Gulf South Conference

Gulf South Conference (GSC)
Gulf South Conference logo
Established	1970
Association	NCAA
Division	Division II
Members	10 (11 in 2013)
Sports fielded	14 (men's: 7; women's: 7)
Region	Southeastern United States
Headquarters	Birmingham, Alabama
Commissioner	Nate Salant (since 1992)
Website	gscsports.org
Locations
Gulf South Conference locations

The Gulf South Conference (GSC) is an NCAA Division II college athletic conference which operates in the southeastern United States.

History

Originally known as the Mid-South Conference, the Gulf South Conference was formed by six universities in the summer of 1970: Delta State, Florence State (now North Alabama), Jacksonville State, Livingston (now West Alabama), Tennessee–Martin and Troy State (now Troy). Scheduling problems for the 1970–71 academic year limited the league to football, won by Jacksonville State.

In 1971, the league changed its name to the Gulf South Conference; added Southeastern Louisiana (SELA) and Nicholls State (increasing the membership to eight); opened an office in Hammond, Louisiana; and began championships in all men’s sports. The following year, Mississippi College and Northwestern Louisiana (NWLA, now Northwestern State) were admitted. NWLA withdrew to go Division I two years later, followed by SELA and Nicholls State in 1979.

The conference continued with seven teams until 1981, when the presidents admitted Valdosta State. West Georgia joined in 1983. Eight years of stability ended in 1991 when Tennessee–Martin and Troy State went Division I, briefly dropping the GSC back to seven members, before the beginning of an expansion resulting in ten new members: Lincoln Memorial (1992–93); Alabama–Huntsville, Henderson State, Central Arkansas, and Mississippi University for Women (MUW) (1993–94); West Florida (1994–95); and Arkansas-Monticello, Arkansas Tech, Montevallo, and Southern Arkansas (1995–96). Jacksonville State went Division I at the end of 1992–93. Mississippi College dropped to Division III at the end of 1995–96 and was replaced by Christian Brothers to keep the Conference at 16 schools. In July 2000, the GSC welcomed Harding University and Ouachita Baptist University, making it the largest NCAA conference at any level with 18 schools. The Conference membership decreased to 17 when MUW dropped its athletics program at the end of the 2002–03 season.

2006–07 was another season of change for the GSC. Central Arkansas moved to Division I, leaving the West Division with eight schools while Lincoln Memorial left for the South Atlantic Conference due to travel and location issues, leaving the East Division with seven schools.

Montevallo announced on June 27, 2008 that they will be leaving for the Peach Belt Conference following the 2008–09 season due to issues between the University's President and the Commissioner.

Former Commissioner Jim McCullough moved the GSC office to its present Birmingham, Alabama, location. The current Commissioner, Nate Salant, has been in office since October 1992.

2010s realignment

Beginning with the 2011–12 academic year, current GSC members University of Arkansas at Monticello, Arkansas Tech University, Harding University, Henderson State University, Ouachita Baptist University and Southern Arkansas University left the GSC to form the Great American Conference.

The University of New Orleans, which was transitioning from Division I to Division II, was accepted into the conference in June 2011, but the school announced intentions to stay Division I in March 2012. In July 2011, Shorter University and Union University (Jackson, Tenn.) were accepted into the NCAA and will begin the multi-year transition process from the NAIA to NCAA. Both universities will begin GSC competition in the 2012–13 academic year but will not be eligible for NCAA national tournaments until the 2014–15 academic year. In August 2011, the GSC added the Florida Institute of Technology as an associate member for football beginning in the 2013 season.

On October 11, 2012, Mississippi College announced that it would petition the NCAA to leave Division III and return to the conference.

Member schools

File:GSCLocationsLarge.png

Map of GSC school locations

Current members

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Football?
Alabama Huntsville !University of Alabama in Huntsville	Huntsville, Alabama	1969	Public	7,100	Chargers	1993	No
Christian Brothers University	Memphis, Tennessee	1871	Private (Catholic)	1,720	Buccaneers	1996	No
Delta State University	Cleveland, Mississippi	1924	Public	4,392	Statesmen	1970	Yes
North Alabama !University of North Alabama	Florence, Alabama	1830	Public	7,244	Lions	1970	Yes
Shorter University	Rome, Georgia	1873	Private (Baptist)	3,500	Hawks	2012	Yes
Union University	Jackson, Tennessee	1823	Private (Baptist)	4,186	Bulldogs	2012	No
Valdosta State University	Valdosta, Georgia	1906	Public	12,898	Blazers	1981	Yes
West Alabama !University of West Alabama	Livingston, Alabama	1835	Public	5,157	Tigers	1970	Yes
West Florida !University of West Florida	Pensacola, Florida	1963	Public	12,823	Argonauts	1994	2015
West Georgia !University of West Georgia	Carrollton, Georgia	1906	Public	11,252	Wolves	1983	Yes

Future members

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Enrollment	Nickname	Year Joining	Previous Conference	Football?
Lee University	Cleveland, TN	1918	Private (Church of God)	4,012	Flames	2013	SSAC (NAIA)	Yes

Future associate members (football only)

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Enrollment	Nickname	Year Joining	Primary Conference	Football?
Florida Institute of Technology	Melbourne, Florida	1958	Private (Nonsectarian)	6,400	Panthers	2013	Sunshine State	Yes

