GAC Columnist

GAC Columnist

Luke McConnell serves as the play-by-play voice Southern Nazarene University football and men's and women's basketball. He's held this role since 2018. Previously, he spent three years covering sports for KWTV/News9.com in Oklahoma City. His primary focuses were the Oklahoma Sooners, Oklahoma City Thunder and high school football.

Luke lives in Oklahoma City with his wife and four boys. His day job is being on staff at Council Road Baptist Church as a part of the Outside the Walls ministry team. 



GAC Rivalry Week Recap

November 18th, 2024 7:00am

The 2024 season is all wrapped up in the Great American Conference. We’re off to the playoffs first, but we’ll have a full season wrap up in the weeks ahead. 

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GAC Rivalry Week Preview

November 14th, 2024 7:00am

It’s Rivalry Week in the Great American Conference, a week that always produces some spiciness across the footprint of the league. This year is no different, as we have the potential for spoilage in Arkadelphia and Searcy and the opportunity to finish strong in other matchups.

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GAC Week 10 Recap

November 10th, 2024 7:00pm

Wild scores in the GAC this past weekend, but no real surprises across the landscape. Half of the winners won by shutout, and all three couldn’t have been much different.

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GAC Week 10 Preview

November 7th, 2024 7:00am

Just two weeks remain in the regular season in the Great American Conference. The top four teams in the league have predictably separated themselves from the rest of the pack, but much is still up in the air in regards to conference titles and playoff berths. 

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GAC Week Nine Recap

November 4th, 2024 7:00am

Well, if you were expecting something shocking to happen in week nine of the Great American Conference schedule, you should go on to Vegas. Lots of stuff to dig into from this weekend, so let’s get right down to it. 

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Southern Nazarene Upset Another Sign of Program Progress

Less than 12 hours after his previously winless Southern Nazarene squad shocked the Division II football world with an 18-17 win over No. 5 Ouachita Baptist, Crimson Storm coach Dustin Hada was back at his desk. 

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GAC Week Nine Preview

October 31st, 2024 11:00am

It’s week nine in the Great American Conference and can we PLEASE get some colder weather around here? The 80s into late October are not enjoyable in the slightest.

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GAC Week Eight Recap

October 28th, 2024 10:00am

We’re wrapping up week eight in the Great American Conference, a Saturday that saw several tight games across the league. Let’s jump right in and take a look at how things played out.

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GAC Week Eight Preview

October 25th, 2024 8:05am

It’s week eight in the Great American Conference and, thanks to Ouachita’s upset of Harding last week, there’s a lot of intrigue and uncertainty about the GAC title. Sure, the Tigers have the upper hand in the driver’s seat, but still plenty of football to play with challengers lurking nearby. 

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GAC Week Seven Recap

October 21st, 2024 7:00am

Well, week seven in the Great American Conference proved to be full of surprises across the board. Upsets, surprising margins, this week had it all. 

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GAC Week Seven Preview

October 17th, 2024 10:00am

It’s the biggest week of the year in the Great American Conference. Two matchups with all four teams at minimum receiving votes in top-25 polls this week.

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GAC Week Six Recap

October 15th, 2024 6:00am

We’re halfway through the season and that means it’s time to hand out midseason grades. We’ve got a bit of everything in the GAC, and the grades reflect that as well.

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GAC Week Six Preview

October 10th, 2024 9:00am

This week marks the official midway point of the season in the Great American Conference. We’ll have first half grades for the 12 teams in Monday’s recap column, but it’s hard to believe we’re already at this point.

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GAC Week Five Recap

October 7th, 2024 5:00am

This weekend in the GAC proved to be quite the yawner, just maybe not quite in the way we expected. A tight game in Durant and an upset in Ada were not things we saw coming.

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GAC Week Five Preview

October 3rd, 2024 9:00am

One third of the way through the season, the GAC appears to be Harding, Ouachita Baptist and then everyone else. Plenty of season left to dispel that idea, but after four games, that’s where we stand. 

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GAC Week Four Recap

September 30th, 2024 7:00am

Week four in the Great American Conference saw three blowouts in the Natural State and three close games in the Sooner State. It’s been an interesting season so far, one where we’ve seen a sharp divide between the Oklahoma schools and Arkansas schools.

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GAC Week Four Preview

September 26th, 2024 9:00am

We’re a quarter of the way through the 2024 football season and the results are a mixed bag for the Great American Conference. On the positive, the contenders all look the part, especially Harding, as the Bisons continue their title defense.

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GAC Week Three Recap

September 23rd, 2024 7:00am

This past week in the GAC was quite an interesting and low-scoring week. Just a single team topped 30 points this week, with Harding (duh) putting up 63 points in Monticello against the Weevils. 

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GAC Week Three Preview

September 19th, 2024 7:00am

It’s been an interesting start to the 2024 season in the GAC. All the Oklahoma schools are winless and all the Arkansas schools are undefeated.

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GAC Week Two Recap

September 16th, 2024 7:00am

We are through two weeks in the Great American Conference and so far, things are going according to plan. No upsets to speak of this week, but we did have a few closer-than-expected final scores.

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