post-GSAC ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:2000 TextData = fontsize:M textcolor:black pos:(250,30) # tabs:(0-center) text:"Great South Athletic Conference membership history"

Sports

From the 2012–13 to 2015–16 academic years, the GSAC sponsored intercollegiate athletic competition in women's sports only:

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, cross country,

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

, and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

References

{{Great South Athletic Conference navbox Sports organizations established in 1999 Organizations disestablished in 2016 1999 establishments in the United States