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The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is divided into three divisions based on scholarship allocation. Each division is made up of several conferences for regional league competition. Unless otherwise noted, changes in conference affiliation will occur on July 1 of the given year.

Division I

Main articles: NCAA Division I and List of NCAA Division I institutions

Under NCAA regulations, all Division I conferences defined as "multisport conferences" must meet the following criteria: [1]

  • A total of at least seven active Division I members.
  • Separate from the above, at least seven active Division I members that sponsor both men's and women's basketball.
  • Sponsorship of at least 12 NCAA Division I sports.
  • Minimum of six men's sports, with the following additional restrictions:
    • Men's basketball is a mandatory sport, and at least seven members must sponsor that sport.
    • Non-football conferences must sponsor at least two men's team sports other than basketball.
    • At least six members must sponsor five men's sports other than basketball, including either football or two other team sports.
  • Minimum of six women's sports, with the following additional restrictions:
    • Women's basketball is a mandatory sport, with at least seven members sponsoring that sport.
    • At least two other women's team sports must be sponsored.
    • At least six members must sponsor five women's sports other than basketball, including two other team sports. If a conference officially sponsors an NCAA "emerging sport" for women (as of 2023, acrobatics & tumbling, equestrianism, rugby union, stunt, triathlon, or wrestling), that sport will be counted if five members (instead of six) sponsor it.

Schools in all divisions that sponsor athletic programs for only one sex/gender need only meet the sports sponsorship requirements for that sex/gender. [2]

Football Bowl Subdivision

Conferences in the Football Bowl Subdivision must meet a more stringent set of NCAA requirements than other conferences. Among these additional NCAA regulations, institutions in the Football Bowl Subdivision must be "multisport conferences" and participate in conference play in at least six men's and eight women's sports, including football, men's and women's basketball, and at least two other women's team sports. Each school may count one men's and one women's sport not sponsored by its primary conference toward the above limits, as long as that sport competes in another Division I conference. The men's and women's sports so counted need not be the same sport. [3] [4]

Conference Nickname Founded Members Sports Headquarters Map
American Athletic Conference The American 2013 [a] 14 [b] 22 Irving,
Texas
Atlantic Coast Conference ACC 1953 15 [c] 28 [d] Greensboro,
North Carolina
Big Ten Conference Big Ten
B1G		 1896 14 [e] 28 Rosemont,
Illinois
Big 12 Conference Big 12 1996 14 [f] 23 [g] Irving,
Texas
Conference USA CUSA 1995 9 [h] 18 Dallas,
Texas
Division I
FBS independents [i]		 Ind. N/A 4 [j] 1 N/A
Mid-American Conference MAC 1946 12 [k] 23 Cleveland,
Ohio
Mountain West Conference MW
MWC		 1999 11 [l] 18 Colorado Springs,
Colorado
Pac-12 Conference Pac-12 1959 [m] 12 [n] 24 [o] San Francisco,
California
Southeastern Conference SEC 1932 14 [p] 21 Birmingham,
Alabama
Sun Belt Conference SBC 1976 14 20 [q] New Orleans,
Louisiana
  1. ^ Known as Big East Conference prior to 2013. The American operates under the original 1979 Big East charter, but considers its competitive history to have started in 2013.
  2. ^ 14 full members with Wichita State as a non-football member; 14 football members with Navy as a football-only affiliate.
    • 13 full members and 14 football members in 2024 with loss of SMU and addition of Army in football.
  3. ^ 15 members, 14 football members. Notre Dame football is an FBS independent, but has a substantial cross-scheduling agreement with the ACC.
    • 18 full members and 17 football members in 2024 with addition of California, SMU, and Stanford.
  4. ^ 27 sports by NCAA count. The ACC sponsors separate championships for men's and women's fencing, which the NCAA considers to be a single sport.
  5. ^ 18 members in 2024 with addition of Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington.
  6. ^ 16 members in 2024 with addition of Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah and loss of Oklahoma and Texas.
  7. ^ 25 sports in 2024 with addition of beach volleyball and women's lacrosse.
  8. ^ 10 members in 2024 with addition of Kennesaw State.
    • 11 members in 2025 with addition of Delaware.
  9. ^ Note that "independents" is not a conference; it is simply a designation used for schools whose football programs do not play in any conference. All of these schools have conference memberships for other sports.
  10. ^ 3 FBS independent schools in 2024 with Army joining The American.
    • 2 FBS independents in 2025 with UMass joining the Mid-American Conference.
  11. ^ 13 members in 2025 with addition of UMass.
  12. ^ 11 members (12 football) with Hawaii as a football-only affiliate.
  13. ^ Pacific Coast Conference chartered in 1915; current charter formed 1959 by five former PCC members, with three others joining by 1964.
  14. ^ 2 members in 2024 with loss of Arizona, Arizona State, California, Colorado, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, Utah, USC, and Washington.
  15. ^ 23 NCAA-sanctioned sports plus men's rowing; the NCAA governs women's rowing but not men's.
  16. ^ 16 members in 2024 with addition of Oklahoma and Texas.
  17. ^ Possibility of 21 sports with the potential addition of field hockey at an indeterminate date.

Football Championship Subdivision

In addition to competing in football, multisport conferences in the Football Championship Subdivision must still meet the general NCAA Division I requirements regarding the minimum number of men's and women's sports ( see above). [1]

