Great South Athletic Conference

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.

Great South Athletic Conference
GSAC
Established1999
Dissolved2016
AssociationNCAA
DivisionDivision III
Members5
Sports fielded
  • 6
    • men's: 0
    • women's: 6
RegionSoutheast
HeadquartersDecatur, Georgia
Locations

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.[1] Covenant College, located on top of Lookout Mountain in northwest Georgia, joined the conference in spring 2010 and began playing in fall 2010,[2] while completing its requirements for NCAA Division III provisional status. Stillman, a charter member, dropped out of the conference following the 2001-02 season, now currently competing in the NCAA Division II Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC); while Fisk, another charter member, dropped out of the conference following the 2005-06 season, to compete in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).

Three schools (also charter members of the GSAC) left for the USA South Athletic Conference beginning with the 2012-13 season: Piedmont,[3] LaGrange[4] and Maryville. Pine Manor College[5] and Trinity Washington University[6] 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.[7]

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 2013-14.[8] 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.[9]

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.

Member schools

Final members
Institution Location Nickname Founded Type Joined Left Subsequent
conference		 Current
conference
Agnes Scott College[lower-alpha 1] Decatur, Georgia Scottish Terriers 1889 Private/Presbyterian (PCUSA) 2002–03 2015–16 USA South
(CCS in 2022)
Finlandia University[lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 3][lower-alpha 4] Hancock, Michigan Lions 1896 Private/Lutheran (ELCA) 2013–14 2015–16 D-III Independent C2C
Mills College[lower-alpha 1] Oakland, California Cyclones 1854 Private/Nonsectarian 2013–14 2015–16 D-III Independent C2C
Mount Mary University[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 5] Milwaukee, Wisconsin Blue Angels 1913 Private/Catholic 2015–16 2015–16 D-III Independent C2C
Pine Manor College[lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 6] Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts Gators 1911 Private/Nonsectarian 2012–13 2015–16 D-III Independent N/A[lower-alpha 7]
Salem College[lower-alpha 1] Winston-Salem, North Carolina Spirits 1772 Private/Nonsectarian 2009–10 2015–16 USA South
University of California, Santa Cruz[lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 5] Santa Cruz, California Banana Slugs 1965 Public 2015–16 2015–16 D-III Independent C2C
Wesleyan College[lower-alpha 1] Macon, Georgia Wolves 1839 Private/Methodist 2003–04 2015–16 USA South
(CCS in 2022)
Notes
  1. This institution is a women's college, therefore it does not compete in men's sports.
  2. 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.
  3. During their tenure in the GSAC for women's sports, their men's programs competed as Division III Independents.
  4. Finlandia was an associate member of the GSAC for softball during the 2013 spring season (2012–13 school year).
  5. 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).
  6. 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).
  7. Pine Manor was merged into Boston College in 2021.

Former members
Institution Location Nickname Founded Type Joined Left Subsequent
conference		 Current
conference
Covenant College[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2] Lookout Mountain, Georgia Scots and Lady Scots 1955 Private/Presbyterian (PCA) 2010–11 2012–13 USA South
(CCS in 2022)
Fisk University[lower-alpha 1] Nashville, Tennessee Bulldogs 1866 Private/United Church of Christ 1999–2000 2005–06 D-III Independent Gulf Coast
(NAIA)
Huntingdon College[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2] Montgomery, Alabama Hawks 1854 Private/Methodist 2002–03 2012–13 USA South
(CCS in 2022)
LaGrange College[lower-alpha 1] LaGrange, Georgia Panthers 1831 Private/Methodist 1999–2000 2011–12 USA South
(CCS in 2022)
University of Maine at Presque Isle[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 3] Presque Isle, Maine Owls 1903 Public 2013–14 2014–15 D-III Independent NAC
Maryville College[lower-alpha 1] Maryville, Tennessee Scots 1819 Private/Presbyterian (PCUSA) 1999–2000 2011–12 USA South
(CCS in 2022)
Piedmont College[lower-alpha 1] Demorest, Georgia Lions 1897 Private/United Church of Christ 1999–2000 2011–12 USA South
(CCS in 2022)
Spelman College[lower-alpha 4] Atlanta, Georgia Jaguars 1881 Private/Nonsectarian 2003–04 2012–13 dropped athletics
Stillman College[lower-alpha 1] Tuscaloosa, Alabama Tigers 1876 Private/Presbyterian 1999–2000 2001–02 SIAC
(NCAA D-II)		 Southern States
(NAIA)
Trinity Washington University[lower-alpha 4] Washington, D.C. Tigers 1897 Private/Catholic 2012–13 2014–15 D-III Independent
Notes
  1. 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.
  2. Covenant and Huntingdon remained in the GSAC for women's sports during the 2012–13 school year, while their men's sports competed as Division III Independents, before joining the USA South Athletic Conference (USA South) since the 2013–14 school year.
  3. During their tenure in the GSAC for women's sports, their men's programs competed as Division III Independents.
  4. This institution is a women's college, therefore it does not compete in men's sports.

Affiliate members

The league had 1 affiliate member that did not later become a full member:

Institution Location Nickname Founded Type Enrollment Joined Left Primary
conference		 GSAC
sport
Rust College Holly Springs, Mississippi Bearcats 1866 Private/Methodist 900 2013–14 2014–15 NAIA Independent softball
Notes

    Membership timeline
    University of California, Santa CruzMount Mary UniversityRust CollegeMills CollegeUniversity of Maine at Presque IsleFinlandia UniversityTrinity Washington UniversityPine Manor CollegeCovenant CollegeSalem CollegeWesleyan CollegeSpelman CollegeHuntingdon CollegeAgnes Scott CollegeStillman CollegeLaGrange CollegeMaryville CollegePiedmont CollegeFisk University

    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
    1. "Salem becomes newest GSAC member". Great South Athletic Conference. May 13, 2009. Retrieved May 14, 2009.
    2. Branton, B.B. (April 8, 2010). "Covenant College Joins Great South Athletic Conference". The Chattanoogan. John Wilson. Archived from the original on April 11, 2010. Retrieved May 31, 2010.
    3. McCormack, Timmy (April 11, 2011). "Piedmont College Announces Plan To Join USA South Athletic Conference". Piedmont College Athletics. Archived from the original on August 24, 2011. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
    4. "LaGrange College accepts invitation to join USA South Athletic Conference". LaGrange Panthers. April 21, 2011. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
    5. "Pine Manor College Joins GSAC". Great South Athletic Conference. August 27, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
    6. "Trinity Washington University Joins GSAC". Great South Athletic Conference. September 7, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
    7. "Spelman eliminates athletics in favor of campus-wide wellness initiative". Inside Higher Ed. November 1, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
    8. "GSAC Adds Finlandia University, the University of Maine at Presque Isle and Mills College". Great South Athletic Conference. January 14, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
    9. "Agnes Scott, Salem and Wesleyan Set to Join USA South". May 6, 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
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