 | |
| Association | NCAA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2011 (began play in 2012) |
| Commissioner | Tom Daeger[1] (since 2011) |
| Sports fielded |
|
| Division | Division II |
| No. of teams | 13 |
| Headquarters | Indianapolis,Indiana |
| Region | Great Lakes andEast South Central |
| Official website | greatmidwestsports |
| Locations | |
 | |
TheGreat Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) is acollege athletic conference affiliated with theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at theDivision II level. It was named the 24th (at the time) NCAA Division II conference and operates in theGreat Lakes andEast South Central States regions of the United States.[2] The G-MAC began conference play in the 2012–13 academic year hosting 12 championships and continued to work through the educational assessment program. The conference received approval and became an active Division II conference in 2013–14, hosting 17 championships.
The initial announcement of a potential new conference surfaced in June 2011 when the presidents and athletic directors ofCedarville University,Notre Dame College,Urbana University, andUrsuline College met to discuss plans for a new Division II conference.[3]
Soon after the initial meeting,Central State University joined and became a fifth member. In October 2011,Kentucky Wesleyan College announced that the school will join the G-MAC, withdrawing from its current conference, theGreat Lakes Valley Conference.[4]
In November 2011,Trevecca Nazarene University was accepted as another charter member of the conference.[5] Trevecca had begun the process of transitioning from NAIA to NCAA Division II membership in July, 2011 and entered a provisional NCAA membership year during the conference's initially planned start for the 2013–14 academic year.[5] In late November, the conference announced the hiring of Tom Daeger as Conference Commissioner, with offices inIndianapolis.[1]
On February 21, 2012, the Great Midwest Athletic Conference announced the NCAA had accepted the G-MAC as the 24th NCAA Division ll conference.[6] The conference then added two more members when it was announced on April 23 and May 1, 2012, that theUniversity of Virginia's College at Wise (UVA Wise) andGeorgetown College had been granted provisional membership in the conference pending their approval by the NCAA Division II Membership Committee.[7][8] Georgetown College was rejected for Division II membership, but applied to join Division II in 2014. However, they were denied acceptance once again by the Membership Council.[9] As of 2021, Georgetown has made no further attempt to join Division II.
In the fall of 2012, it was announced that Urbana and UVA Wise would spend only one season as active members of the G-MAC. At the same time, the G-MAC announced that three West Virginia schools had accepted invitations to join the conference, starting in July 2013—Alderson Broaddus University,Davis & Elkins College, andOhio Valley University.[10] All three schools were previously members of theWest Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC), which disbanded after most of its football-sponsoring schools announced their departure for a new D-II league that eventually became theMountain East Conference (MEC).[11] On October 16, 2012, the G-MAC announced thatSalem International University, since renamed Salem University, would join the conference on July 1, 2013.[12] Salem would leave the G-MAC in 2016 to become a Division II independent.
On July 12, 2013, the Great Midwest Athletic Conference received official approval from the NCAA Division II Membership Committee, recognizing the Conference as an active NCAA Division II conference. On the same day, it was announced that Ursuline College had been approved as an active NCAA DII member and Trevecca Nazarene University successfully completed its Year Two candidacy and was moved into the Provisional Year of the membership process by the NCAA Division II Membership Committee.
On August 7, 2013, the Great Midwest Athletic Conference partnered withCumberland University as it embarked on a transition to potential NCAA Division II membership. The G-MAC Presidents Council unanimously admitted Cumberland as a provisional member effective immediately and would have sponsored the institution as it worked through the NCAA Division II membership application process.[13] In July 2014, Cumberland was denied acceptance into the NCAA by the Membership Council.[9] As in the case of Georgetown, Cumberland has made no further attempt to join Division II.
On August 30, 2018, Davis & Elkins announced that it would reunite with most of its former WVIAC rivals in the Mountain East Conference after the 2018–19 school year.[14] The school remains a G-MAC affiliate in men's lacrosse, a sport that the MEC does not sponsor.
