Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

History

Chronological timeline

• 1972: The GLIAC began competition in the 1972–73 academic year. The charter members were Ferris State University, Grand Valley State University, Lake Superior State University, Northwood Institute and Saginaw Valley State University. Initially the GLIAC competed in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
• 1974:
• * Women's programs became part of the GLIAC beginning the 1974–75 academic year.
• * Oakland University joined the GLIAC in the 1974–75 academic year.
• 1975: Hillsdale College, Northern Michigan University and Wayne State University joined the GLIAC in the 1975–1976 academic year. Northern Michigan continued to play football as an NCAA D-II independent.
• 1977: Northern Michigan left the GLIAC after the 1976–77 academic year.
• 1980: Michigan Technological University joined the GLIAC in the 1980–81 academic year.
• 1986: Michigan Tech left GLIAC football in the 1986–87 academic year, but remained in the conference in other sports.
• 1987:
• * Northwood left the GLIAC after the 1986–87 academic year.
• * Northern Michigan rejoined the GLIAC in the 1987–88 academic year.
• 1990: The GLIAC dropped football as a sponsored sport after the 1989 fall season.
• 1992: Northwood rejoined the GLIAC in the 1992–93 academic year.
• 1994: On December 14, 1994, Ashland University, Gannon University and Mercyhurst College joined the GLIAC, all effective beginning the 1995–1996 academic year.
• 1997:
• * Oakland left the GLIAC to become an NCAA D-I Independent after the 1996–97 academic year..
• * The University of Findlay joined the GLIAC in the 1997–98 academic year.
• 1999: The GLIAC reinstated football as a sponsored sport by merging with the Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference. The only non-GLIAC member of the MIFC, the University of Indianapolis became a football-only affiliate of the GLIAC, all effective in the 1999 fall season.
• 2001: Indianapolis added men's and women's swimming & diving to its GLIAC affiliate membership in the 2001–02 academic year.
• 2004: Lewis University joined the GLIAC as an affiliate member for men's and women's swimming and diving in the 2004–05 academic year.
• 2007: On June 20, 2007, Tiffin University joined the GLIAC, effective beginning the 2008–09 academic year.
• 2008: Gannon and Mercyhurst left the GLIAC to join the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference after the 2007–08 academic year.
• 2010: Lake Erie College and Ohio Dominican University joined the GLIAC in the 2010–11 academic year.
• 2012:
• * Malone University and Walsh University joined the GLIAC in the 2012–13 academic year.
• * Four institutions joined the GLIAC as affiliate members, all effective in the 2012–13 academic year:
• ** Notre Dame College for football, women's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer, and wrestling
• ** and Alderson Broaddus University, Urbana University and Wheeling Jesuit University for women's lacrosse
• 2013:
• * Notre Dame left the GLIAC as an affiliate member to move its sports into its new primary conference home in the Mountain East Conference after the 2012–13 academic year.
• * UIndy and Lewis left the GLIAC as affiliate members for men's and women's swimming & diving after the 2012–13 academic year.
• * Ursuline College joined the GLIAC as an affiliate member for women's lacrosse and women's swimming & diving in the 2012–13 academic year.
• 2014:
• * Urbana and Wheeling Jesuit left the GLIAC as affiliate members for women's lacrosse after the 2014 spring season.
• * McKendree University joined the GLIAC as an affiliate member for women's lacrosse in the 2015 spring season.
• 2015:
• * Alderson Broaddus and Ursuline left the GLIAC as affiliate members for women's lacrosse after the 2015 spring season.
• * UIndy rejoined the GLIAC as an affiliate member in women's lacrosse in the 2016 spring season.
• 2016:
• * Malone left the GLIAC to join the Great Midwest Athletic Conference after the 2015–16 academic year.
• * Ursuline left the GLIAC as an affiliate member for women's swimming & diving after the 2015–16 academic year.
• 2017:
• * Findlay, Hillsdale, Lake Erie, Ohio Dominican and Walsh left the GLIAC to join the G-MAC after the 2016–17 academic year.
• * Davenport University and Purdue University–Northwest joined the GLIAC in the 2017–18 academic year.
• * Concordia University, St. Paul joined the GLIAC as an affiliate member for women's lacrosse in the 2018 spring season.
• 2018:
• * Tiffin left the GLIAC to join the G-MAC after the 2017–18 academic year.
• * The University of Wisconsin–Parkside joined the GLIAC in the 2018–19 academic year. It also adopted the new athletic brand name of Parkside.
• * Three institutions joined the GLIAC as affiliate members, all effective in the 2018–19 academic year:
• ** Lewis and Maryville University for women's lacrosse
• ** and St. Cloud State University for men's swimming & diving
• 2019:
• * UIndy, Lewis, Maryville and McKendree left the GLIAC as affiliate members for women's lacrosse after the 2019 spring season.
• * Upper Iowa University joined the GLIAC as an affiliate member for men's soccer and women's lacrosse in the 2019–20 academic year.
• 2021:
• * Ashland left the GLIAC to join the G-MAC after the 2020–21 academic year.
• * Augustana University joined the GLIAC as an affiliate member for men's swimming & diving in the 2021–22 academic year.
• * St. Cloud State added men's soccer to its GLIAC affiliate membership in the 2021 fall season.
• 2022:
• * Northwood left the GLIAC for a second time to join the G-MAC after the 2021–22 academic year.
• 2023:
• * Roosevelt University joined the GLIAC in the 2023–24 academic year. Although Roosevelt would initially join the conference as a provisional member, it kept continuing to compete in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference in 2023–24 before beginning competition as a full GLIAC member in July 2024.
• * Upper Iowa announces its intent to move to the Great Lakes Valley Conference in all sports after the 2022–23 academic year, including its GLIAC affiliated sports of women's lacrosse and men's soccer.

Member schools

Current members

Affiliate members

Former members

Former affiliate members

Membership timeline

Sports

Women's sponsored sports by school

Other sponsored sports by school

• Davenport has varsity teams in esports as well as men's and women's ultimate.
• Michigan Tech and Purdue Northwest have coeducational varsity esports teams.
• Northern Michigan recognizes esports 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.
• Roosevelt recognizes ACHA D1 and D2 men's hockey as well as ACHA women's hockey within its athletic department.

National Championships