Great Northeast Athletic Conference

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).

Great Northeast Athletic Conference

Association	NCAA
Founded	1995
Commissioner	Joe Walsh (since 2005)
Sports fielded	22 men's: 11 women's: 11
Division	Division III
No. of teams	15 (14 in 2025)
Headquarters	Winthrop, Massachusetts
Region	New England
Official website	thegnac.com
Locations

History

Great Northeast Athletic Conference

50km
30miles

Dean

New England College

Mitchell

Albertus Magnus

Saint Joseph (CT)

Colby-Sawyer

Rivier

Elms

Anna Maria

Norwich

Saint Joseph's (ME)

Simmons

Emmanuel

Regis

Lasell

  

Locations of GNAC members, 2023-2024 full and departing

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 fifteen full members, all are private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined
Albertus Magnus College	New Haven, Connecticut	1925	Catholic (D.S.P.)	1,961	Falcons	1995
Anna Maria College[a]	Paxton, Massachusetts	1946	Catholic (S.S.A.)	1,500	Amcats	2011
Colby–Sawyer College	New London, New Hampshire	1837	Nonsectarian	2,262	Chargers	2018
Dean College	Franklin, Massachusetts	1865	Nonsectarian	1,055	Bulldogs	2020
Elms College[b]	Chicopee, Massachusetts	1928	Catholic (S.S.J.)	1,713	Blazers	2021[c]
Emmanuel College[b]	Boston, Massachusetts	1919	Catholic (SNDdeN)	1,850	Saints	1995
Lasell University[b]	Newton, Massachusetts	1851	Nonsectarian	2,200	Lasers	2007
Mitchell College	New London, Connecticut	1938	Nonsectarian	572	Mariners	2023
New England College	Henniker, New Hampshire	1946	Nonsectarian	4,327	Pilgrims	2023
Norwich University	Northfield, Vermont	1819	Private	2,300	Cadets	1998
Regis College[b]	Weston, Massachusetts	1927	Catholic (S.S.J.)	2,748	Pride	2017
Rivier University	Nashua, New Hampshire	1933	Catholic (S.P.M.)	2,520	Raiders	1995
University of Saint Joseph[b]	West Hartford, Connecticut	1932	Catholic (R.S.M.)	2,467	Blue Jays	1995
Saint Joseph's College of Maine	Standish, Maine	1912	Catholic (R.S.M.)	1,987	Monks	2007
Simmons University[d][e]	Boston, Massachusetts	1899	Nonsectarian	1,900	Sharks	1995

Notes

1. Anna Maria will join the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) beginning the 2025–26 academic year.
2. This institution is a former women's college, which has eventually turned into a co-educational college (Lasell since 1997–98, Elms since 1998–99, Emmanuel (Mass.) since 2001–02, Regis (Mass.) since 2007–08 and Saint Joseph (Conn.) since 2018–19).
3. Before joining for full membership, Elms competed in the GNAC as an associate member for swimming and diving from 2008–09 to 2020–21.^[4]
4. This institution is a women's college, therefore it does not compete in men's sports.
5. Non-basketball member.

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 nine 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)
Johnson & Wales University	Providence, Rhode Island	1914	Nonsectarian	8,564	Wildcats	1995	2024	Commonwealth Coast (CCC)
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

1. This institution is a former women's college, which has eventually turned into a co-educational college (Pine Manor from 2014–15).
2. Pine Manor was acquired by Boston College in 2021.

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 Anna Maria Colby–Sawyer Emmanuel Norwich Rivier Saint Joseph (Maine) Simmons	South Albertus Magnus Dean Elms Johnson & Wales Lasell Regis Saint Joseph (Conn.)

See also: Great Northeast Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament

Conference sports

Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	Y
Basketball	Y	Y
Cross country	Y	Y
Field hockey		Y
Golf	Y
Lacrosse	Y	Y
Soccer	Y	Y
Softball		Y
Swimming & diving	Y	Y
Tennis	Y	Y
Track & field	Y	Y
Volleyball	Y	Y

References

1. "UNE Women Join GNAC Swimming & Diving as Associate Member" (Press release). Great Northeast Athletic Conference. August 24, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
2. "University of New England Women's Swimming to Join LEC as Affiliate Member in 2022-23" (Press release). Little East Conference. June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
3. "Mitchell, NEC Joining GNAC in 2023-24 Academic Year" (Press release). Great Northeast Athletic Conference. September 28, 2022. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
4. "Elms, GNAC Ready to Begin Conference Affiliation in 2021-22". Great Northeast Athletic Conference. April 7, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2021.

External links

• Official website