Great Northwest Athletic Conference

The Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. It has historically operated in the northwestern United States, but also includes schools in Alaska, Montana, and British Columbia.

The GNAC is the only NCAA conference in any division with a Canadian university as a member.

History

The conference formed in 2001 when its original ten members split from the Pacific West Conference.

Chronological timeline

• 2001 – The Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) was founded. Charter members included the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, the University of Alaska at Anchorage, Central Washington University, Humboldt State University (now California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt), Northwest Nazarene University, Saint Martin's, Seattle University, Seattle Pacific University, Western Oregon University and Western Washington University, beginning the 2001–02 academic year.
• 2006 – Humboldt State left the GNAC to join the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) after the 2005–06 academic year. This would result in the GNAC dropping football, with Western Washington and Central Washington becoming football affiliates of the now defunct North Central Conference (NCC) and Western Oregon competing as a D-II Independent.
• 2007 – Montana State University at Billings joined the GNAC in the 2007–08 academic year.
• 2008 – Seattle left the GNAC to join the Division I ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as an NCAA D-I Independent (who would later join the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), beginning the 2012–13 school year) after the 2007–08 academic year.
• 2008 – Dixie State University (now Utah Tech University) joined the GNAC as an affiliate member for football (with Humboldt State returning for that sport) with the 2008 fall season (2008–09 academic year), leading to the GNAC to begin sponsoring football once again.
• 2010 – Simon Fraser University joined the GNAC in the 2010–11 academic year, becoming the first Canadian institution of higher education.
• 2012 – Three institutions joined the GNAC as affiliate members, all effective in the 2012 fall season (2012–13 academic year):
• Azusa Pacific University for football
• and the University of Mary and the University of Sioux Falls for men's soccer
• 2013 – South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (South Dakota Mines) joined the GNAC as an affiliate member for men's soccer in the 2013 fall season (2013–14 academic year).
• 2014 – South Dakota Mines added football to its GNAC affiliate membership in the 2014 fall season (2014–15 academic year).
• 2015 – South Dakota Mines left the GNAC as an affiliate member for men's soccer after the 2014 fall season (2014–15 academic year).
• 2015 – Concordia University–Portland joined the GNAC in the 2015–16 academic year.
• 2016 – Dixie State and South Dakota Mines left the GNAC as affiliate members for football after the 2015 fall season (2015–16 academic year).
• 2019 – Humboldt State left the GNAC as an affiliate member for football as the school announced it was dropping the sport after the 2018 fall season (2018–19 academic year).
• 2019 – The University of California San Diego (UC San Diego) and the University of Central Oklahoma (along with Humboldt State returning for that sport), joined the GNAC as affiliate members for women's rowing in the 2020 spring season (2019–20 academic year).
• 2020 – Concordia–Portland left the GNAC as the school ceased operations after the 2019–20 academic year.
• 2020 – Azusa Pacific left the GNAC as an affiliate member for football as the school announced it was dropping the sport after the 2020 fall season (2020–21 academic year).
• 2020 – UC San Diego left the GNAC as an affiliate member for women's rowing after the 2020 spring season (2019–20 academic year), coinciding with the start of its transition to NCAA Division I.
• 2022 – Central Washington, Western Oregon and Simon Fraser, the only 3 football-sponsoring schools remaining in the GNAC, announce that they will be joining the Lone Star Conference as football affiliates after the 2021 fall season (2021–22 academic year), bringing an end to the GNAC as a football conference for a second time.
• 2025 – Simon Fraser announced their intention to pursue membership with Canada's U Sports and the Canada West Universities Athletic Association following the conclusion of the 2026–27 athletic year.
• 2027 – The University of Jamestown will join the GNAC as an affiliate member for men's soccer in the 2027 fall season (2027–28 academic year).

Member schools

Current members

The GNAC currently has ten full members, all but three are public schools:

Notes:

Affiliate members

The GNAC currently has two affiliate members, both are public schools:

Notes:

Future affiliate members

The GNAC will have one new affiliate member, a private school:

Former members

The GNAC had three former full members, all but one were private schools:

Notes:

Former affiliate members

The GNAC had seven former affiliate members, all but three were public schools:

Notes:

Membership timeline

Sports sponsored

Men's sponsored sports by school

Women's sponsored sports by school

Other sponsored sports by school

Football champions

Basketball champions

Conference facilities

References

External links