Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

Great Lakes Intercollegiate
Athletic Conference
Great Lakes Intercollegiate; Athletic Conference
Established	1972
Association	NCAA
Division	Division II
Members	11 (10 in 2022)
Sports fielded	21 men's: 10; women's: 11; ;
Region	Great Lakes
Headquarters	Bay City, Michigan
Commissioner	Kris Dunbar (since 2018)
Website	www.gliac.org
Locations

The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) is a competitive collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division II.

The GLIAC was founded in June 1972. Its eleven member institutions are located in the Midwestern United States in the states of Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin. 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 (MIFC), which began play in 1990. The MIFC merged with the GLIAC in July 1999, and the GLIAC resumed sponsorship of football that fall.

Chronological timeline[]

^[1]

1972: The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) was founded in 1972. The charter members of the GLIAC were the following: Ferris State University, Grand Valley State University, Lake Superior State University, Northwood Institute (now Northwood University) and Saginaw Valley State University.
1974: Women's programs became part of the GLIAC.
1974: Oakland University joined the GLIAC, effective in the 1974–1975 academic year.
1975: Hillsdale College, Northern Michigan University and Wayne State University joined the GLIAC, effective in the 1975–1976 academic year.
1977: Northern Michigan left the GLIAC, effective in 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 in the 1986–1987 academic year.
1987: 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 (now Mercyhurst University) joined the GLIAC, effective in the 1995–1996 academic year.
1997: Oakland left the GLIAC to become an NCAA Division I independent school, effective in the 1996–1997 academic year.
1997: The University of Findlay joined the GLIAC, effective in the 1997–1998 academic year.
1999: The GLIAC re-instated football as a sponsored sport by merging the Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference (MIFC); while the University of Indianapolis (UIndy) became an associate member as a football-only school; both effective in the 1999–2000 academic year.
2004: Lewis University became an associate member as a men's and women's swimming and diving school, 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 (PSAC), effective in the 2007–2008 academic year.
2010: Lake Erie College and Ohio Dominican University joined the GLIAC, effective in the 2010–2011 academic year.
2012: Malone University and Walsh University joined the GLIAC, effective in the 2012–2013 academic year.
2016: Malone left the GLIAC to join the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC), effective in the 2015–2016 academic year.
2017: Findlay, Hillsdale, Lake Erie, Ohio Dominican and Walsh left the GLIAC to join the G-MAC, effective in the 2016–2017 academic year.
2017: Davenport University and Purdue University–Northwest joined the GLIAC, effective in the 2017–2018 academic year.
2018: Tiffin left the GLIAC to join the G-MAC, effective in the 2017–2018 academic year.
2018: The University of Wisconsin–Parkside joined the GLIAC, effective in the 2018–2019 academic year.
2021: Ashland left left the GLIAC to join the G-MAC, effective in the 2020–2021 academic year.
2022: Northwood would the GLIAC for a second time to join the G-MAC, effective in the 2021–2022 academic year.

Member schools[]

Current members[]

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined
Davenport University	Grand Rapids, Michigan	1866	Private (Nonsectarian)	6,456	Panthers	2017
Ferris State University	Big Rapids, Michigan	1884	Public	12,472	Bulldogs	1972
Grand Valley State University	Allendale, Michigan	1960	Public	24,033	Lakers	1972
Lake Superior State University	Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan	1946	Public	1,984	Lakers	1972
Michigan Technological University	Houghton, Michigan	1885	Public	7,041	Huskies	1980
Northern Michigan University	Marquette, Michigan	1899	Public	7,732	Wildcats	1975; 1987^[a]
Northwood University^[b]	Midland, Michigan	1959	Private (Nonsectarian)	1,522	Timberwolves	1972; 1992^[c]
Purdue University Northwest	Hammond, Indiana	1946	Public	8,617	Pride	2017
Saginaw Valley State University	University Center, Michigan	1963	Public	8,265	Cardinals	1972
Wayne State University	Detroit, Michigan	1868	Public	26,844	Warriors	1975
University of Wisconsin-Parkside	Somers, Wisconsin	1968	Public	4,420	Rangers	2018

Notes

^ Northern Michigan left the GLIAC after the 1976–77 school year; which would later re-joined back, effectively the 1987–88 school year.
^ Northwood will leave the GLIAC for the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) in July 2022.^[2]
^ Northwood left the GLIAC after the 1986–87 season; which would later re-joined back, effectively the 1992–93 season.

