Gulf South Conference

Gulf South Conference
Gulf South Conference
Established	1970
Association	NCAA
Division	Division II
Members	13
Sports fielded	17 men's: 8; women's: 9; ;
Region	Southeastern United States
Headquarters	Birmingham, Alabama
Commissioner	Matt Wilson (since 2014)
Website	www.gscsports.org
Locations

The Gulf South Conference (GSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II level which operates in the Southeastern United States.

History[]

Originally known as the Mid-South Athletic Conference or Mid-South Conference, the Gulf South Conference was formed by six universities in the summer of 1970: Delta State, Florence State (now North Alabama), Jacksonville State, Livingston (now West Alabama), Tennessee–Martin, and Troy State (now Troy). Scheduling problems for the 1970–71 academic year limited the league to football, won by Jacksonville State.

In 1971, the league changed its name to the Gulf South Conference; added Southeastern Louisiana (SLU) and Nicholls State (increasing the membership to eight); opened an office in Hammond, Louisiana; and began championships in all men's sports. The following year, Mississippi College and Northwestern Louisiana (NWLA, now Northwestern State) were admitted. NWLA withdrew to go Division I two years later, followed by SLU and Nicholls State in 1979.

The conference continued with seven teams until 1981, when the presidents admitted Valdosta State. West Georgia joined in 1983. Eight years of stability ended in 1991 when Tennessee–Martin and Troy State went Division I, briefly dropping the GSC back to seven members, before the beginning of an expansion resulting in ten new members: Lincoln Memorial (1992–93); Alabama–Huntsville, Henderson State, Central Arkansas, and Mississippi University for Women (MUW) (1993–94); West Florida (1994–95); and Arkansas-Monticello, Arkansas Tech, Montevallo, and Southern Arkansas (1995–96). Jacksonville State went Division I at the end of 1992–93. Mississippi College dropped to Division III at the end of 1995–96 and was replaced by Christian Brothers to keep the Conference at 16 schools. In July 2000, the GSC welcomed Harding University and Ouachita Baptist University, making it the largest NCAA conference at any level with 18 schools. The Conference membership decreased to 17 when MUW dropped its athletics program at the end of the 2002–03 season.

2006–07 was another season of change for the GSC. Central Arkansas moved to Division I, leaving the West Division with eight schools while Lincoln Memorial left for the South Atlantic Conference due to travel and location issues, leaving the East Division with seven schools.

Montevallo announced on June 27, 2008 that they would be leaving for the Peach Belt Conference following the 2008–09 season due to issues between the University's President and the Commissioner.

The GSC moved away from divisional play after the 2010-11 season after its six Arkansas members broke away, dropping the membership to eight. Thanks to an aggressive expansion plan, the GSC sponsored the Division II applications of Union University (TN) and Shorter University (GA), which became official members in 2014-15. The next step in bolstering its membership came in 2012, backing the Division II application of Lee University (TN) which was on track to join the league officially in 2015-16. The league added its first-ever associate member, Florida Tech, in football only in 2013. The Conference planned to add an old friend back into the fold when Mississippi College submitted its application to rejoin Division II and was on track for 2016-17 membership.

Former Commissioner Jim McCullough brought the GSC office to Birmingham when he was hired in 1979. The conference welcomed its seventh commissioner in May 2014 when Matt Wilson was selected to follow Nate Salant who retired after a 22-year stint.

2010s realignment[]

Map of GSC school locations

Beginning with the 2011–12 academic year; Arkansas Tech University, University of Arkansas at Monticello, Harding University, Henderson State University, Ouachita Baptist University, and Southern Arkansas University left the GSC to form the Great American Conference.^[1]

The University of New Orleans, which was transitioning from Division I to Division II, was accepted into the conference in June 2011,^[2] but the school announced intentions to stay at Division I in March 2012.^[3] In July 2011, Shorter University and Union University (Jackson, Tenn.) were accepted into the NCAA and began the multi-year transition process from the NAIA to NCAA.^[4] Both universities began GSC competition in the 2012–13 academic year but will not be eligible for NCAA national tournaments until the 2014–15 academic year.^[5] In August 2011, the GSC added the Florida Institute of Technology as an associate member for football beginning in the 2013 season.^[6]

On October 11, 2012, Mississippi College announced that it would petition the NCAA to leave Division III and return to the conference.^[7] The transition was a lengthy process; Mississippi College officially became a Division II candidate starting with the 2013–14 academic year, with the school becoming a full Division II member for 2016–17.^[8]

In 2013, Lee University joined the GSC, bringing the membership to 11. Lee University moved to Division II provisional membership for the 2014-15 season. They will complete transition to Division II in the 2015-16 season. Mississippi College entered its second candidacy year with the 2014-15 season in its path to full Division II membership in 2016-17 and added Gulf South Conference teams to its schedule.^[9]

