GAC Communications
Eric Moyer, Associate Commissioner for Communications
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – On Monday, the Great American Conference announced second-semester start dates for basketball, volleyball, and women’s soccer.
The league’s basketball season will feature a 20-game divisional schedule with an opening night slated for Thursday, Jan. 7 with six doubleheaders – Arkansas Tech at Arkansas-Monticello, Southwestern Oklahoma State at East Central, Ouachita at Harding, Southern Arkansas at Henderson State, Southern Nazarene at Northwestern Oklahoma State and Southeastern Oklahoma State at Oklahoma Baptist.
Volleyball features a 10-week, 10-match divisional schedule that opens on Tuesday, January 26 and runs through Tuesday, March 30. In the opening slate, UAM visits Harding, Ouachita hosts Arkansas Tech, East Central faces Northwestern Oklahoma State Southern Arkansas travels to Henderson State, defending champion Oklahoma Baptist welcomes in Southeastern Oklahoma State and SWOSU ventures to Southern Nazarene.
Women’s soccer gets underway on Saturday, February 20 with three league contests – Southern Nazarene at Ouachita, Oklahoma Baptist at Harding and East Central at Northwestern Oklahoma State. Defending champion Southwestern Oklahoma State hits the field for the first time one week later.
“I can’t say enough about the work done by our presidents and administrators to place the GAC in a position to safely resume competition,” GAC Commissioner Will Prewitt said. There’s a lot of work to be done, and we are keeping our fingers crossed regarding public health conditions across Arkansas and Oklahoma, but we are hopeful to see the lights go back on for games on January 7.
The conference office also released a fall 2021 football schedule that kicks off a full 11-game round-robin on Thursday, Sept. 2.
Southwestern Oklahoma State hosts the GAC Cross Country Championships on Saturday, February 27. Formats and dates for the men’s soccer regular season as well as the championships for basketball, volleyball, and soccer will be determined at a later date.
Members will play spring sports schedules as previously approved by the conference’s Council of Athletic Administrators and Council of Presidents.
The GAC will continue to evaluate NCAA, federal, state, and local developments and provide updated revisions as further information becomes available.