In 1972, the Western Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Association (WCIAA) decided to divide itself into two separate conferences due to the sizable area that the conference covered.[1] The Great Plains Athletic Association (GPAA) was created and contained teams from the provinces of Ontario and Manitoba. Four years on, then called the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC), Regina joined and expanded the league's footprint. The Conference did not hold a tournament until 1978. Prior to that, the league's automatic bid went to the regular season champion.
Unfortunately, the conference proved to rather unsuccessful. From its founding, the GPAC champion received a berth in the University Cup tournament, however, the league was by far the least successful of any in Canada. Over the course of 13 tournaments, all GPAC teams combined to go 3–27 in tournament play.
Though the lackluster play on the national state was an issue, a bigger problem for the conference was the poor play from two of its member teams. Winnipeg finished last in the standings seven times in twelve years and never one made a playoff appearance. By the mid-80s, the school was fed up by the Wesmen's ineptitude on the ice and they suspended their program in 1984. A year later, Lakehead cancelled its program after going winless in 24 games. With just three member teams left, the ice hockey division of the conference was in jeopardy of losing its automatic bid. That summer, Canada West, the other conference that had been spawned from the WCIAA, agreed to absorb all three programs. The GPAC continued on for another 16 years before dissolving in 2001.[2]
Canada's Great Plains Athletic Conference is not be confused with the two American conferences of the same name. Neither of which have ever supported ice hockey.
