Great Plains Athletic Conference

Great Plains Athletic Conference
Great Plains Athletic Conference
Established	1969
Association	NAIA
Members	12
Sports fielded	21 men's: 11; women's: 10; ;
Region	Central United States
Former names	Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1969–1992); Nebraska-Iowa Athletic Conference (1992–2000)
Headquarters	Sioux City, Iowa
Commissioner	Corey Westra (since 2003)
Website	www.gpacsports.com
Locations

The Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Member institutions are located in Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The conference was founded in 1969 as the Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NIAC), later becoming the Nebraska-Iowa Athletic Conference (1992) before being renamed the Great Plains Athletic Conference (2000).

History

The Great Plains Athletic Conference was founded on September 22, 1969, as the Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NIAC).[1] The first president of the conference was Art Nicolia (NWU) while Glen Hinkle (Doane) was the vice president and Roger Olsen (Dana) was the secretary/treasure. Jack Anderson (NWU) was named the first publicist on February 28, 1970.[2] The six charter members were Concordia University, Dana College, Doane University, Hastings College, Midland University, and Nebraska Wesleyan University.[3] With the addition of Northwestern College in 1992, the NIAC was renamed the Nebraska-Iowa Athletic Conference. The NIAC became the Great Plains Athletic Conference in 2000 with the addition of Dakota Wesleyan University, Dordt University, Mount Marty University, and the University of Sioux Falls. Later, Briar Cliff University and Morningside University joined the GPAC in 2002 and 2003 respectively. The College of Saint Mary, a women's only institution, joined in 2015. In 2018, University of Jamestown joined the conference as a full-member, while Presentation College joined the conference as an associate member. All former members of the NIAC remain affiliated with the GPAC except for Dana College, which closed in 2010, the University of Sioux Falls, which left the conference in 2011, and Nebraska Wesleyan University, which left the conference in 2016. Paul Clark was the commissioner of the GPAC when it formed in 2000. Corey Westra in Sioux City, Iowa, is the current commissioner of the league.[4]

Chronological timeline

1969 - On September 22, 1969, the GPAC was founded as the Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NIAC). Charter members included Concordia Teachers College (now Concordia University of Nebraska), Dana College, Doane College (now Doane University), Hastings College, Midland Lutheran College (now Midland University) and Nebraska Wesleyan University, effective beginning the 1969-70 academic year.

1992 - Northwestern College of Iowa joined the NIAC. Therefore the NIAC was renamed as the Nebraska-Iowa Athletic Conference (NIAC), effective the 1992-93 academic year.

2000 - Dakota Wesleyan University, Dordt College (now Dordt University), Mount Marty College (now Mount Marty University) and the University of Sioux Falls joined the NIAC. Therefore the NIAC was renamed as the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC), effective the 2000-01 academic year.

2002 - Briar Cliff College (now Briar Cliff University) joined the GPAC, effective the 2002-03 academic year.

2003 - Morningside College (now Morningside University) joined the GPAC, effective the 2003-04 academic year.

2010 - Dana left the GPAC as the school announced that it would close, effective after the 2009-10 academic year.

2011 - Sioux Falls left the GPAC to move upto the Division II ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (beginning as an Division II Independent, and later on the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) since the 2012-13 academic year), effective after the 2010-11 academic year.

2015 - The College of Saint Mary joined the GPAC, effective the 2015-16 academic year.

2016 - Nebraska Wesleyan left the GPAC and the NAIA to fully align in the Division III ranks of the NCAA (during that time, they held dual membership with both the NAIA and the NCAA), primarily competing as a member of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC; now known as the American Rivers Conference), effective after the 2015-16 academic year.

2018 - The University of Jamestown joined the GPAC, effective the 2018-19 academic year.

2018 - Presentation College joined the GPAC as an associate member for men's and women's soccer, effective the 2018 fall season (2018-19 academic year).

Member schools

Current members

The GPAC currently has 12 full members, all are private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined
Briar Cliff University	Sioux City, Iowa	1930	Catholic	1,150	Chargers	2002
Concordia University, Nebraska	Seward, Nebraska	1894	Lutheran LCMS	2,200	Bulldogs	1969
Dakota Wesleyan University	Mitchell, South Dakota	1885	United Methodist	895	Tigers	2000
Doane University	Crete, Nebraska	1872	United Church of Christ	1,000	Tigers	1969
Dordt University	Sioux Center, Iowa	1955	Christian Reformed	1,454	Defenders	2000
Hastings College	Hastings, Nebraska	1882	Presbyterian	1,150	Broncos	1969
University of Jamestown	Jamestown, North Dakota	1883	Presbyterian	1,000	Jimmies	2018
Midland University	Fremont, Nebraska	1883	Lutheran ELCA	1,394	Warriors	1969
Morningside University	Sioux City, Iowa	1894	United Methodist	2,824	Mustangs	2003
Mount Marty University	Yankton, South Dakota	1936	Catholic	1,100	Lancers	2000
Northwestern College	Orange City, Iowa	1882	Reformed	1,099	Red Raiders	1992
College of Saint Mary[lower-alpha 1]	Omaha, Nebraska	1923	Catholic	1,070	Flames	2015

Notes

This institution is a women's college, therefore it does not compete in men's sports.

Associate member

The GPAC currently has one associate member, which is also a private school:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	GPAC sport	Primary conference
Presentation College[5]	Aberdeen, South Dakota	1951	Catholic	786	Saints	2018–19^m.soc. 2018–19^w.soc.	men's soccer women's soccer	North Star

Former members

The GPAC had three former full members, all were private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Left	Subsequent conference	Current conference
Dana College	Blair, Nebraska	1884	Lutheran ELCA	N/A	Vikings	1969–70	2009–10	Closed in 2010
Nebraska Wesleyan University	Lincoln, Nebraska	1887	United Methodist	1,600	Prairie Wolves	1969–70	2015–16[lower-alpha 1]	American Rivers (NCAA D-III) (2016–17 to present)
University of Sioux Falls	Sioux Falls, South Dakota	1883	American Baptist	1,628	Cougars	2000–01	2010–11	NAIA/D-II Independent (2011–12)	Northern Sun (NCAA D-II) (2012–13 to present)

Notes

Nebraska Wesleyan was also NCAA D-III Independent until after the 2015–16 school year, therefore it help dual membership with the NAIA and the NCAA.

Membership timeline

Full member (all sports) Full member (non-football) Associate member

Notes

References

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.

[5] This institution is a women's college, therefore it does not compete in men's sports.

[7] Nebraska Wesleyan was also NCAA D-III Independent until after the 2015–16 school year, therefore it help dual membership with the NAIA and the NCAA.

[1] ttps://www.newspapers.com/image/72270886/

[2] ttps://www.newspapers.com/image/68014343/

[3] History of the GPAC

[4] About Commissioner Corey Westra

[6] Presentation College to join GPAC as affiliate member in soccer | GPACSports.com

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