The next change to the conference's membership was officially announced on December 6, 2016 when North Alabama was accepted to the ASUN Conference and would begin a transition to Division I sports in 2018.^[10] In May 2020, affiliate member Florida Tech announced the discontinuation of their football program due to the financial fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[11]

Member schools[]

Current members[]

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined
University of Alabama in Huntsville	Huntsville, Alabama	1969	Public	9,988	Chargers	1993
Auburn University at Montgomery	Montgomery, Alabama	1967	Public	5,188	Warhawks	2017
Christian Brothers University	Memphis, Tennessee	1871	Private (Catholic)	1,968	Buccaneers	1996
Delta State University	Cleveland, Mississippi	1924	Public	2,727	Statesmen & Lady Statesmen	1970
Lee University	Cleveland, Tennessee	1918	Private (Church of God)	5,189	Flames	2013
Mississippi College	Clinton, Mississippi	1826	Private (Baptist)	5,059	Choctaws	1972; 2014^[a]
University of Montevallo^[b]	Montevallo, Alabama	1896	Public	2,559	Falcons	1995; 2017^[c]
Shorter University	Rome, Georgia	1873	Private (Baptist)	1,520	Hawks	2012
Union University	Jackson, Tennessee	1823	Private (Baptist)	3,172	Bulldogs	2012
Valdosta State University	Valdosta, Georgia	1906	Public	12,304	Blazers	1981
University of West Alabama	Livingston, Alabama	1835	Public	5,653	Tigers	1970
University of West Florida	Pensacola, Florida	1963	Public	13,403	Argonauts	1994
University of West Georgia	Carrollton, Georgia	1906	Public	13,510	Wolves	1983

Notes

^ Mississippi College left the Gulf South after the 1995–96 school year to join Division III (and then the American Southwest Conference a year after); but later rejoined effective the 2014–15 school year.
^ Montevallo was an affiliate of the Gulf South for women's lacrosse from the 2016 to 2017 spring seasons (2015–16 to 2016–17 school years).
^ Montevallo left the Gulf South after the 2008–09 school year to join the Peach Belt Conference, but later rejoined effective the 2017–18 school year.

Affiliate members[]

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	GSC sport	Primary conference
North Greenville University	Tigerville, South Carolina	1891	Private (Baptist)	2,428	Crusaders	2018–19	football	Carolinas
Spring Hill College	Mobile, Alabama	1830	Private (Catholic)	1,317	Badgers	2014–15	golf (W); soccer (M); soccer (W)	SIAC
Young Harris College	Young Harris, Georgia	1886	Private (United Methodist)	1,415	Mountain Lions	2015–16	lacrosse (W)	Peach Belt

Former members[]

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Nickname	Joined	Left	Current conference
Arkansas Tech University	Russellville, Arkansas	1909	Public	Wonder Boys & Golden Suns	1995	2011	Great American
University of Arkansas at Monticello	Monticello, Arkansas	1910	Public	Boll Weevils & Cotton Blossoms	1995	2011	Great American
University of Central Arkansas	Conway, Arkansas	1907	Public	Bears & Sugar Bears	1993	2006	ASUN (NCAA D-I)
Harding University^[a]	Searcy, Arkansas	1924	Private (Churches of Christ)	Bisons & Lady Bisons	2000	2011	Great American
Henderson State University	Arkadelphia, Arkansas	1890	Public	Reddies	1993	2011	Great American
Jacksonville State University	Jacksonville, Alabama	1883	Public	Gamecocks	1970	1993	ASUN (NCAA D-I) (C-USA in 2023)
Lincoln Memorial University	Harrogate, Tennessee	1897	Private (Nonsectarian)	Railsplitters	1992	2006	South Atlantic
Mississippi University for Women	Columbus, Mississippi	1884	Public	Blues^[b]	1993	2003	Independent (NCAA D-III) (SLIAC in 2022)
University of New Orleans^[c]	New Orleans, Louisiana	1958	Public	Privateers	2011	2012	Southland (NCAA D-I)
Nicholls State University	Thibodaux, Louisiana	1948	Public	Colonels	1971	1979	Southland (NCAA D-I)
University of North Alabama	Florence, Alabama	1830	Public	Lions	1971	2018	ASUN (NCAA D-I)
Northwestern State University	Natchitoches, Louisiana	1884	Public	Demons	1971	1975	Southland (NCAA D-I)
Ouachita Baptist University^[a]	Arkadelphia, Arkansas	1886	Private (Baptist)	Tigers	2000	2011	Great American
Southeastern Louisiana University	Hammond, Louisiana	1925	Public	Lions	1971	1979	Southland (NCAA D-I)
Southern Arkansas University	Magnolia, Arkansas	1909	Public	Muleriders	1995	2011	Great American
University of Tennessee at Martin	Martin, Tennessee	1927	Public	Skyhawks	1970	1991	Ohio Valley (NCAA D-I)
Troy State University	Troy, Alabama	1887	Public	Trojans	1970	1991	Sun Belt (NCAA D-I)

