The Gulf South Conference (GSC) 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 ...

affiliated with 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) at the Division II level, which operates in the Southeastern United States.

History

Originally known as the Mid-South Athletic Conference or Mid-South Conference, the Gulf South Conference was formed by six universities in the summer of 1970: Delta State, Florence State (now

North Alabama North Alabama is a region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Several geographic definitions for the area exist, with all descriptions including the nine counties of Alabama's Tennessee Valley region. The North Alabama Industrial Development Associ ...

), Jacksonville State, Livingston (now West Alabama), Tennessee–Martin, and Troy State (now

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...

). 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 (SLU) 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 Mississippi College (MC) is a private Baptist university in Clinton, Mississippi. Founded in 1826, MC is the second-oldest Baptist-affiliated college or university in the United States and the oldest college or university in Mississippi. Histor ...

and Northwestern Louisiana (NWLA, now Northwestern State) were admitted. NWLA withdrew to go Division I two years later, followed by SLU 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 Central Arkansas, also known as the Little Rock metro, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metro area in the U.S. state o ...

, and Mississippi University for Women (MUW) (1993–94);

West Florida West Florida ( es, Florida Occidental) was a region on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico that underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. As its name suggests, it was formed out of the western part of former S ...

(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 In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

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 Ouachita Baptist University (OBU) is a private Baptist university in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. The university's name is taken from the Ouachita (pronounced WAH-shi-tah) River, which forms the eastern campus boundary. It is affiliated with the Arka ...

, 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 would be leaving for the

Peach Belt Conference The Peach Belt Conference (PBC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The 11 member institutions are located in the South Atlantic states of South Carolina ...

following the 2008–09 season due to issues between the University's President and the Commissioner. The GSC moved away from divisional play after the 2010-11 season after its six Arkansas members broke away, dropping the membership to eight. Thanks to an aggressive expansion plan, the GSC sponsored the Division II applications of

Union University Union University is a private Baptist Christian university in Jackson, Tennessee, with additional campuses in Germantown and Hendersonville. The university is affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention). It is ...

(TN) and Shorter University (GA), which became official members in 2014-15. The next step in bolstering its membership came in 2012, backing the Division II application of Lee University (TN) which was on track to join the league officially in 2015-16. The league added its first-ever associate member, Florida Tech, in football only in 2013. The Conference planned to add an old friend back into the fold when Mississippi College submitted its application to rejoin Division II and was on track for 2016-17 membership. Former Commissioner Jim McCullough brought the GSC office to Birmingham when he was hired in 1979. The conference welcomed its seventh commissioner in May 2014 when Matt Wilson was selected to follow Nate Salant who retired after a 22-year stint.

2010s realignment

Beginning with the 2011–12 academic year; Arkansas Tech University, University of Arkansas at Monticello, 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 at Division I in March 2012. In July 2011, Shorter University and

(Jackson, Tenn.) were accepted into the NCAA and began the multi-year transition process from the NAIA to

NCAA 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 an ...

. Both universities began 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 The Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech or FIT) is a private research university in Melbourne, Florida. The university comprises four academic colleges: Engineering & Science, Aeronautics, Psychology & Liberal Arts, and Business. App ...

as an associate member for football beginning in the 2013 season. On October 11, 2012,

announced that it would petition the NCAA to leave Division III and return to the conference. The transition was a lengthy process; Mississippi College officially became a Division II candidate starting with the 2013–14 academic year, with the school becoming a full Division II member for 2016–17. In 2013, Lee University joined the GSC, bringing the membership to 11. Lee University moved to Division II provisional membership for the 2014-15 season. They will complete transition to Division II in the 2015-16 season. Mississippi College entered its second candidacy year with the 2014-15 season in its path to full Division II membership in 2016-17 and added Gulf South Conference teams to its schedule. The next change to the conference's membership was officially announced on December 6, 2016 when North Alabama was accepted to the ASUN Conference and would begin a transition to Division I sports in 2018. In May 2020, affiliate member Florida Tech announced the discontinuation of their football program due to the financial fallout of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

Chronological timeline

* 1970 - The Gulf South Conference (GSC) was founded as a football-only league known as the Mid-South Athletic Conference. Charter members included Delta State College (now Delta State University), Jacksonville State University, Florence State University (now the University of North Alabama), the

University of Tennessee at Martin The University of Tennessee at Martin (UT Martin or UTM) is a public university in Martin, Tennessee. It is one of the five campuses of the University of Tennessee system. UTM is the only public university in West Tennessee outside of Memphi ...

, Troy State University (now Troy University) and Livingston University (now the University of North Alabama), effective beginning the 1970-71 academic year. * 1971 - Nicholls State University,

Northwestern State University Northwestern State University of Louisiana (NSU) is a public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Polk and Alexandria. It is a part of the Univer ...

and

Southeastern Louisiana University Southeastern Louisiana University (Southeastern) is a public university in Hammond, Louisiana. It was founded in 1925 by Linus A. Sims as Hammond Junior College. Sims succeeded in getting the campus moved to north Hammond in 1928, when it becam ...

joined the GSC, effective in the 1971-72 academic year. * 1972 -

joined the GSC, effective in the 1972-73 academic year. * 1975 - Northwestern State left the GSC to become an NCAA D-II Independent (who would later join the Division I ranks of the

(NCAA) and the Trans Atlantic Athletic Conference (TAAC), effective beginning the 1978-79 academic year), effective after the 1974-75 academic year. * 1979 - Nicholls State and Southeastern Louisiana left the GSC to become NCAA D-II Independents (who both would later join the NCAA Division I ranks: Nicholls State to the TAAC, effective beginning the 1982-83 academic year as a provisional member; and Southeastern Louisiana to the Gulf Star Conference, effective beginning the 1984-85 academic year), effective after the 1978-79 academic year. * 1981 - Valdosta State College (now Valdosta State University) joined the GSC, effective in the 1981-82 academic year. * 1983 -

West Georgia College The University of West Georgia is a public university in Carrollton, Georgia. The university offers a satellite campus in Newnan, Georgia, select classes at its Douglasville Center, and off-campus Museum Studies classes at the Atlanta History Ce ...

(now the University of West Georgia) joined the GSC, effective in the 1983-84 academic year. * 1991 - Tennessee–Martin (UT Martin) and Troy State left the GSC to become NCAA D-II Independents (who both would later join the NCAA Division I ranks: Tennessee–Martin (UT Martin) to the

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in the Football Cham ...

(OVC), effective beginning the 1992-93 academic year; and Troy State to the

East Coast Conference The East Coast Conference (ECC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the northeastern United States in the states of C ...

(ECC), effective beginning the 1993-94 academic year), effective after the 1990-91 academic year. * 1992 -

Lincoln Memorial University Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) is a private university in Harrogate, Tennessee. LMU's campus borders on Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. As of fall 2019, it had 1,975 undergraduate and 2,892 graduate and professional students. LMU ...

joined the GSC, effective in the 1992-93 academic year. * 1993 - Jacksonville State left the GSC to become an NCAA D-II Independent (who would later join the NCAA Division I ranks and the TAAC, effective beginning the 1995-96 academic year), effective after the 1992-93 academic year. * 1993 - The University of Alabama in Huntsville, the University of Central Arkansas,

Henderson State University Henderson State University (HSU) is a public university in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Founded in 1890 as Arkadelphia Methodist College, it is Arkansas's only member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. Henderson has an undergraduate enrol ...

and Mississippi University for Women joined the GSC, effective in the 1993-94 academic year. * 1994 - The

University of West Florida The University of West Florida (West Florida or UWF) is a public university in Pensacola, Florida. Established in 1963 as part of the State University System of Florida, the university sits on the third largest campus in the State University Sys ...

joined the GSC, effective in the 1994-95 academic year. * 1995 - Arkansas Tech University, the

University of Arkansas at Monticello The University of Arkansas at Monticello (UAM) is a public university in Monticello, Arkansas with Colleges of Technology in Crossett and McGehee. UAM is part of the University of Arkansas System and offers master's degrees, baccalaureate degre ...

, the

University of Montevallo The University of Montevallo is a public university in Montevallo, Alabama. Founded on October 12, 1896, the university is Alabama's only public liberal arts college and a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. The University of M ...

and

Southern Arkansas University Southern Arkansas University (SAU) is a public university in Magnolia, Arkansas. History Southern Arkansas University was established by an Act of the Arkansas Legislature in 1909 as a district agricultural high school for southwest Arkansas an ...

joined the GSC, effective in the 1995-96 academic year. * 1996 - Mississippi College left the GSC to join the

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their st ...

ranks and 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 ...

, effective after the 1995-96 academic year. * 1996 -

Christian Brothers University Christian Brothers University is a private Roman Catholic higher education institution in Memphis, Tennessee. It was founded in 1871 by the De La Salle Christian Brothers, a Catholic teaching order. History Christian Brothers University w ...

joined the GSC, effective in the 1996-97 academic year. * 2000 - Harding University and

joined the GSC, effective in the 2000-01 academic year. * 2003 - MUW left the GSC due to the school announcing to discontinue its athletics program, effective after the 2002-03 academic year. * 2006 - Two institutions left the GSC to join in their respective new home primary conferences: Central Arkansas to join the NCAA Division I ranks and the

Southland Conference The Southland Conference, abbreviated as SLC, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it ...

, and Lincoln Memoria to join the South Atlantic Conference, both effective after the 2005-06 academic year. * 2009 - Montevallo left the GSC to join the

(PBC), effective after the 2008-09 academic year. * 2011 - Arkansas Tech, Arkansas–Monticello, Harding, Henderson State, Ouachita Baptist and Southern Arkansas left the GSC to join with a few Oklahoma schools to form the newly-created Great American Conference, effective after the 2010-11 academic year. However, only Harding and Ouachita Baptist remained in the GSC as affiliate members for men's soccer just for the 2011 fall season (2011-12 academic year). * 2011 - University of New Orleans joined the GSC as an associate member for some sports, effective in the 2011-12 academic year. * 2012 - New Orleans left the GSC to return back to fully align in the NCAA Division I ranks (which would later join the Southland, effective beginning the 2013-14 academic year), effective after the 2011-12 academic year. * 2012 - Shorter University and

joined the GSC, effective in the 2012-13 academic year. * 2013 - Lee University joined the GSC, effective in the 2013-14 academic year. * 2013 -

(Florida Tech) joined the GSC as an affiliate member for football, effective in the 2013 fall season (2013-14 academic year). * 2014 - Mississippi College rejoined the GSC, effective in the 2014-15 academic year. * 2014 -

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 ...

joined the GSC as an affiliate member for women's golf, and men's & women's soccer, all effective in the 2014 fall season (2014-15 academic year). * 2015 - Young Harris College joined the GSC as an affiliate member for women's lacrosse (with Montevallo re-joining for that sport), effective in the 2016 spring season (2015-16 academic year). * 2017 -

Auburn University at Montgomery Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM) is a public university in Montgomery, Alabama. Established by an act of the Alabama Legislature in 1967, it is governed by the Auburn University Board of Trustees as a member of the Auburn University syste ...

joined the GSC (with Montevallo re-joining for all sports), effective in the 2017-18 academic year. * 2018 - North Alabama left the GSC to join the NCAA Division I ranks and the ASUN Conference, effective after the 2017-18 academic year. * 2018 -

North Greenville University North Greenville University is a private Baptist university in Tigerville, South Carolina. It is affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention). It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and ...

joined the GSC as an affiliate member for football, effective in the 2018 fall season (2018-19 academic year). * 2020 - Florida Tech left the GSC as an affiliate member for football due to the school discontinuing the sport, effective after the 2019 fall season (2019-20 academic year).

Member schools

Current members

The GSC currently has 13 full members, all but five are

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

schools: ;Notes:

Affiliate members

The GSC currently has three affiliate members; all are private schools:

Former members

The GSC had 17 former full members, all but three were

schools: ;Notes:

Former affiliate members

The GSC had two former affiliate members, one was a

school and another was a private school:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1970 till:2030 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:5 left:5 bottom:20 top:5 Colors = id:line value:black id:Full value:rgb(0.63,0.88,0.755) # all sports id:FullxF value:rgb(0.88,0.755,0.63) # non-football id:AssocF value:rgb(0.88,0.63,0.63) # football-only id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.755,0.755,0.63) # associate PlotData = width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:AssocF from:1970 till:1971 text: Delta State (1970–present) bar:1 color:Full from:1971 till:end bar:2 color:AssocF from:1970 till:1971 text: Jacksonville State (1970–1993) bar:2 color:Full from:1971 till:1993 bar:3 color:AssocF from:1970 till:1971 text:

