Great South Athletic Conference
The Great South Athletic Conference 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 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 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. Covenant College, located on top of Lookout Mountain in northwest Georgia, joined the conference in spring 2010 and began playing in fall 2010, while completing its requirements for NCAA Division III provisional status. Stillman, a charter member, dropped out of the conference following the 2001-02 season, who would later compete in the NCAA Division II Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference ; while Fisk, another charter member, dropped out of the conference following the 2005-06 season, to join the NAIA.Three schools left for the USA South Athletic Conference beginning with the 2012–13 season: Piedmont, LaGrange and Maryville. Pine Manor College and Trinity Washington University 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.
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 the 2013–14 season. 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.
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 and tennis. 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.
Chronological timeline
- 1999 - The Great South Athletic Conference was founded. Charter members included Fisk University, LaGrange College, Maryville College, Piedmont College and Stillman College, effective beginning the 1999-2000 academic year.
- 2002 - Stillman left the GSAC to join the Division II ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, effective after the 2001-02 academic year.
- 2002 - Agnes Scott College and Huntingdon College joined the GSAC, effective in the 2002-03 academic year.
- 2003 - Spelman College and Wesleyan College joined the GSAC as provisional members, effective in the 2003-04 academic year.
- 2006 - Fisk left the GSAC to join the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics as an Independent, effective after the 2005-06 academic year.
- 2009 - Salem College joined the GSAC, effective in the 2009-10 academic year.
- 2010 - Covenant College joined the GSAC, effective in the 2010-11 academic year.
- 2012 - LaGrange, Maryville and Piedmont left the GSAC to join the USA South Athletic Conference, effective after the 2011-12 academic year.
- 2012 - Due to lack of finding possible candidate schools with men's athletics programs, the GSAC was forced to drop men's sports, thus becoming a women's sports athletic conference, effective in the 2012-13 academic year. Co-ed schools Covenant and Huntingdon remained in the GSAC for women's sports, while their men's sports went to compete as NCAA D-III Independents.
- 2012 - Pine Manor College and Trinity Washington University joined the GSAC, effective in the 2012-13 academic year.
- 2012 - Finlandia University joined the GSAC as an affiliate member for softball, effective in the 2013 spring season.
- 2013 - Three institutions left the GSAC to join their respective new home primary conferences: Covenant and Huntingdon to align with their respective men's athletics programs and join the USA South, and Spelman to discontinue its athletic program as the school announced that it would close, all effective after the 2012-13 academic year.
- 2013 - The University of Maine at Presque Isle and Mills College joined the GSAC, effective in the 2013-14 academic year. Only Finlandia and Maine–Presque Isle were the co-educational schools whose men's sports still competed as NCAA D-III Independents.
- 2013 - Rust College joined the GSAC as an affiliate member for softball, effective in the 2014 spring season.
- 2014 - Mount Mary University and the University of California at Santa Cruz joined the GSAC as affiliate members for women's tennis, effective in the 2015 spring season.
- 2015 - Maine–Presque Isle and Trinity Washington left the GSAC to become NCAA D-III Independents, effective after the 2014-15 academic year.
- 2015 - Rust left the GSAC as an affiliate member for softball, effective after the 2015 spring season.
- 2015 - Mount Marty and UC Santa Cruz had upgraded to join the GSAC for all sports, effective in the 2015-16 academic year.
- 2016 - The GSAC ceased operations as an athletic conference, effective after the 2015-16 academic year; as many schools left to join their respective new home primary conferences, effective beginning the 2016-17 academic year: Agnes Scott, Salem and Wesleyan joined the USA South; while Finlandia, Mills, Mount Marty, Pine Manor and UC Santa Cruz returned to become NCAA D-III Independents.
Member schools
Full members
Final members
The GSAC had eight final full members before the conference dissolved, all but one were private schools:;Notes:
Former members
The GSAC had ten other former full members during the conference's existence, all but one were private schools:;Notes:
Former affiliate members
The GSAC had one former affiliate member that did not later become a full member during the conference's existence, which was also a private school:| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Left | GSAC sport | Primary conference |
| Rust College | Holly Springs, Mississippi | 1866 | United Methodist | 900 | Bearcats | 2013 | 2015 | Softball | HBCU (HBCUAC) |
;Notes:
Membership timeline
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Period = from:1999 till:2028
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id:line value:black
id:bg value:white
id:Full value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports
id:FullxF value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football
id:AssocF value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only
id:AssocOS value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for another sport only
id:OtherC1 value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference
id:OtherC2 value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference when the other color has already been used
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width:15 textcolor:black shift: anchor:from fontsize:s
bar:1 color:Full from:1999 till:2006 text:Fisk
bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2006 till:2009 text:D-III Ind.
