The Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) is a

college athletic conference In college athletics in the United States, institutions typically join in conferences for regular play under different governing bodies. Varsity sports There are several national and regional associations governing the varsity teams of colleges ...

made up entirely of

historically black colleges and universities Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. ...

(HBCUs) that's affiliated with the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...

(NAIA). Member institutions are located in the states of

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

, and

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

History

The GCAC was established in 1981, with the following charter institutions:

Belhaven University Belhaven University (Belhaven or BU) is a private evangelical Christian university in Jackson, Mississippi. Founded in 1883, the university offers traditional majors, programs of general studies, and pre-professional programs in Christian Minis ...

, Dillard University,

Louisiana College Louisiana Christian University (LCU) is a private Baptist university in Pineville, Louisiana. It enrolls 1,100 to 1,200 students. It is affiliated with the Louisiana Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention). Louisiana Christ ...

(now Louisiana Christian University),

Spring Hill College Spring Hill College is a private, Jesuit college in Mobile, Alabama. It was founded in 1830 by Michael Portier, Bishop of Mobile. Along with being the oldest college or university in the state of Alabama, it was the first Catholic college in the ...

Tougaloo College Tougaloo College is a private historically black college in the Tougaloo area of Jackson, Mississippi. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It was originally established in 1869 by New Yor ...

William Carey University William Carey University (also known as Carey, William Carey, or WCU) is a private Christian university in Mississippi, affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and the Mississippi Baptist Convention. The main campus is in Hatties ...

, and

Xavier University of Louisiana Xavier University of Louisiana (also known as XULA) is a private, historically black, Catholic university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only Catholic HBCU and, upon the canonization of Katharine Drexel in 2000, became the first Cathol ...

. The first sports were men and women's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and men's

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

, with other sports soon following. The

University of Mobile The University of Mobile is a private, Baptist university in Mobile, Alabama. It is affiliated with the Alabama Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention). History The university was founded in 1961 by the Alabama Baptist State under t ...

was admitted in October 1985,

Southern University at New Orleans Southern University at New Orleans (also known as SUNO) is a public historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a member of the Southern University System and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. History Southern University ...

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 (Louisiana) to cancel all athletic competition for the 2005–06 season 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 The American Southwest Conference (ASC) is a college athletic conference, founded in 1996, whose member schools compete in the NCAA's Division III. The schools are located in Texas and Arkansas. The conference competes in baseball, men's and w ...

of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

(NCAA) Division III in 2000. Belhaven also left in 2000, only to re-join in 2002; while

Talladega College Talladega College is a private historically black college in Talladega, Alabama. It is Alabama's oldest private historically black college and offers 17 degree programs. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. His ...

, 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 The Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The 11 member universities that compete in 19 sports are located in Louisiana, Mississi ...

(SSAC). In 2010 LSU–Shreveport left the conference to join the

Red River Athletic Conference The Red River Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The conference's 13 member institutions are located in Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico. History T ...

(RRAC). Edward Waters College and

Fisk University Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1930, Fisk was the first Africa ...

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 had been a member of the GCAC from 1999–2000 to 2001–02. On April 17, 2018, it was announced that

Rust College Rust College is a private historically black college in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Founded in 1866, it is the second-oldest private college in the state. Affiliated with the United Methodist Church, it is one of ten historically black colleges ...

had joined the GCAC in the 2018–19 season. In 2019, Steve Martin resigned from the conference after 5 years to become commissioner of the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges In 2019, Southern University at New Orleans suspended its sports program. On September 14, 2020, it was also announced that Xavier (La.) would leave the GCAC for the RRAC and on December 18, Talladega was accepted by the SSAC as a new member. Both departures became effective after the 2020–21 season concluded, coinciding with Fisk's return to the GCAC as published on March 16, 2021. On July 19, it was reported that Edward Waters would leave the GCAC to join

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

for the first time in its history and re-join the

Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Formed in 1913, it consists mostly of historically black c ...