Affiliate members[]

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	GLIAC sport	Primary conference
Augustana University	Sioux Falls, South Dakota	1860	Private (ELCA)	2,113	Vikings	2021–22	swimming & diving (M)	NSIC
Concordia University–St. Paul	Saint Paul, Minnesota	1893	Private (LCMS)	5,139	Golden Bears	2017–18	lacrosse (W)	NSIC
St. Cloud State University	St. Cloud, Minnesota	1869	Public	12,608	Huskies	2018–19^m.sw. 2018–19^m.soc.	swimming & diving (M) soccer (M)	NSIC
Upper Iowa University	Fayette, Iowa	1857	Private (Nonsectarian)	3,661	Peacocks	2019–20^w.lax. 2019–20^m.soc.	lacrosse (W) soccer (M)	NSIC

Former members[]

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Nickname	Joined	Left	Current conference
Ashland University	Ashland, Ohio	1878	Private (Brethren)	Eagles	1995	2021	G-MAC
University of Findlay	Findlay, Ohio	1882	Private (Churches of God)	Oilers	1997	2017	G-MAC
Gannon University	Erie, Pennsylvania	1925	Private (Catholic)	Golden Knights	1995	2008	PSAC
Hillsdale College	Hillsdale, Michigan	1844	Private (Nonsectarian)	Chargers	1975	2017	G-MAC
Lake Erie College	Painesville, Ohio	1856	Private (Nonsectarian)	Storm	2010	2017	G-MAC
Malone University	Canton, Ohio	1892	Private (Evangelical)	Pioneers	2012	2016	G-MAC
Mercyhurst University	Erie, Pennsylvania	1926	Private (Catholic)	Lakers	1995	2008	PSAC
Oakland University	Rochester, Michigan	1957	Public	Golden Grizzlies	1974	1997	Horizon (NCAA D-I)
Ohio Dominican University	Columbus, Ohio	1911	Private (Catholic)	Panthers	2010	2017	G-MAC
Tiffin University	Tiffin, Ohio	1888	Private (Nonsectarian)	Dragons	2008	2018	G-MAC
Walsh University	North Canton, Ohio	1960	Private (Catholic)	Cavaliers	2012	2017	G-MAC
Westminster College	New Wilmington, Pennsylvania	1852	Private (Presbyterian)	Titans	1997	2000	Presidents (NCAA D-III)

Former affiliate members[]

School names and nicknames reflect those in use in the final season each school was an affiliate.

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Nickname	Joined	Left	GLIAC sport	Primary conference
Alderson Broaddus University	Philippi, West Virginia	1871	Private (Baptist)	Battlers	2012–13	2014–15	lacrosse (W)	Mountain East
University of Indianapolis	Indianapolis, Indiana	1902	Private (United Methodist)	Greyhounds	1999–2000^fb. 2015–16^w.lax. 2000–01^m.sw. 2000–01^w.sw.	2011–12^fb. 2018–19^w.lax. 2012–13^w.sw. 2012–13^w.sw.	football; lacrosse (W); swimming & diving (M); swimming & diving (W)	GLVC
Lewis University	Romeoville, Illinois	1932	Private (Catholic)	Flyers	2018–19^w.lax. 2004–05^m.sw. 2004–05^w.sw.	2018–19^w.lax. 2012–13^m.sw. 2012–13^w.sw.	lacrosse (W); swimming & diving (M); swimming & diving (W)	GLVC
Maryville University	Town and Country, Missouri	1872	Private (Catholic)	Saints	2018–19	2018–19	lacrosse (W)	GLVC
McKendree University	Lebanon, Illinois	1828	Private (United Methodist)	Bearcats	2014–15	2018–19	lacrosse (W)	GLVC
Notre Dame College	South Euclid, Ohio	1922	Private (Catholic)	Falcons	2012–13^fb. 2012–13^w.lax. 2012–13^m.soc. 2012–13^w.soc. 2012–13^wr.	2012–13^fb. 2012–13^w.lax. 2012–13^m.soc. 2012–13^w.soc. 2012–13^wr.	football; lacrosse (W); soccer (M); soccer (W); wrestling	Mountain East
Urbana University	Urbana, Ohio	1850	Private (Nonsectarian)	Blue Knights	2012–13	2013–14	lacrosse (W)	N/A (school closed in 2020)
Ursuline College	Pepper Pike, Ohio	1850	Private (Catholic)	Arrows	2013–14^w.lax. 2013–14^w.sw.	2014–15^w.lax. 2015–16^w.sw.	lacrosse (W); swimming & diving (W)	G-MAC
Wheeling Jesuit University^[a]	Wheeling, West Virginia	1954	Private (Catholic)	Cardinals	2012–13	2013–14	lacrosse (W)	Mountain East

Notes

^ Known as Wheeling University since 2019.

Membership timeline[]

The GLIAC dropped football after the 1989 season and resumed it for the 1999 season.

