Montana State–Billings To Join GNAC (5/19/06)

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.

“I am excited and extremely pleased to accept the invitation from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference,” said Montana State University-Billings Chancellor Dr. Ronald Sexton.  “We look forward to working with Commissioner Hannon and the universities of the GNAC to ensure the GNAC continues to be one of the best NCAA Division II conferences in the nation.”

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.

“While we value the competitive experiences the Heartland Conference has provided our student-athletes, we are excited about the opportunity to renew relationships with the excellent schools in the GNAC,” said MSU Billings Athletics Director Dr. Gary Gray.  “We have some long-standing, traditional rivalries with many of the GNAC schools, and I’m sure our fans will be as excited as we are to watch those same teams compete in Billings once again.  Our student-athletes have always appreciated the great competition in the NCAA West Region, and I believe our fans and supporters will quickly identify with the GNAC teams with which we have such a long history.”

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.