The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes in the Division III ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
Association | NCAA |
---|---|
Founded | 1995 |
Commissioner | Joe Walsh (since 2005) |
Sports fielded |
|
Division | Division III |
No. of teams | 16 (15 in 2024, 14 in 2025) |
Headquarters | Winthrop, Massachusetts |
Region | New England |
Official website | thegnac.com |
Locations | |
History
Chronological timeline
- 1995 – In 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) was founded. Charter members included the following: On men's sports and women's sports, Albertus Magnus College, Daniel Webster College, Emerson College, Endicott College, Johnson & Wales University, Rhode Island Campus and Rivier College (now Rivier University); on women's sports only, Emmanuel College, Pine Manor College, the University of Saint Joseph, Simmons College (now Simmons University) and Suffolk University, all beginning the 1995–96 academic year.
- 1998 – Norwich University, Southern Vermont College and Western New England College (now Western New England University) joined the GNAC in the 1998–99 academic year.
- 1998 – Suffolk's men's sports joined the GNAC in the 1998–99 academic year.
- 1999 – Endicott left the GNAC to join the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) after the 1998–99 academic year.
- 2001 – Emmanuel (Mass.) added men's sports in its athletic program to join the GNAC in the 2001–02 academic year.
- 2007 – Western New England left the GNAC to join the CCC after the 2006–07 academic year.
- 2007 – Lasell College (now Lasell University) and Mount Ida College and Saint Joseph's College of Maine joined the GNAC in the 2007–08 academic year.
- 2008 – Daniel Webster and Southern Vermont left the GNAC to join the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) after the 2007–08 academic year.
- 2008 – Four institutions joined the GNAC as associate members: Rhode Island College and the University of Southern Maine for men's golf, and Elms College and Husson University for men's and women's swimming & diving, all effective in the 2008–09 academic year.
- 2011 – Anna Maria College joined the GNAC in the 2011–12 academic year.
- 2011 – Wentworth Institute of Technology (Wentworth Tech) joined the GNAC as an associate member for men's volleyball in the 2012 spring season (2011–12 academic year).
- 2012 – Pine Manor left the GNAC to join the Great South Athletic Conference (GSAC) after the 2011–12 academic year.
- 2012 – The University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth (UMass–Dartmouth) joined the GNAC as an associate member for men's golf in the 2013 spring season (2012–13 academic year).
- 2013 – Emerson left the GNAC to join the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) after the 2012–13 academic year.
- 2017 – Regis College joined the GNAC in the 2017–18 academic year.
- 2018 – Mount Ida left the GNAC due to the school announcing that it would close after the 2017–18 academic year.
- 2018 – Colby–Sawyer College joined the GNAC in the 2018–19 academic year.
- 2018 – Eastern Nazarene College joined the GNAC as an associate member for men's tennis in the 2019 spring season (2018–19 academic year).
- 2018 – Saint Joseph (Conn.) added men's sports in its athletic program to join the GNAC in the 2018–19 academic year.
- 2020 – Eastern Nazarene left the GNAC as an associate member for men's tennis after the 2020 spring season (2019–20 academic year).
- 2020 – Dean College joined the GNAC in the 2020–21 academic year.
- 2021 – Elms had upgraded to join the GNAC for all sports in the 2021–22 academic year.
- 2021 – The University of New England joined the GNAC as an associate member for women's swimming & diving in the 2021–22 academic year.[1]
- 2022 – New England (Me.) left the GNAC as an associate member for women's swimming & diving after the 2021–22 academic year.[2]
- 2023 – Mitchell College and New England College joined the GNAC in the 2023–24 academic year.[3]
- 2024 – Johnson & Wales (RI) will leave the GNAC to will join the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC), beginning the 2024–25 academic year.
- 2024 – Anna Maria will leave the GNAC to join the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC), beginning the 2025–26 academic year..
Member schools
Current members
The GNAC currently has sixteen full members, all are private schools:
- Notes
Associate members
The GNAC currently has five associate members, all but two are private schools:
Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Primary conference | GNAC sport |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Husson University | Bangor, Maine | 1898 | Nonsectarian | 3,500 | Eagles | 2008 | North Atlantic (NAC) | swimming and diving |
Emerson College | Boston, Massachusetts | 1880 | Nonsectarian | 4,290 | Lions | 1995 | New England (NEWMAC) | men's volleyball |
Wentworth Institute of Technology | Boston, Massachusetts | 1904 | Nonsectarian | 4,576 | Leopards | 2011 | Commonwealth Coast (CCC) | men's volleyball |
Former members
The GNAC had eight former full members, all were private schools:
Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Left | Current conference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Daniel Webster College | Nashua, New Hampshire | 1965 | For-profit | N/A | Eagles | 1995 | 2008 | Closed in 2017 |
Endicott College | Beverly, Massachusetts | 1939 | Nonsectarian | 4,528 | Gulls | 1995 | 1999 | Commonwealth Coast (CCC) |
Emerson College | Boston, Massachusetts | 1880 | Nonsectarian | 4,290 | Lions | 1995 | 2013 | New England (NEWMAC) |
Mount Ida College | Newton, Massachusetts | 1899 | Nonsectarian | N/A | Mustangs | 2007 | 2018 | Closed in 2018 |
Pine Manor College[a] | Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts | 1911 | Nonsectarian | N/A | Gators | 1995 | 2012 | N/A[b] |
Southern Vermont College | Bennington, Vermont | 1929 | Nonsectarian | N/A | Mountaineers | 1998 | 2008 | Closed in 2019 |
Suffolk University | Boston, Massachusetts | 1906 | Nonsectarian | 6,832 | Rams | 1995 | 2020 | Commonwealth Coast (CCC) |
Western New England University | Springfield, Massachusetts | 1919 | Nonsectarian | 3,702 | Golden Bears | 1998 | 2007 | Commonwealth Coast (CCC) |
- Notes
Former associate members
The GNAC had two former associate members, which were also private schools:
Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Left | Primary conference | GNAC sport |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eastern Nazarene College | Quincy, Massachusetts | 1900 | Nazarene | 1,063 | Lions | 2018 | 2020 | North Atlantic (NAC) | men's tennis |
University of New England | Biddeford, Maine | 1831 | Nonsectarian | 7,208 | Nor'easters | 2021 | 2022 | Commonwealth Coast (CCC) | women's swimming & diving |
Rhode Island College | Providence, Rhode Island | 1854 | Nonsectarian | 7,523 | Anchormen | 2008 | ? | Little East (LEC) | men's golf |
University of Southern Maine | Portland, Maine | 1878 | Public | 8,022 | Huskies | 2008 | ? | Little East (LEC) | men's golf |
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth | North Dartmouth, Massachusetts | 1895 | Public | 8,513 | Corsairs | 2012 | ? | Little East (LEC) | men's golf |
Membership timeline
Sports
A divisional format is used for basketball (M / W). | |
North
| South
|
Sport | Men's | Women's |
---|---|---|
Baseball | ||
Basketball | ||
Cross country | ||
Field hockey | ||
Golf | ||
Lacrosse | ||
Soccer | ||
Softball | ||
Swimming & diving | ||
Tennis | ||
Track & field | ||
Volleyball |
References
External links
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