Salem is joining the Great South Athletic Conference this fall, boosting the league’s roster to eight member schools.

GSAC presidents and athletics directors unanimously voted to accept the women’s liberal arts college in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, as a full member competing in six sports.

The school also agreed to confirm in writing that it will sponsor a seventh sport, softball, and will submit a timetable for doing so.

The Spirits currently sponsor basketball, cross country, soccer, swimming, tennis and volleyball. As part of its membership acceptance, Salem will provide a written commitment and an accompanying timetable for the sponsorship of fast-pitch softball as a varsity sport.

GSAC institutions will adjust individual sports schedules to include Salem during the 2009-10 season. Qualification for postseason play will depend on the scheduling criteria of individual sports and, in some cases, may have to be delayed until the following year.

Salem became an active Division III member in 2008. It will be one of four women’s institutions in the GSAC, joining Agnes Scott, Spelman and Wesleyan (Georgia).