Great American Conference
The Great American Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level, with headquarters located in Russellville, Arkansas. Athletic competition began play during the 2011–12 school year. Its twelve all-sports member schools are located in Arkansas and Oklahoma in the South Central United States. The conference also has four men's soccer affiliate members, two in Kansas and two in Oklahoma.
History
The conference's charter members previously competed in the Lone Star Conference and the Gulf South Conference before forming the GAC in 2010. The new conference is intended to reduce travel costs for its member universities.On May 11, 2011, the conference invited Northwestern Oklahoma State University and Southern Nazarene University to the conference for the 2012–13 academic year. Those universities continued to compete in the Sooner Athletic Conference during the 2011–12 season before joining the conference.
On July 11, 2014, the NCAA Division II Membership Committee approved the membership application for Oklahoma Baptist University to move from the NAIA to NCAA Division II and it joined the conference for the 2015–16 season.
The GAC and the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association announced a partnership in June 2018 to combine their men's tennis and men's soccer leagues in both sports from the 2019–20 academic year. Under the agreement, the MIAA will organize the tennis league and the GAC will organize the soccer league.
Chronological timeline
- 2011 - The Great American Conference was founded. Charter members included six schools from the state of Arkansas and three schools from the state of Oklahoma effective beginning the 2011–12 academic year.
- 2012 - Northwestern Oklahoma State and Southern Nazarene joined the GAC effective in the 2012–13 academic year.
- 2015 - Oklahoma Baptist joined the GAC effective in the 2015–16 academic year.
- 2015 - Oklahoma Christian University and Rogers State University joined the GAC as affiliate members for men's and women's track & field outdoor effective in the 2016 spring season. Both schools were Heartland Conference full members at this time.
- 2019 - Oklahoma Christian and Rogers State left the GAC as affiliate members for men's and women's track & field outdoor effective after the 2019 spring season due to moving to new primary conferences who sponsors the sports.
- 2019 - Fort Hays State University, Newman University, Northeastern State University, and Rogers State joined the GAC as affiliate members for men's soccer effective in the 2019 fall season.
Member schools
Current members
| Institution | Location | Founded | Enrollment | Nickname | Colors | Joined |
| Arkansas Tech University | Russellville, Arkansas | 1909 | 8,808 | Wonder Boys & Golden Suns | 2011 | |
| Monticello, Arkansas | 1909 | 2,270 | Boll Weevils & Cotton Blossoms | 2011 | ||
| East Central University | Ada, Oklahoma | 1909 | 2,460 | Tigers | 2011 | |
| Harding University | Searcy, Arkansas | 1924 | 4,540 | Bisons & Lady Bisons | 2011 | |
| Henderson State University | Arkadelphia, Arkansas | 1890 | 1,807 | Reddies | 2011 | |
| Northwestern Oklahoma State University | Alva, Oklahoma | 1897 | 1,732 | Rangers | 2012 | |
| Oklahoma Baptist University | Shawnee, Oklahoma | 1910 | 1,409 | Bison | 2015 | |
| Ouachita Baptist University | Arkadelphia, Arkansas | 1886 | 1,734 | Tigers | 2011 | |
| Southeastern Oklahoma State University | Durant, Oklahoma | 1909 | 3,022 | Savage Storm | 2011 | |
| Southern Arkansas University | Magnolia, Arkansas | 1909 | 3,250 | Muleriders | 2011 | |
| Southern Nazarene University | Bethany, Oklahoma | 1899 | 912 | Crimson Storm | 2012 | |
| Southwestern Oklahoma State University | Weatherford, Oklahoma | 1901 | 3,995 | Bulldogs | 2011 |
Affiliate members
- Rogers State — track & field outdoor, track & field outdoor affiliate member in 2015–2019.
