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
Great Plains Athletic Conference
100km 62miles
Concordia
Waldorf
Ottawa
Kansas Wesleyan
Central Christian
Jamestown
Saint Mary
Morningside
Briar Cliff
Mount Marty
Dordt
Dakota Wesleyan
Northwestern (IA)
Midland
Hastings
Doane
Location of GPAC members: current, affiliate, departing, future
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]
On January 17, 2023, Presentation will end its affiliate status with the GPAC as it announced that it will close, effective that spring.[5]
1992 –
Northwestern College of Iowa joined the NIAC. Therefore, the NIAC has been rebranded as the Nebraska-Iowa Athletic Conference (NIAC), beginning the 1992–93 academic year.
2016 – Nebraska Wesleyan left the GPAC and the NAIA to fully align in the
NCAA Division III ranks (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) after the 2015–16 academic year.
2021 –
Kansas Wesleyan University joined the GPAC as an affiliate member for men's volleyball in the 2022 fall season (2021–22 academic year).
2023 - Presentation left the GPAC as an affiliate member for men's and women's soccer as the school announced that it would close after the 2022-23 academic year.
2023 -
Waldorf University joined the GPAC as an affiliate member in both men's and women's soccer effective the 2023-24 academic year.
2023 - Waldorf will join the GPAC as a full member effective the 2024-25 academic year.[6]
2023 - On October 10, GPAC presidents voted to remove Jamestown (who is pursuing a move to
NCAA Division II) from the GPAC at the end of the 2023-24 academic year.[7]
Member schools
Current members
The GPAC currently has 12 full members, all are
private schools: