“Gulf South Conference”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

The Gulf South Conference (GSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II level which operates in the Southeastern United States.

History

Originally known as the Mid-South Conference, the Gulf South Conference was formed by six universities in the summer of 1970: Delta State, Florence State (now North Alabama), Jacksonville State, Livingston (now West Alabama), Tennessee–Martin, and Troy State (now Troy). 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 (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 oadd 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.^[1]

The University of New Orleans, which was transitioning from Division I to Division II, was accepted into the conference in June 2011,^[2] but the school announced intentions to stay at Division I in March 2012.^[3] 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.^[4] 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.^[5] In August 2011, the GSC added the Florida Institute of Technology as an associate member for football beginning in the 2013 season.^[6]

On October 11, 2012, Mississippi College announced that it would petition the NCAA to leave Division III and return to the conference.^[7] 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.^[8]

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.^[9]

The next change to the conference's membership was officially announced on December 6, 2016 when North Alabama was accepted to the Atlantic Sun Conference and would begin a transition to Division I sports in 2018.^[10]

Member schools

Current members

Affiliate members

Former members

Membership timeline

Conference venues

Sponsored sports

The GSC sponsors competition in 8 men's sports and 9 women's sports. The conference begins sponsoring women's lacrosse and men's / women's track & field in the 2015–16 school year.^[11]^[12]

Men's sponsored sports by school

Women's sponsored sports by school

Other sponsored sports by school

National championships

References

1. ^{{cite web|last=Pickle|first=David|work=NCAA.com|publisher=National Collegiate Athletic Association|url=https://www.ncaa.com/news/ncaa/2011-03-09/gac-becomes-23rd-dii-conference|title=GAC becomes 23rd DII conference|date=March 9, 2011|accessdate=April 18, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111222003323/http://www.ncaa.com/news/ncaa/2011-03-09/gac-becomes-23rd-dii-conference|archive-date=December 22, 2011|dead-url=yes}}
2. ^{{cite web|title=GSC Admits UNO for Conference Membership|url=http://www.gulfsouthconference.org/news/2011/6/21/GEN_0621114112.aspx|accessdate=22 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927024710/http://www.gulfsouthconference.org/news/2011/6/21/GEN_0621114112.aspx|archive-date=September 27, 2011|dead-url=yes}}
3. ^{{cite web|last=Daniels|first=Ed|title=UNO Athletics to remain Division I in NCAA|url=http://www.sportsnola.com/sports/uno/582044-uno-athletics-to-remain-division-i.html|publisher=SportsNOLA.com|accessdate=7 March 2012|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120516222019/http://www.sportsnola.com/sports/uno/582044-uno-athletics-to-remain-division-i.html|archivedate=16 May 2012}}
4. ^{{cite news|last=Staff|work=The Jackson Sun|url=http://www.jacksonsun.com/article/20110711/NEWS01/110711013|title=NCAA approves Union's application for NCAA Division II membership process|date=July 11, 2011|accessdate=July 12, 2011}}{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
5. ^{{cite web|work=Shorter University|url=http://www.shorter.edu/about/news/2011/07_12_11_ncaa_acceptance.htm|title=NCAA accepts Shorter's application for NCAA II membership process|date=July 12, 2011|accessdate=July 12, 2011|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110916164154/http://www.shorter.edu/about/news/2011/07_12_11_ncaa_acceptance.htm|archivedate=September 16, 2011}}
6. ^{{cite web|title=Florida Tech Football Accepts Invitation to Join Gulf South Conference|url=http://www.floridatechsports.com/football/news/112/3222/|publisher=Florida Tech Athletics|accessdate=23 August 2011|archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/61A98cSIT?url=http://www.floridatechsports.com/football/news/112/3222/|archivedate=23 August 2011|date=19 August 2011|deadurl=yes |df=dmy-all}}
7. ^{{cite news|last=Staff|work=Clinton Courier|url=http://www.theclintoncourier.net/v2/content.aspx?module=ContentItem&ID=247703&MemberID=2155|title=Exciting Development for MC Sports|date=October 16, 2012|accessdate=October 16, 2012|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104005232/http://www.theclintoncourier.net/v2/content.aspx?module=ContentItem&ID=247703&MemberID=2155|archivedate=January 4, 2014}}
8. ^{{cite web|title=It's Time to be II|url=http://www.mc.edu/d2/|publisher=Mississippi College|accessdate=October 20, 2014|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021013749/http://www.mc.edu/d2/|archivedate=October 21, 2014}}
9. ^{{cite web|title=Division II Admits its 300th Member|url=https://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/division-ii-admits-its-300th-member|publisher=NCAA |accessdate=October 20, 2014}}
10. ^{{cite press release|url=http://roarlions.com/news/2016/12/6/general-una-accepts-asun-invitation-to-move-to-division-i.aspx|title=UNA Accepts ASUN Division I Invitation|publisher=North Alabama Lions|date=December 6, 2016|accessdate=December 11, 2016}}
11. ^{{cite web|title=GSC Adds Women's Lacrosse|url=http://www.gscsports.org/news/2015/8/17/WLAX_0817154511.aspx|publisher=Gulf South Conference|accessdate=August 18, 2015}}
12. ^{{cite web|title=GSC Adds Men's and Women's Track & Field|url=http://www.gscsports.org/news/2015/8/12/MTF_0812155807.aspx|publisher=Gulf South Conference|accessdate=August 13, 2015}}