Established 2011 Division Division II Region South Central | Association NCAA Members 12 | |
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Sports fielded 16 (men's: 8; women's: 8) | ||
The Great American Conference (GAC) is a collegiate athletic conference of eleven schools, with headquarters located in Russellville, Arkansas. It is affiliated in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division II level. Athletic competition began play during the 2011–12 school year. Member schools are located in Arkansas and Oklahoma in the South Central United States.
Contents
History
The conference's charter members previously competed in the Lone Star Conference (East Central University, Southeastern Oklahoma State University and Southwestern Oklahoma State University) and the Gulf South Conference (Arkansas Tech University, University of Arkansas at Monticello, Harding University, Henderson State University, Ouachita Baptist University and Southern Arkansas University) 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 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.
As of July 11, 2014, the NCAA Division II Membership Committee recommended the membership application for Oklahoma Baptist University to set up the move from the NAIA to NCAA Division II and will join the conference in the 2015–16 season.
Current members
Membership timeline
Full member (all sports) Full member (non-football) Associate member (football-only) Associate member (sport)
Sports
The GAC sponsors championships in eight men's and eight women's sports.
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.
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.
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.
NACDA Learfield Sports Directors' Cup Rankings
The NACDA Learfield Sports Directors' Cup is an annual award given by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics to the U.S. colleges and universities with the most success in collegiate athletics.
Total conference championships
Total conference postseason championships and football regular season championships won by each school.
NCAA Division II
Team and individual titles won prior to joining the GAC or by members in GAC non-sponsored sports.
Championships and Postseason
Bowl Games
The GAC has a tie-in with the Live United Texarkana Bowl in which the highest non-playoff team will receive an automatic selection to the game. The C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl began a Division II game in 2012 with the GAC receiving the at-large selection in each of the first four years of the game.