, effective the 2021–22 season. In October 2021, Southern at New Orleans began to offer sports again after adding a student fee to fund them. On January 20, 2022, the GCAC extended its membership to Oakwood University and Wiley College, the conference's first Texas member, in addition to the returning Southern at New Orleans. Oakwood and Wiley joined the conference later in July.

Chronological timeline

* 1981 - The Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) was founded. Charter members included

Belhaven College Belhaven University (Belhaven or BU) is a private evangelical Christian university in Jackson, Mississippi. Founded in 1883, the university offers traditional majors, programs of general studies, and pre-professional programs in Christian Ministr ...

(now Belhaven University), Dillard University,

(now Louisiana Christian University),

, William Carey College (William Carey University) and

, effective beginning the 1981-82 academic year. * 1985 - Mobile College (now the University of Mobile) joined the GCAC, effective in the 1985-86 academic year. * 1986 -

joined the GCAC, effective in the 1986-87 academic year. * 1995 - Loyola University (now Loyola University New Orleans) joined the GCAC, effective in the 1995-96 academic year. * 1999 -

joined the GCAC, effective in the 1999-2000 academic year. * 2000 - Two institutions left the GCAC to join their respective new home primary conferences: Belhaven to become an NAIA Independent, and Louisiana College to join the Division III ranks of the

(NCAA) and the

, both effective after the 1999-2000 academic year. * 2000 -

Louisiana State University at Shreveport Louisiana State University Shreveport (LSU Shreveport or LSUS) is a public university in Shreveport, Louisiana. It is part of the Louisiana State University System. Initially, a two-year college, LSUS has expanded into a university with 2 ...

(a.k.a. Louisiana State–Shreveport or LSU–Shreveport) joined the GCAC, effective in the 2000-01 academic year. * 2002 - Talladega left the GCAC to become an NAIA Independent, effective after the 2001-02 academic year. * 2002 - Belhaven re-joined the GCAC, effective in the 2002-03 academic year. * 2005 - Dillard and Xavier (La.) cancelled all athletic competition while Loyola (La.) and Southern–New Orleans competed in partial competition due to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina during the 2005-06 academic year. * 2010 - Six institutions left the GCAC to join their respective new home primary conferences: Loyola (La.), Mobile, Spring Hill and William Carey (with Belhaven for a second time) to join the

(SSAC), and Louisiana State–Shreveport (or LSU–Shreveport) to join the

(RRAC), all effective after the 2009-10 academic year. * 2010 - Edward Waters College (now Edward Waters University) and

joined the GCAC, effective in the 2010-11 academic year. * 2011 - Philander Smith College joined the GCAC (with Talladega re-joining), effective in the 2011-12 academic year. * 2014 - Fisk left the GCAC to become an NAIA Independent, effective after the 2013-14 academic year. * 2015 - Voorhees left the GCAC to become an NAIA Independent, effective after the 2014-15 academic year. * 2018 -

joined the GCAC, effective in the 2018-19 academic year. * 2019 - Southern–New Orleans left the GCAC due to suspending its athletic program until further notice, effective after the 2018-19 academic year. * 2021 - Three institutions left the GCAC to join their respective new home primary conferences: Talladega for a second time to join the SSAC, Xavier (La.) to join the RRAC, and Edward Waters to join the

ranks and re-joining the

(SIAC), all effective after the 2020-21 academic year; although Edward Waters would remain in the GCAC to compete in conference tournaments for all sponsored sports during the provisional transition until the end of the 2021-22 academic year. * 2021 - Fisk re-joined the GCAC, effective in the 2021-22 academic year. * 2022 - Southern–New Orleans announced that it would reinstate its athletics program and rejoin the GCAC, along with new members Oakwood University and Wiley College, effective beginning the 2022-23 academic year.

