Gulf Coast Athletic Conference

Not to be confused with Gulf Coast Conference.

Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC)

Established	1981
Association	NAIA
Division	Division I
Members	7
Sports fielded	10 (men's: 4; women's: 6)
Region	Southeastern United States
Commissioner	Steve Martin
Website	gcaconf.com
Locations

The Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) is a college athletic conference currently made up entirely of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and affiliated with the NAIA's Division I. Member institutions are located in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee, USA.

History

The GCAC was established in 1981, with the following charter institutions: Belhaven College, Dillard University, Louisiana College, Spring Hill College, Tougaloo College, William Carey University and Xavier University of Louisiana. The first sports were men and women's basketball and men's tennis, with other sports soon following.^[1]

The University of Mobile was admitted in October, 1985, Southern University at New Orleans was granted admission in May, 1986, Loyola University was admitted in April, 1995, and Louisiana State University in Shreveport became a member in April, 2000. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina forced Dillard and Xavier (La.) to cancel all athletic competition for 2005-06 and Loyola and Southern-New Orleans were able only to compete partially. All schools returned to competition in 2006-07, although in most cases with a reduced number of sports.

Louisiana College left the GCAC to join the American Southwest Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III in 2000. Belhaven also left in 2000, only to re-join in 2002; while Talladega College, which joined in 1999, left in 2002. In 2010, Belhaven, Loyola-New Orleans, Spring Hill, Mobile and William Carey left the GCAC to join the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC).^[2] In 2010 LSU-Shreveport left the conference to join the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC). Edward Waters College and Fisk University joined to replace the departed schools in 2010. Philander Smith College also joined the GCAC in 2011. Talladega College re-joined the conference starting in the 2011-12 academic year. Talladega previously was a member of the GCAC from 1999-2002.^[3]

Member schools

Current members

Institution	Location	Founded	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined
Dillard University	New Orleans, Louisiana	1869	900	Bleu Devils & Lady Bleu Devils	1981
Edward Waters College	Jacksonville, Florida	1866	800	Tigers	2010
Philander Smith College	Little Rock, Arkansas	1864	700	Panthers	2011
Southern University at New Orleans	New Orleans, Louisiana	1956	3,200	Knights & Lady Knights	1986
Talladega College	Talladega, Alabama	1867	600	Tornadoes	1999; 2011
Tougaloo College	Tougaloo, Mississippi	1869	900	Bulldogs	1981
Xavier University of Louisiana	New Orleans, Louisiana	1925	3,200	Gold Rush & Gold Nuggets	1981

Former members

Institution	Location	Founded	Nickname	Joined	Left	Current Conference
Belhaven College	Jackson, Mississippi	1883	Blazers	1981; 2002	2000; 2010	American Southwest (NCAA D-III)
Fisk University	Nashville, Tennessee	1866	Bulldogs	2010	2014	Independent
Louisiana College	Pineville, Louisiana	1906	Wildcats	1981	2000	American Southwest (NCAA D-III)
Louisiana State University in Shreveport	Shreveport, Louisiana	1967	Pilots	2000	2010	Red River
Loyola University New Orleans	New Orleans, Louisiana	1904	Wolfpack	1995	2010	Southern States
Mobile !University of Mobile	Mobile, Alabama	1961	Rams	1985	2010	Southern States
Spring Hill College	Mobile, Alabama	1830	Badgers	1981	2010	Southern Intercollegiate (NCAA D-II)
Voorhees College	Denmark, South Carolina	1897	Tigers	2013	2015	Independent
William Carey University	Hattiesburg, Mississippi	1906	Crusaders	1981	2010	Southern States

Membership timeline

Full member (non-football)

Conference sports

Old logo

Conference sports
Sport	Men's	Women's
Basketball	Y	Y
Cross Country	Y	Y
Softball		Y
Tennis	Y	Y
Track & Field Outdoor	Y	Y
Volleyball		Y

References

↑ GCAC Directory 1981-82, pg.2
↑ SSAC To Expand And Restructure Conference In 2010-11, Southern States Athletic Conference, 2009-09-29.
↑ "Talladega College join the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference". Talladega College. January 9, 2011. Retrieved January 20, 2011.

External links

Official website

Gulf Coast Athletic Conference

Dillard Edward Waters Philander Smith Southern–New Orleans Talladega Tougaloo Voorhees Xavier Louisiana

NAIA conferences

Football conferences	Central States Football League Frontier Conference Great Plains Athletic Conference Heart of America Athletic Conference Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Mid-South Conference Mid-States Football Association North Star Athletic Association The Sun Conference NAIA independent football schools

Non-football conferences	American Midwest Conference Appalachian Athletic Conference California Pacific Conference Cascade Collegiate Conference Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Crossroads League Golden State Athletic Conference Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Red River Athletic Conference Sooner Athletic Conference Southern States Athletic Conference Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference NAIA independent schools

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