The Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the NAIA

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...

's Division I. Member institutions are located in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, USA.

The GCAC was established in 1981, with the following charter institutions: Belhaven College, Dillard University, Louisiana College, Spring Hill College, Tougaloo College, William Carey University, and Xavier University of Louisiana. The first sports were men 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...

 and men'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...

, with other sports soon following.

Louisiana College left the GCAC to join NCAA Division III, American Southwest Conference in 2000, while Talladega College, who joined in 1999, left in 2002. In 2010, Belhaven College, Loyola University New Orleans, Spring Hill College, University of Mobile, and William Carey University left the conference to join the Southern States Athletic Conference. In 2010 LSU-Shreveport left the conference to join the Red River Athletic Conference. In January 2011, it was announced Talladega College will join the conference starting in the 2011-12 academic year. Talladega was a previous member of the GCAC from 1999-2002.

Conference sports

Conference sports

Sport	Men's	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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...

Current members

Institution	Location	Men's Team Name	Women's Team Name	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Joined
Dillard University Dillard University Dillard University is a private, historically black liberal arts college in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 incorporating earlier institutions that went back to 1869, it is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church....	New Orleans, LA New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...	Blue Devils	Lady Blue Devils	1869	Private/ (Methodist & Church of Christ)	900	1981
Edward Waters College Edward Waters College -External links:* -- Official web site** at * Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs** **...	Jacksonville, FL Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...	Tigers	Lady Tigers	1866	Private/(African Methodist)	800	2010
Fisk University Fisk University Fisk University is an historically black university founded in 1866 in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. The world-famous Fisk Jubilee Singers started as a group of students who performed to earn enough money to save the school at a critical time of financial shortages. They toured to raise funds to...	Nashville, TN Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...	Bulldogs	Lady Bulldogs	1866	Private/(Church of Christ)	800	2010
Philander Smith College Philander Smith College Philander Smith College is a private, historically black college that is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. It is located in Little Rock, Arkansas. The student body averages around 850 attendees, with around 30% of that figure attending part time. Although known historically as a school...	Little Rock, AR Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...	Panthers	Lady Panthers	1864	Private/(Methodist)	700	2011
Southern University at New Orleans Southern University at New Orleans Southern University at New Orleans is a historically black university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...	New Orleans, LA New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...	Black Knights	Lady Knights	1956	Public	3,200	1986
Talladega College Talladega College - External Links :* -- Official web site*...	Talladega, AL Talladega, Alabama Talladega is a city in Talladega County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 15,143. The city is the county seat of Talladega County. Talladega is approximately 50 miles east of Birmingham, Alabama....	Tornadoes	Lady Tornadoes	1867	Private/(United Church of Christ)	600	2011
Tougaloo College Tougaloo College Tougaloo College is a private, co-educational, liberal arts institution of higher education founded in 1869, in Madison County, north of Jackson, Mississippi, USA.Academically, Tougaloo College has received high ranks in recent years...	Tougaloo, MS Tougaloo, Mississippi Tougaloo is an area in Hinds County, Mississippi. Its ZIP Code, 39174, is assigned to the area encompassing Tougaloo College. Actress Aunjanue Ellis was raised in Tougaloo.-External links:*...	Bulldogs	Lady Bulldogs	1869	Private/(Church of Christ)	900	1981
Xavier University of Louisiana Xavier University of Louisiana Xavier University of Louisiana , located in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the United States, is a private, coeducational, liberal arts college with the distinction of being the only historically black Roman Catholic institution of higher education...	New Orleans, LA New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...	Gold Rush	Gold Nuggets	1925	Private/(Catholic)	3,200	1981

