The Golden State Athletic Conference, one of the premier conferences of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, has begun a national search for its first-ever full-time commissioner.
The presidents of GSAC member institutions initiated a plan this spring to move the conference in compliance with NAIA regulations as they relate to a full-time commissioner following Cliff Hamlow’s decision to retire after serving the past 20 years as commissioner on a part-time basis.
“We are looking for a commissioner who has strong leadership attributes as we embark on a transitional time and a season where strengthening the GSAC’s message is imperative,” said Westmont Director of Athletics Dave Odell, chairman of the search committee.
The GSAC features ten active member schools, all evangelical Christian institutions, located from central California to San Diego. Since its inception in 1986, GSAC schools have captured 38 NAIA national championships, and within the past decade have been crowed national champions in sports ranging from men’s and women’s soccer to men’s and women’s basketball along with softball, volleyball, men’s and women’s track & field and men’s and women’s tennis.
The GSAC has emerged as the most competitively successful conference in the NAIA. In each of the past two years, no less than five conference members have finished in the Top Ten of the prestigious Directors’ Cup, a feat accomplished by no other conference on any level of competition, including NCAA Divisions I, II and III. The Directors’ Cup is an annual awards program that measures individual institutions’ success in postseason competition, and the GSAC has had at least one member finish in the Directors’ Cup Top Five for 11 straight years.
From its original six charter members of 1986, the GSAC has grown to as many as 11 member schools over the past two decades. The conference has emerged as a leading figure in the NAIA, both in the competitive and administrative arenas of the association.
“We’re facing a changing NAIA and the president’s investment in a full-time commissioner emphasizes a continued commitment to having the GSAC continue to play a significant role in supporting the NAIA as it grows and maintains a solid west coast presence,” said Odell.
For further information on the GSAC, go to www.gsacsports.org to learn of its current membership, sports sponsorships and rich history.
The new commissioner, who will have the opportunity to relocate the conference office, is expected to start August 1. Interested applicants should send a resume and letter of interest to Odell at [email protected] by June 10, 2011.
