The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) is a competitive
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 ...
(NCAA) at the
Division II level.
The GLIAC was founded in June 1972. Its eleven member institutions are located in the
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
in the states of
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
,
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
, and
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
. There are three affiliate members who compete in the GLIAC for sports not sponsored by their home conference.
Sponsorship of
football was dropped by the GLIAC after the 1989 season. Conference schools sponsoring football joined with members of the Heartland Football Conference to form the
Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference
The Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference (MIFC) was a football-only NCAA Division II conference formed for the 1990 football season. The conference was formed as the result of a merger of the football only Heartland Collegiate Conference a ...
(MIFC), which began play in 1990. The MIFC merged with the GLIAC in July 1999, and the GLIAC resumed sponsorship of football that fall.
History
Chronological timeline
* 1972: The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) was founded in 1972.
The charter members of the GLIAC were the following:
Ferris State University
Ferris State University (FSU or Ferris) is a public university with its main campus in Big Rapids, Michigan. It was founded in 1884 and became a public institution in 1950. Ferris is the ninth-largest institutions of higher education by enrol ...
,
Grand Valley State University,
Lake Superior State University
Lake Superior State University (colloquially Lake State, Lake Superior State, Soo Tech, and LSSU) is a public college in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. It is enrolls approximately 2,000 students. Due to its proximity to the Canadian border, and th ...
,
Northwood Institute (now Northwood University) and
Saginaw Valley State University
Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) is a public university in University Center, Michigan in Saginaw County. It was founded in 1963 as Saginaw Valley College. It is located on in Saginaw County's Kochville Township, approximately north of ...
, effective beginning the 1972–1973 academic year.
* 1974:
** Women's programs became part of the GLIAC, effective in the 1974–1975 academic year.
**
Oakland University joined the GLIAC, effective in the 1974–1975 academic year.
* 1975:
Hillsdale College,
Northern Michigan University
Northern Michigan University (Northern Michigan, Northern or NMU) is a public university in Marquette, Michigan. It was established in 1899 by the Michigan Legislature as Northern State Normal School. In 1963, the state designated Northern a uni ...
and
Wayne State University
Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...
joined the GLIAC, effective in the 1975–1976 academic year.
* 1977: Northern Michigan left the GLIAC, effective after the 1976–1977 academic year.
* 1980:
Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech) joined the GLIAC, effective in the 1980–1981 academic year.
* 1987:
** Northwood left the GLIAC, effective after the 1986–1987 academic year.
** Northern Michigan re-joined the GLIAC, effective in the 1987–1988 academic year.
* 1989–1990: The GLIAC dropped football as a sponsored sport, effective after the 1989–1990 academic year.
* 1992: Northwood re-joined the GLIAC, effective in the 1992–1993 academic year.
* 1994: On December 14, 1994,
Ashland University,
Gannon University and
Mercyhurst College
(Seize the day)
, former_names = Mercyhurst College (1926–2012)
, established =
, type = Private university
, religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Sisters of Mercy)
, endowment = $31.8 million
, faculty = 136 full-time
, administra ...
(now Mercyhurst University) joined the GLIAC, effective in the 1995–1996 academic year.
* 1997:
** Oakland left the GLIAC to become an
Division I Independent
Division or divider may refer to:
Mathematics
*Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication
*Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division
Military
*Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...
(who would later join the
Mid-Continent Conference, effective beginning the 1998–1999 academic year), effective after the 1996–1997 academic year.
** The
University of Findlay
The University of Findlay (UF) is a private Christian university in Findlay, Ohio. It was established in 1882 through a joint partnership between the Churches of God General Conference and the city of Findlay. UF has nearly 80 undergraduate ...
joined the GLIAC, effective in the 1997–1998 academic year.
* 1999: The GLIAC reinstated football as a sponsored sport by merging the
Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference
The Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference (MIFC) was a football-only NCAA Division II conference formed for the 1990 football season. The conference was formed as the result of a merger of the football only Heartland Collegiate Conference a ...
(MIFC); while the
University of Indianapolis
The University of Indianapolis (UIndy) is a private United Methodist Church-affiliated university in Indianapolis, Indiana. It offers Associate, Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral degrees. It was founded in 1902 as Indiana Central University and ...
(UIndy) became an affiliate member as a football-only school; both effective in the 1999 fall season (1999–2000 academic year).
* 2001: Indianapolis added men's and women's swimming & diving to its GLIAC affiliate membership, effective in the 2001–2002 academic year.
* 2004:
Lewis University joined the GLIAC as an affiliate member for men's and women's swimming and diving, effective in the 2004–2005 academic year.
* 2007: On June 20, 2007,
Tiffin University joined the GLIAC, effective in the 2008–2009 academic year.
