The initial announcement of a potential new conference surfaced in June 2011 when the presidents and athletic directors of
Cedarville University,
Notre Dame College,
Urbana University, and
Ursuline College met to discuss plans for a new Division II conference. In November 2011,
Trevecca Nazarene University was accepted as another charter member of the conference. Trevecca had begun the process of transitioning from NAIA to NCAA Division II membership in July, 2011 and entered a provisional NCAA membership year during the conference's initially planned start for the 2013–14 academic year. The conference then added two more members when it was announced on April 23 and May 1, 2012, that the
University of Virginia's College at Wise (UVA Wise) and
Georgetown College had been granted provisional membership in the conference pending their approval by the NCAA Division II Membership Committee. Georgetown College was rejected for Division II membership, but applied to join Division II in 2014. However, they were denied acceptance once again by the Membership Council. As of 2021, Georgetown has made no further attempt to join Division II. In the fall of 2012, it was announced that Urbana and UVA Wise would spend only one season as active members of the G-MAC. At the same time, the G-MAC announced that three West Virginia schools had accepted invitations to join the conference, starting in July 2013—
Alderson Broaddus University,
Davis & Elkins College, and
Ohio Valley University. All three schools were previously members of the
West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC), which disbanded after most of its football-sponsoring schools announced their departure for a new D-II league that eventually became the
Mountain East Conference (MEC). On October 16, 2012, the G-MAC announced that
Salem International University, since renamed Salem University, would join the conference on July 1, 2013. Salem would leave the G-MAC in 2016 to become a Division II independent. On July 12, 2013, the Great Midwest Athletic Conference received official approval from the NCAA Division II Membership Committee, recognizing the Conference as an active NCAA Division II conference. On the same day, it was announced that Ursuline College had been approved as an active NCAA DII member and Trevecca Nazarene University successfully completed its Year Two candidacy and was moved into the Provisional Year of the membership process by the NCAA Division II Membership Committee. On August 7, 2013, the Great Midwest Athletic Conference partnered with
Cumberland University as it embarked on a transition to potential NCAA Division II membership. The G-MAC Presidents Council unanimously admitted Cumberland as a provisional member effective immediately and would have sponsored the institution as it worked through the NCAA Division II membership application process. In July 2014, Cumberland was denied acceptance into the NCAA by the Membership Council. The school remains a G-MAC affiliate in men's lacrosse, a sport that the MEC does not sponsor. On February 1, 2019, Malone announced that it had eliminated football and "remains committed to athletic competition in the NCAA Div. II and as members of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC)." On May 19, 2020,
Ashland University announced they would join the Great Midwest Athletic Conference from the
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference for the 2021–22 school year. But a few months later, on August 4, 2020, its wrestling team would have the opportunity to compete for a G-MAC conference-sponsored championship a year ahead of schedule, effective immediately in the 2020–21 school year. On June 5, 2020, another former WVIAC member, Alderson Broaddus, announced that it was leaving the G-MAC to join most of its old rivals in the Mountain East Conference for the 2020–21 school year. On February 11, 2021, Ohio Valley announced that it would return to NAIA and join the River States Conference that July, and on April 29,
Northwood University announced that it would also join the G-MAC from the GLIAC for the 2022–23 school year. The G-MAC would gain a member later in 2021; on August 18, the conference and
Thomas More University announced that the school, currently a member of the NAIA
Mid-South Conference, would become a provisional G-MAC member in 2022. With G-MAC acceptance in hand, Thomas More applied to rejoin the NCAA and was officially accepted as a provisional D-II member on July 14, 2022. The school accordingly became a provisional G-MAC member, but continued to compete in the NAIA and in the Mid-South until July 2023. Also for the 2021–22 season, G-MAC announced a partnership with
Conference Carolinas to create a men's and women's bowling championship (even though men's bowling is not considered a varsity sport by the NCAA). Each conference will organize its regular season independently but the postseason will be called Conference Carolinas/Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men's and Women's Bowling Championships. The most recently added sport is stunt, a women-only cheerleading discipline that emphasizes the acrobatic and technical aspects of cheerleading. It was added as an officially sanctioned sport for the 2022–23 school year, a year before it was added to the
NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program in August 2023. The first season of conference competition featured four full G-MAC members and one affiliate.
Chronological timeline • 2012 – The Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) was founded. Charter members included
Cedarville University,
Central State University,
Kentucky Wesleyan College,
Trevecca Nazarene University,
Urbana University,
Ursuline College and the
University of Virginia's College at Wise (UVA Wise), beginning the 2012–13 academic year. • 2013 • Urbana and UVA Wise left the G-MAC to join the newly created
Mountain East Conference (MEC) after the 2012–13 academic year. •
Alderson Broaddus University,
Davis & Elkins College,
Ohio Valley University and
Salem University joined the G-MAC in the 2013–14 academic year. • 2015 – Central State left the G-MAC to join the
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) after the 2014–15 academic year. • 2016 •
Malone University joined the G-MAC in the 2016–17 academic year. •
Lake Erie College,
Mercyhurst University,
Seton Hill University and
Walsh University joined the G-MAC as affiliate members for men's lacrosse in the 2017 spring season (2016–17 academic year). • 2017 • The
University of Findlay,
Hillsdale College and
Ohio Dominican University joined the G-MAC (along with Lake Erie and Walsh upgrading for all sports) in the 2017–18 academic year. •
Wheeling Jesuit University (now Wheeling University) joined the G-MAC as an affiliate member for men's lacrosse in the 2018 spring season (2017–18 academic year). • 2018 –
Tiffin University joined the G-MAC in the 2018–19 academic year. • 2019 – Davis & Elkins left the G-MAC to join the Mountain East after the 2018–19 academic year; while it remained for men's lacrosse beginning the 2020 spring season (2019–20 academic year). • 2020 • Alderson Broaddus left the G-MAC to join the Mountain East after the 2019–20 academic year; while it remained for men's lacrosse beginning the 2021 spring season (2020–21 academic year). •
Ashland University joined the G-MAC as an affiliate member for men's wrestling in the 2020–21 academic year. • 2021 • Ohio Valley left the G-MAC and the NCAA to join the
River States Conference (RSC) of the
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) after the 2020–21 academic year. • Ashland upgraded its G-MAC membership for all sports in the 2021–22 academic year. • 2022 •
Northwood University and
Thomas More University joined the G-MAC with the 2022–23 academic year. Although Thomas More joined the conference as a provisional member, it continued to compete in the NAIA and the
Mid-South Conference in 2022–23 before beginning competition as a full G-MAC member in July 2023. • The G-MAC began conference competition in stunt in 2022–23 with four full members joined by new affiliate
Hiram College. •
Davenport University joined the G-MAC as an affiliate member for men's wrestling, men's lacrosse, and stunt, beginning the 2024–25 academic year. • Mercyhurst left the G-MAC as an affiliate member for men's lacrosse and stunt after the 2024 spring season (2023–24 academic year). • Hiram left the G-MAC as an affiliate member for stunt after the 2024 spring season (2023–24 academic year). • 2025 –
Point Park University joined the G-MAC as an affiliate member for men's lacrosse in the 2026 spring season (2025–26 academic year). ==Member schools==