Notes

^ ^a ^b Harding and Ouachita Baptist were in the Gulf South as affiliates for men's soccer during the 2011 fall season (2011–12 school year).
^ Their current nickname is now known as the Owls.
^ New Orleans was a provisional full member that competed in baseball, men's & women's cross country, men's & women's golf, men's & women's tennis, and volleyball during the 2011–12 school year.

Former affiliate members[]

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Nickname	Joined	Left	Sport	Primary conference	Current conference in GSC sport
Florida Institute of Technology	Melbourne, Florida	1958	Private (Nonsectarian)	Panthers	2013–14	2019–20	Football	Sunshine State	dropped program
University of Montevallo	Montevallo, Alabama	1896	Public	Falcons	2015–16	2016–17	Women's lacrosse	Gulf South

Membership timeline[]

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

Conference venues[]

School	Football		Basketball
School	Stadium	Capacity	Arena	Capacity
Alabama–Huntsville	non-football school		Spragins Hall	2,250
Auburn–Montgomery	non-football school		AUM Basketball Complex	2,670
Christian Brothers	non-football school		Canale Arena	1,000
Delta State	McCool Stadium	8,000	Walter Sillers Coliseum	4,000
Lee	non-football school		Walker Arena	2,700
Mississippi College	Robinson-Hale Stadium	8,500	A.E. Wood Coliseum	3,500
Montevallo	non-football school		Trustmark Arena	2,000
North Greenville	Younts Stadium	5,000	football-only school
Shorter	Barron Stadium	6,500	Winthrop-King Centre	1,500
Union	non-football school		Fred DeLay Gymnasium	2,200
Valdosta State	Bazemore-Hyder Stadium	11,500	The Complex	5,350
West Alabama	Tiger Stadium	7,000	Pruitt Hall	1,500
West Florida	Admiral Fetterman Field	5,038	UWF Fieldhouse	1,180
West Georgia	University Stadium	9,000	The Coliseum	6,790

National championships[]

Sport	School	Year(s)
Baseball	Valdosta State	1979
	Troy State	1986 • 1987
	Jacksonville State	1990 • 1991
	Delta State	2004
	West Florida	2011
Men's basketball	North Alabama	1979 • 1991
Men's basketball	Jacksonville State	1985
Women's basketball	Delta State	1975 • 1976 • 1977 • 1989 • 1990 • 1992
Women's basketball	Southeastern Louisiana	1977
Football	West Alabama	1971
	Troy State	1984 • 1987
	Mississippi College	1989
	Jacksonville State	1992
	North Alabama	1993 • 1994 • 1995
	Delta State	2000
	Valdosta State	2004 • 2007 • 2012 • 2018
	West Florida	2019
Men's golf	Troy	1976 • 1977 • 1984
Men's golf	West Florida	2001 • 2008
Women's golf	Troy State	1984 • 1986 • 1989
Women's gymnastics	Jacksonville State	1984 • 1985
Men's ice hockey	Alabama–Huntsville	1996 • 1998
Women's soccer	Christian Brothers	2002
Women's soccer	West Florida	2012
Softball	Valdosta State	2012
Softball	North Alabama	2016
Men's tennis	West Florida	2004 • 2005 • 2014 • 2017
Men's tennis	Valdosta State	2006 • 2011
Men's track & field outdoor	Southeastern Louisiana	1975
Women's volleyball	North Alabama	2003

Valdosta State won 1979 baseball national championship prior to joining the GSC.
Mississippi College's 1989 football tournament participation and national championship were vacated by the NCAA Committee on Infractions for recruiting violations.
Ice hockey is not a conference-sanctioned sport.

References[]

