The Great American Conference (GAC) is a

college athletic conference In college athletics in the United States, institutions typically join in conferences for regular play under different governing bodies. Varsity sports There are several national and regional associations governing the varsity teams of colleges ...

affiliated with the

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) at the Division II level, with headquarters located in

Russellville, Arkansas Russellville is the county seat and largest city in Pope County, Arkansas, United States, with a 2021 estimated population of 29,338. It is home to Arkansas Tech University. Arkansas Nuclear One, Arkansas' only nuclear power plant is nearby. Rus ...

. Athletic competition began play during the 2011–12 school year. Its twelve all-sports member schools are located in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

and

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

in the

South Central United States The South Central United States or South Central states is a region in the south central portion of the Southern United States. It evolved out of the Old Southwest, which originally was the western portion of the South. The states of Arkansas, ...

. In addition, the conference has four affiliate members in men's soccer, two of which are in

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

History

The conference's charter members previously competed in the

Lone Star Conference The Lone Star Conference (LSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the southwestern United States, with schools in Tex ...

(

East Central University East Central University (ECU or East Central) is a public university in Ada, Oklahoma. It is part of Oklahoma's Regional University System. Beyond its flagship campus in Ada, the university has courses available in McAlester, Shawnee, and Duran ...

Southeastern Oklahoma State University Southeastern Oklahoma State University (Southeastern, SE, or SOSU) is a public university in Durant, Oklahoma. It had an undergraduate enrollment of 4,824 in 2019. History On March 6, 1909, the Second Oklahoma State Legislature approved an a ...

and

Southwestern Oklahoma State University Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU) is a public university in Weatherford and Sayre, Oklahoma. It is one of six Regional University System of Oklahoma members. History SWOSU was first established through an act of the Oklahoma Ter ...

) and the

Gulf South Conference The Gulf South Conference (GSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the Southeastern United States. History Originally known as the Mid ...

(

Arkansas Tech University Arkansas Tech University (ATU) is a public university in Russellville, Arkansas. The university offers programs at both baccalaureate and graduate levels in a range of fields. The Arkansas Tech University–Ozark Campus, a two-year satellite cam ...

University of Arkansas at Monticello The University of Arkansas at Monticello (UAM) is a public university in Monticello, Arkansas with Colleges of Technology in Crossett and McGehee. UAM is part of the University of Arkansas System and offers master's degrees, baccalaureate degrees ...

Harding University Harding University is a private university with its main campus in Searcy, Arkansas. It is the largest private university in Arkansas. Established in 1924, the institution offers undergraduate, graduate, and pre-professional programs. The uni ...

Henderson State University Henderson State University (HSU) is a public university in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Founded in 1890 as Arkadelphia Methodist College, it is Arkansas's only member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. Henderson has an undergraduate enrol ...

Ouachita Baptist University Ouachita Baptist University (OBU) is a private Baptist university in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. The university's name is taken from the Ouachita (pronounced WAH-shi-tah) River, which forms the eastern campus boundary. It is affiliated with the Arka ...

and

Southern Arkansas University Southern Arkansas University (SAU) is a public university in Magnolia, Arkansas. History Southern Arkansas University was established by an Act of the Arkansas Legislature in 1909 as a district agricultural high school for southwest Arkansas and ...

) before forming the GAC in 2010. The new conference is intended to reduce travel costs for its member universities. On May 11, 2011, the conference invited Northwestern Oklahoma State and

Southern Nazarene University Southern Nazarene University (SNU) is a private Nazarene university in Bethany, Oklahoma. History The history of the institution is one of various mergers and, therefore, one of differing institutions. While SNU claims its founding date as ...

to the conference for the 2012–13 academic year. Those universities continued to compete in the

Sooner Athletic Conference The Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Originally developed as a five-team conference of Oklahoma-based schools, the SAC now boasts 12 sc ...

during the 2011–12 season before joining the conference. As of July 11, 2014, 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 ...

Division II Membership Committee recommended the membership application for

Oklahoma Baptist University Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU) is a private Baptist university in Shawnee, Oklahoma. It was established in 1910 under the original name of The Baptist University of Oklahoma. OBU is owned and was founded by the Baptist General Convention of O ...

to set up the move from the NAIA to

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 ...

and it joined the conference for the 2015–16 season. The GAC and the

Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) is a List of NCAA conferences, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division II, Division II level, headquartered ...

(MIAA) announced a partnership in June 2018 to combine their men’s tennis and men’s soccer leagues in both sports from the 2019–20 academic year. Under the agreement, the MIAA will organize the tennis league and the GAC will organize the soccer.

