Division I
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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 2020, acrobatics & tumbling, equestrianism, rugby union, 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] | 11[b] | 22 | Irving, Texas |
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| Atlantic Coast Conference | ACC | 1953 | 15[c] | 27[d] | Greensboro, North Carolina |
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| Big Ten Conference | Big Ten B1G |
1896 | 14[e] | 28 | Rosemont, Illinois |
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| Big 12 Conference | Big 12 | 1996 | 10[f] | 23 | Irving, Texas |
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| Conference USA | C-USA | 1995 | 11[g] | 17[h] | Irving, Texas |
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| Division I FBS independents[i] |
Ind. | 1978 | 7[j] | 1 | Indianapolis, Indiana |
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| Mid-American Conference | MAC | 1946 | 12 | 24[k] | Cleveland, Ohio |
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| Mountain West Conference | MW MWC |
1999 | 11[l] | 18 | Colorado Springs, Colorado |
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| Pac-12 Conference | Pac-12 | 1959[m] | 12[n] | 24[o] | San Francisco, California |
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| Southeastern Conference | SEC | 1932 | 14[p] | 21 | Birmingham, Alabama |
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| Sun Belt Conference | SBC | 1976 | 14 | 19[q] | New Orleans, Louisiana |
- ^ Known as Big East Conference prior to 2013.
- ^ 11 full members with Wichita State as a non-football member; 11 football members with Navy as a football-only affiliate.
- 14 full members and 14 football members in 2023 with loss of Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF, plus addition of Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice, UAB, and UTSA.
- ^ 15 members, 14 football members. Notre Dame football is an FBS independent, but has a substantial cross-scheduling agreement with the ACC.
- ^ 26 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.
- 28 sports (27 by NCAA count) in 2023 with addition of women's gymnastics.
- ^ 16 members in 2024 with addition of UCLA and USC.
- ^ As many as 14 members in 2023 with addition of BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF.
- 12 members in 2024 with loss of Oklahoma and Texas.
- ^ 9 members in 2023 with addition of Jacksonville State, Liberty, New Mexico State, and Sam Houston, and loss of Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice, UAB, and UTSA.
- 10 members in 2024 with addition of Kennesaw State.
- ^ 18 sports in 2023 with addition of bowling.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 4 independents in 2023 with BYU joining the Big 12 Conference, and Liberty and New Mexico State transferring to Conference USA.
- ^ 23 sports in 2023 with dropping of men's soccer.
- ^ 11 members (12 football) with Hawaii as a football-only affiliate.
- ^ Pacific Coast Conference chartered in 1915; current charter formed 1959 by five former PCC members, with three others joining by 1964.
- ^ 10 members in 2024 with loss of UCLA and USC.
- ^ 23 NCAA-sanctioned sports plus men's rowing; the NCAA governs women's rowing but not men's.
- ^ 16 members in 2024 with addition of Oklahoma and Texas.
- ^ 20 sports in 2023 with addition of women's swimming & diving.
- Possibility of 21 sports with 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]
- ^ 14 full members, 6 football members.
- In the 2022 football season, the five playoff-eligible members (Austin Peay, Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, Kennesaw State, and North Alabama) competed in a football-only partnership with the Western Athletic Conference for a single automatic bid to the FCS playoffs, although the ASUN and WAC have separate conference schedules.
- 12 full members in 2023 with the following changes:
- Loss of Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State in football only, and non-football member Liberty.
- Replacement of the ASUN football league with a new conference known as the United Athletic Conference.
- 11 full members in 2024 with loss of Kennesaw State in non-football sports.
- ^ 20 sports in 2023, with football being transferred to the new United Athletic Conference.
- ^ 10 full members and 12 football members with Cal Poly and UC Davis as football-only affiliates.
- ^ 10 full members and 6 football members.
- ^ Possibility of 18 sports in 2023, depending on organizational details of the upcoming Big South-OVC football merger.
- ^ 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.
- ^ The CAA Football Conference is a separate entity from the CAA.
- ^ 15 full members in 2023 with the addition of Campbell and North Carolina A&T.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 1 member in 2023, with Kennesaw State starting its FBS transition and not participating in the United Athletic Conference.
- No independents in 2024 with Kennesaw State joining Conference USA.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 8 full members, 6 football members.
- ^ 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 members in 2023 with addition of Murray State.
- 11 members in 2024 with loss of Western Illinois.
- ^ 9 full members, 8 football members with Fairleigh Dickinson and St. Francis Brooklyn as non-football members and with Duquesne as a football-only affiliate.
- 9 full members in 2023 with loss of St. Francis Brooklyn and addition of Le Moyne, both non-football.
- ^ 10 full members, 7 football members (one full member, Morehead State, plays football outside the OVC in the Pioneer Football League).
- 11 full members, 6 football members in 2023 with loss of football affiliate Murray State and addition of Western Illinois in non-football sports.
- The OVC football league will merge with that of the Big South Conference in 2023.
- Western Illinois football will join the Big South–OVC alliance in 2024.
- ^ 19 sports in 2023 with addition of men's soccer, and possibility of 19 that year, depending on organizational details of the upcoming Big South–OVC football merger.
- ^ 10 full members and 7 football members with Army, Navy, American, Boston, and Loyola (MD) as non-football members (Army and Navy both competes in FBS football) and with Fordham and Georgetown as football-only affiliates.
- ^ 10 full members, 9 football members.
- ^ 10 full members, 8 football members.
- ^ 10 members in 2025 with addition of UTRGV.
- ^ 13 members and 6 football members, with full member New Mexico State playing football as an FBS independent.
