View source for Great West Conference

{{Short description|American college athletic conference}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}{{Infobox sports league
| name         = Great West Conference
| font_color   = FFFFFF
| logo         = Great West Conference logo.png
| logo_size    = 175
| founded      = 2004
| dissolved    = 2013
| association  = [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]]
| division     = [[Division I (NCAA)|Division I]]
| teams        = 5 (final)
| sports       = 15
| mens         = 5
| womens       = 9
| region       = Various
| formerly     = Great West Football Conference
| headquarters = [[Naperville, Illinois]]
| commissioner = Ed Grom
| website      = {{URL|http://www.greatwestconference.org}}
| map          = Great West Map.svg
| map_size     = 250
}}

The '''Great West Conference''' ('''GWC''') was an [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] [[List of NCAA conferences|college athletic conference]] in the continental United States. Originally a [[College football|football]]-only league, it became an all-sports entity during the 2008–09 season. The GWC stopped sponsoring football following the 2011 season. The conference became defunct when four of the remaining five full member schools became members of other conferences on July 1, 2013.<ref>{{cite web| title =Utah Valley University Claims Fourth Consecutive Great West Conference Commissioner's Cup| publisher =Great West Conference| date =June 27, 2013| url =http://www.greatwestconference.org/genrel/062713aaa.html| access-date =July 8, 2013| archive-date =March 26, 2014| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20140326120933/http://www.greatwestconference.org/genrel/062713aaa.html| url-status =dead}}</ref>

==History==
[[California Polytechnic State University|Cal Poly]], [[North Dakota State University|North Dakota State]], [[University of Northern Colorado|Northern Colorado]], [[South Dakota State University|South Dakota State]], [[Southern Utah University|Southern Utah]], and [[University of California, Davis|UC Davis]] inaugurated the '''Great West Football Conference''' during the 2004 season.  Cal Poly and UC Davis had previously been members of the [[American West Conference]], a similar low-level conference that existed in the 1990s. [[Saint Mary's College of California|St. Mary's (CA)]] was originally slated to join as well, but then dropped the sport six months before the league started play. In 2005, Cal Poly became the first GWFC team ever selected to participate in the NCAA Division I-AA (now FCS) playoffs.

Northern Colorado departed the Great West for the [[Big Sky Conference]] in every sport as of the 2006 football season and 2006–07 academic year. On March 7, 2007, North Dakota State and South Dakota State announced that they would leave the GWFC after the 2007 football season, and join the Gateway Football Conference as of 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mvc-sports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=39013&SPID=2899&DB_OEM_ID=7600&ATCLID=815985|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406190341/https://mvc-sports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=39013&SPID=2899&DB_OEM_ID=7600&ATCLID=815985|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 6, 2023|publisher=[[Missouri Valley Football Conference|Gateway Football Conference]]|title=Gateway Expands To Nine Members|date=2007-03-07|access-date=2007-03-09}}</ref> By the time the two schools actually made the switch, the Gateway had renamed itself the [[Missouri Valley Football Conference]]. The duo also placed their other sports, which were then independent, in the [[Summit League]] as of the 2008–09 academic year.

On August 2, 2007, [[University of North Dakota|North Dakota]] and [[University of South Dakota|South Dakota]] announced that they would join the Great West Football Conference as of the 2008 season. This agreement allowed the total number of GWFC programs to remain consistent at five, while also retaining the same geographic footprint.

On July 10, 2008, it was made official through a series of press conferences that the Great West would soon transition from a football-only league into an all-sports conference. The charter members included North Dakota, South Dakota, [[New Jersey Institute of Technology]] (NJIT), [[Houston Christian University|Houston Baptist]], [[University of Texas-Pan American|Texas-Pan American]], and [[Utah Valley University|Utah Valley]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700241969,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080710175151/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700241969,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 10, 2008|title=UVU Joins New Sports Conference<!-- Bot generated title -->|website=[[Deseret News]] }}</ref> On October 22, 2008, [[Chicago State University|Chicago State]] announced plans to join the newly rechristened GWC as well. [[Seattle University|Seattle]] was initially considering membership, but in mid-2011 accepted an invitation to instead join the [[Western Athletic Conference|WAC]] as of the 2012–13 academic year.

