Great Plains Athletic Conference (1972–1976)

This article is about the former college athletic conference that aligned with the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. For the current NAIA athletic conference, see Great Plains Athletic Conference.

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).^[1] 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.^[2] 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.

Great Plains Athletic Conference

Association	NAIA
Founded	1972
Ceased	1976
Region	Mountain States

Member schools

Final members

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Left	Subsequent conference(s)	Current conference
Fort Hays State College[a]	Hays, Kansas	1902	Public	14,658	Tigers	1972	1976	Central States (CSIC) (1976–89) Rocky Mountain (RMAC)[b] (1989–2006)	Mid-American (MIAA)[b] (2006–present)
Kansas State College of Emporia[c]	Emporia, Kansas	1863		5,887	Hornets			Central States (CSIC) (1976–89) D-II Independent (1989–91)	Mid-American (MIAA)[b] (1991–present)
Kansas State College of Pittsburg[d]	Pittsburg, Kansas	1903		7,102	Gorillas			Central States (CSIC) (1976–89)	Mid-American (MIAA)[b] (1989–present)
University of Nebraska at Omaha	Omaha, Nebraska	1908		15,431	Mavericks			various[e]	Summit[f] (2012–present)
University of Northern Colorado	Greeley, Colorado	1889		12,862	Bears			various[g]	Big Sky[h] (2006–present)
Southern Colorado State College[i]	Pueblo, Colorado	1933		6,805	ThunderWolves			Rocky Mountain (RMAC) (1976–90) Colorado (CAC) (1990–96)	Rocky Mountain (RMAC)[b] (1996–present)
Washburn University	Topeka, Kansas	1865		7,971	Ichabods			Central States (CSIC) (1976–89)	Mid-American (MIAA)[b] (1989–present)

Notes

1. Currently known as Fort Hays State University since 1977.
2. Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.
3. Currently known as Emporia State University since 1977.
4. Currently known as Pittsburg State University since 1977.
5. Nebraska–Omaha (now Omaha) had joined the following subsequent conferences: the North Central Conference (NCC)^[b] from 1976–77 to 2007–08; the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA)^[b] from 2008–09 to 2010–11; and as an NCAA D-I Independent during the 2011–12 school year.
6. Currently an NCAA Division I non-football athletic conference.
7. Nebraska–Omaha (now Omaha) had joined the following subsequent conferences: as an NAIA/D-II Independent from 1976–77 to 1977–78; the North Central Conference (NCC)^[b] from 1978–79 to 2002–03; and as an NCAA D-I Independent from 2003–04 to 2005–06.
8. Currently an NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) athletic conference.
9. Later known as the University of Southern Colorado in 1975, now currently known as Colorado State University–Pueblo since 2003.

Membership timeline

Football champions

• 1972 – Emporia State
• 1973 – Emporia State and Northern Colorado
• 1974 – Northern Colorado
• 1975 – Northern Colorado