Golden State Athletic Conference

Golden State Athletic Conference
Golden State Athletic Conference
GSAC
Established	1986
Association	NAIA
Members	10
Sports fielded	17 men's: 8; women's: 9; ;
Region	Western United States
Headquarters	Aliso Viejo, California
Commissioner	Mike Daniels (2012–)
Website	gsacsports.org
Locations

The Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) is a college athletics conference in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The conference commissioner is Mike Daniels. Conference leadership is shared among the member institutions. Nine of the ten members of the GSAC are Christian colleges located in California and Arizona. Conference teams have won 22 national championships.

History

The Golden State Athletic Conference was formed in the fall of 1986, with Azusa Pacific University, California Lutheran University, Fresno Pacific University, Point Loma Nazarene University, Vanguard University and Westmont College as the charter members. California Baptist University and Concordia University joined the GSAC in the fall of the following year (1987). Cal Lutheran left the GSAC after the spring of 1989. Biola University joined the GSAC in the fall of 1994. Hope International University and San Diego Christian College joined the GSAC in the fall of 1999. The Master's University, joined the GSAC in the fall of 2001. Lewis–Clark State College of Lewiston, Idaho joined the GSAC as an affiliate member for men's and women's tennis in 2016.

Recent years

In recent years, the conference has seen changes with members leaving the GSAC and the NAIA for the NCAA. In 2011 Cal Baptist left the GSAC to join the Pacific West Conference followed by the announcement that Azusa Pacific, Fresno Pacific and Point Loma Nazarene joined Cal Baptist in the PacWest in 2012.[1] Concordia then left to join the PacWest in 2015, and Biola applied to make the same move in 2017. To replace these schools, the GSAC has added Arizona Christian, Menlo and William Jessup. Life Pacific joined in 2017 and Ottawa (AZ) joined in 2018 to bring the GSAC to 10 members.

Chronological timeline

1986 - The Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) was founded. Charter members included Azusa Pacific University, California Lutheran University, Fresno Pacific College (now Fresno Pacific University), Point Loma Nazarene College (now Point Loma Nazarene University), Southern California College (now Vanguard University of Southern California) and Westmont College, effective beginning the 1986-87 academic year.

1987 - California Baptist College (now California Baptist University; a.k.a. Cal Baptist) and Christ College Irvine (now Concordia University Irvine) joined the GSAC, effective the 1987-88 academic year.

1989 - Cal Lutheran left the GSAC, effective after the 1988-89 academic year.

1994 - Biola University joined the GSAC, effective the 1994-95 academic year.

1999 - Pacific Christian College (now Hope International University) and San Diego Christian College joined the GSAC, effective the 1999-2000 academic year.

2001 - The Master's College (now The Master's University) joined the GSAC, effective the 2001-02 academic year.

2011 - Cal Baptist left the GSAC and the NAIA to join the Division II ranks and the Pacific West Conference (PacWest), effective after the 2010-11 academic year.

2012 - Azusa Pacific, Fresno Pacific and Point Loma Nazarene left the GSAC and the NAIA to join the Division II ranks and the PacWest, effective after the 2011-12 academic year.

2012 - Arizona Christian University joined the GSAC, effective the 2012-13 academic year.

2014 - William Jessup University joined the GSAC, effective the 2012-13 academic year.

2015 - Concordia–Irvine left the GSAC and the NAIA to join the Division II ranks and the PacWest, effective after the 2014-15 academic year.

2015 - Menlo College joined the GSAC, effective the 2015-16 academic year.

2016 - Lewis–Clark State College joined the GSAC as an affiliate member for men's and women's tennis, effective the 2016-17 academic year.

2017 - Biola left the GSAC and the NAIA to join the Division II ranks and the PacWest, effective after the 2016-17 academic year.

2017 - Life Pacific College (now Life Pacific University) joined the GSAC, effective the 2017-18 academic year.

2018 - The Arizona campus of Ottawa University joined the GSAC, effective the 2018-19 academic year.