Conference Nickname Founded Full Members Sports Headquarters Map
Big Sky Conference Big Sky, BSC 1963 10 [a] 16 Ogden, Utah
Big South Conference Big South 1983 9 [b] 19 Charlotte, North Carolina
Coastal Athletic Association Football Conference CAA Football 2007 [c] 15 [d] [e] 1 Richmond, Virginia
Division I FCS Independents [f] 1 [g] 1
Ivy League Ivy League 1954 [h] 8 32 [i] Princeton, New Jersey
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference MEAC 1970 8 [j] 14 Norfolk, Virginia
Missouri Valley Football Conference MVFC 1985 [k] 12 [l] 1 St. Louis, Missouri
Northeast Conference NEC 1981 9 [m] 24 [n] Somerset, New Jersey
Ohio Valley Conference OVC 1948 11 [o] 19 Brentwood, Tennessee
Patriot League Patriot 1986 10 [p] 24 Center Valley, Pennsylvania
Pioneer Football League PFL 1991 11 1 St. Louis, Missouri
Southern Conference SoCon 1921 10 [q] 20 Spartanburg, South Carolina
Southland Conference Southland
SLC		 1963 10 [r] 18 Frisco, Texas
Southwestern Athletic Conference SWAC 1920 12 18 Birmingham, Alabama
United Athletic Conference [s] UAC 2023 9 [t] 1
  1. ^ 10 full members and 12 football members with Cal Poly and UC Davis as football-only affiliates.
  2. ^ 9 full members and 4 football members.
    • All football members play in the Big South–OVC Football Association, an alliance between the Big South and the Ohio Valley Conference which shares a single automatic berth in the FCS playoffs.
    • 2 football members in 2024 with loss of associate members Bryant and Robert Morris.
  3. ^ While CAA Football was formally founded in 2007, its history can be traced back decades earlier.
    • The earliest predecessor is the New England Conference, which existed from 1938–1947. However, CAA Football does not recognize this league as part of its history.
    • In 1947, four New England Conference members joined with other schools to form the Yankee Conference under a new charter. CAA Football considers its history to have started with the Yankee Conference.
    • The Yankee Conference, by then a football-only league, was taken over by the Atlantic 10 Conference after the 1996 football season.
    • The all-sports CAA took over A-10 football in 2007, forming CAA Football as a separate entity.
  4. ^ CAA Football is a separate entity from the multi-sports CAA.
  5. ^ 16 members in 2024 with addition of Bryant.
    • 15 members in 2025 with loss of Delaware.
  6. ^ Note that "Independents" is not a conference; it is simply a designation used for schools whose football programs do not play in any conference. These schools have conference memberships for other sports.
  7. ^ Kennesaw State started an FBS transition in 2023 and is not participating in the United Athletic Conference.
    • 2 independents in 2024 with Kennesaw State joining Conference USA, plus addition of Merrimack and Sacred Heart.
  8. ^ While the Ivy League considers its athletic conference to have been established in 1954, the history of the athletic league can be traced back decades earlier:
    • In 1901, the Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League (EIBL) was formed by five schools that would later become part of the current Ivy League; the EIBL membership eventually became identical to that of the future all-sports league. The EIBL was directly absorbed into the all-sports Ivy League, which considers the EIBL to be part of its history.
    • In 1945, the Ivy Group Agreement, which governed competition and policies among the Ivy schools in football, was signed by all eight schools that eventually formed the all-sports league.
    • The official formation of the athletic Ivy League came in 1954, when the Ivy Group Agreement was extended to cover all sports.
    For more details, see the section on the history of the athletic Ivy League.
  9. ^ The Ivy League, by NCAA count, sponsors 28 NCAA-sanctioned sports. The Ivy League awards separate men's and women's fencing championships, while the NCAA considers fencing a single coeducational sport. Additionally, the Ivy League sponsors championships in the non-NCAA sports of men's rowing plus men's and women's squash.
  10. ^ 8 full members, 6 football members.
  11. ^ While the MVFC began football competition in 1985, the conference charter dates to 1982. See History of the Missouri Valley Football Conference for more details.
  12. ^ 11 members in 2024 with loss of Western Illinois.
  13. ^ 9 full members, 8 football members with Fairleigh Dickinson and Le Moyne as non-football members and with Duquesne as a football-only affiliate.
    • 9 full members and 7 football members in 2024 with the following changes:
  14. ^ 25 sports in 2024 with reinstatement of men's lacrosse.
  15. ^ 11 full members, 6 football members (full members Morehead State and Western Illinois respectively play football in the Pioneer Football League and Missouri Valley Football Conference).
    • All current OVC football members (i.e., not counting Morehead State and Western Illinois) play that sport in the Big South–OVC Football Association.
    • 7 football members in 2024 with Western Illinois joining the Big South–OVC alliance.
  16. ^ 10 full members and 7 football members with Army, Navy, American, Boston, and Loyola (MD) as non-football members (Army and Navy both compete in FBS football) and with Fordham and Georgetown as football-only affiliates.
  17. ^ 10 full members, 9 football members.
  18. ^ 10 full members, 8 football members.
    • 11 full members in 2024 with addition of UTRGV, which will play an exhibition-only football season in that year.
    • 9 football members in 2025 with elevation of UTRGV football to varsity status.
  19. ^ Not an officially recognized NCAA conference; that body treats the UAC as the continuation of a preexisting football-only alliance between the Atlantic Sun Conference and Western Athletic Conference.
  20. ^ 10 members in 2024 with addition of West Georgia.

Non-football, multi-sport conferences

Multisport conferences that do not compete in football must still meet the general NCAA Division I requirements regarding the minimum number of men's and women's sports ( see above). [1]

Conference Nickname Founded Members Sports Headquarters Map
America East Conference America East
AmEast		 1979 9 18 Boston, Massachusetts
Atlantic Sun Conference ASUN 1978 12 [a] 20 Atlanta, Georgia
Atlantic 10 Conference A-10 1975 15 [b] 22 Newport News, Virginia
Big East Conference Big East 1979 [c] 11 23 [d] New York City, New York
Big West Conference Big West
BWC		 1969 11 19 [e] Irvine, California
Coastal Athletic Association CAA 1983 14 [f] 23 Richmond, Virginia
Horizon League Horizon 1979 11 19 Indianapolis, Indiana
Independents 1 [g]
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference MAAC 1980 11 [h] 25 [i] Edison, New Jersey
Missouri Valley Conference MVC
The Valley		 1907 12 17 St. Louis, Missouri
Mountain Pacific Sports Federation MPSF 1992 37 [j] 11 [k] Woodland, California
Summit League The Summit 1982 9 19 Sioux Falls, South Dakota
West Coast Conference WCC 1952 9 16 San Bruno, California
Western Athletic Conference WAC 1962 11 19 Arlington, Texas
  1. ^ 12 members in 2024 with loss of Kennesaw State and addition of West Georgia.
  2. ^ 14 members in 2025 with loss of UMass.
  3. ^ Although the charter of the current Big East dates only to the 2013 split of the original Big East, both the current Big East and the American Athletic Conference claim 1979 as their founding dates. The current Big East maintains the pre-split history of the original conference in all sports that it sponsors. In football and rowing, the two sports that are sponsored by The American but not the current Big East, neither conference recognizes the history of the original Big East.
  4. ^ 22 NCAA-sanctioned sports, plus the non-NCAA and fully coeducational esports.
  5. ^ 21 sports in 2024 with addition of men's and women's swimming & diving.
  6. ^ The CAA Football Conference is a separate entity from the all-sports CAA.
  7. ^ Chicago State.
  8. ^ 13 members in 2024 with addition of Merrimack and Sacred Heart.
  9. ^ 23 NCAA-sanctioned sports plus two non-NCAA sports—men's rowing, and Esports, which are fully coeducational.
  10. ^ No more than 10 schools are competing in any one of the MPSF's sports in 2023–24.
    • 38 members in 2024 with the following changes:
      • Departure of Bakersfield, Cal Poly, and UC Santa Barbara, members only in swimming & diving, due to the addition of men's and women's swimming & diving by their primary home of the Big West Conference.
      • Return of former members Oregon and Washington for the newly sponsored beach volleyball.
      • Addition of Jessup, Menlo, and Vanguard in men's volleyball.
  11. ^ Sponsors 10 NCAA sports and 1 non-NCAA sport, artistic swimming.
    • 11 NCAA sports and 12 total sports in 2024 with addition of beach volleyball.

Ice hockey conferences

See also: List of NCAA Division I ice hockey programs

Division I ice hockey has a different conference structure than the above multisport conferences. These schools have memberships in other conferences for other sports.

