Great American Conference


The Great American Conference is a [List of National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA conferences|college athletic conference] affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level, with headquarters located in Russellville, Arkansas. Athletic competition began play during the 2011–12 school year. Its twelve all-sports member schools are located in Arkansas and Oklahoma in the South Central United States. The conference also has four men's soccer affiliate members, two in Kansas and two in Oklahoma.
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History

The conference's charter members previously competed in the Lone Star Conference and the Gulf South Conference 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 University 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.
On July 11, 2014, the NCAA Division II Membership Committee approved the membership application for Oklahoma Baptist University to move from the NAIA to NCAA Division II and it joined the conference for the 2015–16 season.
The GAC and the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association announced a partnership in June 2018 to combine their men's tennis and men's soccer leagues in both sports from the 2019–20 academic year. Under the agreement, the MIAA will organize the tennis league and the GAC will organize the soccer league.

Chronological timeline

  • 2011 - The Great American Conference was founded. Charter members included six schools from the state of Arkansas and three schools from the state of Oklahoma effective beginning the 2011–12 academic year.
  • 2012 - Northwestern Oklahoma State and Southern Nazarene joined the GAC effective in the 2012–13 academic year.
  • 2015 - Oklahoma Baptist joined the GAC effective in the 2015–16 academic year.
  • 2015 - Oklahoma Christian University and Rogers State University joined the GAC as affiliate members for men's and women's track & field outdoor effective in the 2016 spring season. Both schools were Heartland Conference full members at this time.
  • 2019 - Oklahoma Christian and Rogers State left the GAC as affiliate members for men's and women's track & field outdoor effective after the 2019 spring season due to moving to new primary conferences who sponsors the sports.
  • 2019 - Fort Hays State University, Newman University, Northeastern State University, and Rogers State joined the GAC as affiliate members for men's soccer effective in the 2019 fall season.

Member schools

Current members

InstitutionLocationFoundedEnrollmentNicknameColorsJoined
Arkansas Tech UniversityRussellville, Arkansas19098,808Wonder Boys
& Golden Suns		2011
Monticello, Arkansas19092,270Boll Weevils
& Cotton Blossoms		2011
East Central UniversityAda, Oklahoma19092,460Tigers2011
Harding UniversitySearcy, Arkansas19244,540Bisons
& Lady Bisons		2011
Henderson State UniversityArkadelphia, Arkansas18901,807Reddies2011
Northwestern Oklahoma State UniversityAlva, Oklahoma18971,732Rangers2012
Oklahoma Baptist UniversityShawnee, Oklahoma19101,409Bison2015
Ouachita Baptist UniversityArkadelphia, Arkansas18861,734Tigers2011
Southeastern Oklahoma State UniversityDurant, Oklahoma19093,022Savage Storm2011
Southern Arkansas UniversityMagnolia, Arkansas19093,250Muleriders2011
Southern Nazarene UniversityBethany, Oklahoma1899912Crimson Storm2012
Southwestern Oklahoma State UniversityWeatherford, Oklahoma19013,995Bulldogs2011

Affiliate members

  • Rogers State — track & field outdoor, track & field outdoor affiliate member in 2015–2019.

Membership timeline


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ImageSize = width:960 height:auto barincrement:24
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bar:1 color:Full from:2011 till:end text:Arkansas Tech
bar:2 color:Full from:2011 till:end text:Arkansas–Monticello
bar:3 color:Full from:2011 till:end text:East Central
bar:4 color:Full from:2011 till:end text:Harding
bar:5 color:Full from:2011 till:end text:Henderson State
bar:6 color:Full from:2011 till:end text:Ouachita Baptist
bar:7 color:Full from:2011 till:end text:Southeastern Oklahoma State
bar:8 color:Full from:2011 till:end text:Southern Arkansas
bar:9 color:Full from:2011 till:end text:Southwestern Oklahoma State
bar:10 color:Full from:2012 till:end text:Northwestern Oklahoma State
bar:11 color:Full from:2012 till:end text:Southern Nazarene
bar:12 color:Full from:2015 till:end text:Oklahoma Baptist
bar:13 color:AssocOS from:2015 till:2019 text:Oklahoma Christian
bar:14 color:AssocOS from:2015 till:2019 text:Rogers State
bar:14 color:AssocOS from:2019 till:end
bar:15 color:AssocOS from:2019 till:end text:Fort Hays State
bar:16 color:AssocOS from:2019 till:end text:Newman
bar:17 color:AssocOS from:2019 till:end text:Northeastern State
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:4 start:2012

Sports

The GAC sponsors championships in seven men's and eight women's sports.
Sport
Baseball
Basketball
Cross Country
Football
Golf
Soccer
Softball
Tennis
Track & Field Indoor
Track & Field Outdoor
Volleyball

Men's sponsored sports by school

  • † — Emerging sport; teams currently compete in Independent.