Former members

Institution	Location	Nickname	Joined	Left	Current Conference	Classification
Arkansas Tech University	Russellville, Arkansas	Wonder Boys (men's) Golden Suns (women's)	1995	2011	Great American (GAC)	NCAA Division II
Arkansas Monticello !University of Arkansas at Monticello	Monticello, Arkansas	Boll Weevils (men's) Cotton Blossoms (women's)	1995	2011	Great American (GAC)	NCAA Division II
Central Arkansas !University of Central Arkansas	Conway, Arkansas	Bears (men's) Sugar Bears (women's)	1993	2006	Southland	NCAA Division I FCS
Harding University	Searcy, Arkansas	Bisons	2000	2011	Great American (GAC)	NCAA Division II
Henderson State University	Arkadelphia, Arkansas	Reddies	1993	2011	Great American (GAC)	NCAA Division II
Jacksonville State University	Jacksonville, Alabama	Gamecocks	1970	1993	Ohio Valley (OVC)	NCAA Division I FCS
Lincoln Memorial University	Harrogate, Tennessee	Railsplitters	1992	2006	South Atlantic (SAC)	NCAA Division II
Mississippi College	Clinton, Mississippi	Choctaws	1972	1996	American Southwest	NCAA Division III
Mississippi University for Women	Columbus, Mississippi	Blues	1993	2003	Athletic programs discontinued
Montevallo !University of Montevallo	Montevallo, Alabama	Falcons	1995	2009	Peach Belt (PBC)	NCAA Division II
New Orleans !University of New Orleans1	New Orleans, Louisiana	Privateers	2011	2012	NCAA D-I Independent	NCAA Division I non-football
Nicholls State University	Thibodaux, Louisiana	Colonels	1971	1979	Southland	NCAA Division I FCS
Northwestern State University	Natchitoches, Louisiana	Demons	1971	1973	Southland	NCAA Division I FCS
Ouachita Baptist University	Arkadelphia, Arkansas	Tigers	2000	2011	Great American (GAC)	NCAA Division II
Southeastern Louisiana University	Hammond, Louisiana	Lions	1971	1979	Southland	NCAA Division I FCS
Southern Arkansas University	Magnolia, Arkansas	Muleriders (men's) Lady Muleriders (women's)	1995	2011	Great American (GAC)	NCAA Division II
Tennessee Martin !University of Tennessee at Martin	Martin, Tennessee	Skyhawks	1970	1991	Ohio Valley (OVC)	NCAA Division I FCS
Troy University	Troy, Alabama	Trojans	1970	1991	Sun Belt	NCAA Division I FBS

¹ - New Orleans was a provisional member in the GSC, which was transitioning from Division I to Division II, competing in volleyball, baseball, men’s & women’s cross country, men’s & women’s golf, and men’s & women’s tennis. However, the school announced intentions to stay Division I as of March 2012.

Membership timeline

Conference venues

School	Football		Basketball
	Stadium	Capacity	Arena	Capacity
Alabama–Huntsville	Non-football School		Spragins Hall	2,250
Christian Brothers	Non-football School		Canale Arena	1,000
Delta State	Parker Field at McCool Stadium	8,000	Walter Sillers Coliseum	4,000
North Alabama	Braly Municipal Stadium	14,215	Flowers Hall	3,900
Valdosta State	Bazemore-Hyder Stadium	11,500	The Complex	5,350
West Alabama	Tiger Stadium	7,000	Pruitt Hall	1,500
West Florida	Non-football School		UWF Fieldhouse	1,180
West Georgia	University Stadium	9,000	The Coliseum	6,790

Sponsored sports

GSC members feature comprehensive athletic programs that compete for 14 official conference championships: football, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, softball, men’s and women’s tennis and men’s and women’s golf.

The GSC is perhaps best known for being the premier conference in NCAA Division II football. The three-year run put together by North Alabama in the mid-1990s is one of the most amazing feats in college football history. North Alabama went 41-1 during that span with the only loss being a 3 point loss to that season’s NCAA Division I-AA champion Youngstown State.

National championships

Sport	School	Year(s)
Baseball	West Florida	2011
	Valdosta State	1979
	Delta State	2004
	Troy State	1986, 87
	Jacksonville State	1990, 91
Men's Basketball	North Alabama	1979, 91
	Jacksonville State	1985
Women's Basketball	Delta State	1975, 76, 77, 89, 90, 92
	Southeastern Louisiana	1977
Football	Valdosta State	2004, 07, 12
	Delta State	2000
	North Alabama	1993, 94, 95
	West Alabama	1971
	Troy	1984, 87
	Jacksonville State	1992
Men's Golf	West Florida	2001, 08
	Troy	1976, 77, 84
Women's Golf	Troy	1984, 86, 89
Women's Gymnastics	Jacksonville State	1984, 85
Men's Ice Hockey	Alabama–Huntsville	1996, 98
Women's Soccer	Christian Brothers	2002
Men's Tennis	Valdosta State	2006, 11
	West Florida	2004, 05
Softball	Valdosta State	2012
Track and Field	Southeastern Louisiana	1975
Women's Volleyball	North Alabama	2003

Notes

^A Valdosta State was not a member of the GSC in 1979.

^B Although not a conference-sanctioned sport, Alabama–Huntsville fields a men's ice hockey team. It won the Division II national championship in 1996 and 1998. After the NCAA discontinued Division II ice hockey championship, UAH moved to Division I for that sport and joined the College Hockey America conference. They now compete as an independent after the demise of the CHA but will join the Western Collegiate Hockey Association prior to 2013-2014.

External links

• Official website