Conference Nickname Founded Members (Men/Women) Headquarters Map
Atlantic Hockey Atlantic Hockey
AHA		 1997 11 (11/none) [a] Haverhill, Massachusetts
Central Collegiate Hockey Association CCHA 2020 [b] 9 (9/none) Farmington Hills, Michigan
College Hockey America CHA 1999 [c] 6 (none/6) [a] [d] Haverhill, Massachusetts
ECAC Hockey ECAC 1962 12 (12/12) Albany, New York
Hockey East Hockey East
HEA		 1984 12 (11/10) Amesbury, Massachusetts
Independents 6 (6/none) [e]
New England Women's Hockey Alliance NEWHA 2018 [f] 8 (none/8) Winthrop, Massachusetts
National Collegiate Hockey Conference NCHC 2011 [g] 8 (8/none) [h] Colorado Springs, Colorado
Western Collegiate Hockey Association WCHA 1951 [i] 8 (none/8) Edina, Minnesota
  1. ^ a b Atlantic Hockey and College Hockey America have announced they will merge in 2024. They have not yet determined the branding of the merged entity.
  2. ^ Founded in 2020, with play starting in 2021, as the revival of an earlier CCHA that existed from 1971 to 2013; the current CCHA considers itself a continuation of the original. Bowling Green, which was a member of the original CCHA for its entire existence and is a charter member of the revived conference, maintained rights to the league name.
  3. ^ College Hockey America was formed in 1999 as a men's-only conference; women's play began in 2002. The men's side of CHA folded after the 2009–10 season.
  4. ^ 7 members in 2025 with addition of Delaware.
  5. ^ 5 members in 2024 with Arizona State joining the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.
  6. ^ Established as a scheduling alliance in 2017, officially organized as a conference in 2018, and officially recognized by the NCAA in 2019.
  7. ^ Although founded in 2011, the NCHC did not begin play until 2013.
  8. ^ 9 members in 2024 with addition of Arizona State.
  9. ^ Founded in 1951 as a men's-only conference; women's play began in 1999. The men's side of the WCHA folded after the 2020–21 season, with most of its members forming the revived CCHA.

Other single-sport conferences

This list includes conferences in sports that the NCAA does not fully split into divisions, such as men's volleyball and rifle. Sports in which the NCAA sponsors separate championships for men and women are officially treated by the NCAA as two separate sports.

Conference Nickname Founded Members Sport Headquarters Map
Central Collegiate Fencing Conference CCFC 6 Fencing ?
Central Collegiate Ski Association CCSA 2009 7 [a] Skiing ?
Coastal Collegiate Sports Association CCSA 2008 4 beach volleyball Macon, Georgia
Collegiate Water Polo Association CWPA 1970s 26 [b] water polo Bridgeport, Pennsylvania
East Atlantic Gymnastics League EAGL 1995 7 gymnastics ?
Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges EARC ? 18 rowing Danbury, Connecticut
Eastern Association of Women's Rowing Colleges EAWRC ? 18 rowing Danbury, Connecticut
Eastern Intercollegiate Gymnastics League EIGL ? 5 1 ( gymnastics) Danbury, Connecticut
Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association EISA ? 15 1 ( Skiing) ?
Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association EIVA 1977 6 [c] 1 ( men's volleyball) Bronxville, New York
Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association EIWA 1905 17 1 ( wrestling) ?
Eastern Women's Fencing Conference EWFC 2000 7 1 ( fencing) ?
Golden Coast Conference GCC 2013 [d] 8 1 ( water polo) ?
Great America Rifle Conference GARC 1998 9 1 ( rifle) ?
Intercollegiate Fencing Conference of Southern California. IFCSC 1996? 2 [e] 1 ( fencing) ?
Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Fencing Association MACFA 1952 8 [f] 1 ( fencing) Hackettstown, New Jersey
Mid-Atlantic Rifle Conference MAC 1978 7 [g] 1 ( rifle) ?
Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference MAWPC 7 1 ( Water Polo) ?
Midwest Fencing Conference. MFC 1968 6 [h] 1 ( fencing) University of Notre Dame (?)
Midwest Independent Conference MIC ? 6 1 ( women's gymnastics) UIC (?)
Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association MIVA 1961 9 [i] 1 ( men's volleyball) Columbus, Ohio
National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association NIWFA 1929 10 [j] 1 ( fencing) ?
New England Intercollegiate Fencing Conference NEIFC ? 8 [k] 1 ( fencing) ?
Northeast Fencing Conference NFC 1992 8 [l] 1 ( fencing) ?
Pacific Collegiate Swim and Dive Conference PCSC 2002 9 (men)
15 (women)		 1 (swimming) ?
Patriot Rifle Conference PRC 2013 6 1 ( rifle) Colorado Springs, Colorado
Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association RMISA 1950 6 [m] 1 ( Skiing) ?
Western Water Polo Association WWPA 1981 7 (men)
8 (women)		 1 ( water polo) ?
  1. ^ There are 7 NCAA varsity members; the conference also has one junior college member.
  2. ^ 9 schools have both men's & women's varsity teams, 9 have men's varsity teams only, 8 have women's varsity teams only; additionally, there are 136 men's and 86 women's club teams.
  3. ^ 7 members in 2024 with return of Sacred Heart.
  4. ^ Women only. The GCC was founded in 2013 as a women's-only conference; a men's division was added in 2016 and shut down in 2023.
  5. ^ There are 2 varsity members; the conference also has 7 college club members.
  6. ^ There are 8 varsity members; the conference also has 7 college club members.
  7. ^ There are 7 varsity members; the conference also has 6 college club members.
  8. ^ There are 6 varsity members; the conference also has 13 college club members.
  9. ^ 6 members in 2025 with loss of Lewis, McKendree, and Quincy.
  10. ^ There are 10 varsity members; the conference also has 10 college club members.
  11. ^ There are 8 varsity members; the conference also has 13 college club members.
  12. ^ There are 8 varsity members; the conference also has 5 college club members.
  13. ^ There are 6 varsity members; the conference also has 4 college club members.

Division II

Main articles: NCAA Division II and List of NCAA Division II institutions

Among the NCAA regulations, Division II institutions have to sponsor at least five sports for men and five for women (or four for men and six for women), with two team sports for each sex, and each playing season represented by each sex. Teams that consist of both men and women are counted as men's teams for sports sponsorship purposes. [5]

Current conferences

Conferences that sponsor football are highlighted in yellow.