Women's sponsored sports by school

  • † — Emerging sport; teams currently compete in Independent.

Awards

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.
YearMaleFemale
2011–12Travis Kincheloe, Football Emily Kennemer, Softball
2012–13Mickey Hammer, Cross Country Amy Madden, Softball
2013–14Kevin Rodgers, Football Kristen Celsor, Basketball
2014–15Davis Richardson, Baseball Arielle Saunders, Basketball
2015–16Colin Pasque, Track & Field Autumn Suydam, Softball
2016–17Colin Pasque, Track & Field Kori Bullard, Volleyball / Basketball
2017–18Ty Reasnor, Football Kori Bullard, Volleyball / Basketball
2018–19Dylan McDearmon, Baseball Mariah Ewy, Softball
2019–20Mills Bryant, Football Abbie Winchester, T&F / Cross country
2020–21

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.
YearMaleFemale
2011–12Johnie Davis, Basketball Kayla Jackson, Softball
2012–13Kevin Rodgers, Football Roselis Silva, Basketball
2013–14Kevin Rodgers, Football Rebecka Surtevall, Golf
2014–15Michael Hearne, Golf Rebecka Surtevall, Golf
2015–16Corey Wood, Baseball Jalissa Gum, Softball
2016–17Trevor Rucker, Baseball Maddie Dow, Softball
2017–18Zach James, Golf Brooke Goad, Softball
2018–19Bryce Bray, Football Hailey Tucker, Basketball
2019–20Jhonathan Dunn, Basketball Kim Moosbacher, Tennis
2020–21Dorian Chaigneau, Track & Field Mahina Sauer, Softball

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.
SeasonSchool
2011–12Arkansas Tech
2012–13Arkansas Tech
2013–14Arkansas Tech
2014–15Arkansas Tech
2015–16Arkansas Tech
2016–17Harding

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.

Conference Champions

Current champions

SportSchool
Cross
Country
East Central
Kevin Matthews
Cross
Country
East Central
Anna Mora
FootballHarding
Soccer
Oklahoma Baptist
Harding
Soccer
Southwestern Oklahoma State
Harding
Volleyball
Harding
Southern Nazarene

SportSchool
Basketball
East Central
East Central
Basketball
Harding
Harding

SportSchool
BaseballSouthern Arkansas
Arkansas–Monticello
Golf
Henderson State
Nick Shapiro
Golf
Arkansas Tech
Elin Wahlin
SoftballHarding
Harding
Tennis
Oklahoma Baptist
Oklahoma Baptist
Tennis
Southeastern Oklahoma State
Southeastern Oklahoma State
Track
& Field
Outdoor		Harding
Harding

Total conference championships

Total conference postseason championships and football regular season championships won by each school.

Facilities

SchoolFootball
stadium		CapacityBasketball
arena		CapacityBaseball
stadium		Capacity
Arkansas TechThone Stadium at Buerkle Field6,500Tucker Coliseum3,500Tech Field600
Arkansas–MonticelloWillis Convoy Leslie Cotton Boll Stadium4,500Steelman Fieldhouse1,500Weevils Field600
East CentralNorris Field5,000Kerr Activities Center3,500Ken Turner Field250
HardingFirst Security Stadium6,500Rhodes Field House3,000Jerry Moore Field311
Henderson StateCarpenter-Haygood Stadium at Ruggles Field9,600Duke Wells Center3,000Clyde Berry Field1,000
Northwestern Oklahoma StateRanger Field6,000Percefull Fieldhouse2,100Myers Stadium500
Oklahoma BaptistCrain Family Stadium2,900Mabee Arena2,400Bison Field at Ford Park400
Ouachita BaptistCliff Harris Stadium5,225Bill Vining Arena2,500Rab Rodgers Field500
Southeastern Oklahoma StatePaul Laird Field9,000Bloomer Sullivan Arena3,600The Ballpark in Durant420
Southern ArkansasWilkins Stadium6,000W.T. Watson Athletic Center2,500Steve Goodheart Field1,000
Southern NazareneSNU Stadium2,500Sawyer Center5,000Cypert Athletic Complex300
Southwestern Oklahoma StateASAP Energy Field at Milam Stadium8,600Pioneer Cellular Event Center4,000Bulldog Field300

