Great South Athletic Conference
{{Short description|Defunct NCAA Division III athletic conference}}
{{Infobox sports league
| name = Great South Athletic Conference
| logo = Great South Athletic Conference logo.jpg
| logo_size = 200
| founded = 1999
| dissolved = 2016
| conference = NCAA
| division = Division III
| teams = 5
| sports = 6
| mens = 0
| womens = 6
| region = Southeast
| headquarters = Decatur, Georgia
| map = GSAC-USA-states.png
| map_size = 250
}}
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.{{cite web | title = Salem becomes newest GSAC member | publisher = Great South Athletic Conference | date = May 13, 2009 | url = http://www.greatsouth.org/News/gen/2009/5/13/51309_Salem_GSAC.asp | access-date = May 14, 2009}} Covenant College, located on top of Lookout Mountain in northwest Georgia, joined the conference in spring 2010 and began playing in fall 2010,{{cite news|url=http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_172893.asp|title=Covenant College Joins Great South Athletic Conference|last=Branton|first=B.B.|date=April 8, 2010|work=The Chattanoogan|publisher=John Wilson|access-date=May 31, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100411042534/http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_172893.asp|archive-date=April 11, 2010|url-status=dead}} 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 (SIAC) (now currently competing in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC, now known as the HBCU Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) as of 2024) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in 2010-11); while Fisk, another charter member, dropped out of the conference following the 2005-06 season, to join the NAIA (and eventually compete in the GCAC).
Three schools (also charter members of the GSAC) left for the USA South Athletic Conference (USA South) beginning with the 2012–13 season: Piedmont,{{cite news|last=McCormack|first=Timmy|title=Piedmont College Announces Plan To Join USA South Athletic Conference|url=http://piedmontlions.com/sports/2011/4/11/GEN_0411110855.aspx?id=122|access-date=April 25, 2011|newspaper=Piedmont College Athletics|date=April 11, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110824113650/http://piedmontlions.com/sports/2011/4/11/GEN_0411110855.aspx?id=122|archive-date=August 24, 2011|url-status=dead}} LaGrange{{cite news|title=LaGrange College accepts invitation to join USA South Athletic Conference|url=http://www.lagrangepanthers.com/genrel/USA_South_Release|access-date=April 25, 2011|newspaper=LaGrange Panthers|date=April 21, 2011}} and Maryville. Pine Manor College{{cite web | title = Pine Manor College Joins GSAC | publisher = Great South Athletic Conference | date = August 27, 2012 | url = http://www.greatsouth.org/news/2012/8/27/GEN_0827122836.aspx?path=gen | access-date = September 8, 2012}} and Trinity Washington University{{cite web | title = Trinity Washington University Joins GSAC | publisher = Great South Athletic Conference | date = September 7, 2012 | url = http://www.greatsouth.org/news/2012/9/7/GEN_0907121421.aspx | access-date = September 8, 2012}} 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.{{cite web | title = Spelman eliminates athletics in favor of campus-wide wellness initiative | website = Inside Higher Ed | date = November 1, 2012 | url = http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/11/01/spelman-eliminates-athletics-favor-campus-wide-wellness-initiative | access-date = November 4, 2012}}
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.{{cite web | title = GSAC Adds Finlandia University, the University of Maine at Presque Isle and Mills College | publisher = Great South Athletic Conference | date = January 14, 2013 | url = http://www.greatsouth.org/sports/wbkb/2012-13/releases/01142013 | access-date = April 3, 2013}} 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.{{cite news|title=Agnes Scott, Salem and Wesleyan Set to Join USA South|url=http://www.usasouth.net/general/2014-15/15ascscwcjoin|access-date=May 18, 2015|date=May 6, 2015}}
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.
=Chronological timeline=
- 1999 - The Great South Athletic Conference (GSAC) 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 (NCAA) and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), 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 (NAIA) as an Independent (which would later join the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC), effective beginning the 2010-11 academic year), 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 (USA South), 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 (2012-13 academic year).
- 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 (Maine–Presque Isle or UMPI) and Mills College (with Finlandia upgrading to join for all sports) joined the GSAC, effective in the 2013-14 academic year. Only Finlandia and Maine–Presque Isle (UMPI) 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 (2013-14 academic year).
- 2014 - Mount Mary University and the University of California at Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) joined the GSAC as affiliate members for women's tennis, effective in the 2015 spring season (2014-15 academic year).
- 2015 - Maine–Presque Isle (UMPI) 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 (2014-15 academic year).
