A Conversation with GAC Commissioner Will Prewitt | Varsity Vibe

The Great American Conference was started in 2010, and how has 12 universities across Arkansas and Oklahoma. Commissioner Will Prewitt took the time to talk with Alyssa Orange on the growth of the conference over the years, how the transfer portal and NIL has affected them at the DII level, and his advice to high school athletes who want to play collegiate sports. 

Transcript

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Welcome to Varsity Vive. I'm your host, Alyssa Orange. Thank you so much for being with us. As you always do, I have another great conversation to share with you. And really, this is kind of personal for me as well. Over the last year, I've been able to be a part of the GAC, the Great American Conference, which is an NCAA Division II conference with six schools in Arkansas and six schools in Oklahoma, but be a part of the broadcast team for their championships from softball to volleyball, soccer, basketball. It's been a lot of fun over the last year being a part of it. And I got to sit down and talk a little bit with their commissioner, Will Pruitt. Pruitt became the commissioner when the GAC started in 2010 and has helped lead it into what it is right now. And I wanted to pick his brain about what it's like seeing the Division II ranks grow, how the transfer portal and NIL has changed things in the game. And just like the recruiting and the talent in the state of Arkansas specifically, uh, that a lot of these high school athletes are going to play at universities in his conference. So I hope you enjoy this conversation with GAC commissioner Will Pruitt. You became the commissioner uh in 2010 when the GAC uh was created um and and started. What what was it like to just take over a brand new conference first and foremost?

SPEAKER_01 2:57

You know, listen, it's it's one of those things. It's probably, you know, someday when I retire, it's gonna feel like one of the you know my biggest professional accomplishments. I don't know that I would ever want to do it again, but it's you know, it was so much fun. Um you know to really have a hand in everything. And you know this is something that you know some people say, you know, hey, it's only small college sports, division two sports, whatever. But you know, it's so personal to me because I grew up literally in um small college athletics, um, you know, on a campus. My first job was working stack crew, um sitting in a booster seat, so I can sit at the scores table at seven years old. Uh, you know, what we do really means a lot to me. Um, athletics are super important to our 12-member institutions for you know, enrollment for campus life, for um just so many reasons. And, you know, really to have a hand in um, you know, something that was new. I think it's been a great fit uh having the Arkansas and Oklahoma schools together. The Gulf South was a great conference that our Arkansas members came from, but you know, they always felt like they were a little estranged from the rest of the league on on the wrong side of the Mississippi River. And most of our Oklahoma schools coming from the Lone Star Conference also felt like a little bit of an outlier. And um I'm really proud of what we've built over the the last 15, 16 years.

SPEAKER_00 4:35

Yeah, you have six from Arkansas, six from Oklahoma, and it's a perfect balance. Um, but maybe focusing a little bit on the on the Arkansas schools for a moment. Um they there's a lot of exposure there and and a lot of talent. It it feels like Harding's in everything in every sport. It feels like, you know, you had Southern Arkansas just win your softball uh championship. Um really solid programs and facilities uh that are out there for high school kids and and transfers to be a part of.

SPEAKER_01 5:08

If you look around, I think there's some there's some great student athlete experiences to be had on our campuses. Um obviously I think we've been really successful across the board, but you know, in the division two world, uh we're in a pretty high-rent district. The MIAA is a great conference on standing, the Lone Star, the Gulf South, where much of our membership came from, along with the LSC. Um, so there's great Division II programs that we've kind of had to elbow our way into into competing with and you know seeing you know, we come I think we were in like 13 or 14 national semifinals, and then Arkansas Tech broke through with a the national golf championship. Um, Harding won the national football championship, which I think really helps your exposure. It you know, it helps your perception. But you know, for a student athlete, you know, I think Division II and particularly the Great American converts are it's a tremendous option. Yeah, we really try to do a great job of making really a balanced athletic experience. I mean you know, you've broadcast a number of our championships. I think you can attest that it's pretty high-level athletics, but you also have some opportunities to be a regular student and be involved in other things on campus. And the partial financial aid model allows us to help uh student athletes financially with athletic aid, they can be staffed with uh with other aid. Um, so I yeah, unless you're going to that absolute highest level, now I think that there's some some great things that you know if you come to a GAC or Division II school to compete.

