 | |
| Association | NCAA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1990 |
| Ceased | 1995 |
| Commissioner | Michael L. Slive [1] |
| Division | Division I |
| No. of teams | 7 |
| Region | Midwestern and Southern United States |
| Locations | |
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The Great Midwest Conference was an NCAA Division I athletics conference that existed from 1991 to 1995.
It was formed in 1990 with six members: Cincinnati and Memphis State (now Memphis) from the Metro Conference, UAB from the Sun Belt Conference, Marquette and Saint Louis from the Midwestern Collegiate Conference (now the Horizon League), and independent DePaul. Dayton joined in 1993. Cleveland State and Detroit-Mercy had some interest from coaches, while Louisville and Tulane were heavily favored by athletic directors. [2]
In 1995, six of the schools in the Great Midwest (except for Dayton, who joined the Atlantic 10 Conference) joined with UNC Charlotte, Louisville, Southern Mississippi, Tulane, and South Florida of the Metro and Houston of the dissolving Southwest Conference and formed Conference USA.
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Left | Subsequent conference(s) | Current conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Cincinnati | Cincinnati, Ohio | 1819 | Public | 41,357 | Bearcats | 1991 | 1995 | CUSA (1995–2005) original Big East (2005–2013) The American (2013–2023) | Big 12 (2023–present) |
| University of Dayton | Dayton, Ohio | 1850 | Catholic (Marianists) | 11,186 | Flyers | 1993 | 1995 | Atlantic 10 (A-10) (1995–present) | |
| DePaul University | Chicago, Illinois | 1898 | Catholic (Vicentian) | 24,966 | Blue Demons | 1991 | 1995 | CUSA (1995–2005) original Big East (2005–2013) | Big East (2013–present) |
| Marquette University | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | 1881 | Catholic (Jesuit) | 12,002 | Golden Eagles | 1991 | 1995 | CUSA (1995–2005) original Big East (2005–13) | Big East (2013–present) |
| University of Memphis | Memphis, Tennessee | 1912 | Public | 22,365 | Tigers | 1991 | 1995 | CUSA (1995–2013) | The American (2013–present) |
| Saint Louis University | St. Louis, Missouri | 1818 | Catholic (Jesuit) | 13,785 | Billikens | 1991 | 1995 | CUSA (1995–2005) | Atlantic 10 (A-10) (2005–present) |
| University of Alabama at Birmingham * (UAB) | Birmingham, Alabama | 1936 | Public | 17,999 | Blazers | 1991 | 1995 | CUSA (1995–2023) | The American (2023–present) |
The following were the locations of the GMC men's basketball tournament.
Conference USA (CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas.
The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located mostly on the East Coast and Midwest of the United States: Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.
The Horizon League is a collegiate athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the league's eleven member schools are located in and near the Great Lakes region.
The Memphis Tigers are the athletic teams that represent the University of Memphis, located in Memphis, Tennessee. The teams compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the American Athletic Conference, except for the rifle team, which is a member of the single-sport Great America Rifle Conference.
The Midwest Collegiate Conference (MCC) was a college athletic conference, consisting of colleges and universities located in Iowa and Wisconsin. Founded in 1988, the conference's member schools competed on the NAIA level in 15 different sports.
The Metropolitan Collegiate Athletic Conference, popularly known as the Metro Conference, was an NCAA Division I athletics conference, so named because its six charter members were all in urban metropolitan areas, though its later members did not follow that pattern. The conference was centered in the Upper South with some strength in the Deep South. The conference never sponsored football, although most of its members throughout its history had Division I-A football programs. In 1995, it merged with the Great Midwest Conference to form Conference USA. The merger was driven mainly by football, as several Metro Conference members had been successfully lured to larger conferences that sponsored the sport.
The Blackburn/McCafferty Trophy is the award given to the winner of regular season basketball games between the University of Dayton and Xavier University.
The 1995 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 16, 1995, and ended with the championship game on April 3 at the Kingdome in Seattle, Washington. This Final Four would be the last time that the Final Four was hosted in the Western United States until the 2017 edition of the tournament where Glendale, Arizona was the host. A total of 63 games were played.
The American Midwest Conference (AMC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) with 12 member institutions located in Arkansas and Missouri in the United States.
The Dayton Flyers men's basketball team is a college basketball program that competes in NCAA Division I and the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) representing the University of Dayton in Ohio. The Flyers play their home games at University of Dayton Arena. The Flyers are coached by Anthony Grant who is in his seventh season. In March 2020, Dayton was ranked #3 in the AP Top 25 Poll, its highest ranking since the 1955–56 season when it was ranked #2. The Flyers have never been ranked #1, but Dayton did receive a lone first place vote in the final AP poll of the 2019–2020 season. When the 2020 seasons was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Flyers did not get to participate in the 2020 NCAA Tournament, despite being projected as a #1 seed by several outlets.
The Saint Louis Billikens are the collegiate athletic teams that represent Saint Louis University, located in St. Louis, Missouri. The Billikens compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The school has nationally recognized soccer programs for men and women. The school has heavily invested in its on-campus athletic facilities since the 1990s with the creation of Hermann Stadium and Chaifetz Arena. Chris May is the current director of athletics of the St. Louis Billikens.
The Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball program represents the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio. The school's team competes in NCAA Division I as part of the Big 12 Conference. The Bearcats are currently coached by Wes Miller.
The Great Midwest Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year was an award given to the Great Midwest Conference's most outstanding player. The award was short-lived and only handed out from 1992 to 1995. Four recipients received the award, but only Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway won more than once. Hardaway was the award's first and second player of the year recipient honoree.
The Conference USA Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an award given to Conference USA's (CUSA) most outstanding player. The award was first given following CUSA's inaugural 1995–96 season. Two players have received the award multiple times: Danny Fortson and Steve Logan. Coincidentally, both players attended the University of Cincinnati. Another Bearcat, Kenyon Martin, won the CUSA Player of the Year award the same season he was selected as the consensus national player of the year (2000).
The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as the American, is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States featuring 13 full member universities and six affiliate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I, with its football teams competing in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Member universities represent a range of private and public research universities of various enrollment sizes located primarily in urban metropolitan areas in the Northeastern, Midwestern, and Southern regions of the United States.
The 1996 Conference USA men's basketball tournament was held March 6–9 at The Pyramid in Memphis, Tennessee. This was the first edition of the tournament.
The 2006 Conference USA men's basketball tournament was held March 8–11 at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee.
The Cincinnati–Memphis rivalry is a college sports rivalry between the University of Cincinnati Bearcats and the University of Memphis Tigers. The rivalry between these two schools dates to their first college football game in 1966, and has continued across all sports, with the men's basketball series gaining attention as well, having started in 1968. The schools have also shared conferences historically, with the rivalry stretching over the span of five conferences from the Missouri Valley Conference, to the Metro Conference, Great Midwest Conference, Conference USA, and more recently in the American Athletic Conference.
The 1983 Metro Conference men's basketball tournament was held March 10–12 at Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati, Ohio.
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