Member schools

Current members

The GSAC currently has ten full members, all of which are private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined
Arizona Christian University	Phoenix, Arizona	1960	Christian	820	Firestorm	2012–13
Hope International University	Fullerton, California	1928	Christian	987	Royals	1999–2000
Life Pacific University	San Dimas, California	1923	Foursquare Gospel	686	Warriors	2017–18
The Master's University	Santa Clarita, California	1927	Christian	2,600	Mustangs	2001–02
Menlo College	Atherton, California	1927	Nonsectarian	750	Oaks	2015–16
Ottawa University–Arizona	Surprise, Arizona	2015	American Baptist	750	Spirit	2018–19
San Diego Christian College	Santee, California	1970	Evangelical	916	Hawks	1999–2000
Vanguard University	Costa Mesa, California	1920	Assemblies of God	2,552	Lions	1986–87
Westmont College	Montecito, California	1937	Christian	1,313	Warriors	1986–87
William Jessup University	Rocklin, California	1939	Christian	1,743	Warriors	2014–15

Affiliate members

The GSAC currently has three affiliate members, all of which are private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	GSAC sport(s)	Primary conference
Marymount California University	Rancho Palos Verdes, California	1932	Catholic	923	Mariners	2020–21^m.ten.; 2020–21^w.ten.	men's tennis; women's tennis	California Pacific (CalPac)
University of Saint Katherine	San Marcos, California	2010	Eastern Orthodox	240	Firebirds
Westcliff University	Irvine, California	1993	For-profit	2,000	Warriors

Former members

The GSAC had seven former full members, all of which were private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Left	Subsequent conference(s)	Current conference
Azusa Pacific University	Azusa, California	1899	Evangelical	8,539	Cougars	1986–87	2011–12	Pacific West (PacWest) (NCAA D-II) (2012–13 to present)
Biola University	La Mirada, California	1908	Evangelical	5,942	Eagles	1994–95	2016–17	Pacific West (PacWest) (NCAA D-II) (2017–18 to present)
California Baptist University	Riverside, California	1950	Baptist	11,491	Lancers	1987–88	2010–11	Pacific West (PacWest) (NCAA D-II) (2011–12 to 2017–18)	Western (WAC) (NCAA D-I) (2018–19 to present)
California Lutheran University	Thousand Oaks, California	1959	Lutheran ELCA	3,298	Kingsmen & Regals	1986–87	1988–89	NAIA/D-III Independent (1989–90 to 1990–91)	Southern California (SCIAC) (NCAA D-III) (1991–92 to present)
Concordia University–Irvine	Irvine, California	1976	Lutheran LCMS	2,564	Eagles	1987–88	2014–15	Pacific West (PacWest) (NCAA D-II) (2015–16 to present)
Fresno Pacific University	Fresno, California	1944	Mennonite	3,700	Sunbirds	1986–87	2011–12	Pacific West (PacWest) (NCAA D-II) (2012–13 to present)
Point Loma Nazarene University	San Diego, California	1902	Nazarene	3,487	Sea Lions	1986–87	2011–12	Pacific West (PacWest) (NCAA D-II) (2012–13 to present)

Membership timeline

Full member (non-football) Associate member (sport)

Sports sponsored

Conference sports
Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	Y
Basketball	Y	Y
Cross Country	Y	Y
Soccer	Y	Y
Softball		Y
Tennis	Y	Y
Track & Field Outdoor	Y	Y
Volleyball	Y	Y
Beach Volleyball		Y
Golf	Y	Y

References

Staff (June 2, 2011). "PacWest conference expands to 14 schools". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved June 2, 2011.

External links

Official website

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[pacwestexp-1] Staff (June 2, 2011). "PacWest conference expands to 14 schools". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved June 2, 2011.

NAIA conferences
Single Division	American Midwest Conference Appalachian Athletic Conference California Pacific Conference Cascade Collegiate Conference Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Continental Athletic Conference Crossroads League Frontier Conference^† Golden State Athletic Conference Great Plains Athletic Conference^† Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Heart of America Athletic Conference^† Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference^† Mid-South Conference^† North Star Athletic Association^† Red River Athletic Conference River States Conference Sooner Athletic Conference^† Southern States Athletic Conference Sun Conference Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference NAIA independent schools
Football-only	Mid-States Football Association^† NAIA independent football schools^†
^†Conference sponsors football