UNITED STATES
                  SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                        Washington, D.C. 20549

                               FORM 8-K

                            Current Report

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934


Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported)   February 28, 1997
                                                  -------------------

 
                      GREAT AMERICAN BANCORP, INC.
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        (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


        Delaware                  000-25808           52-1923366
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(State or other jurisdiction 	   (Commission      (I.R.S. Employer         
of incorporation)            File Number)  Identification Number)


1311 S. Neil St., P.O. Box 1010, Champaign, IL          61824-1010
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(Address of principal executive offices)                (Zip Code)

                           (217) 356-2265
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         (Registrant's telephone number, including area code)



Item 5.  Other Events.

	The Registrant incorporates by reference the press releases dated  
February 28, 1997 and March 11, 1997 attached as Exhibits 20.1 and 
20.2, relating to the Registrant's completion of a stock repurchase 
program and the appointment by the Company's subsidiary First Federal 
Savings Bank of three new directors.


Item 7.  Financial Statements and Exhibits.

	The Registrant incorporates by reference the press releases dated  
February 28, 1997 and March 11, 1997 attached as Exhibits 20.1 and 
20.2, relating to the Registrant's completion of a stock repurchase 
program and the appointment by the Company's subsidiary First Federal 
Savings Bank of three new directors.




                           SIGNATURES


Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 
the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf 
by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.


                                     Great American Bancorp, Inc.
                                     ----------------------------
                                              (Registrant)

Date      March 12, 1997             /s/ Jane F. Adams
    ---------------------------      ----------------------------
                                     Jane F. Adams
                                     Chief Financial Officer





                            EXHIBIT INDEX
                        ---------------------

Exhibit
  No.                      Description               Method of Filing
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------      
  20.1                     News Release               Filed herewith
                           Dated 2/28/97
  
  20.2                     News Release               Filed herewith
                           Dated 3/11/97	
	


Exhibit 20.1

                         NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 28, 1997

Contact:	Ms. Jane F. Adams
Chief Financial Officer and Investor Relations
(217) 356-2265

GREAT AMERICAN BANCORP, INC.
COMPLETES COMMON STOCK REPURCHASE PROGRAM 

Champaign, Illinois, February 28, 1997 - Great American Bancorp, Inc. 
(NASDAQ/GTPS).  Great American Bancorp, Inc.,  the holding company for 
First Federal Savings Bank of Champaign-Urbana, Champaign, Illinois, 
stated that it has completed its repurchase of 5% of its outstanding 
common stock, or 92,630 shares.

George R. Rouse, President and Chief Executive Officer of Great 
American Bancorp, Inc., said that the Company has completed the stock 
repurchase program previously approved by the Company's Board of 
Directors to repurchase up to five percent of the Company's 1,852,606 
outstanding shares.

Great American Bancorp, Inc. completed its offering of common stock in 
connection with the  conversion of First Federal Savings Bank of 
Champaign-Urbana from a federally chartered mutual savings bank to a 
federally chartered stock savings bank on June 30, 1995.  Great 
American Bancorp, Inc. sold 2,052,750 shares at $10.00 per share, 
yielding net proceeds of $19.4 million for the Company.  The Company 
completed an initial repurchase of 5% of its outstanding stock, or 
102,638 shares, in July, 1996 and a second repurchase of 5%, or 97,506 
shares in October, 1996.  On February 27, 1997 the stock closed at  
$16 1/8 per share, up 61% from its initial public offering price.

First Federal Savings Bank of Champaign-Urbana is head quartered in 
Champaign, Illinois, and operates through its administrative/branch 
office in Champaign and through two other full service branches 
located in Champaign and Urbana.  The Bank's deposits are insured by 
the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Great American Bancorp, Inc. stock is traded on the NASDAQ National 
Market System under the symbol "GTPS."

                                  ###
                            GTPS-pr-97-04



Exhibit 20.2

                         NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 11, 1997

Contact:	Ms. Jane F. Adams
Chief Financial Officer and Investor Relations
(217) 356-2265

GREAT AMERICAN BANCORP, INC.
NEW DIRECTORS NAMED TO FIRST FEDERAL BOARD 

Champaign, Illinois, March 11, 1997 - Great American Bancorp, Inc. 
(NASDAQ/GTPS).  Great American Bancorp, Inc.,  the holding company for 
First Federal Savings Bank of Champaign-Urbana, Champaign, Illinois, 
has announced that three new directors have been appointed to the 
Bank's Board of Directors.  The new directors are: Mr. Ron Guenther, 
Director of Athletics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign, Mr. Mike Martin, General Manager in charge of residential 
development at the Atkins Group, a real estate investment company 
located in Champaign, and Mr. Jack Troxell, Jr., Owner and President 
of Piccadilly Beverage Shops in Champaign.

The Company and the Bank would like to acknowledge the contributions 
of retiring members from the Bank's Board of Directors:  Mr. Clint 
Atkins, Mr. Gene Rose, and Mr. Gene Vance.  Mr. Atkins will remain as 
a Director of the Company.

First Federal Savings Bank of Champaign-Urbana is head quartered in 
Champaign, Illinois, and operates through its administrative/branch 
office in Champaign and through two other full service branches 
located in Champaign and Urbana.  The Bank's deposits are insured by 
the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Great American Bancorp, Inc. stock is traded on the NASDAQ National 
Market System under the symbol "GTPS."

                          ###
                     GTPS-pr-97-05