Great Midwest Conference

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

Great Midwest Conference

Association	NCAA
Founded	1990
Ceased	1995
Commissioner	Michael L. Slive
Division	Division I
No. of teams	7
Region	MidwesternandSouthern United States
Locations

TheGreat Midwest Conferencewas anNCAADivision I athletics conference that existed from 1991 to 1995.

History

It was formed in 1990 with six members:Cincinnatiand Memphis State (nowMemphis) from theMetro Conference,UABfrom theSun Belt Conference,MarquetteandSaint Louisfrom the Midwestern Collegiate Conference (now theHorizon League), and independentDePaul.Daytonjoined in 1993.Cleveland StateandDetroit-Mercyhad some interest from coaches, while Louisville and Tulane were heavily favored by athletic directors.

In 1995, six of the schools in the Great Midwest (except for Dayton, who joined theAtlantic 10 Conference) joined withUNC Charlotte,Louisville,Southern Mississippi,Tulane,andSouth Floridaof the Metro andHoustonof the dissolvingSouthwest Conferenceand formedConference USA.

Chronological timeline

• 1990 – The Great Midwest Conference was founded. Charter members included theUniversity of CincinnatiandMemphis State University(now the University of Memphis) from the Metro Conference, theUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham(UAB) from theSun Belt Conference,Marquette UniversityandSaint Louis Universityfrom theMidwestern Collegiate Conference(now the Horizon League), and D-I IndependentDePaul University,effective beginning the 1990–91 academic year.
• 1993 –University of Daytonjoined 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 theMetro Conferenceschools to form Conference USA, while Dayton joined theAtlantic 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 theAtlantic 10 Conference
• Followingthe July 2013 splitof theoriginal Big East Conferenceinto two leagues, DePaul and Marquette moved to the new, non-football conference thatretained the Big East name,while Cincinnati remained in the football-sponsoring former conference, now named theAmerican 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