The expanded version of the Great West officially began playing a limited number of sports in the fall of 2008. Despite not sponsoring conference schedules in team sports (except football), the league began awarding "Player of the Week" honors to student-athletes in every sport during the 2008–09 season. The Great West featured championships in men's and women's cross country, men's and women's indoor track and field, men's and women's outdoor track and field, men's and women's golf, and women's tennis during the 2008–09 academic year. In 2009–10, regular season schedules and championship tournaments were implemented in women's volleyball, women's soccer, men's and women's basketball, baseball, and softball.

Due to its newness, the league did not have an automatic bid to the [[NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship|NCAA Tournament]], but the Great West Conference men's basketball tournament champion received an automatic bid to the [[CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament]] (CIT),<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.greatwestconference.org/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/092909aab.html |title=GWC Men's Basketball Champion To Receive Bid To CIT |access-date=2009-10-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726131548/http://www.greatwestconference.org/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/092909aab.html |archive-date=2011-07-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref> while the women's basketball tournament winners went to the [[Women's Basketball Invitational]] (WBI).

In April 2010, South Dakota publicized intentions to join the [[Summit League]] for all sports but football, effective as of the 2011–12 academic year. Seven months later, in November 2010, the school would announce a commitment to the [[Missouri Valley Football Conference|MVFC]] for football as of the 2012 season. In September 2010, Cal Poly and UC Davis announced that they would join the [[Big Sky Conference]] for football by 2012.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Big Sky Conference - Future Big Sky Institutions |url=http://www.bigskyconf.com/sports/2011/6/23/GEN_0623110642.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229223818/http://www.bigskyconf.com/sports/2011/6/23/GEN_0623110642.aspx |archive-date=February 29, 2012 |website=bigskyconf.com}}</ref> Then, in November 2010, Southern Utah and North Dakota announced that they would join the Big Sky for all sports by 2012. South Dakota was considering the Big Sky as well, thus canceling the [[Summit League]] commitment, before the [[Missouri Valley Football Conference|MVFC]] offered football-only membership.

With these moves, all football programs would soon leave the Great West, and the league stopped sponsoring the sport following the 2011 season. South Dakota stepped down to football-only status during the 2011–12 academic year, allowing the league to retain five teams in its final season on the gridiron. Overall the conference lost two full members—South Dakota and North Dakota—and six affiliates by the fall of 2012. The affiliate teams were Cal Poly, UC Davis, and Southern Utah in football; [[University of Nebraska-Omaha|Nebraska-Omaha]] in softball; as well as multi-sport partners [[California State University, Bakersfield|Cal State Bakersfield]] and Seattle.

In November 2011, Houston Baptist reached an agreement to join the [[Southland Conference]] as of the 2013–14 academic year. The school also unveiled plans to begin sponsoring football. In September 2012, Utah Valley announced plans to join the [[Western Athletic Conference]] for the 2013–14 season. At the beginning of December 2012, Texas–Pan American announced they had received an invitation to join the WAC for 2013–14 school year. On December 5, 2012, Chicago State announced that it would also join the WAC in 2013–14, and two weeks later, Texas–Pan American accepted their invitation. These departures led to the end of the Great West. NJIT, which became an [[NCAA Division I basketball independent schools|independent]] after the demise of the Great West, joined the [[Atlantic Sun Conference]] on June 11, 2015.

