The Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) was a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), operated in the western United States. It was aligned with the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC). The two allied conferences worked under the name of the Mountain and Plains Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MPIAA). It was announced on May 15, 1972. The founding schools were Fort Hays State College (now Fort Hays State University); Kansas State College of Emporia (now Emporia State University); Kansas State College of Pittsburg (now Pittsburg State University); Southern Colorado State College (now Colorado State University–Pueblo); the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the University of Northern Colorado and Washburn University. The conference only lasted four years, as Nebraska–Omaha and Northern Colorado left for the North Central Conference (NCC), Southern Colorado went back to the RMAC, and the rest of the schools started the Central States Intercollegiate Conference (CSIC), which merged into the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) effective in the 1989–90 school year.
Member schools Final members Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Left Subsequentconference(s) Currentconference Fort Hays State College Hays, Kansas 1902 Public 14,658 Tigers 1972 1976 Central States (CSIC)(1976–89)Rocky Mountain (RMAC)(1989–2006) Mid-American (MIAA)(2006–present) Kansas State College of Emporia Emporia, Kansas 1863 5,887 Hornets Central States (CSIC)(1976–89)D-II Independent(1989–91) Mid-American (MIAA)(1991–present) Kansas State College of Pittsburg Pittsburg, Kansas 1903 7,102 Gorillas Central States (CSIC)(1976–89) Mid-American (MIAA)(1989–present) Omaha, Nebraska 1908 15,431 Mavericks various Summit(2012–present) Greeley, Colorado 1889 12,862 Bears various Big Sky(2006–present) Southern Colorado State College Pueblo, Colorado 1933 6,805 ThunderWolves Rocky Mountain (RMAC)(1976–90)Colorado (CAC)(1990–96) Rocky Mountain (RMAC)(1996–present) Washburn University Topeka, Kansas 1865 7,971 Ichabods Central States (CSIC)(1976–89) Mid-American (MIAA)(1989–present)
Notes
Membership timeline
Football champions 1972 – 1973 – and 1974 – 1975 –
References