Conference Nickname Founded Members Sports Headquarters Map
California Collegiate Athletic Association CCAA 1938 12 [a] 13 Walnut Creek, California
Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference CACC 1961 13 16 New Haven, Connecticut
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association CIAA 1912 13 [b] 15 Hampton, Virginia
Conference Carolinas CC 1930 14 [c] 25 [d] Thomasville, North Carolina
East Coast Conference ECC 1989 9 18 Central Islip, New York
Great American Conference GAC 2011 12 16 Russellville, Arkansas
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference GLIAC 1972 10 [e] 21 Bay City, Michigan
Great Lakes Valley Conference GLVC 1978 14 [f] 24 [g] Indianapolis, Indiana
Great Midwest Athletic Conference G-MAC 2011 14 [h] 23 [i] Greenwood, Indiana
Great Northwest Athletic Conference GNAC 2001 10 15 Portland, Oregon
Gulf South Conference GSC 1970 13 [j] 17 Birmingham, Alabama
Division II independents 4 [k]
Lone Star Conference LSC 1931 17 [l] 18 Richardson, Texas
Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association MIAA 1912 14 [m] 19 Kansas City, Missouri
Mountain East Conference MEC 2012 11 [n] 23 Bridgeport, West Virginia
Northeast-10 Conference NE-10 1980 12 [o] 23 Mansfield, Massachusetts
Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference NSIC 1932 15 [p] 18 St. Paul, Minnesota.
Pacific West Conference PacWest 1992 11 [q] 15 Newport Beach, California
Peach Belt Conference PBC 1990 10 [r] 15 Augusta, Georgia
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference PSAC 1951 18 [s] 23 Lock Haven, Pennsylvania
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference RMAC 1909 15 [t] 23 Colorado Springs, Colorado
South Atlantic Conference SAC 1975 13 [u] 20 Rock Hill, South Carolina
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference SIAC 1913 15 [v] 14 Tucker, Georgia
Sunshine State Conference SSC 1975 11 18 Melbourne, Florida
  1. ^ 13 members in 2025 with addition of UC Merced.
  2. ^ 13 full members; 12 football members.
  3. ^ 15 members in 2024 with addition of Shorter.
    • 16 members in 2025 with addition of Ferrum.
  4. ^ 26 sports in 2025 with addition of football.
  5. ^ 10 competing full members, 7 football members. Roosevelt joined for administrative purposes in 2023 but does not start GLIAC competition until 2024.
    • 11 total members and 8 football members in 2024 once Roosevelt starts GLIAC competition.
  6. ^ 14 full members, 8 football members.
    • 15 full members, 9 football members in 2024 with addition of Lincoln (MO).
  7. ^ 25 sports in 2025 with addition of men's volleyball.
  8. ^ 14 full members, 10 football members.
  9. ^ Emerging sport wrestling included.
  10. ^ 13 full members, 10 football members.
    • 12 full members, 9 football members in 2024 with addition of Erskine as a football-only affiliate and Trevecca Nazarene, and loss of Shorter and West Georgia.
    • 6 football members in 2025 with loss of Chowan, Erskine, and North Greenville.
  11. ^ 4 all-sports independents, plus Post, a full member of a non-football conference, as a football independent.
    • 1 football independent in 2024 with addition of Shorter and loss of Post.
    • No football football independents in 2025 with loss of Shorter.
  12. ^ 17 full members, 9 football members with Central Washington and Western Oregon as football-only affiliates.
  13. ^ 14 full members, 12 football members.
    • 14 full members, 11 football members with loss of Lincoln (MO) and addition of Arkansas–Fort Smith.
  14. ^ 11 full members with Davis & Elkins as a non-football member; 11 football members with UNC Pembroke as a football affiliate.
    • 11 full members and 11 football members in 2024 with addition of non-football Point Park and closure of non-football Notre Dame (OH).
    • 10 full members and 10 football members in 2025 with loss of football-only member UNC Pembroke.
  15. ^ 12 full members, 8 football members.
    • 11 full members and 9 football members in 2024 with closure of non-football Saint Rose and addition of Post as a football-only affiliate.
  16. ^ 15 full members, 13 football members.
    • 16 members, 14 football members in 2025 with addition of Jamestown.
  17. ^ 14 members in 2024 with additions of Jessup, Menlo, and Vanguard, once they are scheduled to start PacWest competition.
  18. ^ 11 members in 2025 with addition of Middle Georgia.
  19. ^ 18 full members, 16 football members.
    • 17 full members, 15 football members in 2024 with loss of Mercyhurst.
  20. ^ 15 full members, 10 football members.
  21. ^ 13 full members, with Anderson (SC), Coker, and Lincoln Memorial as non-football members; 12 football members with Barton and Erskine as football affiliates.
    • 12 football members no later than 2024 with addition of football by current full member Anderson (SC) and loss of Erskine.
  22. ^ 15 full members, 13 football members.

Single-sport conferences

Conference Nickname Founded Members Sport Headquarters Map
Appalachian Swimming Conference ASC ? 6 (men)
4 (women)		 swimming ?
players+ ECAC Division II Field Hockey League ECAC 2014 6 field hockey Danbury, Connecticut
ECAC Division II Wrestling League ECAC 2015 7 wrestling Danbury, Connecticut

-->

New South Intercollegiate Swim Conference. NSISC 1995 5 (men)
6 (women)		 swimming ?
Pacific Collegiate Swim and Dive Conference PCSC 2003 9 (men)
15 (women)		 swimming ?

Other sports

These all-sports conferences sponsor sports which do not have D-II championships. One of these conferences will add a second such sport in 2025.

Conference Nickname Founded Members [a] Sport Headquarters Map
Conference Carolinas CC 1930 8 Men's volleyball Thomasville, North Carolina
Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference CACC 1961 6 Bowling New Haven, Connecticut
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association CIAA 1912 10 Bowling Hampton, Virginia
East Coast Conference ECC 1989 10 Bowling Central Islip, New York
4 Men's volleyball
Great Lakes Valley Conference GLVC 1978 8 Bowling Indianapolis, Indiana
6 [b] Men's volleyball [c]
Northeast-10 Conference NE-10 1980 6 Men's ice hockey South Easton, Massachusetts
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference SIAC 1913 6 [d] Men's volleyball Tucker, Georgia
  1. ^ Number reflects membership in the sport that lacks a D-II championship, not the number of full members.
  2. ^ Expected men's volleyball membership.
  3. ^ To be added in 2025 (2026 season).
  4. ^ 7 members in 2024 with addition of men's volleyball by full conference member LeMoyne–Owen.

Division III

Main articles: NCAA Division III and List of NCAA Division III institutions

Unlike the other two divisions, Division III institutions cannot offer athletic scholarships. Among the other NCAA Division III requirements, schools have sports sponsorship requirements set by the NCAA. All institutions, regardless of enrollment, must sponsor at least three team sports for each sex/gender, and each playing season represented by each sex/gender. [6]

A sports sponsorship rule unique to Division III is that the total number of sports that must be sponsored differs by a school's full-time undergraduate enrollment. Schools with an enrollment of 1,000 or fewer must sponsor at least five sports for men and five for women; those with larger enrollments must sponsor six men's and six women's sports. As in the other divisions, teams that include both men and women are treated as men's sports for the purpose of these regulations. [7]

Current conferences

Conferences that sponsor football highlighted in yellow.