==Member schools==

===Former full members===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;"
! Institution
! Location
! Nickname
! Founded
! Affiliation
! Enrollment
! Joined
! Left
! Subsequent<br />conference(s)
! Current<br />conference
|-
| '''[[Chicago State University]]'''
| [[Chicago|Chicago, Illinois]]
| [[Chicago State Cougars|Cougars]]
| 1867
| Public
| 7,131
| 2008
| 2013
| [[Western Athletic Conference|Western (WAC)]]<br />(2013–22)<br />[[NCAA Division I independent schools|D-I Independent]]<br />(2022–24)
| [[Northeast Conference|Northeast]]<br />(2024–present)
|-
| '''[[Houston Christian University|Houston Baptist University]]'''{{efn|group=final|Currently known as Houston Christian University since 2022.}}
| [[Houston|Houston, Texas]]
| [[Houston Christian Huskies|Huskies]]
| 1960
| [[Baptists|Baptist]]<br />{{small|([[Baptist General Convention of Texas|BGCT]])}}
| 2,567
| 2008
| 2013
| colspan="2" | [[Southland Conference|Southland]]<br />(2013–present)
|-
| '''[[New Jersey Institute of Technology]]'''
| [[Newark, New Jersey]]
| [[NJIT Highlanders|Highlanders]]
| 1881
| Public
| 9,944
| 2008
| 2013
| [[NCAA Division I independent schools|D-I Independent]]<br />(2013–15)<br />[[Atlantic Sun Conference|Atlantic Sun (ASUN)]]<br />(2015–20)
| [[America East Conference|America East]]<br />(2020–present)
|-
| '''[[University of North Dakota]]'''
| [[Grand Forks, North Dakota]]
| [[North Dakota Fighting Hawks|Fighting Sioux]]{{efn|group=final|North Dakota is now competing as the Fighting Hawks since the 2015–16 school year.}}
| 1883
| Public
| 15,250
| 2008
| 2012
| [[Big Sky Conference|Big Sky]]<br />(2012–18)
| [[Summit League|Summit]]{{efn|group=final|North Dakota joined the [[Missouri Valley Football Conference]] (MVFC) for football in the 2020 fall season.}}<br />(2018–present)
|-
| '''[[University of South Dakota]]'''
| [[Vermillion, South Dakota]]
| [[South Dakota Coyotes|Coyotes]]
| 1862
| Public
| 10,284
| 2008
| 2011
| colspan="2" | [[Summit League|Summit]]{{efn|group=final|South Dakota remained in the Great West for football in the 2011 fall season, before joining the [[Missouri Valley Football Conference]] (MVFC) for football in the 2012 fall season.}}<br />(2011–present)
|-
| {{sort|Texas–Pan American|'''[[University of Texas–Pan American]]'''}}{{efn|group=final|Texas–Pan American (UTPA) merged with the [[University of Texas at Brownsville]] (UTB) in 2015, becoming the [[University of Texas Rio Grande Valley]] (UTRGV) [[UTRGV Vaqueros|Vaqueros]]}}
| [[Edinburg, Texas]]
| [[Texas–Pan American Broncs|Broncs]]
| 1927
| Public
| 19,302
| 2008
| 2013
| [[Western Athletic Conference|Western (WAC)]]<br />(2013–24)
| [[Southland Conference|Southland]]<br />(2024–present)
|-
| '''[[Utah Valley University]]'''
| [[Orem, Utah]]
| [[Utah Valley Wolverines|Wolverines]]
| 1941
| Public
| 31,556
| 2008
| 2013
| colspan="2" | [[Western Athletic Conference|Western (WAC)]]<br />(2013–present)
|}