SPEAKER_00 7:05

Yeah, when you look around, how has it changed the landscape since 2010? And obviously there's been transfer portal and everyone's talking about NIL these days. Um, but how has that impacted much of the Division II level and the GAC specifically?

SPEAKER_01 7:22

Yeah, listen, I think it feels like we've had more change in the past six years than uh in the last 60 years of college athletics. I started in college athletics and uh my first job was at Appalachian State on 1996, and you know, it felt like the model really didn't change that much. Then we had COVID, and then we had you know we weren't into the portal and NIL, and um, you know, it felt like the reality changes not year to year, almost month to month. Yeah, it's it's changed things quite a bit at our level. Um, some sports, you know, it feels like it's a little bit more um it was some student athletes transactional, which I've got mixed feelings about. I can't uh I can't feel bad about a student athlete who financially can better themselves, but you know, I really am afraid sometimes that you know we lose some of the just some of the relationship type things. Um those relationships that you have with teammates for a lot of time or with coach for a lot of time, or having a great career and leaving a legacy, but we still really have a lot of student athletes that come to our schools and it's either junior college transfer or transferring back home from a four-year school that they're on campus two or three years, they get that degree, high school student athletes that that stay for for four years, but uh it really has changed. Um probably not as much as the top level, but uh it is a different reality. Um unfortunately with uh and again, I'm not sure that it's unfortunately, but uh, I think it's become a little bit more transactional with some of our some of our student athletes, but uh you know, we just want to keep plugging along and offer a great experience that uh you know it's great if we have NBA or NFL or MLB student athletes, but you know, I really measure we're doing our job. You know, listen, one of my favorite things is when I officiate high school football on Friday nights, and you know, I talk to those Henderson graduates or Arkansas Tech graduates or UAN or SAU, whatever the school is, and it felt like I run into those almost every Friday night that like, hey, I played it, I played in the GAC. You know, it was such an awesome experience, you know, being able to compete or get the financial aid was life-changing for me. So, you know, that's where I measure our success, not necessarily, you know, how many people we send on to the absolute highest level of sport.

SPEAKER_00 10:26

I was gonna ask you about that because that's such a unique um thing that you have where you do uh high officiate high school football around the state. Uh you live in Dardanelle. Uh, and some of these high school athletes that you've watched play over the years go on and have careers at your GAC institutions. How cool is that to be able to see those athletes have success in high school and then turn around and have success in the GAC with recruiting and all of that in the state of Arkansas?

SPEAKER_01 10:57

I I think it's a lot of fun. I think, I think from a fan perspective, it really helps GAC football when we have those those student athletes that um people are familiar with through through um high school football on Friday nights because if some places it feels like it may not be as big of a deal, but hey, Friday night lights are still a very big deal in the state of Arkansas. And you know, I just love um and what a moment that kind of hit me at Braden J's running all over Colorado school of minds at at the national championship game a few years ago. And it's like it's like, hey, you know, this is no surprise to me. I saw this kid do this at Cabot or you know, whatever number of um you know student athletes. It's rare that I go to a game on Saturday that I'm not seeing a kid that that I've officiated their games on on Friday nights. And you know, that's it really is a lot of fun to kind of have that connection and you know and let's say again, I don't want a bad math um the absolute highest levels, but you know I've I love local and regionally based sport. Um I grew up in a small town eastern Kentucky, you know, and life revolved around the Williamsburg Yellow Jackets and the Cumberland College Indians. So yeah, I I've I just love uh you know, even if it's now fishing football on Friday night, I love going and supporting uh all of our Darnell teams locally here in town. Um you know when I'm not doing something G E C, uh I can't believe that I'm getting ready to be a high school sports parent in about about four or five months. So I think a lot of it's hand in hand. Um I think uh just kind of that uh local uh you know the players on the field, whether it's at the high school level, the college level, because you know there are so many close relationships from where you know I think about Arkansas Tech, you have you have kids from across the river valley that go to whether it's softball camp or volleyball camp, football camp, and you know, these kids they know the student athletes, and when they go to games, they you know, them and their parents know who those kids are. And um, this is something I love about working at this level.