* 2008: Gannon and Mercyhurst left the GLIAC to join the
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference
The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The conference was originally formed in 1951 as the State Teachers C ...
(PSAC), effective after the 2007–2008 academic year.
* 2010:
Lake Erie College
Lake Erie College is a private liberal arts college in Painesville, Ohio. Founded in 1856 as a female seminary, the college converted to a coeducational institution in 1985. As of the 2016–2017 academic year, the total enrollment was 1,177 stud ...
and
Ohio Dominican University joined the GLIAC, effective in the 2010–2011 academic year.
* 2012:
**
Malone University and
Walsh University
Walsh University is a private Roman Catholic university in North Canton, Ohio. It enrolls approximately 2,700 students and was founded in 1960 by the Brothers of Christian Instruction as a liberal arts college. Walsh College became Walsh Univ ...
joined the GLIAC, effective in the 2012–2013 academic year.
**
Notre Dame College joined the GLIAC as an affiliate member for some sports (football, women's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer, and wrestling), effective in the 2012–2013 academic year.
**
Alderson Broaddus University
Alderson Broaddus University (AB) is a private Baptist university in Philippi, West Virginia. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. It was formed in 1932 as Alderson–Broaddus College by the union of two Baptist institutions: ...
,
Urbana University and
Wheeling Jesuit University
Wheeling University (WU, formerly Wheeling Jesuit University) is a private Roman Catholic university in Wheeling, West Virginia. It was founded as Wheeling College in 1954 by the Society of Jesus (also known as the Jesuits) and was a Jesuit inst ...
joined the GLIAC as affiliate members for women's lacrosse, effective in the 2013 spring season (2012–2013 academic year).
* 2013:
** Notre Dame (OH) left the GLIAC as an affiliate member to move its sports into its new primary conference home in the
Mountain East Conference, effective after the 2012–2013 academic year.
** UIndy and Lewis left the GLIAC as affiliate members for men's and women's swimming & diving, effective after the 2012–2013 academic year.
**
Ursuline College
Ursuline College is a private Roman Catholic liberal arts college in Pepper Pike, Ohio. It was founded in 1871 by the Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland and was one of the oldest institutions of higher education for women in the United States and ...
joined the GLIAC as an affiliate member for women's lacrosse and women's swimming & diving, effective in the 2012–2013 academic year.
* 2014:
** Urbana and Wheeling Jesuit left the GLIAC as affiliate members for women's lacrosse, effective after the 2014 spring season (2013–2014 academic year).
**
McKendree University
McKendree University (McK) is a private university in Lebanon, Illinois. Founded in 1828 as the Lebanon Seminary, it is the oldest college or university in Illinois. McKendree enrolls approximately 2,300 undergraduates and nearly 700 graduate ...
joined the GLIAC as an affiliate member for women's lacrosse, effective in the 2015 spring season (2014–2015 academic year).
* 2015:
** Alderson Broaddus and Ursuline left the GLIAC as affiliate members for women's lacrosse, effective after the 2015 spring season (2014–2015 academic year).
** UIndy added women's lacrosse to its GLIAC affiliate membership, effective in the 2016 spring season (2015–2016 academic year).
* 2016:
** Malone left the GLIAC to join the
Great Midwest Athletic Conference
The Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. It was named the 24th (at the time) NCAA Division II conference and oper ...
(G-MAC), effective after the 2015–2016 academic year.
** Ursuline left the GLIAC as an affiliate member for women's swimming & diving, effective after the 2015–2016 academic year.
* 2017:
** Findlay, Hillsdale, Lake Erie, Ohio Dominican and Walsh left the GLIAC to join the G-MAC, effective after the 2016–2017 academic year.
**
Davenport University
Davenport University is a private university with campuses throughout Michigan and online. It was founded in 1866 by Conrad Swensburg and currently offers associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees; diplomas; and post-grad certification progra ...
and
Purdue University–Northwest joined the GLIAC, effective in the 2017–2018 academic year.
**
Concordia University, St. Paul joined the GLIAC as an affiliate member for men's lacrosse, effective in the 2018 spring season (2017–2018 academic year).
* 2018:
** Tiffin left the GLIAC to join the G-MAC, effective after the 2017–2018 academic year.
** The
University of Wisconsin–Parkside
The University of Wisconsin–Parkside (UWP) is a public university in Somers, Wisconsin. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and has 4,644 students, 161 full-time faculty, and 89 lecturers and part-time faculty. The university o ...
joined the GLIAC, effective in the 2018–2019 academic year. It also adopted the new athletic brand name of Parkside.