Conference Nickname Founded Members Sports Headquarters Map
Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference AMCC 1997 10 16 North Boston, New York
American Rivers Conference ARC 1922 9 22 Cedar Rapids, Iowa
American Southwest Conference ASC 1996 10 [a] 16 Richardson, Texas
Atlantic East Conference AEC 2018 7 [b] 20 Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Centennial Conference Centennial 1981 11 [c] 24 Lancaster, Pennsylvania
City University of New York Athletic Conference CUNYAC 1987 8 16 Flushing, Queens, New York
Coast to Coast Athletic Conference C2C 1989 7 [d] 19 Fredericksburg, Virginia
College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin CCIW 1946 9 [e] 26 Naperville, Illinois
Collegiate Conference of the South [8] CCS 2022 9 [f] 14 Atlanta, Georgia
Commonwealth Coast Conference CCC 1984 10 [g] 18 Springfield, Massachusetts
Eastern Collegiate Football Conference ECFC 2009 5 [h] 1 Wilmington, Vermont
Empire 8 E8 1964 10 [i] 22 Rochester, New York
Great Northeast Athletic Conference GNAC 1995 16 [j] 17 Boston, Massachusetts
Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference HCAC 1987 10 [k] 16 Greenwood, Indiana
Division III Independents 3 [l]
Landmark Conference Landmark 2006 10 [m] 23 Madison, New Jersey
Liberty League Liberty 1995 12 [n] 26 Troy, New York
Little East Conference LEC 1986 9 21 North Dartmouth, Massachusetts
Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference MASCAC 1971 8 [o] 16 Westfield, Massachusetts
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association MIAA 1888 9 [p] 22 Freeland, Michigan
Middle Atlantic Conferences MAC 1912 16 [q] [r] 27 Annville, Pennsylvania
Midwest Conference Midwest 1921 9 [s] 20 Ripon, Wisconsin
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference MIAC 1920 13 [t] 22 St. Paul, Minnesota
New England Small College Athletic Conference NESCAC 1971 11 [u] 26 Hadley, Massachusetts
New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference NEWMAC 1998 12 [v] 20 Wellesley, Massachusetts
New Jersey Athletic Conference NJAC 1985 10 [w] 21 Pitman, New Jersey
North Atlantic Conference NAC 1996 14 [x] 15 Waterville, Maine
North Coast Athletic Conference NCAC 1983 9 [y] 23 Westlake, Ohio
Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference NACC 2006 14 [z] 19 Waukesha, Wisconsin
Northwest Conference NWC 1926 9 [aa] 20 Seattle, Washington
Ohio Athletic Conference OAC 1902 10 [ab] 23 Austintown, Ohio
Old Dominion Athletic Conference ODAC 1976 15 [ac] 25 [ad] Forest, Virginia
Presidents' Athletic Conference PAC 1955 11 [ae] 23 [af] Wexford, Pennsylvania
Skyline Conference Skyline 1989 12 17 Lawrenceville, New Jersey
Southern Athletic Association SAA 2012 8 [ag] 21 Atlanta, Georgia
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference SCIAC 1915 9 [ah] 21 Los Angeles, California
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference SCAC 1962 9 [ai] 18 [aj] Suwanee, Georgia
State University of New York Athletic Conference SUNYAC 1958 10 [ak] 20 Fredonia, New York
St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference SLIAC 1989 10 [al] 14 St. Louis, Missouri
United East Conference United East 2004 17 [am] 20 Gansevoort, New York
University Athletic Association UAA 1986 8 22 Rochester, New York
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference UMAC 1972 8 [an] 16 St. Paul, Minnesota
USA South Athletic Conference USA South 1965 10 [ao] 14 Fayetteville, North Carolina
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference WIAC 1913 8 22 Madison, Wisconsin
  1. ^ 10 full members with Concordia Texas, LeTourneau, Ozarks, and UT Dallas as non-football members, 8 football members with Austin and Texas Lutheran as football-only affiliates.
    • 6 full members and 4 football members in 2024 with departure of full members Concordia Texas, McMurry, Ozarks, and Sul Ross State and football-only members Austin and Texas Lutheran.
    • 5 full members in 2025 with the departure of UT Dallas.
  2. ^ 7 full members in 2024 with the closure of Cabrini and addition of Pratt.
  3. ^ 11 full members, 7 football members.
  4. ^ 6 full members in 2024 with departure of Pratt.
  5. ^ 9 full members, 10 football members with Washington (MO) as a football-only affiliate.
  6. ^ 9 members in 2024 with loss of Berea and addition of Asbury.
  7. ^ 10 members, 6 football members.
  8. ^ 3 members in 2024 with loss of Anna Maria and Vermont State Castleton.
  9. ^ 9 full members with Elmira, Houghton, Keuka, Nazareth, and Russell Sage as non-football members; 7 football members with SUNY Brockport, SUNY Cortland, and SUNY Morrisville as football-only affiliates.
    • 11 full members and 8 football members in 2024 with addition of Hilbert in football and non-football SUNY Brockport and SUNY Geneseo.
  10. ^ 14 members in 2024 with loss of Anna Maria and Johnson & Wales.
  11. ^ 10 full members, 8 football members.
    • 10 full members and 7 football members in 2024 with addition of Berea and loss of Defiance.
  12. ^ 3 all-sports independents (non-football), 2 football independents (which are members of non-football conferences).
    • 2 all-sports independents in 2024 with loss of Asbury.
  13. ^ 10 members with Drew, Elizabethtown, Goucher, and Scranton as non-football members and 7 football with Keystone as a football-only affiliate.
  14. ^ 12 full members, 7 football members with Buffalo State as a football-only affiliate.
  15. ^ 8 full members with MCLA and Salem State as non-football members, 9 football members with Plymouth State, UMass–Dartmouth, and Western Connecticut State as football affiliates.
    • 9 full members and 11 football members in 2024 with addition of Anna Maria and football-only Castleton.
  16. ^ 9 full members, 7 football members.
  17. ^ The MAC is actually an umbrella organization of three conferences. Eight schools are members of the MAC Commonwealth and eight others are members of the MAC Freedom. Each league conducts competition in the same set of 14 sports, not including football. The third league, called the Middle Atlantic Conference, combines schools from the MAC Commonwealth and MAC Freedom for 13 other sports, including football.
  18. ^ 16 full members (8 Commonwealth, 8 Freedom) and 10 football members.
  19. ^ 9 full members, 10 football members with Chicago as a football affiliate.
  20. ^ 13 full members, 10 football members.
  21. ^ 11 full members, 10 football members.
  22. ^ 12 full members and 8 football members.
  23. ^ 10 full members with New Jersey City, Ramapo, Rutgers–Newark, Rutgers–Camden, and Stockton as non-football members; 7 football members with Christopher Newport and Salisbury as football affiliates.
  24. ^ 12 full members in 2024 with loss of SUNY Canton, and SUNY Morrisville.
  25. ^ 10 members in 2025 with addition of John Carroll.
  26. ^ 14 full members, 9 football members with Eureka as a football-only affiliate.
  27. ^ 9 full members, 8 football members.
  28. ^ 9 members in 2025 with loss of John Carroll.
  29. ^ 15 full members, 8 football members.
    • 14 full members, 8 football members in 2025 with addition of Roanoke football and loss of Ferrum.
  30. ^ 26 sports in 2024 with addition of men's volleyball.
  31. ^ 11 full members, 11 football members, with two full members not sponsoring football (Chatham and Franciscan) and two football affiliates (Carnegie Mellon and Case Western Reserve).
  32. ^ 24 sports in 2024 with addition of men's volleyball.
  33. ^ 8 full members, 9 football members with one full member not sponsoring football (Oglethorpe) and two football affiliates (Southwestern and Trinity [TX]).
    • 7 full members, 8 football members in 2024 with closure of Birmingham–Southern.
    • 9 full members in 2025 with Southwestern and Trinity (TX) moving all their other sports from the SCAC.
  34. ^ 9 full members, 6 football members.
  35. ^ 10 full members in 2024 with addition of McMurry and 4 football members planned for the reinstated football league in that year, with full members Austin, Centenary (LA), and McMurry joined by football-only affiliate Lyon.
    • 8 full members in 2025 with losses of Southwestern and Trinity (TX).
    • 6 football members no later than 2026, with the four inaugural football members joined by full members Schreiner (adding football in 2025 or 2026) and Texas Lutheran.
  36. ^ 19 sports in 2024 with reinstatement of football.
  37. ^ 10 members in 2024 with loss of SUNY Brockport and SUNY Geneseo, and addition of SUNY Canton and SUNY Morrisville.
  38. ^ 9 full members in 2025 with closure of Fontbonne.
  39. ^ 18 full members in 2024 with addition of Penn State Brandywine.
  40. ^ 8 full members with Bethany Lutheran, North Central, Northland, and Wisconsin–Superior as non-football members; 6 football members with Greenville, and Westminster (MO) as football-only affiliates.
  41. ^ 10 full members with Mary Baldwin, Meredith, Pfeiffer, Salem College, and William Peace as non-football members; 9 football members with Belhaven, Huntingdon, LaGrange, and Maryville as football-affiliates.

