By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications
PORTLAND, Ore. – To commemorate its 25th year of competition, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference launched an ongoing campaign that will be featured throughout the 2025-26 academic year to recognize memorable moments of success achieved by league members throughout its history.
The commemorative GNAC 25th anniversary webpage will be updated throughout the 2025-26 academic year with moments from all sports and all seasons since the conference was formed. View the webpage online here.
Founded in July, 2001, the GNAC connected institutions across the Western United States into the largest geographic footprint among NCAA Division II conferences. The conference sponsors 16 women’s and men’s varsity sports, including cross country, soccer, volleyball, basketball, baseball, softball, track and field, golf and rowing.
Located in five states and the Canadian province of British Columbia, and with a strong presence in or near the largest city of each, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference has established itself as one of the top NCAA Division II athletic conferences in the nation during its 24-year history.
On June 2, 2025, the GNAC
released a new logo for the first time in its history. The former GNAC logo, featuring a green triangle with lower-case ‘gnac’ lettering, was utilized from the league’s inception in 2001 through the end of the 2024-25 academic year.
GNAC Memorable Moments
Caroline Kurgat, National Champion (Release Date: 10/17/2025)
Few student-athletes in any sport enjoyed more success at the collegiate level than Alaska Anchorage harrier Caroline Kurgat, who was twice named the GNAC Female Athlete of the Year. Kurgat was a seven-time national champion during her cross country and track & field career, re-writing the conference record books along the way. She took home her first national gold medal on Nov. 18, 2017, clocking a time of 20:32.3 minutes for a nearly 20-second victory at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Evansville, Ind. She went on to double in the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which earned her first GNAC Athlete of the Year honor. She wasn't finished yet, coming back for her final spring of track eligibility in 2019. She nabbed indoor national titles in both the 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters, before successfully defending both her 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters outdoor titles to cap her collegiate career. Kurgat was a finalist for the NCAA Woman of the Year award, and her legacy looms as perhaps the conference's top-performing student-athlete since it was founded in 2001.
Northwest Nazarene Volleyball Wins GNAC Title (Release Date: 10/3/2025)
Taking the GNAC by storm in the fall of 2014, Northwest Nazarene claimed its first regular-season conference title by going 17-1 in conference play. The Nighthawks cruised through their GNAC slate of games losing only once - in four sets to Western Washington. After the defeat on Oct. 4, NNU won the final 11 matches of the regular season to take the GNAC crown by two games ahead of runner-up Alaska Anchorage (15-3). Setter Michelle Terpstra was selected as the GNAC Player of the Year after leading the league with 10.84 assists per set quarterbacking the NNU offense. First-team all-conference selections Elayna Rice and Andrea Terpstra meanwhile led the team with 2.85 kills per set apiece while regular starter Kenda Bodine chipped in 2.68 kills per set. Andrea Terpstra was also among the top blockers in Division II that fall, averaging 1.22 blocks per set, while Rebecca TenHaken was second on the team with 1.13 blocks per set and Madi Farrell was third with 1.09 blocks per set. In a season where NNU went 24-3 overall, the Nighthawks overcame a loss to Colorado Mines in their second match of the year to win the next 12 matches and begin conference play on a roll. The Nighthawks earned the No. 1 overall seed into the NCAA West Region Championships and claimed hosting privileges. The squad's season came to an end with a four-set defeat against then-Dixie State in the opening round of the regional championship. In just his second season piloting the team, Doug English was selected by his peers as GNAC Coach of the Year. Now in his 13th season at NNU, English has gone on to compile a record of 176-146 (.547) including 117-95 (.552) in league play. He is sixth all-time among GNAC coaches in conference victories.
2014 NNU Volleyball Team.
Simon Fraser Men's Soccer Postseason Success (Release Date: 9/26/2025)
From the moment Simon Fraser joined the GNAC in the fall of 2010, its men's soccer team was an immediate force to be reckoned with. The Red Leafs have claimed eight GNAC regular-season titles in their 15 seasons competing within the conference, including four in a row and seven in their first nine seasons in the conference. SFU made it to the NCAA Final Four in both 2012 and 2013, becoming the second program in GNAC history to advance to the national finals. Since joining the league, SFU has gone 121-32-16 (.763) in conference matches, boasting the top winning percentage of any GNAC program. The Red Leafs had 11 different players named first-team All-American during the stretch of success. Former two-time first-teamer
Carlo Basso, who is currently in his third season as the SFU women's soccer head coach, recorded the second-most points in GNAC history (110) including 47 goals and 16 assists. SFU has been dominant among GNAC award winners, earning nine of the 14 GNAC Player of the Year honors since joining the league in 2010. Current head coach
Clint Schneider is in his 11th season leading the team, piloting the Red Leafs to GNAC titles in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2023. He was previously an assistant under Alan Koch, who led SFU to conference crowns in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 and to the NCAA Final Four in both 2012 and 2013.
Central Washington Volleyball Regional Streak (Release Date: 9/19/2025)
It has been essentially nothing but success for the Central Washington volleyball team under the guidance of head coach
Mario Andaya, who has led the program to 12 consecutive NCAA West Region Championships appearances entering the 2025 fall campaign. The streak for the Wildcats began in 2012, and CWU has not missed a postseason since. During the stretch, CWU has had 10 different players earn All-America status including Erin Smith (2012), Catie Fry (2013-15), Sabrina Wheelhouse (2016-17), Gabrielle aihara (2018), Kyla Morgan (2018-19), Makala Swart (2018-19), Tia Andaya (2021-23), Ashley Kaufman (2022), Emma Daoud-Hebert (2022-24) and Hannah Stires (2024). Overall the Wildcats have earned 15 NCAA Championships berths since joining the conference as a founding member in the fall of 2001. Andaya owns a record of 413-226 (.646) since the GNAC was founded including a record of 289-130 (.690) in conference matches, with both win totals being second most in conference history. Andaya led CWU to GNAC regular-season titles in 2004, 2005 and 2024 and was named the GNAC Coach of the Year in each of those three seasons.
