Great Plains Athletic Conference

This article is about the current NAIA athletic conference. For the former NCAA college athletic conference that aligned with the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, see Great Plains Athletic Conference (NCAA).

Great Plains Athletic Conference

Established	1969
Association	NAIA
Members	11
Sports fielded	19 (men's: 10; women's: 9)
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 and South Dakota. The conference was founded in 1969 as the Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, 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 in 1969 as the Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The six charter members were Concordia University, Dana College, Doane College, Hastings College, Midland Lutheran College, and Nebraska Wesleyan University.^[1] 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 College, Mount Marty College, and University of Sioux Falls. Later, Briar Cliff University and Morningside College joined the GPAC in 2002 and 2003 respectively. All former members of the NIAC remain affiliated with the GPAC except for Dana College, which closed in 2010, and Nebraska Wesleyan University, which left the conference in 2016. Corey Westra in Sioux City, Iowa, is the commissioner of the league.^[2]

Member schools

Current members

Institution	Location	Founded	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined
Briar Cliff University	Sioux City, Iowa	1930	1,150	Chargers	2002
Concordia University, Nebraska	Seward, Nebraska	1894	2,200	Bulldogs	1969
Dakota Wesleyan University	Mitchell, South Dakota	1885	780	Tigers	2000
Doane University	Crete, Nebraska	1872	1,000	Tigers	1969
Dordt College	Sioux Center, Iowa	1955	1,400	Defenders	2000
Hastings College	Hastings, Nebraska	1882	1,150	Broncos	1969
Midland University	Fremont, Nebraska	1883	1,394	Warriors	1969
Morningside College	Sioux City, Iowa	1894	1,272	Mustangs	2003
Mount Marty College	Yankton, South Dakota	1936	1,100	Lancers	2000
Northwestern College	Orange City, Iowa	1882	1,200	Red Raiders	1992
Saint Mary College !College of Saint Mary	Omaha, Nebraska	1923	1,070	Flames	2015

College of Saint Mary — women's institution, does not field men's sports.

Future member

Institution	Location	Founded	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Current Conference
Jamestown !University of Jamestown^[3]	Jamestown, North Dakota	1883	967	Jimmies	2018	North Star

Former members

Institution	Location	Founded	Nickname	Joined	Left	Current Conference
Dana College	Blair, Nebraska	1884	Vikings	1969	2010	Closed in 2010
Nebraska Wesleyan University	Lincoln, Nebraska	1887	Prairie Wolves	1969	2016	Iowa (NCAA D-III)
Sioux Falls !University of Sioux Falls	Sioux Falls, South Dakota	1883	Cougars	2000	2011	Northern Sun (NCAA D-II)

Membership timeline

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

Conference sports
Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	Y
Basketball	Y	Y
Cross Country	Y	Y
Football	Y
Golf	Y	Y
Soccer	Y	Y
Softball		Y
Tennis	Y	Y
Track & Field Indoor	Y	Y
Track & Field Outdoor	Y	Y
Volleyball		Y
Wrestling	Y

References

External links

Official website

Great Plains Athletic Conference

Briar Cliff Concordia (Nebraska) Dakota Wesleyan Doane Dordt Hastings Midland Morningside Mount Marty^† Northwestern (Iowa) College of Saint Mary^† ^† does not compete in football

NAIA conferences

Football conferences	Central States Football League Frontier Conference Great Plains Athletic Conference Heart of America Athletic Conference Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Mid-South Conference Mid-States Football Association North Star Athletic Association The Sun Conference NAIA independent football schools

Non-football conferences	American Midwest Conference Appalachian Athletic Conference California Pacific Conference Cascade Collegiate Conference Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Crossroads League Golden State Athletic Conference Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Red River Athletic Conference River States Conference Sooner Athletic Conference Southern States Athletic Conference Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference NAIA independent schools

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