National Championships

NCAA Division II

Team and individual titles won prior to joining the GAC or by members in sports not sponsored by the GAC.
YearSchoolSport
2000Southeastern Oklahoma StateBaseball
2015Dallas Smith Wrestling

NAIA

YearSchool
1966Oklahoma Baptist
1981Southern Nazarene
2010Oklahoma Baptist

YearSchool
1982Southwestern Oklahoma State
1983Southwestern Oklahoma State
1985Southwestern Oklahoma State
1987Southwestern Oklahoma State
1989Southern Nazarene
1990Southwestern Oklahoma State
1992Arkansas Tech
1993Arkansas Tech
1994Southern Nazarene
1995Southern Nazarene
1996Southern Nazarene
1997Southern Nazarene
2003Southern Nazarene
2004Southern Nazarene

YearSchool
1993East Central
1996Southwestern Oklahoma State
1999Northwestern Oklahoma State

YearSchool
1999Southern Nazarene
2002Southern Nazarene

YearSchool
2012Oklahoma Baptist
2013Oklahoma Baptist
2014Oklahoma Baptist
2015Oklahoma Baptist

YearSchool
2013Oklahoma Baptist
2014Oklahoma Baptist
2015Oklahoma Baptist

YearSchool
2013Oklahoma Baptist

YearSchool
2005Oklahoma Baptist
2007Oklahoma Baptist
2010Oklahoma Baptist
2011Oklahoma Baptist
2013Oklahoma Baptist
2014Oklahoma Baptist
2015Oklahoma Baptist

YearSchool
1990Oklahoma Baptist
2007Oklahoma Baptist

YearSchool
2012Oklahoma Baptist

Championships and Postseason

  • — national tournament game.

Cross Country

NCAA Championships Results

;Men
YearSchool / IndividualFinish
2011East Central11th
2014Juan Pacheco 50th
2015East Central16th

;Women
YearSchool / IndividualFinish
2012Ewa Zaborowska 18th
2015Harding17th

Football

Bowl Games

The C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl held a Division II game from 2012 through 2018, with the GAC receiving the at-large selection in each of the first four years of the game. From 2013 through 2023, the GAC had a tie-in with the Live United Texarkana Bowl in which the highest non-playoff team received an automatic selection to the game. The Heritage Bowl, which began in 2017, has a at-large selection option with the GAC, and has invited a GAC team in every year since 2018.
YearGameSchoolOpponentScore
2012C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas BowlSouthern ArkansasMcMurryL 35–36
2013C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas BowlOuachita BaptistTarleton StateCancelled
2013Live United Texarkana BowlHardingTexas A&M–CommerceW 44–3
2014C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas BowlEast CentralTexas A&M–CommerceL 21–72
2014Live United Texarkana BowlSoutheastern Oklahoma StateCentral MissouriL 21–48
2015C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas BowlArkansas TechEastern New MexicoW 51–35
2015Live United Texarkana BowlSouthwestern Oklahoma StateCentral OklahomaL 21–38
2016Live United Texarkana BowlSouthern ArkansasTexas A&M–KingsvilleL 17–24
2017Live United Texarkana BowlArkansas TechPittsburg StateL 31–48
2018Heritage BowlArkansas–MonticelloEmporia StateL 22–30
2018Live United Texarkana BowlSouthern ArkansasMissouri WesternL 25–30
2019Heritage BowlSouthern ArkansasEastern New MexicoL 13–20
2019Live United Texarkana BowlHenderson StateMissouri WesternL 14–35
2021Heritage BowlOklahoma BaptistUT–Permian BasinW 24–21
2021Live United Texarkana BowlSoutheastern Oklahoma StateEmporia StateW 37–34
2022Heritage BowlEast CentralTexas A&M–KingsvilleW 38–21
2022Live United Texarkana BowlSoutheastern Oklahoma StateEmporia StateL 27–48
2023Heritage BowlSouthern NazareneEmporia StateL 24–55
2023Live United Texarkana BowlSouthern ArkansasMissouri WesternW 43–27

Men's Soccer

GAC All-Time Standings

Oklahoma Baptist ended their Men's program in 2020.

Baseball

GAC Champions

YearSeasonTournament
2012Southern ArkansasSouthern Arkansas
2013Southern ArkansasSouthern Arkansas
2014Arkansas TechSouthern Arkansas
2015Southern ArkansasSouthern Arkansas
2016Southwestern Oklahoma StateArkansas–Monticello
2017Southern ArkansasArkansas–Monticello
2018Arkansas–MonticelloSouthern Arkansas
2019Arkansas–MonticelloOklahoma Baptist
2021Arkansas TechHenderson State
2022Southern ArkansasSouthern Arkansas