(1970–2018) bar:3 color:Full from:1971 till:2018 bar:4 color:AssocF from:1970 till:1971 text: Tennessee–Martin (1970–1991) bar:4 color:Full from:1971 till:1991 bar:5 color:AssocF from:1970 till:1971 text: Troy State (1970–1991) bar:5 color:Full from:1971 till:1991 bar:6 color:AssocF from:1970 till:1971 text: West Alabama (1970–present) bar:6 color:Full from:1971 till:end bar:7 color:AssocOS from:1971 till:1972 text: Northwestern State (1971–1975) bar:7 color:Full from:1972 till:1975 bar:8 color:FullxF from:1971 till:1972 text: Nicholls State (1971–1979) bar:8 color:Full from:1972 till:1979 bar:9 color:Full from:1971 till:1979 text: Southeastern Louisiana (1971–1979) bar:10 color:AssocOS from:1972 till:1973 text:

(1972–1996) bar:10 color:Full from:1973 till:1996 text: bar:10 color:Full from:2014 till:end text:(2014–present) bar:11 color:AssocOS from:1981 till:1982 text: Valdosta State (1981–present) bar:11 color:Full from:1982 till:end bar:12 color:AssocOS from:1983 till:1984 text: West Georgia (1983–present) bar:12 color:Full from:1984 till:end bar:13 color:FullxF from:1992 till:2006 text: Lincoln Memorial (1992–2006) bar:14 color:FullxF from:1993 till:end text: Alabama–Huntsville (1993–present) bar:15 color:Full from:1993 till:2006 text:

(1993–2006) bar:16 color:Full from:1993 till:2011 text: Henderson State (1993–2011) bar:17 color:FullxF from:1993 till:2003 text: MUW (1993–2003) bar:18 color:FullxF from:1994 till:2016 text:

(1994–present) bar:18 color:Full from:2016 till:end bar:19 color:Full from:1995 till:2011 text: Arkansas Tech (1995–2011) bar:20 color:Full from:1995 till:2011 text: Arkansas–Monticello (1995–2011) bar:21 color:FullxF from:1995 till:2009 text: Montevallo (1995–2009) bar:21 color:AssocOS from:2015 till:2017 text:(2015–present) bar:21 color:FullxF from:2017 till:end bar:22 color:Full from:1995 till:2011 text: Southern Arkansas (1995–2011) bar:23 color:FullxF from:1996 till:end text: Christian Brothers (1996–present) bar:24 color:Full from:2000 till:2011 text: Harding (2000–2011) bar:24 color:AssocOS from:2011 till:2012 text:(2011–2012) bar:25 color:Full from:2000 till:2011 text: Ouachita Baptist (2000–2011) bar:25 color:AssocOS from:2011 till:2012 text:(2011–2012) bar:26 color:AssocOS from:2011 till:2012 text:

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

(2011–2012) bar:27 color:Full from:2012 till:end text: Shorter (2012–present) bar:28 color:FullxF from:2012 till:end text:

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

(2012–present) bar:29 color:FullxF from:2013 till:end text: Lee (2013–present) bar:30 color:AssocF from:2013 till:2020 text: Florida Tech (2013–2020) bar:31 color:AssocOS from:2014 till:end text: Spring Hill (2014–present) bar:33 color:AssocOS from:2015 till:end text: Young Harris (2015–present) bar:34 color:FullxF from:2017 till:end text: Auburn–Montgomery (2017–present) bar:35 color:AssocF from:2018 till:end text: North Greenville (2018–future) ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1970

Conference venues

National championships

*Valdosta State won 1979 baseball national championship prior to joining the GSC. *Mississippi College's 1989 football tournament participation and national championship were vacated by the NCAA Committee on Infractions for recruiting violations. *Ice hockey is not a conference-sanctioned sport.

References

External links

* {{NCAA Division II football conference navbox Sports in the Southern United States Organizations based in Birmingham, Alabama 1970 establishments in the United States