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	8
Sports fielded	10 (men's: 4; women's: 6)
Region	Southeastern United States Region XIII of the NAIA
Commissioner	Thomas Howell
Website	gcaconf.com
Locations

The Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the NAIA's Division I. Member institutions are located in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, USA.

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.

Louisiana College left the GCAC to join NCAA Division III, American Southwest Conference in 2000, while Talladega College, who joined in 1999, left in 2002. In 2010, Belhaven College, Loyola University New Orleans, Spring Hill College, University of Mobile, and William Carey University left the conference to join the Southern States Athletic Conference. In 2010 LSU-Shreveport left the conference to join the Red River Athletic Conference. In January 2011, it was announced Talladega College will join the conference starting in the 2011-12 academic year. Talladega was a previous member of the GCAC from 1999-2002.

Conference sports

Conference sports

Sport	Men's	Women's
Basketball	Y	Y
Cross Country	Y	Y
Softball		Y
Tennis	Y	Y
Track and Field	Y	Y
Volleyball		Y

Current members

Old logo

Institution	Location	Men's Team Name	Women's Team Name	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Joined
Dillard University	New Orleans, LA	Blue Devils	Lady Blue Devils	1869	Private/ (Methodist & Church of Christ)	900	1981
Edward Waters College	Jacksonville, FL	Tigers	Lady Tigers	1866	Private/(African Methodist)	800	2010
Fisk University	Nashville, TN	Bulldogs	Lady Bulldogs	1866	Private/(Church of Christ)	800	2010
Philander Smith College	Little Rock, AR	Panthers	Lady Panthers	1864	Private/(Methodist)	700	2011
Southern University at New Orleans	New Orleans, LA	Black Knights	Lady Knights	1956	Public	3,200	1986
Talladega College	Talladega, AL	Tornadoes	Lady Tornadoes	1867	Private/(United Church of Christ)	600	2011
Tougaloo College	Tougaloo, MS	Bulldogs	Lady Bulldogs	1869	Private/(Church of Christ)	900	1981
Xavier University of Louisiana	New Orleans, LA	Gold Rush	Gold Nuggets	1925	Private/(Catholic)	3,200	1981

Former members

School	Location	Men’s Team Name	Women’s Team Name	Founded	Type	Enrollment	Joined	Left	Current Conference	Classification
Belhaven College	Jackson, Mississippi	Blazers	Blazers	1883	Private/(Presbyterian Church USA)	1,500	1981	2010	Southern States Athletic Conference	NAIA Division I
Louisiana College	Pineville, Louisiana	Wildcats	Lady Wildcats	1906	Private/(Louisiana Baptist Convention)	1,000	1981	2000	American Southwest Conference	NCAA Division III
Louisiana State University in Shreveport	Shreveport, Louisiana	Pilots	Lady Pilots	1967	Public/	4,200	2000	2010	Red River Athletic Conference	NAIA Division I
Loyola University New Orleans	New Orleans, Louisiana	Wolfpack	Wolfpack	1904	Private/(Catholic)	2,600	1995	2010	Southern States Athletic Conference	NAIA Division I
Spring Hill College	Mobile, Alabama	Badgers	Lady Badgers	1830	Private/(Catholic)	1,300	1981	2010	Southern States Athletic Conference	NAIA Division I
Talladega College	Talladega, Alabama	Tornadoes	Lady Tornadoes	1867	Private/(United Church of Christ)	600	1999	2002	Independent	NAIA Division I
University of Mobile	Mobile, Alabama	Rams	Lady Rams	1961	Private/(Alabama Baptist State Convention)	1,500	1985	2010	Southern States Athletic Conference	NAIA Division I
William Carey University	Hattiesburg, Mississippi	Crusaders	Lady Crusaders	1906	Private/(Mississippi Baptist Convention)		1981	2010	Southern States Athletic Conference	NAIA Division I

Note: Belhaven College left the conference in 2000 but returned in 2002.

External links

• Official website