;Notes:
{{notelist|group=final}}

===Former affiliate members===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;"
! Institution
! Location
! Nickname
! Founded
! Affiliation
! Enrollment
! Joined
! Left
! Current<br />primary<br />conference
! Great West<br />sport
|-
| '''[[University of Northern Colorado]]'''
| [[Greeley, Colorado]]
| [[Northern Colorado Bears|Bears]]
| 1889
| Public
| 12,497
| 2004–05
| 2005–06
| [[Big Sky Conference|Big Sky]]
| football
|-
| '''[[North Dakota State University]]'''
| [[Fargo, North Dakota]]
| [[North Dakota State Bison|Bison]]
| 1890
| Public
| 14,443
| 2004–05
| 2007–08
| [[Summit League|Summit]]{{efn|group=faff|North Dakota State joined the [[Missouri Valley Football Conference]] (MVFC) for football in the 2008 fall season.}}
| football
|-
| '''[[South Dakota State University]]'''
| [[Brookings, South Dakota]]
| [[South Dakota State Jackrabbits|Jackrabbits]]
| 1881
| Public
| 12,725
| 2004–05
| 2007–08
| [[Summit League|Summit]]{{efn|group=faff|South Dakota State joined the [[Missouri Valley Football Conference]] (MVFC) for football in the 2008 fall season.}}
| football
|-
| '''[[Southern Utah University]]'''
| [[Cedar City, Utah]]
| [[Southern Utah Thunderbirds|Thunderbirds]]
| 1897
| Public
| 8,297
| 2004–05
| 2011–12
| [[Western Athletic Conference|Western (WAC)]]
| football
|-
| '''[[California Polytechnic State University]]'''<br />(Cal Poly)
| [[San Luis Obispo, California]]
| [[Cal Poly Mustangs|Mustangs]]
| 1901
| Public
| 18,679
| 2004–05
| 2011–12
| [[Big West Conference|Big West]]{{efn|group=faff|Cal Poly joined the [[Big Sky Conference]] for football in the 2012 fall season.}}
| football
|-
| '''[[University of California, Davis]]'''<br />(UC Davis)
| [[Davis, California]]
| [[UC Davis Aggies|Aggies]]
| 1905
| Public
| 31,862
| 2004–05
| 2011–12
| [[Big West Conference|Big West]]{{efn|group=faff|UC Davis joined the [[Big Sky Conference]] for football in the 2012 fall season.}}
| football
|-
| '''[[Seattle University]]'''
| [[Seattle, Washington]]
| [[Seattle Redhawks|Redhawks]]
| 1891
| [[Catholic Church|Catholic]]<br />{{small|([[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]])}}
| 7,755
| 2010–11
| 2011–12
| [[Western Athletic Conference|Western (WAC)]]
| track & field{{efn|group=faff|Seattle joined the Great West for men's & women's indoor track & field and men's & women's outdoor track & field.}}
|-
| '''[[University of Nebraska Omaha]]'''
| [[Omaha, Nebraska]]
| [[Nebraska–Omaha Mavericks|Mavericks]]
| 1908
| Public
| 14,903
| 2011–12
| 2011–12
| [[Summit League|Summit]]
| softball
|-
| '''[[California State University, Bakersfield]]'''
| [[Bakersfield, California]]
| [[Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners|Roadrunners]]
| 1965
| Public
| 8,111
| 2011–12
| 2011–12
| [[Western Athletic Conference|Western (WAC)]]
| women's tennis
|-
| '''[[Delaware State University]]'''
| [[Dover, Delaware]]
| [[Delaware State Hornets|Hornets]]
| 1891
| Public
| 4,425
| 2009
| 2013
| [[Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference|Mid-Eastern (MEAC)]]
| women's soccer
|-
| '''[[Howard University]]'''
| [[Washington, D.C.]]
| [[Howard Bison|Bison]]
| 1867
| Nonsectarian
| 10,000
| 2009–10
| 2012–13
| [[Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference|Mid-Eastern (MEAC)]]
| women's soccer
|-
| '''[[New York Institute of Technology]]'''<br />(NYIT)
| [[Old Westbury, New York]]
| [[NYIT Bears|Bears]]
| 1955
| Nonsectarian
| 14,000
| 2009–10
| 2012–13
| N/A{{efn|group=faff|New York Tech (NYIT) suspended its athletics program after the 2018–19 school year.}}
| baseball
|-
| '''[[South Carolina State University]]'''
| [[Orangeburg, South Carolina]]
| [[South Carolina State Bulldogs|Bulldogs]]
| 1896
| Public
| 4,500
| 2009–10
| 2012–13
| [[Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference|Mid-Eastern (MEAC)]]
| women's soccer
|}

;Notes:
{{notelist|group=faff}}

===Membership timeline===
<timeline>

DateFormat  = yyyy

ImageSize   = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20

Period      = from:2004 till:2029

TimeAxis    = orientation:horizontal

PlotArea    = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph,  use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<#

Colors =  id:barcolor

          id:line     value:black

          id:bg       value:white
          id:Full value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports
          id:FullxF value:rgb(0.551,0.824,0.777) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football
          id:AssocF value:rgb(0.98,0.5,0.445) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only
          id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.4,0.961,0.724) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in some sports, but not all (consider identifying in legend or a footnote)
          id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference
          id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference where OtherC1 has already been used, to distinguish the two
PlotData=

   width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s

   bar:1  color:AssocF from:2004 till:2006 text:[[University of Northern Colorado|Northern Colorado]] (2004–05)

   bar:2  color:AssocF from:2004 till:2008 text:[[North Dakota State University|North Dakota State]] (2004–07)