Full member (all sports) Full member (non-football) Associate member (football-only) Associate member (sport)

Sports[]

The GLIAC sponsors the following 21 sports:^[3]

**Conference sports**
Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	Y
Basketball	Y	Y
Cross Country	Y	Y
Football	Y
Golf	Y	Y
Lacrosse		Y
Soccer	Y	Y
Softball		Y
Swimming & Diving	Y	Y
Tennis	Y	Y
Track & Field Indoor	Y	Y
Track & Field Outdoor	Y	Y
Volleyball		Y

Men's sponsored sports by school[]

School	Baseball	Basketball	Cross Country	Football	Golf	Soccer	Swimming & Diving	Tennis	Track & Field Indoor	Track & Field Outdoor	Total GLIAC Sports
Davenport	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	9
Ferris State		Y	Y	Y	Y			Y	Y	Y	7
Grand Valley State	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Lake Superior State		Y	Y		Y			Y	Y	Y	6
Michigan Tech		Y	Y	Y				Y		Y	5
Northern Michigan		Y		Y	Y	Y	Y				5
Northwood	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	9
Parkside	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y			Y	Y	7
Purdue Northwest	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y		Y			6
Saginaw Valley State	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	9
Wayne State	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y			7
Totals	7	11	10	8	10	6	4	8	7	8	89
Affiliate Members
Augustana							Y				1
St. Cloud State							Y				1
Upper Iowa							Y				1

Women's sponsored sports by school[]

School	Basketball	Cross Country	Golf	Lacrosse	Soccer	Softball	Swimming & Diving	Tennis	Track & Field Indoor	Track & Field Outdoor	Volleyball	Total GLIAC Sports
Davenport	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	11
Ferris State	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Grand Valley State	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	11
Lake Superior State	Y	Y	Y					Y	Y	Y	Y	7
Michigan Tech	Y	Y			Y			Y		Y	Y	6
Northern Michigan	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y		Y	Y	Y	9
Northwood	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Parkside	Y	Y			Y	Y			Y	Y	Y	7
Purdue Northwest	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y		Y			Y	7
Saginaw Valley State	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	11
Wayne State	Y	Y	Y			Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Totals	11	11	9	4	9	8	5	9	9	10	121	106
Affiliate Members
Concordia–St. Paul				Y								1
Upper Iowa				Y								1

Other sponsored sports by school[]

School	Men			Women	Co-ed
School	Ice Hockey^[a]	Lacrosse	Wrestling	Wrestling^[b]	Fencing^[a]	Skiing^[a]
Davenport		GLVC	GLVC	IND
Ferris State	CCHA
Lake Superior State	CCHA
Michigan Tech	CCHA					CCSA
Northern Michigan	CCHA		^[c]	IND		CCSA^[d]
Parkside			NSIC^[4]
Wayne State					MFC

^ ^a ^b ^c De facto Division I sport. In men's ice hockey, the NCAA Division I championship is open to Division II members. In fencing and skiing, the NCAA sponsors single championship events open to members of all three divisions.
^ Part of the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program.
^ Northern Michigan houses an official U.S. Olympic training center for the non-NCAA discipline of Greco-Roman wrestling. All trainees are enrolled at NMU, and are recognized as NMU varsity athletes.
^ Northern Michigan only competes in NCAA-sponsored events in Nordic skiing. Its Alpine skiing squad is recognized as a varsity team, but does not compete in NCAA events.

In addition to the above:

Davenport has varsity teams in esports (coeducational) and the women-only cheerleading discipline of STUNT.
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 48 NCAA National Championships:

Year	Sport	School
1975	football	Northern Michigan
1980	men's swimming & diving	Oakland
1990	women's swimming & diving	Oakland
1991	women's swimming & diving	Oakland
1992	women's swimming & diving	Oakland
1993	women's swimming & diving	Oakland
1993	women's volleyball	Northern Michigan
1994	men's swimming & diving	Oakland
1994	women's swimming & diving	Oakland
1994	women's volleyball	Northern Michigan
1995	men's swimming & diving	Oakland
1996	men's swimming & diving	Oakland
1997	men's swimming & diving	Oakland
2002	football	Grand Valley State
2003	football	Grand Valley State
2005	football	Grand Valley State
2005	women's volleyball	Grand Valley State
2006	women's basketball	Grand Valley State
2006	football	Grand Valley State
2009	men's basketball	Findlay
2009	women's soccer	Grand Valley State
2010	women's cross country	Grand Valley State
2010	women's soccer	Grand Valley State
2011	women's track & field (I)	Grand Valley State
2011	women's track & field (O)	Grand Valley State
2012	women's cross country	Grand Valley State
2012	women's swimming & diving	Wayne State (MI)
2012	women's track & field (I)	Grand Valley State
2012	women's track & field (O)	Grand Valley State
2013	women's basketball	Ashland
2013	women's cross country	Grand Valley State
2013	women's soccer	Grand Valley State
2014	women's cross country	Grand Valley State
2014	women's soccer	Grand Valley State
2015	women's soccer	Grand Valley State
2016	women's cross country	Grand Valley State
2016	men's track & field (I)	Tiffin
2017	women's basketball	Ashland
2017	men's track & field (I)	Tiffin
2018	men's basketball	Ferris State
2018	men's cross country	Grand Valley State
2018	women's cross country	Grand Valley State
2019	men's track & field (I)	Ashland
2019	men's track & field (O)	Ashland
2019	women's soccer	Grand Valley State
2021	men’s track & field (O)	Ashland
2021	women’s track & field (O)	Grand Valley State
2021	football	Ferris State