Former members

School	Location	Men’s Team Name	Women’s Team Name	Founded	Type	Enrollment	Joined	Left	Current Conference	Classification
Belhaven College Belhaven College Belhaven University is a private Christian liberal arts university located in Jackson, Mississippi. Founded by Dr. Lewis Fitzhugh and later donated to the now defunct Presbyterian Church in the United States, the school has been independently run by a Board of Trustees since 1972...	Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...	Blazers	Blazers	1883	Private/(Presbyterian Church USA)	1,500	1981	2010	Southern States Athletic Conference Southern States Athletic Conference The Southern States Athletic Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. The 16 member universities compete in 13 sports in the NAIA. Basketball teams compete in Division I of the NAIA.-History:...	NAIA Division I
Louisiana College Louisiana College Louisiana College is a private institution of higher education located in Pineville, Louisiana, affiliated with the Louisiana Baptist Convention, serving a student body of approximately 1,300 students. The college operates on a semester system, with two shorter summer terms...	Pineville, Louisiana Pineville, Louisiana Pineville is a city in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is adjacent to the city of Alexandria, and is part of that city's Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 13,829 at the 2000 census....	Wildcats	Lady Wildcats	1906	Private/(Louisiana Baptist Convention)	1,000	1981	2000	American Southwest Conference American Southwest Conference The American Southwest Conference is a college athletic conference, founded in 1996, whose member schools compete in the NCAA's Division III. The schools are located in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi...	NCAA Division III
Louisiana State University in Shreveport Louisiana State University in Shreveport Louisiana State University in Shreveport is a branch of the Louisiana State University System in Shreveport, Louisiana. Opened in 1967, LSUS is the only public four-year university in the Shreveport-Bossier metro area....	Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....	Pilots	Lady Pilots	1967	Public/	4,200	2000	2010	Red River Athletic Conference Red River Athletic Conference The Red River Athletic Conference is an affiliate of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics . The conference's 14 member institutions are located in Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Pending acceptance of their application to the conference, a 15th member, the University...	NAIA Division I
Loyola University New Orleans Loyola University New Orleans Loyola University New Orleans is a private, co-educational and Jesuit university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Originally established as Loyola College in 1904, the institution was chartered as a university in 1912. It bears the name of the Jesuit patron, Saint Ignatius of Loyola...	New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...	Wolfpack	Wolfpack	1904	Private/(Catholic)	2,600	1995	2010	Southern States Athletic Conference	NAIA Division I
Spring Hill College Spring Hill College Spring Hill College is a private, Roman Catholic Jesuit liberal arts college in the United States. It was founded in 1830 on the Gulf Coast in Mobile, Alabama, by Most Rev. Michael Portier, Bishop of Mobile, Alabama...	Mobile, Alabama Mobile, Alabama Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...	Badgers	Lady Badgers	1830	Private/(Catholic)	1,300	1981	2010	Southern States Athletic Conference	NAIA Division I
Talladega College Talladega College - External Links :* -- Official web site*...	Talladega, Alabama Talladega, Alabama Talladega is a city in Talladega County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 15,143. The city is the county seat of Talladega County. Talladega is approximately 50 miles east of Birmingham, Alabama....	Tornadoes	Lady Tornadoes	1867	Private/(United Church of Christ)	600	1999	2002	Independent	NAIA Division I
University of Mobile University of Mobile The University of Mobile is an American four-year, private, Baptist-affiliated university in Mobile, Alabama. The master's-level university has an enrollment of 1,577.-History:...	Mobile, Alabama Mobile, Alabama Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...	Rams	Lady Rams	1961	Private/(Alabama Baptist State Convention)	1,500	1985	2010	Southern States Athletic Conference	NAIA Division I
William Carey University	Hattiesburg, Mississippi Hattiesburg, Mississippi Hattiesburg is a city in Forrest County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 44,779 at the 2000 census . It is the county seat of Forrest County...	Crusaders	Lady Crusaders	1906	Private/(Mississippi Baptist Convention)		1981	2010	Southern States Athletic Conference	NAIA Division I

Note: Belhaven College left the conference in 2000 but returned in 2002.