Chronological timeline

* 2011 - The Great American Conference (GAC) was founded. Charter members included six schools from the state of Arkansas (

, the

and

from the

); and three schools from the state of Oklahoma (

and Southwestern Oklahoma State from the

), effective beginning the 2011-12 academic year. * 2012 -

Northwestern Oklahoma State University Northwestern Oklahoma State University (NWOSU) is a public university in Alva, Oklahoma, with satellite campuses in Enid, Oklahoma, Enid and Woodward, Oklahoma, Woodward. It offers both bachelor's and master's degrees. History In 1897, a normal ...

and

joined the GAC, effective in the 2012-13 academic year. * 2015 -

joined the GAC, effective in the 2015-16 academic year. * 2015 -

Oklahoma Christian University Oklahoma Christian University (OC) is a private Christian university in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was founded in 1950 by members of the Churches of Christ. History Oklahoma Christian University, originally named Central Christian College, w ...

and

Rogers State University Rogers State University (RSU) is a public university in Claremore, Oklahoma. It also has branch campuses in Bartlesville and Pryor Creek. History The institution that is now RSU has gone through several stages, from its foundation as a state ...

joined the GAC as affiliate members for men's and women's outdoor track & field outdoor, effective in the 2016 spring season (2015-16 academic year). * 2019 - Oklahoma Christian and Rogers State left the GAC as affiliate members for men's and women's outdoor track & field outdoor, effective after the 2019 spring season (2018-19 academic year). * 2019 -

Fort Hays State University Fort Hays State University (FHSU) is a public university in Hays, Kansas. It is the fourth-largest of the six state universities governed by the Kansas Board of Regents, with a total enrollment of approximately 15,100 students. History FHSU ...

, Newman University and Northeastern State joined the GAC as affiliate members for men's soccer (with Rogers State re-joining for that sport), effective in the 2019 fall season (2019-20 academic year).

Member schools

Current members

The GAC currently has 12 full members, all but four are

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

schools:

Affiliate members

The GAC currently has four affiliate members, all but one are

schools: ;Notes:

Former affiliate members

The GAC had two former affiliate members, one was a

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 ...

school and one was a

school. Both affiliate members left the GAC after the 2018–19 school year, as each joined a conference that sponsors the sports that it housed in the GAC. ;Notes:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:2011 till:2026 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:5 left:5 bottom:20 top:5 Colors = id:line value:black id:Full value:rgb(0.63,0.88,0.755) # all sports id:FullxF value:rgb(0.88,0.755,0.63) # non-football id:AssocF value:rgb(0.88,0.63,0.63) # football-only id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.755,0.755,0.63) # associate PlotData = width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:Full from:2011 till:end text:

Arkansas Tech Arkansas Tech University (ATU) is a public university in Russellville, Arkansas. The university offers programs at both baccalaureate and graduate levels in a range of fields. The Arkansas Tech University–Ozark Campus, a two-year satellite camp ...

(2011–present) bar:2 color:Full from:2011 till:end text: Arkansas–Monticello (2011–present) bar:3 color:Full from:2011 till:end text: East Central (2011–present) bar:4 color:Full from:2011 till:end text:

Harding Harding may refer to: People *Harding (surname) *Maureen Harding Clark (born 1946), Irish jurist Places Australia * Harding River Iran * Harding, Iran, a village in South Khorasan Province South Africa * Harding, KwaZulu-Natal United Sta ...

(2011–present) bar:5 color:Full from:2011 till:end text: Henderson State (2011–present) bar:6 color:Full from:2011 till:end text: Ouachita Baptist (2011–present) bar:7 color:Full from:2011 till:end text: Southeastern Oklahoma State (2011–present) bar:8 color:Full from:2011 till:end text: Southern Arkansas (2011–present) bar:9 color:Full from:2011 till:end text: Southwestern Oklahoma State (2011–present) bar:10 color:Full from:2012 till:end text: Northwestern Oklahoma State (2012–present) bar:11 color:Full from:2012 till:end text:

Southern Nazarene Southern Nazarene University (SNU) is a private Nazarene university in Bethany, Oklahoma. History The history of the institution is one of various mergers and, therefore, one of differing institutions. While SNU claims its founding date as 1 ...

(2012–present) bar:12 color:Full from:2015 till:end text: Oklahoma Baptist (2015–present) bar:13 color:AssocOS from:2015 till:2019 text: Oklahoma Christian (2015–2019; track & field outdoor) bar:14 color:AssocOS from:2015 till:end text:

Rogers State Rogers State University (RSU) is a public university in Claremore, Oklahoma. It also has branch campuses in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Bartlesville and Pryor Creek, Oklahoma, Pryor Creek. History The institution that is now RSU has gone through ...

(2015–2019; track & field outdoor) (2019–present; men's soccer) bar:15 color:AssocOS from:2019 till:end text: Fort Hays State (2019–present; men's soccer) bar:16 color:AssocOS from:2019 till:end text:

Newman Newman is a surname of English origin and may refer to many people: The surname Newman is widespread in the core Anglosphere. A *Abram Newman (1736–1799), British grocer *Adrian Newman (disambiguation), multiple people *Al Newman (born 1960) ...

(2019–present; men's soccer) bar:17 color:AssocOS from:2019 till:end text: Northeastern State (2019–present; men's soccer) ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:1 start:2011

Sports

The GAC sponsors championships in seven men's and eight women's sports.

Men's sponsored sports by school

Women's sponsored sports by school

Other sponsored sports by school

Awards

Scholar-Athlete of the Year

The male and female scholar-athlete of the year awards are voted upon by the league's faculty athletic representatives or designees.

Athlete of the Year

The male and female athlete of the year awards are voted upon by the league's sports information directors or designees.

All-Sports Trophy

The All-Sports Trophy is presented to the athletic department with the highest point total at the end of the athletic year. Points are recorded in all sponsored sports with six or more participants. The regular season standings will determine the points for the sports of baseball, men's basketball, women's basketball, football, women's soccer, softball, women's tennis, and volleyball. The conference championship will determine the points for the sports of men's cross country, women's cross country, men's golf, and women's golf.

NACDA Learfield Sports Directors' Cup Rankings

The NACDA Learfield Sports Directors' Cup is an annual award given by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics to the U.S. colleges and universities with the most success in collegiate athletics.

Conference Champions

Current champions

Fall 2016

Winter 2016–17

Spring 2017

Total conference championships

Total conference postseason championships and football regular season championships won by each school.

Facilities

National Championships

NCAA Division II

Team and individual titles won prior to joining the GAC or by members in sports not sponsored by the GAC.

NAIA

Championships and Postseason

* — national tournament game.

Cross Country

GAC Champions

NCAA Championships Results

;Men ;Women

Football

GAC Champions

GAC All-Time Standings

NCAA Tournament Results

Bowl Games

The GAC has a tie-in with the

Live United Texarkana Bowl The Live United Texarkana Bowl, known under a naming rights agreement as the Fun Town RV Live United Bowl, is a college football bowl game played annually in Texarkana, Arkansas between teams from NCAA Division II. It is one of four NCAA Division ...

in which the highest non-playoff team will receive an automatic selection to the game. The

C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl The C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl (known as the HOT Bowl for short) is the name for two annual American football bowl games played in Central Texas. The first and older of the two HOT Bowls, which has been played since 2001, features two com ...

began a Division II game in 2012 with the GAC receiving the at-large selection in each of the first four years of the game. The

Corsicana Bowl The Heritage Bowl (formerly the Corsicana Bowl) is an annual NCAA Division II post-season college football bowl game held in Corsicana, Texas at Tiger Stadium. Established in 2017 by Antwone "Tony" Taulton, the game is played each year on the f ...

History

Chronological timeline

Member schools

Current members

Affiliate members

Former affiliate members

Membership timeline

Sports

Men's sponsored sports by school

Women's sponsored sports by school

Other sponsored sports by school

Awards

Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Athlete of the Year

All-Sports Trophy

NACDA Learfield Sports Directors' Cup Rankings

Conference Champions

Current champions

Fall 2016

Winter 2016–17

Spring 2017

Total conference championships

Facilities

National Championships

NCAA Division II

NAIA

Championships and Postseason

Cross Country

GAC Champions

NCAA Championships Results

Football

GAC Champions

GAC All-Time Standings

NCAA Tournament Results

Bowl Games

Men's Soccer

GAC Champions

GAC All-Time Standings

Women's Soccer

GAC Champions

GAC All-Time Standings

NCAA Tournament Results

Volleyball

GAC Champions

GAC All-Time Standings

NCAA Tournament Results

Men's Basketball

GAC Champions

GAC All-Time Standings

NCAA Tournament Results

Women's Basketball

GAC Champions

GAC All-Time Standings

NCAA Tournament Results

Baseball

GAC Champions

GAC All-Time Standings

NCAA Tournament Results

Golf

GAC Champions

NCAA Championships Results

Softball

GAC Champions

GAC All-Time Standings

NCAA Tournament Results

Men's Tennis

GAC Champions

GAC All-Time Standings

NCAA Tournament Results

Women's Tennis

GAC Champions

GAC All-Time Standings

NCAA Tournament Results

Track & Field Outdoor

GAC Champions

See also

References

External links