- 2015 - Mount Marty and UC Santa Cruz (UCSC) 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 (N.C.) and Wesleyan (Ga.) 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:
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
! Institution ! Location ! Founded ! Affiliation ! Enrollment ! Nickname ! Joined ! Left ! Subsequent ! Current |
| Agnes Scott College{{efn|group=final|name=women|This institution is a women's college, therefore it does not compete in men's sports.}}
| 1889 | Presbyterian | 914 | 2002 | 2016 | USA South | C.C. of the South (CCS) |
| Finlandia University{{efn|group=final|name=coed|This institution, which closed in 2023, was a co-educational college. Co-educational colleges competed in both men's and women's competitions until the end of the 2011–12 school year. From 2012–13 until 2015–16, all schools competed only in women's competitions in the GSAC.}}{{efn|group=final|name=men|During their tenure in the GSAC for women's sports, their men's programs competed as NCAA D-III Independents.}}{{efn|group=final|Finlandia was an associate member of the GSAC for softball during the 2013 spring season (2012–13 school year).}}
| 1896 | 507 | Lions | 2013 | 2016 | various{{efn|group=final|Finlandia had joined the following subsequent conferences: as an NCAA D-III Independent during the 2016–17 school year; the American Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) from 2017–18 to 2019–20; and the Coast to Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) from 2020–21 to 2022–23.}} | {{sort|ZZZ|N/A}}{{efn|group=final|Finlandia closed at the end of the 2022–23 school year.}} |
| Mills College{{efn|group=final|name=women}}
| 1854 | Nonsectarian | 1,345 | Cyclones | 2013 | 2016 | various{{efn|group=final|Mills had joined the following subsequent conferences: as an NCAA D-III Independent during the 2016–17 school year; the American Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) from 2017–18 to 2019–20; and the Coast to Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) from 2020–21 to 2021–22.}} | {{sort|ZZZ|N/A}}{{efn|group=final|Mills was merged into Northeastern University in 2022 to become a research institution; therefore it discontinued its athletics program after the 2021–22 school year.}} |
| Mount Mary University{{efn|group=final|name=women}}{{efn|group=final|name=aff|UC Santa Cruz and Mount Mary were affiliate members of the GSAC for women's tennis during the 2015 spring season (2014–15 school year).}}
| 1913 | 1,209 | 2015 | 2016 | D-III Independent | Coast to Coast (C2C) |
| Pine Manor College{{efn|group=final|name=coed}}{{efn|group=final|name=coed2|This institution is a former women's college, which would later turn into a co-educational college (Pine Manor from 2014–15 until absorption by Boston College in 2021).}}
| Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts | 1911 | Nonsectarian | N/A | Gators | 2012 | 2016 | various{{efn|group=final|Pine Manor had joined the following subsequent conferences: as an NCAA D-III Independent during the 2016–17 school year; the American Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) from 2017–18 to 2019–20; and the Coast to Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) during the 2020–21 school year.}} | {{sort|ZZZ|N/A}}{{efn|group=final|Pine Manor was merged into Boston College in 2021; therefore the school discontinued its athletics program and later closed.}} |
| Salem College{{efn|group=final|name=women}}
| Winston-Salem, North Carolina | 1772 | Moravian | 565 | Spirits | 2009 | 2016 | colspan=2 | USA South |
| {{sort|California–Santa Cruz|University of California, Santa Cruz}}{{efn|group=final|name=coed}}{{efn|group=final|name=aff}}
| 1965 | Public | 19,700 | 2015 | 2016 | D-III Independent | Coast to Coast (C2C) |
| Wesleyan College{{efn|group=final|name=women}}
| 1839 | 550 | Wolves | 2003 | 2016 | USA South | C.C. of the South (CCS) |
;Notes:
{{notelist|group=final}}
==Former members==
The GSAC had ten other former full members during the conference's existence, all but one were private schools:
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
! Institution ! Location ! Founded ! Affiliation ! Enrollment ! Nickname ! Joined ! Left ! Subsequent ! Current |
| Covenant College{{efn|group=former|name=coed|This institution is a co-educational college. Co-educational colleges competed in both men's and women's competitions until the end of the 2011–12 school year. From 2012–13 until 2015–16, all schools competed only in women's competitions in the GSAC.}}{{efn|group=former|name=coed2|Covenant and Huntingdon remained in the GSAC for women's sports during the 2012–13 school year, while their men's sports competed as NCAA D-III Independents, before joining the USA South Athletic Conference (USA South) since the 2013–14 school year.}}
| 1955 | Presbyterian | 1,282 | Scots & | 2010 | 2013 | USA South | C.C. of the South (CCS) |
| Fisk University{{efn|group=former|name=coed}}
| 1866 | U.C.C. | 910 | Bulldogs | 1999 | 2006 | D-III Independent | Gulf Coast (GCAC){{efn|group=former|name=NAIA|Currently an NAIA athletic conference.}} |
| Huntingdon College{{efn|group=former|name=coed}}{{efn|group=former|name=coed2}}
| 1854 | 900 | Hawks | 2002 | 2013 | USA South | C.C. of the South (CCS) |
| LaGrange College{{efn|group=former|name=coed}}
| 1831 | United | 1,137 | Panthers | 1999 | 2012 | USA South | C.C. of the South (CCS) |
| {{sort|Maine–Presque Isle|University of Maine at Presque Isle}}{{efn|group=former|name=coed}}{{efn|group=former|name=men|During their tenure in the GSAC for women's sports, their men's programs competed as NCAA D-III Independents.}}
| 1903 | Public | 1,469 | Owls | 2013 | 2015 | D-III Independent | North Atlantic (NAC) |
| Maryville College{{efn|group=former|name=coed}}
| 1819 | Presbyterian | 1,103 | Scots | 1999 | 2012 | USA South | C.C. of the South (CCS) |
| Piedmont College{{efn|group=former|name=coed}}