^ Pickle, David (March 9, 2011). "GAC becomes 23rd DII conference". NCAA.com. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Archived from the original on December 22, 2011. Retrieved April 18, 2011.
^ "GSC Admits UNO for Conference Membership". Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved June 22, 2011.
^ Daniels, Ed. "UNO Athletics to remain Division I in NCAA". SportsNOLA.com. Archived from the original on May 16, 2012. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
^ Staff (July 11, 2011). "NCAA approves Union's application for NCAA Division II membership process". The Jackson Sun. Retrieved July 12, 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "NCAA accepts Shorter's application for NCAA II membership process". Shorter University. July 12, 2011. Archived from the original on September 16, 2011. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
^ "Florida Tech Football Accepts Invitation to Join Gulf South Conference". Florida Tech Athletics. 19 August 2011. Archived from the original on 9 October 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
^ Staff (October 16, 2012). "Exciting Development for MC Sports". . Archived from the original on January 4, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2012.
^ "It's Time to be II". Mississippi College. Archived from the original on October 21, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
^ "Division II Admits its 300th Member". NCAA. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
^ "UNA Accepts ASUN Division I Invitation" (Press release). North Alabama Lions. December 6, 2016. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
^ Rogers, Eric; Neale, Rick (May 11, 2020). "Florida Tech cuts football program, announces layoffs due to COVID-19 impacts". Florida Today. Melbourne, Florida. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
^ "GSC Adds Women's Lacrosse". Gulf South Conference. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
^ "GSC Adds Men's and Women's Track & Field". Gulf South Conference. Retrieved August 13, 2015.

External links[]

Official website

[12] Mississippi College left the Gulf South after the 1995–96 school year to join Division III (and then the American Southwest Conference a year after); but later rejoined effective the 2014–15 school year.

[13] Montevallo was an affiliate of the Gulf South for women's lacrosse from the 2016 to 2017 spring seasons (2015–16 to 2016–17 school years).

[14] Montevallo left the Gulf South after the 2008–09 school year to join the Peach Belt Conference, but later rejoined effective the 2017–18 school year.

[Home-15] Harding and Ouachita Baptist were in the Gulf South as affiliates for men's soccer during the 2011 fall season (2011–12 school year).

[16] Their current nickname is now known as the Owls.

[17] New Orleans was a provisional full member that competed in baseball, men's & women's cross country, men's & women's golf, men's & women's tennis, and volleyball during the 2011–12 school year.

[1] Pickle, David (March 9, 2011). "GAC becomes 23rd DII conference". NCAA.com. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Archived from the original on December 22, 2011. Retrieved April 18, 2011.

[2] "GSC Admits UNO for Conference Membership". Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved June 22, 2011.

[UNO-DI-3] Daniels, Ed. "UNO Athletics to remain Division I in NCAA". SportsNOLA.com. Archived from the original on May 16, 2012. Retrieved March 7, 2012.

[unionapp-4] Staff (July 11, 2011). "NCAA approves Union's application for NCAA Division II membership process". The Jackson Sun. Retrieved July 12, 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}

[shorterapp-5] "NCAA accepts Shorter's application for NCAA II membership process". Shorter University. July 12, 2011. Archived from the original on September 16, 2011. Retrieved July 12, 2011.

[Florida_Tech-6] "Florida Tech Football Accepts Invitation to Join Gulf South Conference". Florida Tech Athletics. 19 August 2011. Archived from the original on 9 October 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2011.

[clintoncourier-7] Staff (October 16, 2012). "Exciting Development for MC Sports". . Archived from the original on January 4, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2012.

[8] "It's Time to be II". Mississippi College. Archived from the original on October 21, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2014.

[9] "Division II Admits its 300th Member". NCAA. Retrieved October 20, 2014.

[10] "UNA Accepts ASUN Division I Invitation" (Press release). North Alabama Lions. December 6, 2016. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2016.

[11] Rogers, Eric; Neale, Rick (May 11, 2020). "Florida Tech cuts football program, announces layoffs due to COVID-19 impacts". Florida Today. Melbourne, Florida. Retrieved May 12, 2020.

[18] "GSC Adds Women's Lacrosse". Gulf South Conference. Retrieved August 18, 2015.

[19] "GSC Adds Men's and Women's Track & Field". Gulf South Conference. Retrieved August 13, 2015.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[a]

[b]

[c]

[a]

[b]

[c]

[12]

[13]

School	Men					Women
School	Ice Hockey ^‡	Lacrosse	Swimming & Diving	Track & Field Indoor	Wrestling	Swimming & Diving	Track & Field Indoor
Alabama–Huntsville	WCHA	PBC		IND			IND
Delta State			NSISC			NSISC
Lee				IND			IND
Mississippi College				IND			IND
Montevallo		PBC		IND			IND
Shorter		PBC		IND	IND		IND
West Florida						NSISC

v t Gulf South Conference
Members	Alabama–Huntsville Chargers Auburn–Montgomery Warhawks Christian Brothers Buccaneers & Lady Buccaneers Delta State Statesmen & Lady Statesmen Lee Flames Mississippi College Choctaws Montevallo Falcons Shorter Hawks Union Bulldogs Valdosta State Blazers West Alabama Tigers West Florida Argonauts West Georgia Wolves
Football affiliates	North Greenville Crusaders
Other affiliates	Spring Hill Badgers (golf, men's & women's soccer) Young Harris Mountain Lions (women's lacrosse)

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)