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
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]
1992 – Northwestern College of Iowa joined the NIAC. Therefore, the NIAC has been rebranded as the Nebraska-Iowa Athletic Conference (NIAC), effective in the 1992–93 academic year.
2015 – The College of Saint Mary joined the GPAC, effective in the 2015–16 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), effective after the 2015–16 academic year.
2018 – Presentation College joined the GPAC as an affiliate member for men's and women's soccer, effective in the 2018 fall season (2018–19 academic year).
2021 – Kansas Wesleyan University joined the GPAC as an affiliate member for men's volleyball, effective in the 2022 fall season (2021–22 academic year).
Member schools
Current members
The GPAC currently has 12 full members, all are private schools:
