Great South Athletic Conference

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Great South Athletic Conference
GSAC
Great South Athletic Conference logo
Established1999
Dissolved2016
AssociationNCAA
DivisionDivision III
Members5
Sports fielded
  • 6
    • men's: 0
    • women's: 6
RegionSoutheast
HeadquartersDecatur, Georgia
Locations
Great South Athletic Conference locations

The Great South Athletic Conference (GSAC) was an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA’s Division III. Member institutions were located nationwide, but was originally based in the southeastern United States.

History[]

The Great South Athletic Conference was founded in 1999 as a group of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III member institutions from the Southeast with similar academic and athletic interests. Charter members included Fisk University, LaGrange College, Maryville College, Piedmont College and Stillman College. In 2002, Huntingdon College and women’s colleges Agnes Scott College and Wesleyan College were granted membership. In 2003, Spelman College and Wesleyan (Ga.) were admitted to the GSAC on a provisional basis and given full membership status in 2005. Salem College, a women’s school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, became the conference’s eighth member for the 2009-10 season.[1] Covenant College, located on top of Lookout Mountain in northwest Georgia, joined the conference in spring 2010 and began playing in fall 2010,[2] 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 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC); while Fisk, another charter member, dropped out of the conference following the 2005-06 season, to compete in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).

Three schools (also charter members of the GSAC) left for the USA South Athletic Conference beginning with the 2012-13 season: Piedmont,[3] LaGrange[4] and Maryville. Pine Manor College[5] and Trinity Washington University[6] 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.[7]

On January 14, 2013, the GSAC announced that Mills College, Finlandia University, and the University of Maine at Presque Isle would join the GSAC in 2013-14.[8] 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 USA South Athletic Conference 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.[9]

On June 11, 2015, the GSAC announced that Mount Mary University and UC Santa Cruz 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.

Member schools[]

Full members[]

Institution Location Nickname Founded Type Joined Left Conference
left for 		Current
Conference
Agnes Scott College† Decatur, Georgia Scottish Terriers 1889 Private/Presbyterian 2002 2016 USA South
Covenant College* Lookout Mountain, Georgia Scots and Lady Scots 1955 Private/Presbyterian 2010 2013 USA South
Finlandia University* Hancock, Michigan Lions 1896 Private/Lutheran 2013 2016 Independent C2C
Fisk University* Nashville, Tennessee Bulldogs 1866 Private/United Church of Christ 1999 2006 D-III Independent NAIA Independent
Huntingdon College* Montgomery, Alabama Hawks 1854 Private/Methodist 2002 2013 USA South
LaGrange College* LaGrange, Georgia Panthers 1831 Private/Methodist 1999 2012 USA South
University of Maine at Presque Isle* Presque Isle, Maine Owls 1903 Public 2013 2015 Independent NAC
Maryville College* Maryville, Tennessee Scots 1819 Private/Presbyterian 1999 2012 USA South
Mills College† Oakland, California Cyclones 1854 Private/Non-sectarian 2013 2016 Independent C2C
Mount Mary University† Milwaukee, Wisconsin Blue Angels 1913 Private/Catholic 2015 2016 Independent C2C
Piedmont College* Demorest, Georgia Lions 1897 Private/United Church of Christ 1999 2012 USA South
Pine Manor College^* Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts Gators 1911 Private/Non-sectarian 2012 2016 Independent C2C
Salem College† Winston-Salem, North Carolina Spirits 1772 Private/Non-sectarian 2009 2016 USA South
Stillman College* Tuscaloosa, Alabama Tigers 1876 Private/Presbyterian 1999 2002 SIAC
(NCAA D-II) 		Southern States
(NAIA)
Spelman College† Atlanta, Georgia Jaguars 1881 Private/Non-sectarian 2003 2013 dropped athletics
Trinity Washington University† Washington, D.C. Tigers 1897 Private/Catholic 2012 2015 Independent
University of California, Santa Cruz* Santa Cruz, California Banana Slugs 1965 Public 2015 2016 Independent C2C
Wesleyan College† Macon, Georgia Wolves 1839 Private/Methodist 2003 2016 USA South
Notes

† - Women's college
* - Coeducational college. Coed colleges competed in both men's and women's competitions until the end of the 2011-2012 season. Beginning in the 2012-13 season, all schools competed only in women's competitions in the GSAC.
^ - Former women's college now-turned coed college (Pine Manor since 2014-15)

Affiliate members[]

The league had 1 affiliate member that did not later become a full member:

Institution Location Nickname Founded Type Enrollment Primary
Conference 		GSAC Sport Seasons
in GSAC
Rust College Holly Springs, Mississippi Bearcats 1866 Private/Methodist 900 NCAA D-III Independent Softball 2014-2015
Note
  • UC Santa Cruz and Mount Mary University were affiliate members in women's tennis in 2014 before becoming full members in 2015. Finlandia was an associate member in softball in the 2012-2013 season before becoming a full member on July 1, 2013.

Membership timeline[]

University of California, Santa CruzMount Mary UniversityMills CollegeUniversity of Maine at Presque IsleFinlandia UniversityTrinity Washington UniversityPine Manor CollegeCovenant CollegeSalem CollegeWesleyan CollegeSpelman CollegeHuntingdon CollegeAgnes Scott CollegeStillman CollegeLaGrange CollegeMaryville CollegePiedmont CollegeFisk University

Sports[]

From the 2012-13 academic year to the 2015-16 academic year, GSAC sponsored intercollegiate athletic competition in women's sports only: basketball, cross country, soccer, softball, tennis, golf, and volleyball.

References[]

  1. ^ "Salem becomes newest GSAC member". Great South Athletic Conference. May 13, 2009. Retrieved May 14, 2009.
  2. ^ Branton, B.B. (April 8, 2010). "Covenant College Joins Great South Athletic Conference". The Chattanoogan. John Wilson. Archived from the original on April 11, 2010. Retrieved May 31, 2010.
  3. ^ McCormack, Timmy (April 11, 2011). "Piedmont College Announces Plan To Join USA South Athletic Conference". Piedmont College Athletics. Archived from the original on August 24, 2011. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
  4. ^ "LaGrange College accepts invitation to join USA South Athletic Conference". LaGrange Panthers. April 21, 2011. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
  5. ^ "Pine Manor College Joins GSAC". Great South Athletic Conference. August 27, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
  6. ^ "Trinity Washington University Joins GSAC". Great South Athletic Conference. September 7, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
  7. ^ "Spelman eliminates athletics in favor of campus-wide wellness initiative". Inside Higher Ed. November 1, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  8. ^ "GSAC Adds Finlandia University, the University of Maine at Presque Isle and Mills College". Great South Athletic Conference. January 14, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
  9. ^ "Agnes Scott, Salem and Wesleyan Set to Join USA South". May 6, 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
Retrieved from ""