The Golden State Athletic Conference is growing. Dr. Paul Ague, Chair of the GSAC Council of Presidents, announced that Arizona Christian of Phoenix, Arizona will join the conference beginning with the 2012-13 season.
“I am very excited to have Arizona Christian in the conference,” said Westmont athletic director Dave Odell. “They check out to be a strong up-and-coming player in the NAIA. They are well funded, they have nice facilities, they have strong leadership and we think they are going to be a great fit for the conference.”
The Firestorm currently sponsor ten sports – men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s golf, baseball and women’s volleyball. According to a press release issued by the GSAC, ACU will add three more sports by the time the school begins GSAC play -men’s and women’s tennis and softball.
“The addition of men’s tennis is critical for the GSAC because we must have six teams for the conference to qualify for an automatic berth,” explained Odell.
With three teams departing the conference at the end of this year, the GSAC would have dipped to just five men’s tennis teams had Arizona Christian not been accepted.
“I think this is a sign that despite losing some teams next year, the GSAC and the NAIA are alive and well,” said Odell. “The fact that the conference could add a school we were comfortable with so that we don’t have a single season with only seven schools is a great accomplishment. NAIA athletics on the West Coast is here to stay.”
As of next year, Westmont and Arizona Christian will define the farthest reaches of the conference.
“Basically the Arizona trip is similar to our current trip to Fresno,” said Odell. “It is a couple of hours longer, but both the Fresno trip and Arizona Christian trip require an overnight stay. From a cost standpoint, it won’t be significantly different.”
“In recognition of the fact that we are the school that is most impacted by adding Arizona Christian, the conference has agreed to make some concessions to Westmont relative to scheduling and class time missed,” added Odell. “We haven’t specified those concessions yet, but there is an agreement amongst the presidents of the conference that there will be beneficial scheduling related to Westmont. What I think that means is that our road games to Arizona will likely be on a weekendor during school breaks.”
“We are absolutely thrilled to be accepted for membership in what we believe to be the premiere athletic conference in the NAIA – the Golden State Athletic Conference,” said Len Munsil, President of Arizona Christian University. “We are excited about this opportunity to establish a new relationship with colleges who not only share our Christ-centered mission, but have also set a standard for athletic excellence that we hope to emulate.”