Member schools

Current members

The GCAC currently has eight full members; all are

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

schools: ;Notes:

Former members

The GCAC had 12 former full members, all but two were

schools: ;Notes:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1981 till:2026 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:5 left:5 bottom:50 top:5 Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7) id:line value:black id:bg value:white id:Full value:rgb(0.7,0.9,0.8) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports id:FullxF value:rgb(0.9,0.8,0.7) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football id:AssocF value:rgb(0.9,0.7,0.8) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.8,0.9,0.7) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for another sport only id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference when the other color has already been used PlotData = width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:FullxF from:1981 till:2000 text: Belhaven (1981–2000) bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2000 till:2002 text: NAIA Ind. bar:1 shift:(20) color:FullxF from:2002 till:2010 text:(2002–2010) bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2010 till:2015 text: SSAC bar:1 color:OtherC2 from:2015 till:2022 text: AmSW bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2022 till:end text: CCS bar:2 color:FullxF from:1981 till:end text: Dillard (1981–present) bar:3 color:FullxF from:1981 till:2000 text: Louisiana Christian (1981–2000) bar:3 color:OtherC1 from:2000 till:2021 text: AmSW bar:3 color:OtherC2 from:2021 till:end text: RRAC bar:4 color:FullxF from:1981 till:2010 text: Spring Hill (1981–2010) bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:2010 till:2014 text: SSAC bar:4 color:OtherC2 from:2014 till:end text: SIAC bar:5 color:FullxF from:1981 till:end text: Tougaloo (1981–present) bar:6 color:FullxF from:1981 till:2010 text: William Carey (1981–2010) bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:2010 till:end text: SSAC bar:7 color:FullxF from:1981 till:2021 text: Xavier (La.) (1981–2021) bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:2021 till:end text: RRAC bar:8 color:FullxF from:1985 till:2010 text: Mobile (1985–2010) bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:2010 till:end text: SSAC bar:9 color:FullxF from:1986 till:2019 text: Southern–New Orleans (1986–2019) bar:9 color:FullxF from:2022 till:end text:(2022–present) bar:10 color:FullxF from:1995 till:2010 text: Loyola (La.) (1995–2010) bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:2010 till:end text: SSAC bar:11 color:FullxF from:1999 till:2002 text: Talladega (1999–2002) bar:11 shift:(60) color:OtherC1 from:2002 till:2011 text: NAIA Ind. bar:11 color:FullxF from:2011 till:2021 text:(2011–2021) bar:11 color:OtherC1 from:2021 till:end text: SSAC bar:12 color:FullxF from:2000 till:2010 text: Louisiana State–Shreveport (2000–2010) bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:2010 till:end text: RRAC bar:13 color:FullxF from:2010 till:2021 text: Edward Waters (2010–2021) bar:13 color:AssocOS from:2021 till:2022 text: SIAC bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:2022 till:end text: bar:14 color:FullxF from:2010 till:2014 text: Fisk (2010–2014) bar:14 shift:(20) color:OtherC1 from:2014 till:2021 text: NAIA Ind. bar:14 color:FullxF from:2021 till:end text:(2021–present) bar:15 color:FullxF from:2011 till:end text:

Philander Smith Philander Smith (November 23, 1809 – February 24, 1882) was an American real estate agent and philanthropist. Philander Smith College is his namesake. Biography Philander Smith was the son of David Smith, whose 1801 sawmill in upstate New Y ...

(2011–present) bar:16 color:FullxF from:2013 till:2015 text: Voorhees (2013–2015) bar:16 shift:(80) color:OtherC1 from:2015 till:end text: NAIA Ind. bar:17 color:FullxF from:2018 till:end text:

Rust Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO( ...

(2018–present) bar:18 shift:(-40) color:FullxF from:2022 till:end text: Oakwood (2022–present) bar:19 shift:(-20) color:FullxF from:2022 till:end text: Wiley (2022–present) ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1982 TextData = fontsize:M textcolor:black pos:(0,25) tabs:(400-center) text:^"Gulf Coast Athletic Conference membership history" #> If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following three options (use only the colors that are used in the graphic.) Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space. <#

Conference sports

Conference champions

Baseball

References

External links

* {{Authority control College sports in Alabama College sports in Arkansas College sports in Louisiana College sports in Mississippi College sports in Texas