Alaska's Kendall Kramer Shines Throughout XC Career (Release Date: 9/12/2025)
A career that culminated in GNAC Female Scholar Athlete of the Year honors was founded in a run of cross country dominance matched only a few times in the conference's history. Kramer won three consecutive GNAC Cross Country Championships titles from 2022-24 and finished in the top-five at the NCAA West Region Championships all four years including a win in 2023. Perhaps Kramer's top performance, she finished as the national runner-up in her senior season (2024), solidifying her third consecutive All-American performance. At the national championships, Kramer also placed eighth as a sophomore in 2023 and 23rd as a junior in 2024. Kramer's historic individual efforts helped propel the Alaska Nanooks to a runner-up GNAC finish and a 13th-place national finish - their best-ever as a team.
Read More: Alaska's Kramer Named GNAC Scholar Athlete of the Year
Alaska Anchorage Cross Country Dominance (Release Date: 9/5/2025)
Few GNAC programs experienced a stretch of dominance like the Michael Friess-led Alaska Anchorage Seawolves cross country programs through the 2010s. From 2009 through 2018, UAA captured 17 of the 20 GNAC Cross Country Championships team titles between its women's and men's programs. The remarkable run included a stretch of five consecutive men's team titles from 2009-13 and then a stretch of four straight men's titles from 2015-18. On the women's side, UAA won seven GNAC Championships in a row from 2010-16. In addition to the team dominance, UAA runners won 16 of the 20 individual GNAC Championships titles during that stretch as well. Overall the Seawolves have the most GNAC Cross Country Championships of any school in the conference with 20, including 11 women's team titles and nine men's team titles.
Membership
The GNAC’s 10 full-time members are located throughout one of the most picturesque areas of North America, covering five U.S. states and one Canadian province.
Representing the Evergreen State in the conference are Central Washington University, Saint Martin’s University, Seattle Pacific University and Western Washington University. All four schools are within 110 miles of Seattle, the state’s largest city.
Alaska is the home to GNAC members University of Alaska Anchorage and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The only Canadian member in the NCAA is Simon Fraser University, which is located in Burnaby, B.C., a suburb of Canada's third-largest city, Vancouver.
Other conference members include Western Oregon University, which is a short drive from both the capital of Oregon (Salem) and the state’s largest city (Portland); Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, which is located near Idaho’s largest city and capital (Boise), and Montana State University Billings, which is situated in the largest city in the Treasure State.
The GNAC also has a presence in California with Cal Poly Humboldt (formerly Humboldt State) as an affiliate member in women’s rowing. Sitting outside the general conference footprint, the University of Central Oklahoma joined the GNAC in 2019 as an affiliate member in women’s rowing.
Cal Poly Humboldt and Seattle University were charter members of the conference. Cal Poly Humboldt left the GNAC following the 2005-06 season to join the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) and was an affiliate member in football until 2018. Seattle University departed following the 2007-08 season to compete in NCAA Division I.
Past affiliate members of the GNAC include Azusa Pacific University (football), Utah Tech (Dixie State University) (football), University of Mary (men’s soccer), University of Sioux Falls (men’s soccer), South Dakota Mines (football & men’s soccer) and UC San Diego (rowing).
Concordia University-Portland joined the GNAC in 2014 and was recognized as a full NCAA Division II member in 2017. The university closed permanently following the 2019-20 academic year.
Athletic & Academic Champions
GNAC teams have won eight national championships. Former GNAC member Seattle University won the 2004 NCAA Division II men’s soccer national title before moving up to the Division I level. Seattle Pacific won the 2008 national championship in women’s soccer and was the national runner-up in 2005. The Western Washington men’s basketball program claimed the 2012 Division II national title. The Vikings’ women’s soccer program won national titles in 2016 and 2022 and was the runner up in 2019. The GNAC also claimed three women's rowing titles in a four-year span from 2021-24. Central Oklahoma won its third consecutive women’s rowing national championship in 2021 and its first as an affiliate member of the GNAC. Cal Poly Humboldt hoisted the 2023 women's rowing national trophy and Western Washington won the team title in 2024. It was the Vikings' ninth women's rowing national championship under the guidance of former head coach John Fuchs and first competing as a member of the GNAC.
Earning second-place national finishes have been Alaska Anchorage in volleyball (2016) and women's basketball (2016), Seattle Pacific in women’s soccer (2005), women’s basketball (2005) and women’s cross country (2007), Cal Poly Humboldt in women’s rowing (2025) and Western Washington in volleyball (2007 & 2018), women’s soccer (2019), women's basketball (2022), women's rowing (2022) and softball (2024).
In addition to team national championships, GNAC athletes have collected 65 individual national titles in the sports of cross country and track & field. A total of 12 women and one distance medley relay team have won 18 indoor track & field national titles, and four men and two distance medley relay teams have won eight indoor national titles. In outdoor track & field, there have been 13 different women totaling 21 national gold medals, and 10 men totaling 13 national gold medals in the history of the conference.
A complete listing of national champions, national athletes and scholar athletes of the year, national coaches of the year, and other major national award winners
can be found online here.