** Three institutions joined the GLIAC as affiliate members: Lewis and
Maryville University
Maryville University of St. Louis is a private university in Town and Country, Missouri. It was originally founded on April 6, 1872 by the Society of the Sacred Heart and offers more than 90 degrees at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral l ...
for women's lacrosse, and
St. Cloud State University for men's swimming and men's swimming & diving, effective in the 2018–2019 academic year.
* 2019:
** UIndy, Lewis, Maryville and McKendree left the GLIAC as affiliate members for women's lacrosse, effective after the 2019 spring season (2018–2019 academic year).
**
Upper Iowa University joined the GLIAC as an affiliate member for men's soccer and women's lacrosse, effective in the 2019–2020 academic year.
* 2021:
** Ashland left the GLIAC to join the G-MAC, effective after the 2020–2021 academic year.
**
Augustana University
Augustana University is a private Lutheran university in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The university identifies 1860 as the year of its founding, the same as its Rock Island, Illinois Swedish-heritage sister school, Augustana College. It derives ...
joined the GLIAC as an affiliate member for men's swimming & diving, effective in the 2021–2022 academic year.
* 2022:
** Northwood left the GLIAC for a second time to join the G-MAC, effective after the 2021–2022 academic year.
**
Roosevelt University
Roosevelt University is a private university with campuses in Chicago and Schaumburg, Illinois. Founded in 1945, the university was named in honor of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
The unive ...
announced it would join the GLIAC, effective in the 2023–2024 academic year. Although Roosevelt will join the conference as a provisional member, it will continue to compete in 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 st ...
(NAIA) and the
Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) in 2023–2024 before beginning competition as a full GLIAC member in July 2024.
** Upper Iowa announces its intent to move to the
Great Lakes Valley Conference
The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Its thirteen member institutions are located in the U.S. states of Illinois ...
in all sports after the 2022–2023 academic year, including its GLIAC affiliated sports of women's lacrosse and men's soccer.
Member schools
Current members
The GLIAC currently has 10 full members; all but one 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 ''Öffentlichk ...
schools:
;Notes:
Future members
;Notes:
Affiliate members
The GLIAC currently has four affiliate members, all but one are
private schools:
Former members
The GLIAC had 13 former full members; all but one are
private schools:
;Notes:
Former affiliate members
The GLIAC had nine former affiliate members, all were
private schools. School names and nicknames reflect those in use in the final season each school was an affiliate:
;Notes:
Membership timeline
The GLIAC dropped football after the 1989 fall season (1989–1990 school year) and resumed it for the 1999 fall season (1999–2000 school year).
DateFormat = yyyy
ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20
Period = from:1972 till:2032
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:1972 till:1990 text: Ferris State (1972–present)
bar:1 color:FullxF from:1990 till:1999
bar:1 color:Full from:1999 till:end
bar:2 color:Full from:1972 till:1990 text: Grand Valley State (1972–present)
bar:2 color:FullxF from:1990 till:1999
bar:2 color:Full from:1999 till:end
bar:3 color:FullxF from:1972 till:end text:Lake Superior State
Lake Superior State University (colloquially Lake State, Lake Superior State, Soo Tech, and LSSU) is a public college in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. It is enrolls approximately 2,000 students. Due to its proximity to the Canadian border, and th ...
(1972–present)
bar:4 color:Full from:1972 till:1987 text: Northwood (1972–1987)
bar:4 color:FullxF from:1992 till:1999 text:(1992–2022)
bar:4 color:Full from:1999 till:2022
bar:5 color:FullxF from:1972 till:1975 text: Saginaw Valley State (1972–present)
bar:5 color:Full from:1975 till:1990
bar:5 color:FullxF from:1990 till:1999
bar:5 color:Full from:1999 till:end
bar:6 color:FullxF from:1974 till:1997 text: Oakland (1974–1997)
bar:7 color:Full from:1975 till:1990 text: Hillsdale (1975–2017)
bar:7 color:FullxF from:1990 till:1999
bar:7 color:Full from:1999 till:2017
bar:8 color:Full from:1975 till:1977 text:Northern Michigan
Northern Michigan, also known as Northern Lower Michigan (known colloquially to residents of more southerly parts of the state and summer residents from cities such as Detroit as " Up North"), is a region of the U.S. state of Michigan. A popul ...
(1975–1977)
bar:8 color:Full from:1987 till:1990 text:(1987–present)
bar:8 color:FullxF from:1990 till:1999
bar:8 color:Full from:1999 till:end
bar:9 color:Full from:1975 till:1990 text: Wayne State (1975–present)
bar:9 color:FullxF from:1990 till:1999
bar:9 color:Full from:1999 till:end
bar:10 color:Full from:1980 till:1990 text:Michigan Tech
Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech, MTU, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Houghton, Michigan, founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, the first post-secondary institution in the Upper Peninsula of Michiga ...