Single-sport conferences

Conference Nickname Founded Members Sport Headquarters Map
Coastal Lacrosse Conference CLC 2022 6 Men's lacrosse
Continental Volleyball Conference CVC 2011 9 Men's volleyball Madison, New Jersey
Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League MCVL 2014 10 Men's volleyball Bradenton, Florida
Midwest Lacrosse Conference MLC 2009 8 Men's lacrosse Waukesha, Wisconsin
Midwest Women's Lacrosse Conference MWLC 2010 10 Women's Lacrosse Waukesha, Wisconsin
New England Collegiate Conference NECC 2007 [a] 9 [b] Men's volleyball [c] Mansfield, Massachusetts
New England Hockey Conference NEHC 2015 10 (men)
13 (women)		 Ice hockey N/A
Northern Collegiate Hockey Association NCHA 1981 10 (men)
7 (women)		 Ice hockey Waukesha, Wisconsin
United Volleyball Conference UVC 2010 8 Men's volleyball Rochester, New York
United Collegiate Hockey Conference UCHC 2016 12 (men)
13 (women)		 Ice hockey Danbury, Connecticut
  1. ^ Operated as an all-sports conference from 2007–2023.
  2. ^ 8 members in 2025 with loss of Lesley.
  3. ^ Also organizes competition in the non-NCAA esports.

Other sports

These all-sports conferences sponsor sports which do not have D-III championships.

Conference Nickname Founded Members [a] Sport Headquarters Map
Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference AMCC 1997 8 Bowling North Boston, New York
College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin CCIW 1946 8 Bowling Naperville, Illinois
Metropolitan Swimming Conference METS ? 14 (men)
17 (women)		 1 ( swimming) ?
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference WIAC 1913 8 Women's gymnastics Madison, Wisconsin
  1. ^ Number reflects membership in the sport that lacks a D-III championship, not the total conference membership.