bar:1 shift: color:OtherC2 from:2009 till:2010 text:NAIA Ind.
bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2010 till:2014 text:GCAC
bar:1 color:OtherC2 from:2014 till:2021 text:NAIA Ind.
bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2021 till:end text:HBCUAC
bar:2 color:Full from:1999 till:2012 text:LaGrange
bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2022 text:USA South
bar:2 color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:end text:CCS
bar:3 color:Full from:1999 till:2012 text:Maryville
bar:3 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2022 text:USA South
bar:3 color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:2026 text:CCS
bar:3 color:OtherC1 from:2026 till:end text:SAA
bar:4 color:Full from:1999 till:2012 text:Piedmont
bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2022 text:USA South
bar:4 color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:end text:CCS
bar:5 color:Full from:1999 till:2002 text:Stillman
bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:2002 till:2016 text:SIAC
bar:5 color:OtherC2 from:2016 till:2018 text:NAIA Ind.
bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:2018 till:2024 text:SSAC
bar:5 color:OtherC2 from:2024 till:end text:HBCUAC
bar:6 color:Full from:2002 till:2012 text:Agnes Scott
bar:6 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2016
bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:2016 till:2022 text:USA South
bar:6 color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:end text:CCS
bar:7 color:Full from:2002 till:2012 text:Huntingdon
bar:7 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2013
bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:2022 text:USA South
bar:7 color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:end text:CCS
bar:8 color:Full from:2003 till:2012 text:Spelman
bar:8 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2013
bar:9 color:Full from:2003 till:2012 text:Wesleyan (Ga.)
bar:9 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2016
bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:2016 till:2022 text:USA South
bar:9 color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:2026 text:CCS
bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:2026 till:end text:SSAC
bar:10 color:Full from:2009 till:2012 text:Salem
bar:10 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2016
bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:2016 till:end text:USA South
bar:11 shift: color:Full from:2010 till:2012 text:Covenant
bar:11 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2013
bar:11 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:2022 text:USA South
bar:11 color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:end text:CCS
bar:12 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2016 text:Pine Manor
bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:2016 till:2017 text:D-III Ind.
bar:12 shift: color:OtherC2 from:2017 till:2020 text:ACAA
bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:2021 text:C2C
bar:13 shift: color:FullxF from:2012 till:2015 text:Trinity Washington
bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:2015 till:end text:D-III Ind.
bar:14 color:AssocOS from:2012 till:2013 text:
bar:14 shift: color:FullxF from:2013 till:2016 text:Finlandia
bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:2016 till:2017 text:D-III Ind.
bar:14 shift: color:OtherC2 from:2017 till:2020 text:ACAA
bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:end text:C2C
bar:15 shift: color:FullxF from:2013 till:2015 text:Maine–Presque Isle
bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:2015 till:2017 text:D-III Ind.
bar:15 color:OtherC2 from:2017 till:2018 text:ACAA
bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:2018 till:end text:NAC
bar:16 color:FullxF from:2013 till:2016 text:Mills
bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:2016 till:2017 text:D-III Ind.
bar:16 shift: color:OtherC2 from:2017 till:2020 text:ACAA
bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:2022 text:C2C
bar:17 color:AssocOS from:2013 till:2015 text:Rust
bar:18 color:AssocOS from:2014 till:2015 text:
bar:18 shift: color:FullxF from:2015 till:2016 text:Mount Mary
bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:2016 till:2018 text:D-III Ind.
bar:18 color:OtherC2 from:2018 till:2020 text:ACAA
bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:2025 text:C2C
bar:18 color:OtherC2 from:2025 till:end text:CCAC
bar:19 color:AssocOS from:2014 till:2015 text:
bar:19 shift: color:FullxF from:2015 till:2016 text:UCSC
bar:19 color:OtherC1 from:2016 till:2019 text:D-III Ind.
bar:19 color:OtherC2 from:2019 till:2020 text:ACAA
bar:19 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:end text:C2C
bar:N color:green from:1999 till:2012 text:Great South Athletic Conference
bar:N color:yellow from:2012 till:2016 text:Women's sports-only GSAC
bar:N color:blue from:2016 till:end text:Post-GSAC
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text:^"Great South Athletic Conference membership history"
- > If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following three options Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space.