   bar:3  color:AssocF from:2004 till:2008 text:[[South Dakota State University|South Dakota State]] (2004–07)

   bar:4  color:AssocF from:2004 till:2012 text:[[California Polytechnic State University|Cal Poly]] (2004–11)

   bar:5  color:AssocF from:2004 till:2012 text:[[University of California, Davis|UC Davis]] (2004–11)

   bar:6  color:AssocF from:2004 till:2012 text:[[Southern Utah University|Southern Utah]] (2004–11)

   bar:7  color:Full from:2008 till:2011 text:[[University of South Dakota|South Dakota]] (2008–11)
   bar:7  color:AssocF from:2011 till:2012 text: (2011)
   bar:7  color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:end text: [[Summit League|Summit]]

   bar:8  color:Full from:2008 till:2012 text:[[University of North Dakota|North Dakota]] (2008–12)
   bar:8  color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2018 text: [[Big Sky Conference|Big Sky]]
   bar:8  color:OtherC2 from:2018 till:end text: [[Summit League|Summit]]

   bar:9  color:FullxF from:2008 till:2013 text:[[Chicago State University|Chicago State]] (2008–13)
   bar:9  color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:2022 text: [[Western Athletic Conference|WAC]]
   bar:9  color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:2024 text: [[NCAA Division I independent schools|D-I Ind.]]
   bar:9  color:OtherC1 from:2024 till:end text: [[Northeast Conference|NEC]]

   bar:10  color:FullxF from:2008 till:2013 text:[[Houston Christian University|Houston Baptist]] (2008–13)
   bar:10  color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text: [[Southland Conference|Southland]]

   bar:11  color:FullxF from:2008 till:2013 text:[[Utah Valley University|Utah Valley]] (2008–13)
   bar:11  color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text: [[Western Athletic Conference|WAC]]

   bar:12  color:FullxF from:2008 till:2013 text:[[University of Texas–Pan American|Texas–Pan American]] (2008–13)
   bar:12  color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text: [[Western Athletic Conference|WAC]]

   bar:13  color:FullxF from:2008 till:2013 text:[[New Jersey Institute of Technology|NJIT]] (2008–13)
   bar:13  color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:2015 text: [[NCAA Division I independent schools|D-I Ind.]]
   bar:13  color:OtherC2 from:2015 till:2020 text: [[ASUN Confernece|A-Sun]]
   bar:13  color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:end text: [[America East Conference|AmEast]]

   bar:14  color:AssocOS from:2009 till:2013 text:[[Delaware State University|Delaware State]] (2009–13)
 
   bar:15  color:AssocOS from:2009 till:2013 text:[[Howard University|Howard]] (2009–13)
 
   bar:16  color:AssocOS from:2009 till:2013 text:[[New York Institute of Technology|NYIT]] (2009–13)
 
   bar:17  color:AssocOS from:2009 till:2013 text:[[South Carolina State University|South Carolina State]] (2009–13)
 
   bar:18  color:AssocOS from:2010 till:2012 text:[[Seattle University|Seattle]] (2010–12)

   bar:19  color:AssocOS from:2011 till:2012 text:[[University of Nebraska at Omaha|Omaha]] (2011–12)

   bar:20  color:AssocOS from:2011 till:2012 text:[[California State University, Bakersfield|Cal State Bakersfield]] (2011–12)

   bar:N  color:red from:2004 till:2008 text:Great West Football Conference
   bar:N  color:blue from:2008 till:2013 text:Great West Conference
   bar:N  color:red from:2013 till:end text:Post-Great West

ScaleMajor  = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:1 start:2004

TextData =
    fontsize:M
    textcolor:black
    pos:(0,30) tabs:(300-center)
    text:^"Great West Conference Membership History"

#> If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following six options (use only the colors that are used in the graphic.) Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space. {{Font color||{{RGB|190|186|218}}|Full members}} {{Font color||{{RGB|141|211|199}}|Full members (non-football)}} {{Font  color||{{RGB|251|128|114}}|Assoc. members (football only)}} {{Font color||{{RGB|128|177|211}}|Assoc. member (list sports)}} {{Font color||{{RGB|255|255|179}}|Other  Conference}} {{Font color||{{RGB|253|180|98}}|Other  Conference}} <#  </timeline>

