Great Plains Athletic Conference
Encyclopedia
The Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the NAIA
. Member institutions are located in Iowa
, Nebraska
and South Dakota
. The conference was originally 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).
Former members:
, men's and women's basketball
, men’s and women's cross country
, men's football
, men's and women's golf
, men’s and women’s soccer, women's softball
, men’s and women's tennis
, men's and women's indoor track and field
, men's and women's outdoor track and field
, and women's volleyball
. As of the 2006–07 season, wrestling
became an official conference sport.
, Dana College
, Doane College
, Hastings College
, Midland Lutheran College
, and Nebraska Wesleyan University
. With the addition of Northwestern College
in 1992, the NIAC was renamed the Nebraska-Iowa Athletic Conference. The NIAC was transformed into the Great Plains Athletic Conference in 2000 with the addition of Dakota Wesleyan University
, Dordt College
, Mount Marty College
, and University of Sioux Falls
. All former members of the NIAC remain affiliated with the GPAC except for Dana College
, which closed in 2010. Corey Westra in Sioux City, Iowa, is the commissioner of the league.
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...
. Member institutions are located in Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
and South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
. The conference was originally 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).
Members (and year joined)
- Briar Cliff UniversityBriar Cliff UniversityBriar Cliff University is a private, Franciscan Roman Catholic liberal arts university located in Sioux City, Iowa, United States. -History:In March 1929, Mother Mary Dominica Wieneke, Major Superior of...
Chargers (2002) - Concordia University, Nebraska Bulldogs (1969)
- Dakota Wesleyan UniversityDakota Wesleyan UniversityDakota Wesleyan University is a four-year university located in Mitchell, South Dakota, founded in 1885, that is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The student body averages slightly less than 800 students...
Tigers (2000) - Doane CollegeDoane CollegeDoane College is a private liberal arts college in Crete, Nebraska, United States, with additional campuses located in Lincoln and Grand Island.-History:...
Tigers (1969) - Dordt CollegeDordt CollegeDordt College is a private, Christian, liberal arts college located in Sioux Center, Iowa. It was founded in 1955 and is affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church. The college name is a reference to the Synod of Dort....
Defenders (2000) - Hastings CollegeHastings CollegeHastings College is a private, undergraduate, four-year, residential liberal arts college in Hastings, Nebraska, USA.- History :The college was founded in 1882 by a group of men and women seeking to establish a Presbyterian college dedicated to high academic and cultural standards...
Broncos (1969) - Midland University Warriors (1969)
- Morningside CollegeMorningside CollegeMorningside College is a private, liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church located in Sioux City, Iowa. Founded in 1894 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, Morningside College is a private, four-year, co-educational liberal arts institution. Morningside has 21 buildings on a ...
Mustangs (2003) - Mount Marty CollegeMount Marty CollegeMount Marty College, an academic community in the Roman Catholic Benedictine liberal arts tradition, is located in Yankton, South Dakota. Mount Marty is a private, Roman Catholic, Benedictine co-educational liberal arts college...
(2000) Lancers (no football) - Nebraska Wesleyan UniversityNebraska Wesleyan UniversityNebraska Wesleyan University is a private, coeducational university located in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was founded in 1887 by Nebraska Methodists. As of 2007, it has 1,600 full-time students and 300 faculty and staff. The school teaches in the tradition of a liberal arts college education....
Prairie Wolves (1969) (also an NCAA Division III member in certain sports) - Northwestern CollegeNorthwestern College (Iowa)Northwestern College is a private Christian liberal arts college located in Orange City, Iowa. It is also known as Northwestern IA. It is affiliated with the Reformed Church in America . Northwestern began as an academy in 1882. It was then upgraded to junior college status in 1928...
Red Raiders (1992)
Former members:
- Dana College Vikings (1969–2010; ceased operations on July 1, 2010)
- University of Sioux FallsUniversity of Sioux FallsThe University of Sioux Falls is a private, liberal arts college affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. It is also commonly called USF.-History:...
Cougars (2000–2011; joined Northern Sun Intercollegiate ConferenceNorthern Sun Intercollegiate ConferenceThe Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. Nine of its members are in Minnesota, with two members in South Dakota and one member each in the states of Iowa, Nebraska and North Dakota. It participates in the NCAA's...
)
Sponsored sports
The GPAC sponsors intercollegiate competition in men's baseballBaseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, men's and women's basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, men’s and women's cross country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
, men's football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, men's and women's golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, men’s and women’s soccer, women's softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
, men’s and women's tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, men's and women's indoor track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
, men's and women's outdoor track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
, and women's volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
. As of the 2006–07 season, wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
became an official conference sport.
History
The Great Plains Athletic Conference was founded in 1969 as the Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The six charter members were Concordia UniversityConcordia University, Seward
Concordia University, Nebraska, is a private, coeducational university located in Seward, Nebraska. It is affiliated with the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod and part of its ten-member Concordia University System...
, Dana College
Dana College
Dana College is a now defunct baccalaureate college located in Blair, Nebraska. Its rural 150-acre campus is approximately 25 miles northwest of Omaha, and overlooks a portion of the Missouri River Valley....
, Doane College
Doane College
Doane College is a private liberal arts college in Crete, Nebraska, United States, with additional campuses located in Lincoln and Grand Island.-History:...
, Hastings College
Hastings College
Hastings College is a private, undergraduate, four-year, residential liberal arts college in Hastings, Nebraska, USA.- History :The college was founded in 1882 by a group of men and women seeking to establish a Presbyterian college dedicated to high academic and cultural standards...
, Midland Lutheran College
Midland Lutheran College
Midland University, formerly Midland Lutheran College, is a private liberal arts college, located in Fremont, Nebraska, USA, and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America...
, and Nebraska Wesleyan University
Nebraska Wesleyan University
Nebraska Wesleyan University is a private, coeducational university located in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was founded in 1887 by Nebraska Methodists. As of 2007, it has 1,600 full-time students and 300 faculty and staff. The school teaches in the tradition of a liberal arts college education....
. With the addition of Northwestern College
Northwestern College (Iowa)
Northwestern College is a private Christian liberal arts college located in Orange City, Iowa. It is also known as Northwestern IA. It is affiliated with the Reformed Church in America . Northwestern began as an academy in 1882. It was then upgraded to junior college status in 1928...
in 1992, the NIAC was renamed the Nebraska-Iowa Athletic Conference. The NIAC was transformed into the Great Plains Athletic Conference in 2000 with the addition of Dakota Wesleyan University
Dakota Wesleyan University
Dakota Wesleyan University is a four-year university located in Mitchell, South Dakota, founded in 1885, that is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The student body averages slightly less than 800 students...
, Dordt College
Dordt College
Dordt College is a private, Christian, liberal arts college located in Sioux Center, Iowa. It was founded in 1955 and is affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church. The college name is a reference to the Synod of Dort....
, Mount Marty College
Mount Marty College
Mount Marty College, an academic community in the Roman Catholic Benedictine liberal arts tradition, is located in Yankton, South Dakota. Mount Marty is a private, Roman Catholic, Benedictine co-educational liberal arts college...
, and University of Sioux Falls
University of Sioux Falls
The University of Sioux Falls is a private, liberal arts college affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. It is also commonly called USF.-History:...
. All former members of the NIAC remain affiliated with the GPAC except for Dana College
Dana College
Dana College is a now defunct baccalaureate college located in Blair, Nebraska. Its rural 150-acre campus is approximately 25 miles northwest of Omaha, and overlooks a portion of the Missouri River Valley....
, which closed in 2010. Corey Westra in Sioux City, Iowa, is the commissioner of the league.