Great Northwest Athletic Conference

Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC)
Established	2001
Association	NCAA
Division	Division II
Members	10
Sports fielded	13 (men's: 7; women's: 6)
Region	Northwestern United States
Headquarters	Spokane, Washington
Commissioner	Richard Hannan (since 2009)
Website	gnacsports.com
Locations

The Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) is a college athletic conference which has historically operated in the Northwestern United States, but also currently includes four schools in areas not usually considered part of that region—two in Alaska (neither of which is located in Southeast Alaska, an area often considered part of the Northwest), one in eastern Montana (almost never considered part of the region), and one in the Canadian province of British Columbia (an area included with the Northwest U.S. in the larger Pacific Northwest region).

It participates in the NCAA's Division II, and is the only NCAA conference in any division with a Canadian university as a member.

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

Member schools

The league currently has 10 full members:

Institution	Location	Team Name	Founded	Type	Enrollment
University of Alaska Anchorage	Anchorage, Alaska	Seawolves	1954	Public	16,242
University of Alaska Fairbanks	Fairbanks, Alaska	Nanooks	1917	Public	9,380
Central Washington University	Ellensburg, Washington	Wildcats	1891	Public	10,145
Montana State University Billings	Billings, Montana	Yellowjackets	1927	Public	4,600
Northwest Nazarene University	Nampa, Idaho	Crusaders	1913	Private	1,630
Saint Martin's University	Lacey, Washington	Saints	1895	Private	1,628
Seattle Pacific University	Seattle, Washington	Falcons	1891	Private	3,773
Simon Fraser University	Burnaby, British Columbia	Clan	1965	Public	35,204
Western Oregon University	Monmouth, Oregon	Wolves	1856	Public	5,654
Western Washington University	Bellingham, Washington	Vikings	1893	Public	13,070

Football-playing members

• Central Washington University
• Dixie State College of Utah, competes primarily in the Pacific West Conference
• Humboldt State University, competes primarily in the California Collegiate Athletic Association
• Western Oregon University
• Simon Fraser University
• Azusa Pacific University, transitioning from the Golden State Athletic Conference of the NAIA in 2012, will compete primarily in the Pacific West Conference

Former members

At the conclusion of the 2005-2006 season Humboldt State University left the GNAC for the California Collegiate Athletic Association. At the conclusion of the 2007-2008 season Seattle University left the GNAC as a part of their reclassification to NCAA Division I. They will join the Western Athletic Conference in 2012.

Sports sponsored

Men's sports Football Cross Country Baseball Basketball Golf Soccer Indoor Track & Field Outdoor Track & Field

Women's sports Soccer Volleyball Basketball Softball Cross Country Indoor Track & Field Outdoor Track & Field

Football champions

• 2001 Western Washington 3–0
• 2002 Central Washington 3–0
• 2003 Western Washington 3–0
• 2004 Central Washington 5–1
• 2005 Central Washington 6–0
• 2006 Not sponsored
• 2007 Not sponsored
• 2008 Central Washington 8–0
• 2009 Central Washington 6–0
• 2010 Central Washington 7–1
• 2011 Humboldt State 7–1

External links

• Official website