{{Font color||{{RGB|251|128|114}}|Football-only members}} {{Font color||{{RGB|190|186|218}}|Full members (including football)}} {{Font color||{{RGB|141|211|199}}|Full members (non-football)}} {{Font color||{{RGB|120|486|318}}|Associate members, other sports}}

==Football champions==
[[Image:GreatWestLocations.png|thumb|right|350px|Locations of final Great West Conference full member institutions.]]
{| class="wikitable"
!Season
!Champions
!Record
|-
|2004
|[[2004 Cal Poly Mustangs football team|Cal Poly]]
|4–1
|-
|2005
|[[2005 Cal Poly Mustangs football team|Cal Poly]] and [[2005 UC Davis Aggies football team|UC Davis]]
|4–1
|-
|2006
|[[2006 North Dakota State Bison football team|North Dakota State]]
|4–0
|-
|2007
|{{cfb link|year=2007|team=South Dakota State Jackrabbits|title=South Dakota State}}
|4–0
|-
|2008
|[[2008 Cal Poly Mustangs football team|Cal Poly]]
|3–0
|-
|2009
|[[2009 UC Davis Aggies football team|UC Davis]]
|3–1
|-
|2010
|[[2010 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team|Southern Utah]]
|4–0
|-
|2011
|[[2011 North Dakota Fighting Sioux football team|North Dakota]] and [[2011 Cal Poly Mustangs football team|Cal Poly]]
|3–1
|}

==Basketball champions==
In 2010, the Great West Conference sponsored men's and women's basketball championship tournaments for the first time. Both events were held in [[Orem, Utah]], at the [[UCCU Center]], home of [[Utah Valley University]]. The top-seeded men from the [[University of South Dakota|South Dakota]] reaffirmed their regular season success with a 91–86 title game victory over runner-up [[Houston Christian University|Houston Baptist]]. On the women's side, [[Utah Valley University|Utah Valley]] took advantage of the crowd's support, as the number six seeds upset their way to the crown by wrapping up the stunning run with a 70–62 triumph over regular season winners [[University of North Dakota|North Dakota]].

The Great West tournaments returned to the [[UCCU Center]] for an encore in 2011, and third-seeded [[University of North Dakota|North Dakota]] claimed the men's championship after a 77–76 double overtime thriller against [[University of South Dakota|South Dakota]], which was seeded fourth. Regular season winners [[Chicago State University|Chicago State]] remained true to form in the women's bracket, outlasting third seeds [[University of North Dakota|North Dakota]] by a score of 74–66.

In 2012, the Great West tournaments shifted to the [[Emil and Patricia Jones Convocation Center]] at [[Chicago State University]]. [[University of North Dakota|North Dakota]] became the league's first back-to-back champs, as the second seeds enjoyed a 75–60 victory over fourth-seeded [[New Jersey Institute of Technology|NJIT]] in the men's final. The weekend would end with a clean sweep for [[University of North Dakota|North Dakota]], as the program's top-seeded women knocked off regular season runners-up [[Utah Valley University|Utah Valley]] 69–56 to claim their maiden league title.

The Great West Conference never had an automatic bid to the NCAA Men or Women's College Tournament, but the men's champions did receive automatic selection to the [[CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament]], while their female counterparts headed to the [[Women's Basketball Invitational]].

{|class=wikitable
! Season !! Men's Regular Season Winners !! Men's Tournament Champions !! Season !! Women's Regular Season Winners !! Women's Tournament Champions
|-
| 2009–10 || [[University of South Dakota|South Dakota]] || [[University of South Dakota|South Dakota]] || 2009–10 || [[University of North Dakota|North Dakota]] || [[Utah Valley University|Utah Valley]]
|-
| 2010–11 || [[Utah Valley University|Utah Valley]] || [[University of North Dakota|North Dakota]] || 2010–11 || [[Chicago State University|Chicago State]] || [[Chicago State University|Chicago State]]
|-
| 2011–12 || [[Utah Valley University|Utah Valley]] || [[University of North Dakota|North Dakota]] || 2011–12 || [[University of North Dakota|North Dakota]] || [[University of North Dakota|North Dakota]]
|-
| 2012–13 || [[New Jersey Institute of Technology|NJIT]] || [[Chicago State University|Chicago State]] || 2012–13 || [[Utah Valley University|Utah Valley]] || [[New Jersey Institute of Technology|NJIT]]
|}