Former affiliate members
Membership timeline
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ImageSize = width:960 height:auto barincrement:24
Period = from:2011 till:2029
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Colors =
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id:Full value:rgb # all sports
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bar:1 color:Full from:2011 till:end text:Arkansas Tech
bar:2 color:Full from:2011 till:end text:Arkansas–Monticello
bar:3 color:Full from:2011 till:end text:East Central
bar:4 color:Full from:2011 till:end text:Harding
bar:5 color:Full from:2011 till:end text:Henderson State
bar:6 color:Full from:2011 till:end text:Ouachita Baptist
bar:7 color:Full from:2011 till:end text:Southeastern Oklahoma State
bar:8 color:Full from:2011 till:end text:Southern Arkansas
bar:9 color:Full from:2011 till:end text:Southwestern Oklahoma State
bar:10 color:Full from:2012 till:end text:Northwestern Oklahoma State
bar:11 color:Full from:2012 till:end text:Southern Nazarene
bar:12 color:Full from:2015 till:end text:Oklahoma Baptist
bar:13 color:AssocOS from:2015 till:2019 text:Oklahoma Christian
bar:14 color:AssocOS from:2015 till:2019 text:Rogers State
bar:14 color:AssocOS from:2019 till:end
bar:15 color:AssocOS from:2019 till:end text:Fort Hays State
bar:16 color:AssocOS from:2019 till:end text:Newman
bar:17 color:AssocOS from:2019 till:end text:Northeastern State
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:4 start:2012
Sports
The GAC sponsors championships in seven men's and eight women's sports.| Sport | ||
| Baseball | ||
| Basketball | ||
| Cross Country | ||
| Football | ||
| Golf | ||
| Soccer | ||
| Softball | ||
| Tennis | ||
| Track & Field Indoor | ||
| Track & Field Outdoor | ||
| Volleyball |
Men's sponsored sports by school
- † — Emerging sport; teams currently compete in Independent.
Women's sponsored sports by school
- † — Emerging sport; teams currently compete in Independent.
Other sponsored sports by school
Women's NCAA emerging sports by school
Awards
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
The male and female scholar-athlete of the year awards are voted upon by the league's faculty athletic representatives or designees.| Year | Male | Female |
| 2011–12 | Travis Kincheloe, Football | Emily Kennemer, Softball |
| 2012–13 | Mickey Hammer, Cross Country | Amy Madden, Softball |
| 2013–14 | Kevin Rodgers, Football | Kristen Celsor, Basketball |
| 2014–15 | Davis Richardson, Baseball | Arielle Saunders, Basketball |
| 2015–16 | Colin Pasque, Track & Field | Autumn Suydam, Softball |
| 2016–17 | Colin Pasque, Track & Field | Kori Bullard, Volleyball / Basketball |
| 2017–18 | Ty Reasnor, Football | Kori Bullard, Volleyball / Basketball |
| 2018–19 | Dylan McDearmon, Baseball | Mariah Ewy, Softball |
| 2019–20 | Mills Bryant, Football | Abbie Winchester, T&F / Cross country |
| 2020–21 |
Athlete of the Year
The male and female athlete of the year awards are voted upon by the league's sports information directors or designees.| Year | Male | Female |
| 2011–12 | Johnie Davis, Basketball | Kayla Jackson, Softball |
| 2012–13 | Kevin Rodgers, Football | Roselis Silva, Basketball |
| 2013–14 | Kevin Rodgers, Football | Rebecka Surtevall, Golf |
| 2014–15 | Michael Hearne, Golf | Rebecka Surtevall, Golf |
| 2015–16 | Corey Wood, Baseball | Jalissa Gum, Softball |
| 2016–17 | Trevor Rucker, Baseball | Maddie Dow, Softball |
| 2017–18 | Zach James, Golf | Brooke Goad, Softball |
| 2018–19 | Bryce Bray, Football | Hailey Tucker, Basketball |
| 2019–20 | Jhonathan Dunn, Basketball | Kim Moosbacher, Tennis |
| 2020–21 | Dorian Chaigneau, Track & Field | Mahina Sauer, Softball |
All-Sports Trophy
The All-Sports Trophy is presented to the athletic department with the highest point total at the end of the athletic year. Points are recorded in all sponsored sports with six or more participants. The regular season standings will determine the points for the sports of baseball, men's basketball, women's basketball, football, women's soccer, softball, women's tennis, and volleyball. The conference championship will determine the points for the sports of men's cross country, women's cross country, men's golf, and women's golf.| Season | School |
| 2011–12 | Arkansas Tech |
| 2012–13 | Arkansas Tech |
| 2013–14 | Arkansas Tech |
| 2014–15 | Arkansas Tech |
| 2015–16 | Arkansas Tech |
| 2016–17 | Harding |