May 19, 2006
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Montana State University-Billings will join the Great Northwest Athletic Conference effective July 1, 2007, a move that Western Washington University director of athletics Lynda Goodrich says will be beneficial for the GNAC and the Vikings.
"I'm pleased that MSU-Billings will be joining our conference," Goodrich said. "I think it is important that we have a 10-team conference, and MSU-Billings sponsors many of the same sports that we do. MSU-Billings appears to be committed to being a viable Division II institution and is continuing to improve their program as far as scholarships, staff and facilities."
MSU-Billings, which brings the GNAC membership back to 10 schools, is the first institution to join the league since its inception in 2001. Last September, Humboldt State announced it was leaving the GNAC following the 2005-06 school year to join the California Collegiate Athletic Association.
Besides Western, the rest of the GNAC consists of Central Washington, Alaska Anchorage, Alaska Fairbanks, Northwest Nazarene, Saint Martin's, Seattle U. Seattle Pacific and Western Oregon.
The GNAC currently sponsors 13 sports, and MSU-Billings fields teams in nine of them - men's and women's cross country, volleyball, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's basketball, baseball and softball.
The only GNAC sports that MSU-Billings does not sponsor are men's and women's indoor and outdoor track.
The addition of the Yellowjackets will be particularly beneficial in the sport of men's soccer, where the GNAC currently has just three teams - Western, Seattle U. and Seattle Pacific.
"This helps our men's team as far as having more teams in the conference," said Western men's and women's soccer coach Travis Connell. "Even though we still won't have an automatic berth for the conference champion, this will make scheduling a lot easier for us. It's been really difficult to get teams in our region to come to Bellingham to play us in the last couple years, but this gives us another guaranteed home game and two guaranteed in-region games."
Saint Martin's will also begin fielding a varsity men's soccer team beginning in 2007, bringing the conference total to five, just one short of the minimum for a league to receive an automatic berth to the NCAA II playoffs.
Connell said the move will also benefit the women's team.
"I expect that the MSU-Billings' women's team will be more competitive than their men's team," Connell said. "So having another competitive school on the schedule can only help us."
MSU-Billings may be new to the GNAC, but the school is a familiar opponent for Western. From 1998 to 2001, MSU-Billings and the nine current GNAC members competed in the Pacific West Conference.
MSU-Billings was a charter member of the PacWest in 1992. After the GNAC formed in 2001, the Yellowjackets competed as an NCAA II Independent in the West Region. Prior to the 2005-06 season, MSU-Billings joined the Heartland Conference, where it will remain next season.
"MSU-Billings is a quality institution that brings a rich athletic tradition to the conference," Western men's basketball head coach Brad Jackson said. "In addition, it gives us a 10-team league, which is optimal for scheduling and healthy competition."
Montana State University - Billings To Join GNAC
SPOKANE, Wash. - Montana State University - Billings will join the Great Northwest Athletic Conference effective July 1, 2007.
The official announcement of the addition of Montana State University - Billings to the conference was made at a news conference in Billings on Friday.
The Yellowjackets will join Central Washington University, Western Washington University, Seattle Pacific University, Seattle University, Saint Martin's University, Northwest Nazarene University, Western Oregon University, the University of Alaska Anchorage and the University of Alaska Fairbanks bringing membership in the conference to 10 institutions.
MSU-Billings is currently a member of the Heartland Conference and will continue to compete in that conference during the 2006-07 season before joining the GNAC as a member for the 2007-08 sports season.
"The presidents of the GNAC institutions are united in their invitation to MSU-Billings to become a member of our conference and pleased that our conversations have confirmed their alignment with our philosophy and strategic initiatives," Dr. Richard A. Hagood, president of Northwest Nazarene University, said.
"Most particularly, we share a common commitment to the proper balance between academics and athletics," Hagood, who will serve as the chair of the GNAC CEO Board during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 school years. "The affiliation of MSU-Billings with the member universities of the GNAC will renew historic rivalries for several of our institutions and provide another opportunity for our student-athletes to compete in an historic and scenic part of the northwestern United States."
Dr. Jerilyn McIntyre, president of Central Washington, who guided the conference as the chair of the CEO Board during the expansion process, said the current presidents set the importance of maintaining high academic quality along with athletic competitiveness as their highest priority in seeking new members.
"We are impressed by the commitment Montana State University - Billings has shown to these high standards, and to the balance between academic and athletic excellence. We are pleased to welcome them as members of the conference."
The GNAC currently sponsors 13 sports and the Yellowjackets field teams in nine of those - men's and women's cross country, volleyball, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's basketball, baseball and softball.
The only conference sports in which MSU-Billings does not currently sponsor are men's and women's indoor track-and-field and men's and women's outdoor track-and-field. They also sponsor four sports which are not sponsored by the GNAC - men's and women's tennis and men's and women's golf.
The GNAC is completing its fifth season of competition and in that short time has established itself as one of the top NCAA Division II conferences in the country.
This past winter an unprecedented five conference teams qualified for the NCAA West Regional men's basketball playoffs and two - Seattle Pacific and Western Washington - reached the title game. SPU eventually advanced to the NCAA Division II national semifinals.
The GNAC also advanced four teams to the NCAA Division II West Regional women's basketball playoffs, which were hosted by a GNAC university (Western Washington) for the fourth consecutive year.
GNAC teams have also been successful at the national level in its other sports as well. Seattle University won the NCAA Division II 2004 national men's soccer title and Seattle Pacific reached the championship game of the 2005 women's soccer playoffs.
Two conference teams participated in last fall's volleyball national tournament and this spring GNAC teams were the No. 1 ranked teams in the West Region in both softball and baseball. Western Oregon is hosting the West Regional baseball tournament this weekend.
The addition of MSU-Billings will renew a conference rivalry between it and the rest of the GNAC. The nine current members were all members of the PacWest Conference along with MSU-Billings for three seasons (1998-99 to 2000-01) before forming the GNAC. MSUB, Seattle Pacific, Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks were charter members of the PacWest, which was created in May, 1992.
"Montana State - Billings has a strong tradition of excellence in athletics," Richard Hannan, GNAC Commissioner said, "We look forward to a long and positive relationship and are confident that their programs will be a strong addition to our conference.
"Our association with the university and their athletic department will be instrumental in assisting the conference to continue its strong growth and development," Hannan added.
MSU-B to join Great Northwest in 2007-08
GNAC includes familiar Yellowjacket opponents from Alaska, Washington
By JOE KUSEK, Of The Billings Gazette Staff
Well hello, old friends. Montana State-Billings athletic teams will be renewing acquaintances with former long-time opponents when the school joins the Great Northwest Athletic Conference in 2007.
GNAC commissioner Richard Hannan extended the official invitation during a Friday afternoon press conference at the MSU-B downtown campus in Billings.
The Yellowjackets will officially become a member of the GNAC on July 1, 2007. MSU-B will compete in the Texas-based Heartland Conference for one more season.
The move was made for geographic and stability reasons, according to MSU-B officials. "This is something we've looked at for quite a while," said Ron Sexton, the MSU-B chancellor. "We think the GNAC is a fantastic match for us. We've worked closely and competed with those institutions over the years.
"We've looked at a variety of conferences and wanted to find the best match. One issue was the stability of the conference. We wanted to know the stability is going to be there. This gives us stability ... not for just next year or three years from now, but for 10, 15 years down the road.
"I have no desire to go through this again."
The addition of MSU-B will give the GNAC a 10-team league. The Yellowjackets will be replacing Humboldt State, which is joining the California Collegiate Athletic Conference.
Current members of the GNAC are: Central Washington, Western Washington, Seattle Pacific, Seattle University, Saint Martin's, Northwest Nazarene, Western Oregon, Alaska-Anchorage and Alaska-Fairbanks.
MSU-B was in an expanded version of the Pacific West Conference with those same teams for three seasons, 1998-99 to 2000-01, before they broke off to form the GNAC. The Yellowjackets, Seattle Pacific, Alaska-Anchorage and Alaska-Fairbanks were also charter members of the Pac West, which was formed in 1992.
This year, five GNAC men's basketball teams and four GNAC women's basketball team played in the NCAA Division II West Region tournament. The Heartland only sent two teams -- both league champions -- to the South Central Region.
"This is a better fit geographically," said Kevin Woodin, the MSU-B women's basketball coach. "It allows us to make a schedule where the students miss less class time.
"It's definitely a competitive conference from top to bottom. We know the challenge will be great."
Hannan and MSU-B officials said the two groups have been holding discussions for almost three years. MSU-B gave two presentations to GNAC officials and members of the GNAC made two on-campus visits.
"The thing that is outstanding about joining the GNAC is those schools have the same philosophy for the student-athletes," Sexton said.
Along with nine teams in the post-season for basketball, the Seattle Pacific and Seattle University men's soccer teams are traditionally ranked among the top 10 in the nation. This spring, Western Oregon is the No. 1-ranked team in the West region.
Seattle won the national title for soccer in 2004, while SPU played in the title game in 2005. This past fall, two GNAC teams played in the NCAA Division II championships.
In past seasons, some of the largest men's basketball crowds at Alterowitz Gymnasium have been for games against Seattle Pacific and Alaska-Anchorage.
"Across the board, it gives us a great strength of schedule," said Gary Gray, the MSU-B athletic director.
"We've had long-time traditional rivalries with some of those teams and we look forward to having them back on our fields and courts."
Hannan said GNAC teams for all sports will play a home-and-home schedule for the regular season. The regular season champion will earn the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Division II postseason. There are no post-season conference tournaments.
The GNAC sponsors 13 sports and the Yellowjackets field teams in nine of those. The exceptions are indoor track and field for men and women, along with outdoor track and field for men and women. The GNAC does not sponsor men's and women's golf, along with men's and women's tennis, four sports carried by MSU-B.
