INDIANAPOLIS - The Great Midwest Athletic Conference has announced Ashland University has been admitted as a full member institution for the 2021-22 academic year in a release published by the league on Tuesday.
Ashland, a comprehensive, private institution in the heart of the Great Midwest geography in Central Ohio will begin membership on July 1, 2021. The institution will remain in the Midwest Region following one final season in its current conference affiliation.
With Ashland’s addition, the Great Midwest will consist of 14 full member institutions in five states and offer 23 championships for 2021-22. The Great Midwest will accommodate all 22 NCAA-sponsored sports Ashland currently offers.
The Great Midwest is pleased to welcome Ashland as the league’s newest member institution,” stated Great Midwest Commissioner Tom Daeger. “Ashland is among Division II’s most accomplished athletic programs and is an ideal fit for the Great Midwest in mission, profile, and dedication to the student-athlete experience. I commend President Campo and Athletic Director Al King’s leadership in developing this partnership and we look forward to focusing on continued institutional and conference success with the Eagles.”
In just the past seven years, Ashland has claimed four Division II national championships, including two in women’s basketball and two in men’s track & field. As Division II members over the past 40 years, the Eagles have won 111 individual national championships. In addition to the athletic excellence, Ashland has also had 77 Division II student-athletes honored through the CoSIDA Academic All-American program.
Ashland has finished in the top 10 of the NACDA Learfield IMG College Directors’ Cup standings in nine of the previous 12 seasons, including a ninth-place finish in 2018-19.
Ashland shares a long history with many current Great Midwest members in previous conference affiliations and longstanding rivalries in non-conference competition in the Midwest Region.
“Ashland University is looking forward to joining the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, and rekindling many longstanding athletic rivalries,” said Ashland President Carlos Campo. “We believe that the G-MAC is a great fit for our student athletes and our institutional objectives in the future.”
Ashland, founded in 1878, has retained conference affiliation in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) since 1995, and was a founding member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) in 1978.
The Great Midwest Athletic Conference is a NCAA Division II athletic conference with full member institutions located in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia. The conference, established in 2011, consists of 13 private, non-profit member institutions and sponsors 23 conference championship sport offerings. Current member institutions include Alderson Broaddus University (WV), Cedarville University (OH), University of Findlay (OH), Hillsdale College (MI), Kentucky Wesleyan College (KY), Lake Erie College (OH), Malone University (OH), Ohio Dominican University (OH), Ohio Valley University (WV), Tiffin University (OH), Trevecca Nazarene University (TN), Ursuline College (OH) and Walsh University (OH). The Conference also has three associate members in the sport of men’s lacrosse. The institutions include Davis & Elkins College (WV), Mercyhurst University (PA), Seton Hill University (PA) and Wheeling University (WV). The Conference, led by founding Commissioner Tom Daeger, is headquartered in downtown Indianapolis.