Football facilities[]

Institution	Stadium	Capacity^[5]	Surface
Davenport	Meyering Field	2,300	Artificial
Ferris State	Top Taggart Field	6,200	Artificial
Grand Valley State	Lubbers Stadium	10,444	Artificial
Michigan Tech	Sherman Field	3,000	Artificial
Northern Michigan	Superior Dome	8,000	Artificial
Northwood	Hantz Stadium	3,000	Artificial
Saginaw Valley State	Wickes Memorial Stadium	6,300	Artificial
Wayne State	Adams Field	6,000	Artificial

References[]

^ "GLIAC Membership History". Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
^ "Northwood University Athletics Changing Conference Affiliation". Richland Source. April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
^ "Official GLIAC Athletic Site". Official GLIAC Athletic Site. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
^ "NSIC to add UW-Parkside as associated member in wrestling starting in 2021-22" (Press release). Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. June 4, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
^ "GLIAC Stadiums". D2Football.com. Retrieved October 31, 2011.

External links[]

Official website

[2] Northern Michigan left the GLIAC after the 1976–77 school year; which would later re-joined back, effectively the 1987–88 school year.

[4] Northwood will leave the GLIAC for the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) in July 2022.^[2]

[5] Northwood left the GLIAC after the 1986–87 season; which would later re-joined back, effectively the 1992–93 season.

[6] Known as Wheeling University since 2019.

[DI-8] De facto Division I sport. In men's ice hockey, the NCAA Division I championship is open to Division II members. In fencing and skiing, the NCAA sponsors single championship events open to members of all three divisions.

[9] Part of the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program.

[10] Northern Michigan houses an official U.S. Olympic training center for the non-NCAA discipline of Greco-Roman wrestling. All trainees are enrolled at NMU, and are recognized as NMU varsity athletes.

[11] Northern Michigan only competes in NCAA-sponsored events in Nordic skiing. Its Alpine skiing squad is recognized as a varsity team, but does not compete in NCAA events.

[1] "GLIAC Membership History". Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Retrieved October 29, 2011.

[3] "Northwood University Athletics Changing Conference Affiliation". Richland Source. April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.

[gliac_org-7] "Official GLIAC Athletic Site". Official GLIAC Athletic Site. Retrieved October 29, 2011.

[12] "NSIC to add UW-Parkside as associated member in wrestling starting in 2021-22" (Press release). Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. June 4, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2021.

[13] "GLIAC Stadiums". D2Football.com. Retrieved October 31, 2011.

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v t Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Members	Davenport Panthers Ferris State Bulldogs Grand Valley State Lakers Lake Superior State Lakers Michigan Tech Huskies Northern Michigan Wildcats Northwood Timberwolves (leaving in 2022) Parkside Rangers Purdue Northwest Pride Saginaw Valley State Cardinals Wayne State Warriors
Affiliates	Concordia–St. Paul Golden Bears St. Cloud State Huskies Upper Iowa Peacocks

v NCAA Division II all-sports conferences
Atlantic	Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Mountain East Conference Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Independent — Bluefield State College Salem University
Central	Great American Conference Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference
East	Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference East Coast Conference Northeast-10 Conference
Midwest	Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Great Lakes Valley Conference Great Midwest Athletic Conference
South	Gulf South Conference Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Sunshine State Conference
South Central	Lone Star Conference Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
Southeast	Conference Carolinas Peach Belt Conference South Atlantic Conference
West	California Collegiate Athletic Association Great Northwest Athletic Conference Pacific West Conference
Division II	Independents

v t NCAA Division II football conferences
Super Region 1	Great Midwest Athletic Conference Mountain East Conference Northeast-10 Conference Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference
Super Region 2	Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Gulf South Conference South Atlantic Conference Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Super Region 3	Great American Conference Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Great Lakes Valley Conference Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
Super Region 4	Lone Star Conference Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
Division II	Independents
NCAA	Conferences Institutions Football (Championship)