The Gulf South Conference (GSC) is a
college athletic conference affiliated with the
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
(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
Delta is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South (Nigeria), South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named after the Niger Delta—a large part of which is in the state—the state was formed from the former Bendel State, on 27 August 1 ...
, Florence State (now
North Alabama),
Jacksonville State, Livingston (now
West Alabama),
Tennessee–Martin, and Troy State (now
Troy
Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...
). 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 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, and
Mississippi University for Women (MUW) (1993–94);
West Florida (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 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, 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 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 (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
Lee University is a Private university, private Church of God (Cleveland), Christian university in Cleveland, Tennessee. It was founded in 1918 as the Church of God Bible Training School with twelve students and one teacher, Nora I. Chambers. Th ...
(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 Great American Conference (GAC) is a List of NCAA conferences, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division II, Division II level, with headquarters located in Russellvil ...
.
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
Union University (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 College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
.
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 as an associate member for football beginning in the 2013 season.
On October 11, 2012,
Mississippi College 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
Lee University is a Private university, private Church of God (Cleveland), Christian university in Cleveland, Tennessee. It was founded in 1918 as the Church of God Bible Training School with twelve students and one teacher, Nora I. Chambers. Th ...
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 and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.
Chronological timeline
* 1970 – The Gulf South Conference (GSC) was founded as a football-only league known as the Mid-South Athletic Conference (MSAC). 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,
Troy State University (now Troy University) and
Livingston University (now the University of West Alabama), beginning the 1970–71 academic year.
* 1971 – The MSAC added more sports to be a full-fledged athletic conference and was rebranded as the Gulf South Conference, beginning the 1971–72 academic year.
* 1971 –
Nicholls State University
Nicholls State University is a public university in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Founded in 1948, Nicholls is part of the University of Louisiana System. Originally named Francis T. Nicholls Junior College, the university is named for Francis T. Nichol ...
,
Northwestern State University and
Southeastern Louisiana University joined the GSC in the 1971–72 academic year.
* 1972 –
Mississippi College joined the GSC 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
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
(NCAA) and the
Trans Atlantic Athletic Conference (TAAC), beginning the 1978–79 school year) 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, beginning the 1982–83 school year as a provisional member; and Southeastern Louisiana to the
Gulf Star Conference (GSC), beginning the 1984–85 school year) after the 1978–79 academic year.
* 1981 –
Valdosta State College (now Valdosta State University) joined the GSC in the 1981–82 academic year.
* 1983 –
West Georgia College (now the University of West Georgia) joined the GSC 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 (OVC), beginning the 1992–93 school year; and Troy State to the
East Coast Conference (ECC), beginning the 1993–94 school year) after the 1990–91 academic year.
* 1992 –
Lincoln Memorial University joined the GSC 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, beginning the 1995–96 school year) 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, United States. Founded in 1890 as Arkadelphia Methodist College, Henderson has an undergraduate enrollment of around 2,500 students. The campus is located on .
H ...
and
Mississippi University for Women joined the GSC in the 1993–94 academic year.
* 1994 – The
University of West Florida joined the GSC in the 1994–95 academic year.
* 1995 –
Arkansas Tech University, the
University of Arkansas at Monticello, the
University of Montevallo and
Southern Arkansas University joined the GSC in the 1995–96 academic year.
* 1996 – Mississippi College left the GSC to join the
NCAA Division III ranks and the
American Southwest Conference after the 1995–96 academic year.
* 1996 –
Christian Brothers University joined the GSC in the 1996–97 academic year.
* 2000 –
Harding University and
Ouachita Baptist University joined the GSC in the 2000–01 academic year.
* 2003 – MUW left the GSC due to the school announcing to discontinue its athletics program after the 2002–03 academic year.
* 2006 – Two institutions left the GSC to join in their respective new home primary conferences, both effective after the 2005–06 academic year:
** Central Arkansas to join the NCAA Division I ranks and the
Southland Conference
The Southland Conference (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 participates in ...
** and Lincoln Memorial to join the
South Atlantic Conference (SAC)
* 2009 – Montevallo left the GSC to join the
Peach Belt Conference (PBC) 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
The Great American Conference (GAC) is a List of NCAA conferences, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division II, Division II level, with headquarters located in Russellvil ...
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 in the 2011–12 academic year.
* 2012 – New Orleans left the GSC to fully align with the NCAA Division I ranks (which would later join the Southland, beginning the 2013–14 school year) after the 2011–12 academic year.
* 2012 –
Shorter University and
Union University joined the GSC in the 2012–13 academic year.
* 2013 –
Lee University
Lee University is a Private university, private Church of God (Cleveland), Christian university in Cleveland, Tennessee. It was founded in 1918 as the Church of God Bible Training School with twelve students and one teacher, Nora I. Chambers. Th ...
joined the GSC in the 2013–14 academic year.
* 2013 –
Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech) joined the GSC as an affiliate member for football in the 2013 fall season (2013–14 academic year).
* 2014 – Mississippi College rejoined the GSC in the 2014–15 academic year.
* 2014 –
Spring Hill College 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 rejoining for that sport) in the 2016 spring season (2015–16 academic year).
* 2017 –
Auburn University at Montgomery joined the GSC (with Montevallo rejoining for all sports) in the 2017–18 academic year.
* 2018 – North Alabama left the GSC to join the NCAA Division I ranks and the
ASUN Conference (formerly the Atlantic Sun Conference) after the 2017–18 academic year.
* 2018 –
North Greenville University
North Greenville University is a Private university, private Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist college in Tigerville, South Carolina. It is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges ...
joined the GSC as an affiliate member for football 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 after the 2019 fall season (2019–20 academic year).
* 2023 –
Chowan University joins the GSC as an affiliate member for football in the 2023 and 2024 fall seasons (2023–24 and 2024–25 academic years).
* 2024 – Two institutions left the GSC to join in their respective new home primary conferences, both effective after the 2023–24 academic year:
** Shorter to join the
Conference Carolinas
Conference Carolinas, formerly known as the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference (CVAC) or the Carolinas Conference, is a List of NCAA conferences, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) ...
(CC)
** and West Georgia to join NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Sun (ASUN), both effective after the 2023–24 academic year
* 2024 –
Trevecca Nazarene University will join the GSC in the 2024–25 academic year.
* 2024 –
Erskine College will join the GSC as an affiliate for football in the 2024 fall season only (2024–25 academic year).
* 2025 – Chowan, Erskine, and North Greenville will all leave the GSC as affiliate members for football and move their programs to Conference Carolinas after the 2024 fall season (2024–25 academic year).
Member schools
Current members
The GSC currently has 12 full members, with all but five being
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 sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
schools:
;Notes:
Affiliate members
The GSC currently has six affiliate members, with all but one being
private schools:
;Notes:
Former members
The GSC had 19 former full members, with all but four being
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 sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
schools:
;Notes:
Former affiliate members
The GSC had three former affiliate members, one was a
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 sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
school and two were
private schools:
;Notes:
Membership timeline
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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:AssocF from:1970 till:1971 text:Delta State
Delta is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South (Nigeria), South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named after the Niger Delta—a large part of which is in the state—the state was formed from the former Bendel State, on 27 August 1 ...
(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: North Alabama (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: Mississippi College (1972–1996)
bar:10 color:Full from:1973 till:1996 text:
bar:10 color:Full from:2014 till:2025 text:(2014–present)
bar:10 color:FullxF from:2025 till:end
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 (1983–2024)
bar:12 color:Full from:1984 till:2024
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: Central Arkansas (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: West Florida (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 (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
(2011–2012)
bar:27 color:Full from:2012 till:2024 text: Shorter (2012–2024)
bar:28 color:FullxF from:2012 till:end text: Union (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:2023 text: Young Harris (2015–2023)
bar:34 color:FullxF from:2017 till:end text: Auburn–Montgomery (2017–present)
bar:35 color:AssocF from:2018 till:2025 text: North Greenville (2018–2025)
bar:36 color:AssocOS from:2019 till:end text: Lander (2019–present)
bar:37 color:AssocOS from:2021 till:end text: Flagler (2021–present)
bar:38 color:AssocF from:2023 till:2025 text: Chowan (2023–2025)
bar:39 shift:(-80) color:FullxF from:2024 till:end text: Trevecca Nazarene (2024–present)
bar:40 shift:(-15) color:AssocF from:2024 till:2025 text: Erskine (2024–2025)
bar:N color:orange from:1970 till:1971 text:MSAC
bar:N shift:(25) color:red from:1971 till:1993 text:Gulf South Conference
bar:N color:orange from:1993 till:2011 text:
bar:N color:red from:2011 till:end text:
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text:^"Gulf South 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 venues
Sponsored sports
The GSC sponsors competition in 8 men's sports and 9 women's sports. The conference began sponsoring women's lacrosse and men's / women's track & field in the 2015–16 school year.
Men's sponsored sports by school
Women's sponsored sports by school
Departing members in pink.
Other sponsored sports by school
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