(1980–present)
bar:10 color:FullxF from:1990 till:1999
bar:10 color:Full from:1999 till:end
bar:11 color:FullxF from:1995 till:1999 text: Ashland (1995–2021)
bar:11 color:Full from:1999 till:2021
bar:12 color:FullxF from:1995 till:1999 text: Gannon (1995–2008)
bar:12 color:Full from:1999 till:2008
bar:13 color:FullxF from:1995 till:1999 text: Mercyhurst (1995–2008)
bar:13 color:Full from:1999 till:2008
bar:14 color:FullxF from:1997 till:1999 text: Findlay (1997–2017)
bar:14 color:Full from:1999 till:2017
bar:15 color:FullxF from:1997 till:1999 text: Westminster (Pa.) (1997–2000)
bar:15 color:Full from:1999 till:2000
bar:16 color:AssocF from:1999 till:2000 text: Indianapolis (1999–2013)
bar:16 color:AssocOS from:2000 till:2013
bar:16 color:AssocOS from:2015 till:2019 text:(2015–2019)
bar:17 color:AssocOS from:2005 till:2013 text:Lewis
Lewis may refer to:
Names
* Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name
* Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname
Music
* Lewis (musician), Canadian singer
* "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...
(2005–2013)
bar:17 color:AssocOS from:2018 till:2019 text:(2018-2019)
bar:18 color:Full from:2008 till:2018 text:Tiffin
Tiffin is an Indian English word for a type of meal. It refers to a light breakfast or a light tea-time meal at about 3 p.m., consisting of typical tea-time foods. In certain parts of India, it can also refer to the midday luncheon or, in s ...
(2008–2018)
bar:19 color:Full from:2010 till:2017 text:Lake Erie
Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also h ...
(2010–2017)
bar:20 color:Full from:2010 till:2017 text: Ohio Dominican (2010–2017)
bar:21 color:Full from:2012 till:2016 text:Malone
Malone is an Irish surname. From the Irish "''Mael Eóin''", the name means a servant or a disciple of Saint John.
People
* Gilla Críst Ua Máel Eóin (died 1127), historian and Abbot of Clonmacnoise, Ó Maoil Eoin
* Adrian Malone (1937–2 ...
(2012–2016)
bar:22 color:Full from:2012 till:2017 text: Walsh (2012–2017)
bar:23 color:AssocOS from:2012 till:2013 text: Notre Dame (Oh.) (2012–2013)
bar:24 color:AssocOS from:2012 till:2015 text: Alderson Broaddus (2012–2015)
bar:25 color:AssocOS from:2012 till:2014 text: Urbana (2012–2014)
bar:26 color:AssocOS from:2012 till:2014 text: Wheeling Jesuit (2012–2014)
bar:27 color:AssocOS from:2013 till:2016 text: Ursuline (2013–2016)
bar:28 color:AssocOS from:2014 till:2019 text: Mckendree (2014–2019)
bar:29 color:Full from:2017 till:end text: Davenport (2017–present)
bar:30 color:FullxF from:2017 till:end text: Purdue–Northwest (2017–present)
bar:31 color:AssocOS from:2017 till:end text: Concordia–St. Paul (2017–present)
bar:32 color:FullxF from:2018 till:end text: Parkside (2018–present)
bar:33 color:AssocOS from:2018 till:end text: St. Cloud State (2018–present)
bar:34 color:AssocOS from:2018 till:2019 text: Maryville (2018–2019)
bar:35 color:AssocOS from:2019 till:2023 text: Upper Iowa (2019–2023)
bar:36 color:AssocOS from:2021 till:end text: Augustana (2021-present)
bar:37 color:Full from:2023 till:end text:Roosevelt
Roosevelt may refer to:
*Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), 26th U.S. president
* Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945), 32nd U.S. president
Businesses and organisations
* Roosevelt Hotel (disambiguation)
* Roosevelt & Son, a merchant bank
* Rooseve ...
(2023–present)
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:4 start:1972
Sports
The GLIAC sponsors the following 21 sports:
Men's sponsored sports by school
Departing members in pink.
Women's sponsored sports by school
Departing members in pink.
Other sponsored sports by school
In addition to the above:
* Davenport has varsity teams in esports (coeducational) and the women-only cheerleading discipline of STUNT. It will add men's and women's varsity teams in the flying disc sport of
ultimate in 2023–24.
* Michigan Tech and Purdue Northwest have coeducational varsity esports teams.
* Northern Michigan recognizes esports (fully coeducational) as a varsity sport. Also, the university hosts an official U.S. Olympic training center for men's and women's weightlifting; all participants in this program are enrolled at NMU, and are recognized as varsity athletes.
Championships
National Championships
GLIAC schools have won 49 NCAA National Championships:
Football facilities
References
External links
*
{{NCAA Division II football conference navbox