=== See also ===
* [[Great West Conference men's basketball tournament]]
* [[Great West Conference women's basketball tournament]]

==Baseball champions==
The Great West Conference sponsored its inaugural baseball championship tournament in 2010, and held the event in different cities during each of its four years of existence.  The league also experimented with formats, using pool play in 2010 but a traditional double elimination bracket from 2011 to 2013.  [[Utah Valley Wolverines baseball|Utah Valley]] claimed the first three regular season and tournament championships, while [[Northern Colorado Bears baseball|Northern Colorado]] and [[Houston Christian Huskies baseball|Houston Baptist]] won the final regular season and tournament championships, respectively.  As in other sports, the Great West did not have an automatic bid to the [[NCAA Division I Baseball Championship]] and no teams within the league earned an at-large invitation.

{|class=wikitable
! Season !! Regular season winners !! Tournament Champions
|-
| [[2010 Great West Conference Baseball Tournament|2010]] || {{cbsb link|year=2010|team=Utah Valley Wolverines|title=Utah Valley}} || {{cbsb link|year=2010|team=Utah Valley Wolverines|title=Utah Valley}}
|-
| [[2011 Great West Conference Baseball Tournament|2011]] || {{cbsb link|year=2011|team=Utah Valley Wolverines|title=Utah Valley}} || {{cbsb link|year=2011|team=Utah Valley Wolverines|title=Utah Valley}}
|-
| [[2012 Great West Conference Baseball Tournament|2012]] || {{cbsb link|year=2012|team=Utah Valley Wolverines|title=Utah Valley}} || {{cbsb link|year=2012|team=Utah Valley Wolverines|title=Utah Valley}}
|-
| [[2013 Great West Conference Baseball Tournament|2013]] || {{cbsb link|year=2013|team=Northern Colorado Bears|title=Northern Colorado}} || {{cbsb link|year=2013|team=Houston Christian Huskies|title=Houston Baptist}}
|}

=== See also ===
* [[Great West Conference baseball tournament]]

==Other champions==
In addition to formerly sponsoring football; while continuing to sponsor men's basketball, women's basketball, and baseball; the Great West Conference sponsored many other sports. The GWC held its own men's golf championship in 2009, but the league's members decided to compete under the banner of the older and larger [[America Sky Conference|America Sky Men's Golf Conference]] starting in 2010, even though the option existed to hold a smaller Great West tournament and then participate in the America Sky event as well. Making men's tennis a league sport was also under discussion, but it never happened because only three schools—Chicago State, NJIT, and Texas Pan-American—had teams as of the 2012 season. The America Sky continued in operation during the 2014 season. That conference was absorbed by the [[Big Sky Conference]] in July 2014 once the latter added [[Idaho Vandals|Idaho]] as its sixth golf-sponsoring school; the two remaining non-Big Sky members of the America Sky then became Big Sky golf affiliates.

