Great Lakes Valley Conference The Great Lakes Valley Conference ( GLVC ) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated at the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) ' s Division II level . Member institutions are located in the U . S . state s of Illinois , Indiana , Kentucky , Missouri , and Wisconsin . The GLVC is considered one of the top small college basketball conferences in the nation and placed a team in the men ' s NCAA Division II final over 11 straight years from 1994 to 2004 . In October 2008 Maryville University ( MO ) and The University of Illinois at Springfield ( UIS ) accepted invitations to join the GLVC and began competing in the conference in the fall of 2009 . For men ' s and women ' s basketball , the league split into three divisions based on geography ( East , North , and West ) for the 2009 - 2010 and 2010 - 2011 seasons , and reverted to two divisions when William Jewell College joined in 2011 . Baseball and Tennis operate in a two - division format , while all other sports run a single table . On January 19 , 2010 , the GLVC announced the addition of football as a league championship sport , beginning with the 2012 season . Kentucky Wesleyan , Missouri S & T and Saint Joseph ' s moved from the Great Lakes Football Conference , McKendree University and Quincy from the Mid - States Football Association of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics ( NAIA ) and Indianapolis ended its affiliate membership in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference ( GLIAC ) to join William Jewell and form the seven - team league . On October 6 , 2010 it was announced that McKendree University accepted an invitation to the GLVC as the 17th member of the GLVC and begin participating in the conference in 2012 . The following day , the conference announced that it had approved Central State University and Urbana College for associate membership in football , increasing the number of teams which will compete in the initial season of football to nine . On October 18 , it was announced that a new league , the Great Midwest Athletic Conference ( G - MAC ; not to be confused with the former Division I Great Midwest Conference ) , was forming for 2013 . Charter members include Kentucky Wesleyan from the GLVC along with Central State and Urbana ( GLVC members in football ) . Joining them are Ursuline , Notre Dame , and Cedarville , with the G - MAC hoping to expand to 10 members . The new conferences ' sponsored sports were not immediately announced . Kentucky Wesleyan , with its eight national basketball titles , is the biggest loss for the GLVC , but , with only 680 students , the school had trouble competing in the other sports against much larger schools . On December 8 , 2011 Northern Kentucky University officially accepted an invitation from the Division I Atlantic Sun Conference , effective July 1 , 2012 . It was announced on June 8 , 2012 that the GLVC Council of Presidents had voted unanimously to accept Truman State University , located in Kirksville , Missouri into the conference . The " Bulldogs " will begin competition in the GLVC effective Fall , 2013 . Truman State was a founding member of the Mid - America Intercollegiate Athletics Association , and becomes the seventh Missouri school to join the GLVC since 1995 . On August 27 , 2012 , it was announced that Central State University will be leaving the GLVC to join the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference ( SIAC ) as a football - only member , effective July 1 , 2013 . National Champions . GLVC schools have won 13 NCAA Division II national championships :