Great Midwest Conference

For the current NCAA Division II conference, see Great Midwest Athletic Conference.

Great Midwest Conference

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

The Great Midwest Conference was an NCAA Division I athletics conference that existed from 1991 to 1995.

History

The conference 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.

Chronological timeline

• 1990 – The Great Midwest Conference was founded. Charter members included the University of Cincinnati and Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis) from the Metro Conference, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) from the Sun Belt Conference, Marquette University and Saint Louis University from the Midwestern Collegiate Conference (now the Horizon League), and D-I Independent DePaul University, effective beginning the 1990–91 academic year.
• 1993 – University of Dayton joined the Great Midwest, effective in the 1993–94 academic year.
• 1995 – The Great Midwest ceased operations as an athletic conference, effective after the 1994–95 academic year; as many schools left to join their respective new home primary conferences, effective beginning the 1995–96 academic year: Cincinnati, DePaul, Marquette, Memphis, Saint Louis and UAB joined with the Metro Conference schools to form Conference USA, while Dayton joined the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10).

Member schools

Final members

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)

Notes

• Dayton and Saint Louis are in the Atlantic 10 Conference
• Following the July 2013 split of the original Big East Conference into two leagues, DePaul and Marquette moved to the new, non-football conference that retained the Big East name, while Cincinnati remained in the football-sponsoring former conference, now named the American Athletic Conference.
• At the time of the Big East split, Memphis moved from CUSA to The American.

Membership timeline

Championships

Main article: Great Midwest Conference men's basketball tournament

The following were the locations of the GMC men's basketball tournament.

• 1992: Chicago Stadium; Chicago, Illinois
• 1993: The Pyramid; Memphis, Tennessee
• 1994: Shoemaker Center; Cincinnati, Ohio
• 1995: Bradley Center; Milwaukee, Wisconsin

See also

• Great Midwest Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year

References

1. NCAA (2005). "Florida Gators basketball" (PDF). University of Florida. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
2. Ledbetter, Darryl O.; Flaherty, Tom (November 30, 1993). "UWM, UWGB leaving?; Midwestern Collegiate makes plans to expand". The Milwaukee Journal. Retrieved December 25, 2013.