| 1897 | U.C.C. & | 2,640 | Lions | 1999 | 2012 | USA South | C.C. of the South (CCS) |
| Spelman College{{efn|group=former|name=women|This institution is a women's college, therefore it does not compete in men's sports.}}
| 1881 | Nonsectarian | N/A | Jaguars | 2004 | 2012 | colspan=2 | N/A{{efn|group=former|Spelman dropped its athletics program after the 2012–13 school year.}} |
| Stillman College{{efn|group=former|name=coed}}
| 1876 | Presbyterian | 1,000 | Tigers | 1999 | 2002 | Southern (SIAC){{efn|group=former|name=D2|Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.}} | Southern States (SSAC){{efn|group=former|name=NAIA|Currently an NAIA athletic conference.}} |
| Trinity Washington University{{efn|group=former|name=women}}
| 1897 | 2,100 | Tigers | 2012 | 2015 | colspan=2 | D-III Independent |
;Notes:
{{notelist|group=former}}
=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:
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
! Institution ! Location ! Founded ! Affiliation ! Enrollment ! Nickname ! Joined ! Left ! GSAC ! Primary |
| Rust College
| 1866 | 900 | Bearcats | 2013–14 | 2014–15 | softball | HBCU (HBCUAC){{efn|group=aff|name=NAIA|Currently an NAIA athletic conference.}}{{efn|group=aff|During their tenure as an affiliate member of the GSAC, Rust's primary home conference was being an NCAA D-III Independent until the 2014–15 school year.}} |
;Notes:
{{notelist|group=aff}}
=Membership timeline=
DateFormat = yyyy
ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20
Period = from:1999 till:2024
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph, use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<#
Colors =
id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7)
id:line value:black
id:bg value:white
id:Full value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports
id:FullxF value:rgb(0.551,0.824,0.777) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football
id:AssocF value:rgb(0.98,0.5,0.445) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only
id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.5,0.691,0.824) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in some sports, but not all (consider identifying in legend or a footnote)
id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference
id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference where OtherC1 has already been used, to distinguish the two
PlotData=
width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s
bar:1 color:Full from:1999 till:2006 text:Fisk (1999–2006)
bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2006 till:2009 text:D-III Ind.
bar:1 shift:(-10) 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:GCAC
bar:2 color:Full from:1999 till:2012 text:LaGrange (1999–2012)
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 (1999–2012)
bar:3 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2022 text:USA South
bar:3 color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:end text:CCS
bar:4 color:Full from:1999 till:2012 text:Piedmont (1999–2012)
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 (1999–2002)
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:end text:SSAC
bar:6 color:Full from:2002 till:2012 text:Agnes Scott (2002–2016)
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 (2002–2013)
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 (2003–2013)
bar:8 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2013
bar:9 color:Full from:2003 till:2012 text:Wesleyan (Ga.) (2003–2016)
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:end text:CCS
bar:10 color:Full from:2009 till:2012 text:Salem (2009–2016)
bar:10 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2016
bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:2016 till:end text:USA South
bar:11 color:Full from:2010 till:2012 text:Covenant (2010–2013)
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 (2012–2016)
bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:2016 till:2017 text:D-III Ind.
bar:12 shift:(10) color:OtherC2 from:2017 till:2020 text:ACAA
bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:2021 text:C2C
bar:13 shift:(-40) color:FullxF from:2012 till:2015 text:Trinity Washington (2012–2015)
bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:2015 till:end text:D-III Ind.
bar:14 color:AssocOS from:2012 till:2013 text:
bar:14 shift:(-30) color:FullxF from:2013 till:2016 text:Finlandia (2013–2016)
bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:2016 till:2017 text:D-III Ind.
bar:14 shift:(10) color:OtherC2 from:2017 till:2020 text:ACAA
bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:end text:C2C
bar:15 shift:(-80) color:FullxF from:2013 till:2015 text:Maine–Presque Isle (2013–2015)
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 (2013–2016)
bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:2016 till:2017 text:D-III Ind.
bar:16 shift:(10) color:OtherC2 from:2017 till:2020 text:ACAA
bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:end text:C2C
bar:17 color:AssocOS from:2013 till:2015 text:Rust (2013–2015; softball)
bar:18 color:AssocOS from:2014 till:2015 text:
bar:18 shift:(-90) color:FullxF from:2015 till:2016 text:Mount Mary (2015–2016)
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:end text:C2C
bar:19 color:AssocOS from:2014 till:2015 text:
bar:19 shift:(-60) color:FullxF from:2015 till:2016 text:UCSC (2015–2016)
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
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:2000
TextData =
fontsize:M
textcolor:black
pos:(250,30) # tabs:(0-center)
text:"Great South Athletic Conference membership history"
Sports
From the 2012–13 to 2015–16 academic years, the GSAC sponsored intercollegiate athletic competition in women's sports only: basketball, cross country, soccer, softball, tennis, golf, and volleyball.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Great South Athletic Conference navbox}}
Category:Sports organizations established in 1999