SPEAKER_00 13:36

It is a lot of fun. And and speaking of football, you mentioned Harding winning that national championship back in 2023. They lost uh this past season um in the championship game in 2025 to Fair State. But but what was that moment like uh for you to see one of your schools win a national championship?

SPEAKER_01 13:58

It was a great feeling. Um it's something that I think there was a lot of work to get there. Um obviously Harding's someone that carried that across the line, but uh you know, you can't make it through the national playoffs, it's not being tested through the through the regular season and when the league started, uh, there were some naysayers on um you know the national level and even regional level within Division II. But uh think about uh people like um Todd Knight at uh at Waquita, um Scott Maxfield at Henderson, Coach Huckabee's got things really rolling at Harding, uh Steve Mullins at Arkansas CAC back in the day, uh you know Hug Jackson, you just uh stepped down and uh uh as a coach and administrator really's kind of set things um you know kind of helped shape football in this conference. Bill Kettle, you know, built a really good program at Southern Arkansas, and if you you can't go through a weekly and survive the playoffs. So yeah, it felt like there was just so many things that came together there. Sure.

SPEAKER_00 15:13

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And and then, you know, it it also had to be cool, you know, the uh the Battle of the Ravine getting a lot of uh attention nationally on ESPN with Reese Davis uh giving it a shout out for college game day potential appearance and coming up on um what I believe the hundredth year anniversary. Is that correct?

SPEAKER_01 15:34

Um two years from now, game. Two years. Okay, yeah. Battle Ravine 100.

SPEAKER_00 15:40

I mean, how cool, how cool is that too?

SPEAKER_01 15:44

Alyssa, I joke with people. Uh Heroes and Watata is one of the funnest parts of my job. It's also one of the more complicated parts of my job. There's so many things, um, yeah, just kind of unique. Uh, you know, most of it's good, but uh when you have two schools that are literally across the street from each other, and you know, just just such a unique special rivalry that um if you're a football fan in the state of Arkansas and you've never been to that game, you really need to go. It's uh it's quite the experience. Get there early, watch the team um walk across the street from their locker room to the Povy field. Um, you know, there's nothing like in college football, and and it really is um as someone that's a college football junkie at all levels, you really need to come out and see it.

SPEAKER_00 16:43

Speaking of the connection, again, drawing that parallel from high school uh and and high school athletics to the GAC, Arkansas Tech just hiring um Coach Fimple as their woman's head coach, um, just another pipeline there uh for Coach Fimple to get that opportunity, uh, which is going to be an exciting ad there for uh the Golden Suns.

SPEAKER_01 17:06

Yeah, listen, that's one of those really cool full circle moments. Um knowing that Coach Fimple was a part of when Arkansas Tech women's basketball and Coach Joe Foley, um, absolute coaching legend in this state. You know, he was a part of that staff when they really had things up and rolling, and it's a tremendous career he's had at the high school level. And now to see him back at Arkansas Tech, um, you know, it's such a really cool full full circle moment. And I think it's I think that he's really going to be able to capitalize on his ties within the state. You look at a lot of the most successful GAC teams ever, you know, that heart that Hardy football national championship team, and they've got a kid from Harrison at quarterback, a star running back from Cabot, you know, a lot of Arkansas kids on their offensive line. Southwestern Oklahoma State in 2018 was national um women's basketball runner-up. And they started five small town Oklahoma kids. Kitchen night at Washita every year. Um, you know, he's always, you know, virtually all Arkansas kids on that depth chart. I don't want to disparage kids from from outside of our footprint of Arkansas, Oklahoma, you kind of North Texas, North Louisiana, but yeah, I think it really does create some excitement when when it's those kids that you know that are local, that you know they have family ties, um, they understand the rivalries. And I think it's gonna be really cool to see what um Coach Bimple does. Now he's he's pilling some really big shoes in Dave Wilvers, who had a remarkable career in Arkansas Tech, but yeah, it's gonna be fun to track. One of our better sports, GAC women's basketball. It's it's really good basketball if you've not been out and seen it.