{|class=wikitable
! Season !! Women's Volleyball<br />Tournament Champions !! Season !! Women's Soccer<br />Tournament Champions !! Season !! Softball<br />Tournament Champions !! Season !! Women's Tennis<br />Tournament Champions
|-
| 2009 || [[University of North Dakota|North Dakota]] || 2009 || [[Utah Valley University|Utah Valley]] || 2010 || [[University of North Dakota|North Dakota]] || 2010 || [[University of Texas-Pan American|Texas-Pan American]]
|-
| 2010 || [[University of North Dakota|North Dakota]] || 2010 || [[Houston Christian University|Houston Baptist]] || 2011 || [[Houston Christian University|Houston Baptist]] || 2011 || [[New Jersey Institute of Technology|NJIT]]
|-
| 2011 || [[University of North Dakota|North Dakota]] || 2011 || [[Utah Valley University|Utah Valley]] || 2012 || [[Utah Valley University|Utah Valley]] || 2012 || [[New Jersey Institute of Technology|NJIT]]
|-
! Season !! Men's Cross Country<br />Champions !! Season !! Men's Indoor Track & Field<br />Champions !! Season !! Men's Outdoor Track & Field<br />Champions !! Season !! Men's Golf<br />Champions
|-
| 2008 || [[University of Texas-Pan American|Texas Pan-American]] || 2008–09 || [[University of South Dakota|South Dakota]] || 2009 || [[Utah Valley University|Utah Valley]] || 2009 || [[Houston Christian University|Houston Baptist]]
|-
| 2009 || [[Utah Valley University|Utah Valley]] || 2009–10 || [[University of South Dakota|South Dakota]] || 2010 || [[Utah Valley University|Utah Valley]] || 2010 || '''ASMGC''': [[University of Texas-Pan American|Texas-Pan American]]
|-
| 2010 || [[Utah Valley University|Utah Valley]] || 2010–11 || [[University of South Dakota|South Dakota]] || 2011 || [[Utah Valley University|Utah Valley]] || 2011 || '''ASMGC''': [[Weber State University|Weber State]]
|-
| 2011 || [[Utah Valley University|Utah Valley]] || 2011–12 || [[Utah Valley University|Utah Valley]] || 2012 || [[Utah Valley University|Utah Valley]] || 2012 || '''ASMGC''': [[California State University, Sacramento|Sacramento State]]
|-
! Season !! Women's Cross Country<br />Champions !! Season !! Women's Indoor Track & Field<br />Champions !! Season !! Women's Outdoor Track & Field<br />Champions !! Season !! Women's Golf<br />Champions
|-
| 2008 || [[Utah Valley University|Utah Valley]] || 2008–09 || [[University of South Dakota|South Dakota]] || 2009 || [[Utah Valley University|Utah Valley]] || 2009 || [[University of Texas-Pan American|Texas-Pan American]]
|-
| 2009 || [[Utah Valley University|Utah Valley]] || 2009–10 || [[University of South Dakota|South Dakota]] || 2010 || [[Utah Valley University|Utah Valley]] || 2010 || [[Houston Christian University|Houston Baptist]]
|-
| 2010 || [[Utah Valley University|Utah Valley]] || 2010–11 || [[University of South Dakota|South Dakota]] || 2011 || [[Utah Valley University|Utah Valley]] || 2011 || [[Houston Christian University|Houston Baptist]]
|-
| 2011 || [[Utah Valley University|Utah Valley]] || 2011–12 || [[Utah Valley University|Utah Valley]] || 2012 || [[Utah Valley University|Utah Valley]] || 2012 || [[Houston Christian University|Houston Baptist]]
|}

==Facilities==
Each full member of the Great West Conference has an on-campus basketball arena. Seating capacities range between 1,500 and 8,500. The full members are joined by three affiliates in baseball, forming an eight-team league. In women's soccer, the presence of three affiliates helped create a six-team league.

Softball previously had four members, with Nebraska-Omaha replacing South Dakota for the 2012 season, but North Dakota and Nebraska-Omaha departed at the conclusion of that campaign. This leaves just Houston Baptist and Utah Valley, with no future alignment announced as of August 2012.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!School
!Basketball arena
!Capacity
!Baseball stadium
!Capacity
!Softball stadium
!Capacity
!Soccer complex
!Capacity
|-
|NJIT
|[[Fleisher Center]]
|1,500
|[[Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium|B&E Riverfront Stadium]]
|6,200
|colspan=2 align=center|''Non-softball school''
|Lubetkin Field
|1,000+
|-
|NYIT
|colspan="2" align=center| ''Baseball-only member''
|President's Field
|1,000
|colspan="4" align=center| ''Baseball-only member''
|-
|Delaware State
|colspan=6 align=center|''Soccer-only member''
|[[Alumni Stadium (Delaware State)|Alumni Stadium]] 
|7,193
|-
|Howard
|colspan=6 align=center|''Soccer-only member''
|[[William H. Greene Stadium]]
|10,000
|-
|South Carolina State
|colspan=6 align=center|''Soccer-only member''
|[[Oliver C. Dawson Stadium]]
|22,000
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Official website |http://www.greatwestconference.org}}

[[Category:Great West Conference| ]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 2004]]
[[Category:Organizations disestablished in 2013]]
[[Category:Articles which contain graphical timelines]]
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