Boston, MA --- Worcester State has joined the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) as an associate member in men's golf for the upcoming 2012 season.

"We are very excited about joining the GNAC," said Worcester State Director of Athletics Sue Chapman. "We are happy that the men's golf team will now have the opportunity to compete for an NCAA Tournament berth in a very competitive conference."

Worcester State joins associate members Rhode Island College, Southern Maine and UMass Dartmouth while Anna Maria, Emmanuel, Johnson & Wales, St. Joesph's (Maine) and Suffolk, also compete in men's golf as full-time members.

The two-day GNAC Championship will be held at Blackstone National, which is the home course of the Lancers, and will be hosted by Anna Maria on Friday, October 19 and Saturday, October 20.  

In each of the last three seasons, three different institutions have represented the GNAC at the NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championship – Johnson & Wales (2009), UMass Dartmouth (2010) and Rhode Island College (2011). 

Since the 1971-72 season Worcester State has been a member of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) as they took home the championship trophy in both the 1981-82 and 1984-85 campaigns.

Most recently, the Worcester State has had strong showings at the NEIGA Tournament with three top 10 finishes among Division III schools in three out of the last five seasons – including fifth-place (15th overall) during the 2007-08 campaign.

Since the MASCAC Championship was restarted in 2010 after a 19-year hiatus, the Lancers have had a trio top-three finishes in each of the last three seasons.