On February 1, 2019, Malone announced that it had eliminated football and "remains committed to athletic competition in the NCAA Div. II and as members of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC)."[15]
On May 19, 2020,Ashland University announced they would join the Great Midwest Athletic Conference from theGreat Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference for the 2021–22 school year.[16] But a few months later, on August 4, 2020, its wrestling team would have the opportunity to compete for a G-MAC conference-sponsored championship a year ahead of schedule, effective immediately in the 2020–21 school year.[17]
On June 5, 2020, another former WVIAC member, Alderson Broaddus, announced that it was leaving the G-MAC to join most of its old rivals in the Mountain East Conference for the 2020–21 school year.[18]
On February 11, 2021, Ohio Valley announced that it would return to NAIA and join the River States Conference that July,[19] and on April 29,Northwood University announced that it would also join the G-MAC from the GLIAC for the 2022–23 school year.[20]
The G-MAC would gain a member later in 2021; on August 18, the conference andThomas More University announced that the school, currently a member of the NAIAMid-South Conference, would become a provisional G-MAC member in 2022. With G-MAC acceptance in hand, Thomas More applied to rejoin the NCAA and was officially accepted as a provisional D-II member on July 14, 2022.[21] The school accordingly became a provisional G-MAC member, but continued to compete in the NAIA and in the Mid-South until July 2023.[22]
Also for the 2021–22 season, G-MAC announced a partnership withConference Carolinas to create a men's and women's bowling championship (even though men's bowling is not considered a varsity sport by the NCAA). Each conference will organize its regular season independently but the postseason will be called Conference Carolinas/Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men's and Women's Bowling Championships.[23][24]
The most recently added sport is stunt, a women-only cheerleading discipline that emphasizes the acrobatic and technical aspects of cheerleading. It was added as an officially sanctioned sport for the 2022–23 school year, a year before it was added to theNCAA Emerging Sports for Women program in August 2023. The first season of conference competition featured four full G-MAC members and one affiliate.[25][26]
The G-MAC currently has 13 full members, all areprivate schools.
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined[a] | Colors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashland University[16] | Ashland, Ohio | 1878 | Brethren | 6,433 | Eagles | 2021[b] | |
| Cedarville University | Cedarville, Ohio | 1887 | Baptist | 6,384 | Yellow Jackets | 2012 | |
| University of Findlay | Findlay, Ohio | 1882 | Churches of God | 5,057 | Oilers | 2017 | |
| Hillsdale College | Hillsdale, Michigan | 1844 | Nonsectarian | 1,573 | Chargers | 2017 | |
| Kentucky Wesleyan College | Owensboro, Kentucky | 1858 | United Methodist | 864 | Panthers | 2012[c] | |
| Lake Erie College | Painesville, Ohio | 1856 | Nonsectarian | 1,236 | Storm | 2017[d] | |
| Malone University | Canton, Ohio | 1892 | Evangelical | 1,268 | Pioneers | 2016 | |
| Northwood University | Midland, Michigan | 1959 | Nonsectarian | 2,227 | Timberwolves | 2022 | |
| Ohio Dominican University | Columbus, Ohio | 1911 | Catholic | 1,209 | Panthers | 2017 | |
| Thomas More University | Crestview Hills, Kentucky | 1921 | Catholic | 1,844 | Saints | 2022[e] | |
| Tiffin University | Tiffin, Ohio | 1888 | Nonsectarian | 3,726 | Dragons | 2018 | |
| Ursuline College | Pepper Pike, Ohio | 1871 | Catholic | 970 | Arrows | 2012 | |
| Walsh University | North Canton, Ohio | 1960 | Catholic | 2,311 | Cavaliers | 2017[d] |
The G-MAC has four affiliate members, all areprivate schools:
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined[a] | Colors | G-MAC sport(s) | Primary conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Davenport University | Grand Rapids, Michigan | 1866 | Nonsectarian | 4,848 | Panthers | 2024 | men's lacrosse | Great Lakes (GLIAC) | |
| men's wrestling | |||||||||
| stunt | |||||||||
| Davis & Elkins College | Elkins, West Virginia | 1904 | Presbyterian | 683 | Senators | 2019[b] | men's lacrosse | Mountain East (MEC) | |
| Point Park University | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 1960 | Nonsectarian | 3,448 | Pioneers | 2025 | men's lacrosse | Mountain East (MEC) | |
| Seton Hill University | Greensburg, Pennsylvania | 1883 | Catholic | 1,989 | Griffins | 2016 | men's lacrosse | Pennsylvania (PSAC) | |
| Wheeling University[c] | Wheeling, West Virginia | 1954 | Catholic | 1,171 | Cardinals | 2017 | men's lacrosse | Mountain East (MEC) |
The G-MAC had eight former full members. All but two wereprivate schools. School names and nicknames reflect those used during G-MAC membership:
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined[a] | Left[b] | Current conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alderson Broaddus University | Philippi, West Virginia | 1871 | Baptist | N/A[c] | Battlers | 2013 | 2020[d] | Closed in 2023 |
| Central State University | Wilberforce, Ohio | 1887 | Public | 2,798 | Marauders & Lady Marauders | 2012 | 2015 | Southern (SIAC) |
| Davis & Elkins College | Elkins, West Virginia | 1904 | Presbyterian | 810 | Senators | 2013 | 2019[e] | Mountain East (MEC) |
| Ohio Valley University | Vienna, West Virginia | 1960 | Church of Christ | N/A | Fighting Scots | 2013 | 2021 | Closed in 2021[f] |