SPEAKER_00 19:10

Yeah, it was really fun to be able to cover the women and the men in Fort Smith for their tournament uh this uh this past March. When you when you look at high school athletes today who are going through the recruiting process, who want to play at the next level, what's your advice as a commissioner of the GAC for these kids who want to compete at the next level?

SPEAKER_01 19:32

The big thing that I would say is don't get hung up on a label. And whether you know, find uh find a coach that you feel comfortable with that you're gonna develop as whether you want to move on to a to a division one program at some point, and whether it's you know you want to find uh someplace to stay and be four years, find that coach regardless of the level that and program that you feel like is a fit, a campus that you fit on, someplace that you can develop. Um, you know, if you keep moving forward, find that place that you can blossom and grow. And that there's great things ahead for you, whether that's potentially to move on. Um hopefully you can graduate uh from if you attend a GAC school, graduate from that school, become a part of that community, um, you know, can come back and contribute as an alum. But really, it's you know, don't get hung up on the label. You know, find that place where you sit, whether it's division one, division two, division three, AI.

SPEAKER_00 20:49

Yeah, so when you when you look at the GAC, then that's that's some great advice. Um spring is about to wrap up. We're heading into the postseason for the spring sports, and then we have the summer before football and though the falls and winter sports get picking back up at the end of 2026. How do you look at each year and and want to improve? Like what's the next step for the GAC in in your eyes with a new year coming up in 2026?

SPEAKER_01 21:18

Yeah, with uh, I think moving forward, you know, yeah, you always in this landscape, um, you know, you you don't have it it's wild how much you know, just from 2010, um, when I started, and it was a big deal to make sure that you were all over the um traditional media, the newspaper, local television, radio. It's such a fragmented marketplace right now that as a conference, you know, we get we have to keep working to make sure that we're able to get our own message out um with our GC Sports Network, um, working with our Schools on making big decisions on whether we keeping and putting those broadcasts and whether we want to have a those behind a paywall, um, keep those for free for um greater exposure. Um trying to enhance our championships. There's always little things when I go to our event, it's like, hey, we can do this better, but essentially just these little things, you know. How do we expose our conference? How do we expose our our 12 universities? And how do we make that student athlete experience better?

SPEAKER_00 22:37

Yeah, absolutely. Always trying to look uh ahead and and for bigger and and and better days than the ones before. And I I tell you what, it has been a pleasure to be a part of the broadcast team with you guys and and get to learn more about the GAC over this last year. And uh I thank you for allowing me to be a part of it, and I thank you for taking the time and talking with me today.

SPEAKER_01 22:59

Hey, Alyssa, thanks for thanks for what you do on our network. You've been a great edition, and now really appreciate the chance to talk GAC sports.

SPEAKER_00 23:08

I hope you guys enjoyed my conversation with GAC Commissioner Wilprout as much as I did. Great information there, especially for high school kids that want to continue to play at that collegiate level in Arkansas and in Oklahoma. Such a great organization. It's been really fun for me to be a part of it over the last year. If you would like to, we always encourage you to sign up for our newsletter at varsityvibearkansal.com, as well as follow us on social media. That is Instagram, X, TikTok, and Facebook. Got great content over there as we get to the postseason for the high school sports in the state of Arkansas very soon. As well as make sure to subscribe to our YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks so much for joining us again. I'm your host, Alyssa Orange, and I will see you next time.

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