Defunct NCAA conferences

Conference Division Founded Folded Fate
America Sky Conference Division I 2007 2014 Men's golf conference absorbed by the Big Sky Conference. [9]
American Collegiate Athletic Association Division III 2017 2020 Merged with the Capital Athletic Conference, with the merged conference renaming itself the Coast to Coast Athletic Conference shortly thereafter.
American Lacrosse Conference Division I 2001 2014 Women's lacrosse conference that folded after the 2014 season due to fallout of the early-2010s conference realignment, specifically the 2013 announcement by the Big Ten that it would add men's and women's lacrosse for the 2014–15 school year (2015 season). Four of the seven final ALC members are full Big Ten members. Johns Hopkins went independent before joining Big Ten women's lacrosse in the 2017 season. The other two members became Big East affiliates.
American South Conference Division I 1987 1991 Merged with the Sun Belt Conference. The new conference used the Sun Belt name. [10]
Atlantic Central Football Conference Division III 1997 2010 Disbanded
Atlantic Soccer Conference Division I 2000 2012 Disbanded
Atlantic Women's Colleges Conference Division III 1995 2007 Disbanded
Big Central Soccer Conference Division I 1987 1991 Men's soccer-only conference disbanded after the all-sports conferences of all but two of its members began sponsoring the sport.
Big Eight Conference Division I 1907 1996 Initially formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association, before six schools split away to form the Big Six in 1928.
Brought in four former Southwest Conference schools to grow into the Big 12 Conference.
Border Conference University Division 1931 1962 Members split between the newly formed WAC and independent statuses.
Central Collegiate Hockey Association (original) Division I 1971 2013 The decision of the Big Ten Conference to add men's ice hockey as a sponsored sport in the 2013–14 season, taking three of the most successful members of the then-11-member league, led to a major conference realignment that ultimately consumed the CCHA. Two members joined the new National Collegiate Hockey Conference, one member joined Hockey East, and the remaining five members joined or rejoined the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The CCHA would be revived in 2021 with eight members, four of which played in the final season of the original league; the current CCHA considers itself a continuation of the original.
Central Intercollegiate Bowling Conference Division III 2019 2020 Bowling-only league effectively absorbed by the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. [11]
Colonial Hockey Conference Division III 2015 2020 Women's ice hockey-only conference. Disbanded after the 2019–20 season when the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) took over operations. [12] At that time, all of the remaining members were full members of the CCC.
Colonial States Athletic Conference Division III 1992 2023 Merged with the United East Conference. The 'new' conference used the United East name. [13]
Commonwealth Coast Football Division III 1965 2022 Football-only conference, absorbed by the Commonwealth Coast Conference. Rebranded in 2017 from its original name, the New England Football Conference.
Continental Divide Conference Division II ??? 1992 Women's-only conference that merged with the men's-only Great Northwest Conference (not to be confused with the current Great Northwest Athletic Conference) to form the Pacific West Conference.
Deep South Conference Division II 1994 2013 Men's lacrosse conference disbanded when the South Atlantic Conference and Sunshine State Conference, home to all nine of the final conference members, began sponsoring the sport.
Dixie Conference * 1930 1942 Disbanded after most of its members suspended athletics during World War II.
Dixie Conference * 1948 1954 Disbanded
East Coast Conference Division I 1958 1994 Absorbed by the Mid-Continent Conference, now known as The Summit League.
Eastern Intercollegiate Baseball League * 1929 1992 Baseball-only conference absorbed by the Ivy League, disbanded when Army and Navy aligned their baseball teams with the bulk of their other teams in the Patriot League.
Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League * 1901 1955 Basketball-only conference absorbed by the Ivy League, which claims the EIBL as part of its own history.
Eastern Wrestling League Division I 1975 2019 Wrestling-only league absorbed by the Mid-American Conference. [14]
ECAC Lacrosse League Division I 1999 2014 Men's lacrosse conference that disbanded after the 2014 season. The conference lost many members after the 2010 season when the original Big East launched a men's lacrosse league, and lost still more members with the Big Ten announcement. At the end of the final ECAC Lacrosse season, only one member had not announced a new lacrosse affiliation for the 2014–15 school year; that school would later join Southern Conference men's lacrosse.
ECAC Division II Lacrosse League Division II 2012 2016 Disbanded. Six members began play in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, leaving three members to become independents.
ECAC Northeast Division III 1971 2016 Ice hockey-only conference. Disbanded
ECAC West Division III 1984 2016 Ice hockey-only conference. Disbanded
Freedom Football Conference Division III 1992 2003 Disbanded
Great Lakes Football Conference Division II 2006 2012 Football-only conference, effectively absorbed by the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
Great Midwest Conference Division I 1991 1995 Merged with the Metro Conference to form Conference USA.
Great Northwest Conference Division II ??? 1992 The second part of the merger that created the current Pacific West Conference.
Great South Athletic Conference Division III 1999 2016 Ended sponsorship of men's sports in 2012; remained a women-only league until disbanding entirely. One media outlet specializing in D-III sports coverage considered the Collegiate Conference of the South, formed in 2022 by an amicable split of the USA South Athletic Conference, a spiritual successor, noting that seven of the nine charter CCS members had been Great South members in the last season that it sponsored men's sports. [15]
Great West Conference Division I 2004 2013 Disbanded after all but one of its members joined more established conferences during the early-2010s conference realignment. The men's golf history and Internet presence of the Great West were maintained by the America Sky Conference (above) before the latter conference's absorption by the Big Sky.
Great West Hockey Conference Division I 1985 1988 Ice hockey-only conference formed by four Western schools, but had one of its members drop hockey after its first season. After failing to attract additional members in 1988, the league folded when one of the remaining members shut down its entire athletic program.
Great Western Lacrosse League Division I 1993 2010 Members joined the ECAC Lacrosse League (see above).
Gulf Coast Conference College Division 1949 1957 Disbanded
Gulf Star Conference Division I 1984 1987 Effectively absorbed by the Southland Conference.
Heartland Conference Division II 1999 2019 In August 2017, eight of the nine members announced a mass exodus to the Lone Star Conference (LSC)—a conference with which the Heartland Conference had recently discussed a potential merger [16]— effective in 2019. [17] One of the eight schools changed course and instead opted to become a de facto member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association in 2019, [18] joining the remaining Heartland member in that status. [19]
High Country Athletic Conference Division I 1983 1990 Women's-only conference absorbed by the Western Athletic Conference.
Indiana Collegiate Conference Division II 1950 1978 Disbanded
Indiana Intercollegiate Conference * 1922 1950 Disbanded
Indiana Intercollegiate Conference Unknown 1922 1950 Split into two conferences, the Indiana Collegiate Conference was made of the larger schools; the Hoosier Collegiate Conference was made of the small, private schools
Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference University Division 1908 1970 Previously known as Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, disbanded.
Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the Northwest * 1892 1893 Disbanded, precursor to the Big Ten Conference.
Lake Michigan Conference Division III 1974 2007 Merged with the Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference to form the Northern Athletics Conference, now known as the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference.
Metro Conference Division I 1975 1995 Merged with the Great Midwest Conference to form Conference USA.
Metropolitan Collegiate Conference University Division 1965 1969 Disbanded
Metropolitan New York Conference University Division 1933 1963 Disbanded
Mid-Continent Athletic Association Division II, later Division I 1978 1981 Football-only conference absorbed by the Association of Mid-Continent Universities in 1982. Effectively one of the precursors to the current Missouri Valley Football Conference.
Midwest Athletic Conference for Women Division III 1977 1994 Merged with the men's Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference, forming the current Midwest Conference.
Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association Division III 1998 2013 Absorbed by the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association.
Midwestern Conference University Division 1970 1972 The five member schools were unable to find the 6th member required for NCAA recognition.
Mountain States Conference (aka Skyline Conference) University Division 1938 1962 Disbanded, members split between the newly formed WAC and independent statuses.
Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference Division I 2013 2023 Women's gymnastics conference; disbanded after the Mountain West Conference began sponsoring women's gymnastics.
Mountain West Athletic Conference Division I 1982 1988 Women's-only conference (not to be confused with the modern Mountain West Conference) absorbed by the Big Sky Conference.
National Lacrosse Conference Division I 2008 2012 Disbanded after the Atlantic Sun Conference and Big South Conference began sponsoring women's lacrosse.
New England Collegiate Conference Division III 2007 2023 Disbanded as an all-sports conference after steady losses of membership, both by schools closing and moves to other conferences. Remains in operation for men's volleyball and the non-NCAA esports.
New England Conference * 1938 1947 Disbanded; the final four members joined two other schools to form the Yankee Conference under a new charter. Effectively the earliest ancestor of CAA Football, a conference operated by the Coastal Athletic Association but a separate legal entity, although CAA Football does not claim the NEC's history.
New England Women's Lacrosse Alliance Division III 1998 2012 Disbanded
New South Women's Athletic Conference Division I 1985 1991 Women's-only conference initially known as the New South Conference; absorbed by the Trans America Athletic Conference, now known as the Atlantic Sun Conference.
North Central Conference Division II 1922 2008 Disbanded
North East Collegiate Volleyball Association Division III 1995 2011 Men's volleyball conference disbanded in 2011 due to the 2012 establishment of the NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championship. Most of the all-sports conferences that were home to NECVA members began sponsoring men's volleyball at that time.
Northeast Women's Hockey League Division III 2017 2023 Women's ice hockey only conference. It was absorbed by SUNYAC.
North Star Conference Division I 1983 1992 Women's-only conference effectively absorbed by the Mid-Continent Conference (now The Summit League).
Northern California Athletic Conference Division II 1925 1996 Football-only conference, dissolved when most members decided to drop football.
Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference Division III 1969 2007 Merged with the Lake Michigan Conference to form the Northern Athletics Conference, now known as the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference.
Northern Pacific Conference Division I 1982 1986 Women's-only conference. Disbanded when the Pac-10, home to five of the seven final conference members, began sponsoring women's sports.
Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference Division I 1982 2015 Field hockey-only conference that folded after the 2014 season. After a period in which the conference expanded to span both coasts, most of the eastern teams left over time. Four of the six final members, all from California (and also the league's founding members), became America East affiliates. The remaining two members became independents; one is now a field hockey member of the Big East and the other is now a MAC field hockey member.
Northern Sun Conference Division II 1979 1992 Women's-only conference that merged with the men's Northern Intercollegiate Conference, forming the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
Ohio River Lacrosse Conference Division III 2014 2018 Men's and women's lacrosse-only conference. Disbanded after the 2017–18 season.
Pacific Coast Conference University Division 1915 1959 Forerunner to the Pac-12, disbanded due to scandal and infighting. The Pac-12 considers its history to have started with the formation of the PCC.
Pacific Coast Softball Conference Division I 2002 2013 Softball-only; disbanded due to fallout from the early-2010s conference realignment. After the 2012 season, it lost five members when the Big Sky added the sport and a sixth to the WAC. After the 2013 season, the final seven members left when the West Coast Conference began sponsoring the sport (five were already WCC members, and the other two joined the WAC in softball).
Pilgrim Lacrosse League Division III 1986 2014 Absorbed by the NEWMAC.
Southeast Team Handball Conference Division I (de facto) 1997 2006 Women-only team handball conference. Disbanded when the sport was dropped from the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program.
Southland Bowling League Division I 2015 2023 Bowling-only league founded by, but independent of, the Southland Conference. [20] Merged into Conference USA; one of the final members was already a full CUSA member, another became a full CUSA member in 2023, and the others became CUSA associates. [21]
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association * 1894 1941 Disbanded with the onset of American involvement in World War II.
Southwest Conference Division I 1914 1996 Disbanded.
4 members left to join the Big Eight Conference in forming the Big 12.
3 members left to join the WAC.
1 member left to join CUSA.
United Soccer Conference Division I 2005 2009 Women's soccer-only, absorbed by the Great West Conference.
West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Division II 1924 2013 Disbanded after the conference's football schools announced a split from the non-football schools. Ultimately, nine of the final schools became charter members of the Mountain East Conference, three joined the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, two joined the PSAC, and one went independent.
Western Collegiate Athletic Association Division I 1981 1986 Women's-only conference; known in its final season of 1985–86 as the Pacific West Conference (not to be confused with the current NCAA Division II conference). Disbanded when the Pac-10, home to the final five conference members, began sponsoring women's sports.
Western Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Division II 2010 2015 Lacrosse-only conference absorbed by the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference; all final teams are members of the RMAC, including one affiliate. The RMAC had absorbed the women's side of the WILA in 2013; five of the members were RMAC members including one affiliate, one additional women's member became an independent.
Western Wrestling Conference Division I 2006 2015 Wrestling-only conference effectively absorbed by the Big 12 Conference, with all but one of its final members immediately becoming single-sport Big 12 associates and the remaining member joining Big 12 wrestling in 2017.
Yankee Conference Division I 1947 1997 Football-only conference from 1975 until its absorption by the Atlantic 10 Conference in 1997. Also an effective ancestor of CAA Football, and officially recognized by CAA Football as its earliest predecessor.
  • * - Operated before the NCAA split into divisions in 1955.