| Salem International University[g] | Salem, West Virginia | 1888 | For-profit | 835 | Tigers | 2013 | 2016 | D-II Independent |
| Trevecca Nazarene University | Nashville, Tennessee | 1901 | Nazarene | 3,327 | Trojans | 2012 | 2024 | Gulf South (GSC) |
| Urbana University | Urbana, Ohio | 1850 | Nonsectarian | N/A | Blue Knights | 2012 | 2013 | Closed in 2020[h] |
| University of Virginia's College at Wise[i] | Wise, Virginia | 1954 | Public | 2,000 | Highland Cavaliers[j] | 2012 | 2013[k] | South Atlantic (SAC) |
The G-MAC had three former affiliate members, allprivate schools. School names and nicknames reflect those used during G-MAC membership:
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined[a] | Left[b] | Colors | G-MAC sport(s) | Primary conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alderson Broaddus University | Philippi, West Virginia | 1871 | Baptist | N/A[c] | Battlers | 2020[d] | 2023 | men's lacrosse | Closed in 2023 | |
| Hiram College | Hiram, Ohio | 1850 | Disciples of Christ | 1,395 | Terriers | 2022 | 2024 | stunt | Presidents' (PAC)[e][f] | |
| Mercyhurst University | Erie, Pennsylvania | 1926 | Catholic | 2,705 | Lakers | 2016 | 2024 | men's lacrosse | Northeast (NEC)[g][h] | |
| 2023 | 2024 | stunt |
Full member (all sports) Full member (non-football) Associate member (football) Associate member (sport)
| A three-divisional format is used for volleyball. | ||
East
| North
| South
|
| A two-divisional format is used for baseball. | ||
North
| South
| |
| Sport | Men's | Women's |
|---|---|---|
| Baseball |  Y | |
| Basketball | Y | Y |
| Bowling | Y | |
| Cross country | Y | Y |
| Football | Y | |
| Golf | Y | Y |
| Lacrosse | Y | Y |
| Soccer | Y | Y |
| Softball | Y | |
| Stunt | Y | |
| Swimming &diving | Y | Y |
| Tennis | Y | Y |
| Track & field indoor | Y | Y |
| Track & field outdoor | Y | Y |
| Volleyball | Y | |
| Wrestling | Y |
In swimming and diving for both sexes, the G-MAC andMountain East Conference operate as a single league, conducting a combined conference championship meet.[28]
In bowling, Great Midwest Athletic Conference andConference Carolinas made a partnership to make a men's and women's bowling championship (even though men's bowling is not considered a varsity sport by the NCAA). Each conference will organize its regular season independently but the postseason will be called Conference Carolinas/Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men's and Women's Bowling Championships.
| School | Baseball | Basketball | Cross country | Football | Golf | Lacrosse | Soccer | Swimming & diving | Tennis | Track & field indoor | Track & field outdoor | Wrestling | Total GMAC sports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashland | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 11 | |
| Cedarville | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 8 | ||||
| Findlay | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 11 | |
| Hillsdale | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 8 | ||||
| Kentucky Wesleyan | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 9 | |||
| Lake Erie | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 9 | |||
| Malone | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 8 | |||
| Northwood | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 10 | ||
| Ohio Dominican | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 8 | ||||
| Thomas More | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 9 | |||
| Tiffin | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 10 | |
| Ursuline | Y | Y | Y | Y | 4 | ||||||||
| Walsh | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 10 | ||
| Totals | 12 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 12 | 6+5[a] | 11 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 13 | 5+1[b] | 115+6 |
| School | Basketball | Bowling[a] | Cross country | Golf | Lacrosse | Soccer | Softball | Stunt[b] | Swimming & diving | Tennis | Track & field indoor | Track & field outdoor | Volleyball | Total GMAC sports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashland | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 12 | |
| Cedarville | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 8 | |||||
| Findlay | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 11 | ||
| Hillsdale | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 8 | |||||
| Kentucky Wesleyan | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 9 | ||||
| Lake Erie | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 8 | |||||
| Malone | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 10 | ||
| Northwood | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 10 | |||
| Ohio Dominican | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 8 | |||||
| Thomas More | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 10 | |||
| Tiffin | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 11 | ||
| Ursuline | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 13 | |
| Walsh | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 12 | |
| Totals | 13 | 3 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 5+1[c] | 4 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 130+1 |
| School | Men | |
|---|---|---|
| Volleyball[a] | ||
| Thomas More | GLVC |
In addition to the above:
| Full members | | |
|---|---|---|
| Affiliate members | ||
| ||
| Super Region 1 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Super Region 2 | ||
| Super Region 3 | ||
| Super Region 4 | ||
| Division II | ||
| NCAA | ||
