Great Southwest Athletic Conference Explained

Great Southwest Athletic Conference
Founded:	1986
Association:	NAIA
Teams:	8
Sports:	17
Mens:	8
Womens:	9
Region:	Western United States
Headquarters:	Aliso Viejo, California
Commissioner:	Mike Daniels (2012–)
Website:	gsacsports.org
Map:	GSAC conference map.png
Map Size:	250

The Great Southwest Athletic Conference (GSAC), formerly known as the Golden State Athletic Conference, is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The conference commissioner is Mike Daniels. Conference leadership is shared among the member institutions. Seven of the eight 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 (now known as Jessup). Life Pacific joined in 2017 and Ottawa (AZ) joined in 2018 to bring the GSAC to 10 members.

The departures to the NCAA continued into the 2020s, with Westmont departing for the PacWest in 2023 and Jessup, Menlo, and Vanguard all following in 2024. To combat this, the GSAC added Benedictine–Mesa, Embry–Riddle at Prescott and Park–Gilbert, to bring membership back to 8 members. Immediately following these additions, the GSAC announced that it would undergo a rebrand to the Great Southwest Athletic Conference, to reflect its membership now including schools located outside of California.^[2]

Chronological timeline

1986 – The Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) was founded. Charter members included Azusa Pacific University, California Lutheran University (a.k.a. Cal Lutheran), 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, 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 in the 1987–88 academic year.
1989 – Cal Lutheran left the GSAC to become an independent (before joining the Division III ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) beginning the 1991–92 academic year) after the 1988–89 academic year.
1994 – Biola University joined the GSAC in the 1994–95 academic year.
1999 – Pacific Christian College (now Hope International University) and San Diego Christian College joined the GSAC in the 1999–2000 academic year.
2001 – The Master's College (now The Master's University) joined the GSAC in the 2001–02 academic year.
2011 – Cal Baptist left the GSAC and the NAIA to join the NCAA Division II ranks and the Pacific West Conference (PacWest) after the 2010–11 academic year.
2012 – Azusa Pacific, Fresno Pacific and Point Loma Nazarene left the GSAC and the NAIA to join the NCAA Division II ranks and the PacWest after the 2011–12 academic year.
2012 – Arizona Christian University joined the GSAC in the 2012–13 academic year.
2014 – William Jessup University (now Jessup University) joined the GSAC in the 2012–13 academic year.
2015 – Concordia–Irvine left the GSAC and the NAIA to join the NCAA Division II ranks and the PacWest after the 2014–15 academic year.
2015 – Menlo College joined the GSAC in the 2015–16 academic year.
2015 – Lewis–Clark State College joined the GSAC as an affiliate member for men's and women's tennis in the 2016 spring season (2015–16 academic year).
2017 – Biola left the GSAC and the NAIA to join the NCAA Division II ranks and the PacWest after the 2016–17 academic year.
2017 – Lewis–Clark State left the GSAC as an affiliate member for men's and women's tennis after the 2017 spring season (2016–17 academic year).
2017 – Life Pacific College (now Life Pacific University) joined the GSAC in the 2017–18 academic year.
2018 – Ottawa University–Arizona joined the GSAC in the 2018–19 academic year.
2022 – Westmont announced that it will move to the NCAA Division II ranks and join the PacWest beginning the 2023–24 academic year.
2022 – Menlo announced that it will move to the NCAA Division II ranks and join the PacWest, pending approval will be effective beginning the 2024–25 academic year.
2022 - San Diego Christian College announced they would be placing their athletic department on hiatus for the 2023-24 academic year.^[3]
2023 – Jessup and Vanguard announced that they will follow Menlo into both the NCAA Division II and the PacWest, pending approval.
2023 – Benedictine–Mesa, Embry–Riddle at Prescott, and Park–Gilbert announced their move from the California Pacific Conference to the GSAC, beginning the 2024–25 academic year. Saint Katherine also announced they would move from the CalPac to the GSAC at the same time; however, the school ceased operations before they could make the move.
2024 – The GSAC rebranded as the Great Southwest Athletic Conference, beginning the 2024-25 academic year.

Member schools

Current members

The GSAC currently has eight full members, all are private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined
Arizona Christian University	Glendale, Arizona	1960	Nondenominational	820	Firestorm	2012
Benedictine University at Mesa	Mesa, Arizona	2013	Catholic	340	Redhawks	2024
Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University–Prescott	Prescott, Arizona	1978	Nonsectarian	1,700	Eagles	2024
Hope International University	Fullerton, California	1928	Nondenominational	987	Royals	1999
Life Pacific University	San Dimas, California	1923	Foursquare Gospel	686	Warriors	2017
	Santa Clarita, California	1927	Nondenominational	2,600	Mustangs	2001
Ottawa University–Arizona	Surprise, Arizona	2015	American Baptist	750	Spirit	2018
Park University–Gilbert	Gilbert, Arizona	2018	Nonsectarian	300	Buccaneers	2024

Notes:

Affiliate members

The GSAC currently has one affiliate members, a private school:

Notes:

Former members

The GSAC had twelve former full members, all were private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Left	Subsequent conference(s)	Current conference
Azusa Pacific University	Azusa, California	1899	Interdenominational	8,539	Cougars	1986	2012	Pacific West (PacWest) (2012–present)
Biola University	La Mirada, California	1908	Nondenominational	5,942	Eagles	1994	2017	Pacific West (PacWest) (2017–present)
California Baptist University	Riverside, California	1950	Baptist	11,491	Lancers	1987	2011	Pacific West (PacWest) (2011–18)	Western (WAC) (2018–present)
California Lutheran University	Thousand Oaks, California	1959	Lutheran ELCA	3,298	Kingsmen &<br />Regals	1986	1989	NAIA/D-III Independent (1989–91)	Southern California (SCIAC) (1991–present)
Concordia University–Irvine	Irvine, California	1976	Lutheran LCMS	2,564	Eagles	1987	2015	Pacific West (PacWest) (2015–present)
Fresno Pacific University	Fresno, California	1944	Mennonite	3,700	Sunbirds	1986	2012	Pacific West (PacWest) (2012–present)
Jessup University	Rocklin, California	1939	Nondenominational	1,743	Warriors	2014	2024	Pacific West (PacWest) (2024–present)
Menlo College	Atherton, California	1927	Nonsectarian	750	Oaks	2015	2024	Pacific West (PacWest) (2024–present)
Point Loma Nazarene University	San Diego, California	1902	Nazarene	3,487	Sea Lions	1986	2012	Pacific West (PacWest) (2012–present)
San Diego Christian College	Santee, California	1970	Nondenominational	916	Hawks	1999	2023	N/A
Vanguard University of Southern California	Costa Mesa, California	1920	Assemblies of God	2,552	Lions	1986	2024	Pacific West (PacWest) (2024–present)
Westmont College	Montecito, California	1937	Christian	1,313	Warriors	1986	2023	Pacific West (PacWest) (2023–present)

Notes:

Former affiliate members

The GSAC had three former affiliate members, one was a public school and two were private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Left	GSAC sport(s)	Primary conference
Lewis–Clark State College	Lewiston, Idaho	1893	Public	4,200	Warriors &<br />Lady Warriors	2015–16; 2015–16	2016–17; 2016–17	men's tennis; women's tennis	Cascade (CCC)
Marymount California University	Rancho Palos Verdes, California	1932	Catholic	923	Mariners	2020–21; 2020–21	2021–22; 2021–22		Closed in 2022
	San Marcos, California	2010	Eastern Orthodox	240	Firebirds	2020–21; 2020–21	2023–24; 2023–24		Closed in 2024

Notes:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyyImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20Period = from:1986 till:2031TimeAxis = orientation:horizontalPlotArea = right:5 left:5 bottom:50 top:5

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PlotData = width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s

bar:1 color:FullxF from:1986 till:2012 text:Azusa Pacific (1986–2012) bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:end text:PacWest

bar:2 color:FullxF from:1986 till:1989 text:California Lutheran (1986–1989) bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:1989 till:1991 text: bar:2 shift:(60) color:OtherC2 from:1991 till:end text:SCIAC

bar:3 color:FullxF from:1986 till:2012 text:Fresno Pacific (1986–2012) bar:3 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:end text:PacWest

bar:4 color:FullxF from:1986 till:2012 text:Point Loma Nazarene (1986–2012) bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:end text:PacWest

bar:5 color:FullxF from:1986 till:2024 text:Vanguard (1986–2024) bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:2024 till:end text:PacWest

bar:6 color:FullxF from:1986 till:2023 text:Westmont (1986–2023) bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:2023 till:end text:PacWest

bar:7 color:FullxF from:1987 till:2011 text:California Baptist (1987–2011) bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:2011 till:2018 text:PacWest bar:7 color:OtherC2 from:2018 till:end text:WAC

bar:8 color:FullxF from:1987 till:2015 text:Concordia–Irvine (1987–2015) bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:2015 till:end text:PacWest

bar:9 color:FullxF from:1994 till:2017 text:Biola (1994–2017) bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:2017 till:end text:PacWest

bar:10 color:FullxF from:1999 till:end text:Hope International (1999–present)

bar:11 color:FullxF from:1999 till:2023 text:San Diego Christian (1999–2023)

bar:12 color:FullxF from:2001 till:end text:The Master's (2001–present)

bar:13 color:FullxF from:2012 till:end text:Arizona Christian (2012–present)

bar:14 color:FullxF from:2014 till:2024 text:Jessup (2014–2024) bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:2024 till:end text:PacWest

bar:15 color:FullxF from:2015 till:2024 text:Menlo (2015–2024) bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:2024 till:end text:PacWest

bar:16 shift:(-110) color:AssocOS from:2015 till:2017 text:Lewis–Clark State (2015–2017) bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:2017 till:2020 text:Frontier bar:16 color:OtherC2 from:2020 till:end text:CCC

bar:17 color:FullxF from:2017 till:end text:Life Pacific (2017–present)

bar:18 color:FullxF from:2018 till:end text:Ottawa (AZ) (2018–present)

bar:19 shift:(-40) color:AssocOS from:2020 till:2022 text:Marymount (CA) (2020–2022)

bar:20 color:AssocOS from:2020 till:2024 text:St. Katherine (2020–2024)

bar:21 color:AssocOS from:2020 till:end text:Westcliff (2020–present)

bar:22 shift:(-40) color:FullxF from:2024 till:end text:Benedictine Mesa (2024–future)

bar:23 shift:(-40) color:FullxF from:2024 till:end text:Embry–Riddle Prescott (2024–future)

bar:24 shift:(-40) color:FullxF from:2024 till:end text:Park–Gilbert (2024–future)

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:4 start:1988

TextData = fontsize:M textcolor:black pos:(0,25) tabs:(400-center) text:^"Great Southwest Athletic Conference membership history"

> If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following three options (use only the colors that are used in the graphic.) Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space.

Notes and References

News: Staff. Honolulu Star-Advertiser. PacWest conference expands to 14 schools. June 2, 2011. June 2, 2011.
A New Era Has Begun. Great Southwest Athletic COnference. July 2, 2024. July 2, 2024.
https://www.sdcchawks.com/general/2022-23/releases/Athletics_Message