In addition to the above, three single-sport conferences that currently participate in NCAA National Collegiate sports (those whose championship events are open to members of more than one NCAA division) and previously operated both men's and women's divisions now operate as women-only leagues.

Conference Division Founded Folded Fate
College Hockey America (men's) Division I 1999 2010 Founded as a men's-only league; added a women's division in 2002. The men's division disbanded in 2010 after steady losses of membership.
Golden Coast Conference (men's) National Collegiate 2013 2023 Water polo-only conference founded as a women's-only league; added a men's division in 2016. The men's division disbanded after the 2022 season (2022–23 school year) after all six of its final members joined the new men's water polo leagues of the Big West Conference and West Coast Conference.
Western Collegiate Hockey Association (men's) Division I 1951 2021 Founded as a men's-only league; added a women's division in 1999. The men's division disbanded in 2021 after seven of its members left to reestablish the Central Collegiate Hockey Association; two other men's members dropped hockey, and the other went independent.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Bylaw 20.02.5: Multisport Conference". 2020–21 NCAA Division I Manual (PDF). August 7, 2020. pp. 394–95. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
  2. ^ "Bylaw 20.10.5.3: Sports Sponsorship, Single-Gender Institution Exception". 2021–22 NCAA Division I Manual. NCAA. August 1, 2021. p. 402. Archived from the original on April 28, 2023. Retrieved April 23, 2022. Identically numbered and worded bylaws exist in the Division II Archived 2022-04-23 at the Wayback Machine and Division III Archived 2020-11-01 at the Wayback Machine Manuals, though page numbering is different from that in the Division I Manual.
  3. ^ "Bylaw 20.02.6: Football Bowl Subdivision Conference". 2020–21 NCAA Division I Manual (PDF). August 7, 2020. p. 395. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
  4. ^ "Who We Are: Our Three Divisions". NCAA. Archived from the original on August 20, 2020. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
  5. ^ "Bylaw 20.10.3 Sports Sponsorship". 2017–18 NCAA Division II Manual (PDF). p. 316. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 25, 2018. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
  6. ^ "Divisional Differences and the History of Multidivision Classification". NCAA. Archived from the original on July 14, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
  7. ^ "Bylaw 20.11.3: Sports Sponsorship". 2021–22 NCAA Division I Manual. NCAA. August 1, 2021. pp. 221–25. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
  8. ^ "USA South Announces Conference Restructuring". USA South Athletic Conference. February 18, 2022. Archived from the original on February 21, 2022. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  9. ^ Burton, Roy (June 4, 2014). "WSU joins friends/foes as Big Sky brings back men's golf". Standard-Examiner. Ogden, UT. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  10. ^ "Miscellany". Los Angeles Times. April 9, 1991. Archived from the original on February 24, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2014.
  11. ^ "CCIW Announces the Addition of Women's Bowling as Its 25th Sport; Three Programs Added as Associate Members" (Press release). College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. July 23, 2020. Archived from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  12. ^ "Commonwealth Coast Conference starting women's hockey in 2020-21, will assume operation of Colonial Hockey Conference". 6 October 2019. Archived from the original on 29 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  13. ^ "United East Conference and Colonial States Athletic Conference Officially Merge". The Southern Maryland Chronicle. June 23, 2023. Archived from the original on July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  14. ^ "MAC Announces Historic Wrestling Expansion" (Press release). Mid-American Conference. March 5, 2019. Archived from the original on March 6, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  15. ^ Coleman, Pat; McHugh, Dave (February 16, 2022). "USA South Athletic Conference to split in two". D3Sports.com. Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  16. ^ Mannis, Taylor (March 9, 2017). "Heartland Conference Looking to Expand". The Vantage. Wichita, KS. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  17. ^ "Lone Star Conference to Add Eight Schools in 2019" (Press release). Lone Star Conference. August 30, 2017. Archived from the original on August 31, 2017. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
  18. ^ "Hillcats to join MIAA Conference for 2019-2020 season" (Press release). Rogers State Hillcats. October 18, 2018. Archived from the original on October 19, 2018. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  19. ^ "Newman to Compete in MIAA as Associate Member in 2019-20" (Press release). Newman Jets. February 8, 2018. Archived from the original on February 9, 2018. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  20. ^ "New Southland Bowling League Established" (Press release). Southland Conference. January 20, 2015. Archived from the original on April 4, 2015. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  21. ^ "Conference USA to Add Bowling for 2023-24 Season" (Press release). Conference USA. May 10, 2023. Archived from the original on May 22, 2023. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
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