| Great South Athletic Conference | |
| Founded: | 1999 |
| Dissolved: | 2016 |
| Conference: | NCAA |
| Division: | Division III |
| Teams: | 5 |
| Sports: | 6 |
| Mens: | 0 |
| Womens: | 6 |
| Region: | Southeast |
| Headquarters: | Decatur, Georgia |
| Map: | GSAC-USA-states.png |
| Map Size: | 250 |
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.
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, who would later compete in the NCAA Division II Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) (now currently competing in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC, now known as the HBCU Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) as of 2024) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in 2010-11); while Fisk, another charter member, dropped out of the conference following the 2005-06 season, to join the NAIA (and eventually compete in the GCAC).
Three schools (also charter members of the GSAC) left for the USA South Athletic Conference (USA South) 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 the 2013–14 season.[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.
The GSAC had eight final full members before the conference dissolved, all but one were private schools:
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Left | Subsequent conference | Current conference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agnes Scott College | Decatur, Georgia | 1889 | Presbyterian | 914 | Scottish Terriers | 2002 | 2016 | USA South (2016–22) | C.C. of the South (CCS) (2022–present) | |
| Finlandia University | Hancock, Michigan | 1896 | Lutheran ELCA | 507 | Lions | 2013 | 2016 | D-III Independent (2016–17) American (ACAA) (2017–20) | Coast to Coast (C2C) (2020–present) | |
| Mills College | Oakland, California | 1854 | Nonsectarian | 1,345 | Cyclones | 2013 | 2016 | various | ||
| Mount Mary University | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | 1913 | Catholic | 1,209 | Blue Angels | 2015 | 2016 | D-III Independent (2016–18) American (ACAA) (2018–20) | Coast to Coast (C2C) (2020–present) | |
| Pine Manor College | Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts | 1911 | Nonsectarian | N/A | Gators | 2012 | 2016 | various | ||
| Salem College | Winston-Salem, North Carolina | 1772 | Moravian | 565 | Spirits | 2009 | 2016 | USA South (2016–present) | ||
| Santa Cruz, California | 1965 | Public | 19,700 | Banana Slugs | 2015 | 2016 | D-III Independent (2016–19) American (ACAA) (2019–20) | Coast to Coast (C2C) (2020–present) | ||
| Wesleyan College | Macon, Georgia | 1839 | United Methodist | 550 | Wolves | 2003 | 2016 | USA South (2016–22) | C.C. of the South (CCS) (2022–present) | |
The GSAC had ten other former full members during the conference's existence, all but one were private schools:
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Left | Subsequent conference | Current conference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Covenant College | Lookout Mountain, Georgia | 1955 | Presbyterian | 1,282 | Scots &<br>Lady Scots | 2010 | 2013 | USA South (2013–22) | C.C. of the South (CCS) (2022–present) | |
| Fisk University | Nashville, Tennessee | 1866 | U.C.C. | 910 | Bulldogs | 1999 | 2006 | D-III Independent (2006–09) NAIA Independent (2009–10; 2014–21) | Gulf Coast (GCAC) (2010–14; 2021–present) | |
| Huntingdon College | Montgomery, Alabama | 1854 | United Methodist | 900 | Hawks | 2002 | 2013 | USA South (2013–22) | C.C. of the South (CCS) (2022–present) | |
| LaGrange College | LaGrange, Georgia | 1831 | United Methodist | 1,137 | Panthers | 1999 | 2012 | USA South (2012–22) | C.C. of the South (CCS) (2022–present) | |
| Presque Isle, Maine | 1903 | Public | 1,469 | Owls | 2013 | 2015 | D-III Independent (2015–17) American (ACAA) (2017–18) | North Atlantic (NAC) (2018–present) | ||
| Maryville College | Maryville, Tennessee | 1819 | Presbyterian | 1,103 | Scots | 1999 | 2012 | USA South (2012–22) | C.C. of the South (CCS) (2022–present) | |
| Piedmont College | Demorest, Georgia | 1897 | U.C.C. &<br>N.A.C.C.C. | 2,640 | Lions | 1999 | 2012 | USA South (2012–22) | C.C. of the South (CCS) (2022–present) | |
| Spelman College | Atlanta, Georgia | 1881 | Nonsectarian | N/A | Jaguars | 2004 | 2012 | N/A | ||
| Stillman College | Tuscaloosa, Alabama | 1876 | Presbyterian | 1,000 | Tigers | 1999 | 2002 | Southern (SIAC) (2002–16) NAIA Independent (2016–18) | Southern States (SSAC) (2018–present) | |
| Trinity Washington University | Washington, D.C. | 1897 | Catholic | 2,100 | Tigers | 2012 | 2015 | D-III Independent (2015–present) | ||
The GSAC had one former affiliate member that did not later become a full member during the conference's existence, which was also a private school:
DateFormat = yyyy
ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20
Period = from:1999 till:2024
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph, use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<#
Colors =
id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7) id:line value:black id:bg value:white id:Full value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports id:FullxF value:rgb(0.551,0.824,0.777) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football id:AssocF value:rgb(0.98,0.5,0.445) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.5,0.691,0.824) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in some sports, but not all (consider identifying in legend or a footnote) id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference where OtherC1 has already been used, to distinguish the two
