Nebraska Wesleyan University Athletics

Nebraska Wesleyan is affiliated with both the NCAA Division III and the NAIA, the ONLY school in the nation with dual affiliation. Our NAIA membership is important because the other ten schools in our conference, the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC), are affiliated exclusively with the NAIA and we share a rich history and many similarities with these other small, private faith based schools in Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota. Since there are no NCAA Division III schools within three hours of Lincoln (and only a handful within six hours), NAIA membership helps us manage our travel budget and missed class time.

However, we do differ from these schools in that we follow the NCAA Division III philosophy of not awarding athletic scholarships, consistent with the idea that student-athletes "are not treated differently from the other members of the student body"

Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC)

The Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) is an affiliated conference of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), consisting of 12 private, faith-based colleges and universities in Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota. Originally founded in 1969 as the Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NIAC), the league retains five of the six charter members - Concordia, Doane, Hastings, Midland and Nebraska Wesleyan.
 
In 1992, the NIAC added Northwestern and became the Nebraska-Iowa Athletic Conference. Eight years later, Dakota Wesleyan, Dordt, Mount Marty and Sioux Falls joined the conference which became the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) in 2000-2001.
 
Briar Cliff entered the league in 2002-2003 and Morningside joined starting with the 2003-2004 school year.  Both schools are in Sioux City, Iowa.
 
In the summer of 2010 Dana College ceased operations (Member from 1969-2010) and in 2011 The University of Sioux Falls discontinued membership in the GPAC (Member from 2000-2011).
 
In 2015 the GPAC added College of Saint Mary in Omaha, Nebraska, as its 12th member.  ??
 
The GPAC sponsors 19 intercollegiate sports - nine for women and ten for men - and awards an All-Sports Trophy based on the final league standings and conference meet results at the end of each school year.  Competitive Cheer and Dance is offered in the GPAC as an invitational sport (since 2013-2014).
 
Since the 2005-2006 school year the GPAC has awarded the Christopherson All-Academic Award.  The award is a traveling trophy to be presented annually to the GPAC institution with the best academic performance by its student-athletes in all sports.  The award is named in honor of Dr. Myrvin Christopherson, former President of Dana College.  Christopherson had served as the first chair of the GPAC Council of Presidents. Concordia is the most recent winner of the Christopherson All-Academic Award for their overall GPA in the 2013-2014 academic year.  In conjuction with the Christipherson All-Academic Award annually the GPAC boasts more than 500 NAIA Scholar-Athletes.
 
Through our first 15 years as a conference the GPAC has 22 NAIA team National Champions. 
 
The GPAC remains committed to Academic and Athletic Excellence!
 

National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA Division III)

Nebraska Wesleyan has been a member of the NCAA since 1961. NCAA Division III athletics provides a well-rounded collegiate experience that involves a balance of rigorous academics, competitive athletics, and the opportunity to pursue the multitude of other co-curricular and extra-curricular opportunities offered on Division III campuses. Division III encourages student-athletes to take advantage of the many opportunities available to them, both within and beyond athletics, so that they may develop their full potential as students, athletes, and citizens.

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA)

Nebraska Wesleyan has been a member of the NAIA since 1982. Today, the NAIA strengthens its commitment to student-athletes and strives to enrich their college experience by supporting academic achievement and character development. The NAIA approaches sport and activity as an opportunity to intentionally teach beyond the fundamentals through the philosophy of the NAIA Champions of Character program. By applying the five core values of respect, responsibility, integrity, servant leadership and sportsmanship the NAIA has the ability to maximize talent to the benefit of each individual.