- In the 2022 football season, the WAC's three playoff-eligible members (Abilene Christian, Southern Utah, and Stephen F. Austin) competed in a football-only partnership with the ASUN Conference for a single automatic berth to the FCS playoffs, although both conferences will have separate schedules.
- 11 full members in 2023 with the following changes:
- Loss of non-football member New Mexico State and football-sponsoring Sam Houston.
- Replacement of the WAC football league with a new conference tentatively known as the United Athletic Conference.
- ^ 19 sports in 2023, with football being transferred to the new United Athletic Conference.
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 10 Conference | A-10 | 1975 | 15 | 22 | Newport News, Virginia | |
| Big East Conference | Big East | 1979[a] | 11 | 23[b] | New York City, New York | |
| Big West Conference | Big West BWC |
1969 | 11 | 18 | Irvine, California | |
| Coastal Collegiate Sports Association | CCSA | 2008 | 16[c] | 3[d] | Macon, Georgia | |
| Colonial Athletic Association | CAA | 1983 | 13[e][f] | 23 | Richmond, Virginia | |
| Horizon League | Horizon | 1979 | 11 | 19 | Indianapolis, Indiana | |
| Independents | 2[g] | |||||
| Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference | MAAC | 1980 | 11 | 25[h] | Edison, New Jersey | |
| Missouri Valley Conference | MVC The Valley |
1907 | 12 | 17 | St. Louis, Missouri | |
| Mountain Pacific Sports Federation | MPSF | 1992 | 38 | 10 | Woodland, California | |
| Summit League | The Summit | 1982 | 10 | 19 | Sioux Falls, South Dakota | |
| West Coast Conference | WCC | 1952 | 10[i] | 15[j] | San Bruno, California |
- ^ 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.
- ^ 22 NCAA-sanctioned sports, plus the non-NCAA and fully coeducational esports.
- ^ Total conference membership; no more than 9 schools compete in any one of the CCSA's three sports.
- 14 members in 2023, with Georgia Southern moving it's women's swimming & diving program to the Sun Belt Conference and Campbell moving it's women's swimming & diving to the CAA.
- No more than 7 schools will compete in any one of the CCSA's three sports in 2023.
- ^ Sponsors only men's and women's swimming & diving, plus beach volleyball.
- ^ The CAA Football Conference is a separate entity from the all-sports CAA.
- ^ 14 full members in 2023 with addition of Campbell.
- ^ Chicago State and Hartford.
- 1 independent in 2023–24, with Hartford joining the Division III Commonwealth Coast Conference.
- ^ 23 NCAA-sanctioned sports plus two non-NCAA sports—men's rowing, and Esports, which are fully coeducational.
- ^ 9 members in 2023 with loss of BYU.
- ^ 16 sports in 2023 with addition of men's water polo.
Ice hockey conferences
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 | 10 (10/none)[a] | Haverhill, Massachusetts | |
| Central Collegiate Hockey Association | CCHA | 2020[b] | 8 (8/none)[c] | Farmington Hills, Michigan | |
| College Hockey America | CHA | 1999[d] | 5 (none/5)[e] | Haverhill, Massachusetts | |
| ECAC Hockey | ECAC | 1962 | 12 (12/12) | Albany, New York | |
| Hockey East | Hockey East HEA |
1984 | 12 (11/10) | Wakefield, Massachusetts | |
| Independents | 6 (6/none) | ||||
| New England Women's Hockey Alliance | NEWHA | 2018[f] | 7 (none/7)[g] | Winthrop, Massachusetts | |
| National Collegiate Hockey Conference | NCHC | 2011[h] | 8 (8/none) | Colorado Springs, Colorado | |
| Western Collegiate Hockey Association | WCHA | 1951[i] | 8 (none/8) | Edina, Minnesota |
- ^ 11 men's teams in 2023 with return of Robert Morris after reinstating hockey.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 9 members in 2023 with addition of Augustana (SD).
- ^ 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.
- ^ 6 women's teams in 2023 with return of Robert Morris after reinstating hockey.
- ^ Established as a scheduling alliance in 2017, officially organized as a conference in 2018, and officially recognized by the NCAA in 2019.
- ^ Technically 8 members in the 2022–23 season; Assumption joined for administrative purposes in 2022 but will not start varsity play until the 2023–24 season.
- ^ Although founded in 2011, the NCHC did not begin play until 2013.
- ^ 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.
- ^ There are 7 NCAA varsity members; the conference also has one junior college member.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Founded in 2013 as a women's-only conference; men's play added in 2016.
- ^ 3 men's members in 2023 with loss of Pacific, Pepperdine, and San Jose State.
- ^ There are 2 varsity members; the conference also has 7 college club members.
- ^ There are 8 varsity members; the conference also has 7 college club members.
- ^ There are 7 varsity members; the conference also has 6 college club members.
- ^ There are 6 varsity members; the conference also has 13 college club members.
- ^ 9 members in 2023 with addition of Queens (NC).
- ^ There are 10 varsity members; the conference also has 10 college club members.
- ^ There are 8 varsity members; the conference also has 13 college club members.
- ^ There are 8 varsity members; the conference also has 5 college club members.
- ^ There are 6 varsity members; the conference also has 4 college club members.
- ^ The SBL was established during the 2014–15 school year with competition starting immediately. While the Southland Conference provides administrative support, the SBL operates separately.[5]
- ^ To be merged into Conference USA effective in 2023–24.[6]
- ^ 5 men's members in 2023 with loss of Air Force, California Baptist, Loyola Marymount, and Santa Clara.