PlotData=
width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s
bar:1 color:Full from:1999 till:2006 text:Fisk (1999–2006) bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2006 till:2009 text:D-III Ind. bar:1 shift:(-10) color:OtherC2 from:2009 till:2010 text:NAIA Ind. bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2010 till:2014 text:GCAC bar:1 color:OtherC2 from:2014 till:2021 text:NAIA Ind. bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2021 till:end text:GCAC
bar:2 color:Full from:1999 till:2012 text:LaGrange (1999–2012) bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2022 text:USA South bar:2 color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:end text:CCS
bar:3 color:Full from:1999 till:2012 text:Maryville (1999–2012) bar:3 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2022 text:USA South bar:3 color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:end text:CCS
bar:4 color:Full from:1999 till:2012 text:Piedmont (1999–2012) bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2022 text:USA South bar:4 color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:end text:CCS
bar:5 color:Full from:1999 till:2002 text:Stillman (1999–2002) bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:2002 till:2016 text:SIAC bar:5 color:OtherC2 from:2016 till:2018 text:NAIA Ind. bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:2018 till:end text:SSAC
bar:6 color:Full from:2002 till:2012 text:Agnes Scott (2002–2016) bar:6 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2016 bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:2016 till:2022 text:USA South bar:6 color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:end text:CCS
bar:7 color:Full from:2002 till:2012 text:Huntingdon (2002–2013) bar:7 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2013 bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:2022 text:USA South bar:7 color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:end text:CCS
bar:8 color:Full from:2003 till:2012 text:Spelman (2003–2013) bar:8 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2013
bar:9 color:Full from:2003 till:2012 text:Wesleyan (Ga.) (2003–2016) bar:9 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2016 bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:2016 till:2022 text:USA South bar:9 color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:end text:CCS
bar:10 color:Full from:2009 till:2012 text:Salem (2009–2016) bar:10 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2016 bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:2016 till:end text:USA South
bar:11 color:Full from:2010 till:2012 text:Covenant (2010–2013) bar:11 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2013 bar:11 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:2022 text:USA South bar:11 color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:end text:CCS
bar:12 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2016 text:Pine Manor (2012–2016) bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:2016 till:2017 text:D-III Ind. bar:12 shift:(10) color:OtherC2 from:2017 till:2020 text:ACAA bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:2021 text:C2C
bar:13 shift:(-40) color:FullxF from:2012 till:2015 text:Trinity Washington (2012–2015) bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:2015 till:end text:D-III Ind.
bar:14 color:AssocOS from:2012 till:2013 text: bar:14 shift:(-30) color:FullxF from:2013 till:2016 text:Finlandia (2013–2016) bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:2016 till:2017 text:D-III Ind. bar:14 shift:(10) color:OtherC2 from:2017 till:2020 text:ACAA bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:end text:C2C
bar:15 shift:(-80) color:FullxF from:2013 till:2015 text:Maine–Presque Isle (2013–2015) bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:2015 till:2017 text:D-III Ind. bar:15 color:OtherC2 from:2017 till:2018 text:ACAA bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:2018 till:end text:NAC
bar:16 color:FullxF from:2013 till:2016 text:Mills (2013–2016) bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:2016 till:2017 text:D-III Ind. bar:16 shift:(10) color:OtherC2 from:2017 till:2020 text:ACAA bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:end text:C2C
bar:17 color:AssocOS from:2013 till:2015 text:Rust (2013–2015; softball)
bar:18 color:AssocOS from:2014 till:2015 text: bar:18 shift:(-90) color:FullxF from:2015 till:2016 text:Mount Mary (2015–2016) bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:2016 till:2018 text:D-III Ind. bar:18 color:OtherC2 from:2018 till:2020 text:ACAA bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:end text:C2C
bar:19 color:AssocOS from:2014 till:2015 text: bar:19 shift:(-60) color:FullxF from:2015 till:2016 text:UCSC (2015–2016) bar:19 color:OtherC1 from:2016 till:2019 text:D-III Ind. bar:19 color:OtherC2 from:2019 till:2020 text:ACAA bar:19 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:end text:C2C
bar:N color:green from:1999 till:2012 text:Great South Athletic Conference bar:N color:yellow from:2012 till:2016 text:Women's sports-only GSAC bar:N color:blue from:2016 till:end text:Post-GSAC
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:2000
TextData = fontsize:M textcolor:black pos:(250,30) # tabs:(0-center) text:"Great South Athletic Conference membership history"
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.