The Great American Conference (GAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, with headquarters located in Russellville, Arkansas. Athletic competition began play during the 2011âÂÂ12 school year. Its twelve all-sports member schools are located in Arkansas and Oklahoma in the South Central United States. The conference also has four men's soccer affiliate members, two in Kansas and two in Oklahoma.
The conference's charter members previously competed in the Lone Star Conference (East Central University, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, and Southwestern Oklahoma State University) and the Gulf South Conference (Arkansas Tech University, University of Arkansas at Monticello, Harding University, Henderson State University, Ouachita Baptist University, and Southern Arkansas University) before forming the GAC in 2010. The new conference is intended to reduce travel costs for its member universities.
On May 11, 2011, the conference invited Northwestern Oklahoma State University and Southern Nazarene University to the conference for the 2012âÂÂ13 academic year. Those universities continued to compete in the Sooner Athletic Conference during the 2011âÂÂ12 season before joining the conference.
On July 11, 2014, the NCAA Division II Membership Committee approved the membership application for Oklahoma Baptist University to move from the NAIA to NCAA Division II and it joined the conference for the 2015âÂÂ16 season.
The GAC and the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) announced a partnership in June 2018 to combine their men's tennis and men's soccer leagues in both sports from the 2019âÂÂ20 academic year. Under the agreement, the MIAA will organize the tennis league and the GAC will organize the soccer league.
The GAC sponsors championships in seven men's and eight women's sports.
The male and female scholar-athlete of the year awards are voted upon by the league's faculty athletic representatives or designees.
The male and female athlete of the year awards are voted upon by the league's sports information directors or designees.
The All-Sports Trophy is presented to the athletic department with the highest point total at the end of the athletic year. Points are recorded in all sponsored sports with six or more participants. The regular season standings will determine the points for the sports of baseball, men's basketball, women's basketball, football, women's soccer, softball, women's tennis, and volleyball. The conference championship will determine the points for the sports of men's cross country, women's cross country, men's golf, and women's golf.
The NACDA Learfield Sports Directors' Cup is an annual award given by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics to the U.S. colleges and universities with the most success in collegiate athletics.
Total conference postseason championships and football regular season championships won by each school.
Team and individual titles won prior to joining the GAC or by members in sports not sponsored by the GAC.
The C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl held a Division II game from 2012 through 2018, with the GAC receiving the at-large selection in each of the first four years of the game. From 2013 through 2023, the GAC had a tie-in with the Live United Texarkana Bowl in which the highest non-playoff team received an automatic selection to the game. The Heritage Bowl, which began in 2017, has a at-large selection option with the GAC, and has invited a GAC team in every year since 2018.
Oklahoma Baptist ended their Men's program in 2020.