The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is divided into three divisions, based roughly on school size. Each division is made up of several conferences for regional league play. Unless otherwise noted, changes in conference affiliation will occur on July 1 of the given year.
Division I[]
Football Bowl Subdivision[]
- Notes
Football Championship Subdivision[]
- Notes
Non-football, multi-sport conferences[]
- Notes
Ice hockey conferences[]
| Conference | Nickname | Founded | Members (Men/Women) | Headquarters | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic Hockey | Atlantic Hockey | 1997 | 12 (12/none)[IH 1] | Haverhill, Massachusetts | File:Map - College Hockey - Atlantic Hockey states.svg |
| Central Collegiate Hockey Association[IH 2] | CCHA | 1972 | 11 (11/none) | Farmington Hills, Michigan | File:Map - College Hockey - CCHA states.svg |
| College Hockey America | CHA | 2000 | 6 (none/6) | Haverhill, Massachusetts | File:Map - College Hockey - College Hockey America states.svg |
| ECAC Hockey | ECAC | 1962 | 12 (12/12) | Albany, New York | File:Map - College Hockey - ECAC Hockey states.svg |
| Hockey East | Hockey East | 1984 | 11 (10/8)[IH 3] | Wakefield, Massachusetts | File:Map - College Hockey - Hockey East states.svg |
| Western Collegiate Hockey Association | WCHA | 1951 | 13 (12/8)[IH 4] | Denver, Colorado | File:Map - College Hockey - WCHA states.svg |
| Independents | 3 (2/1)[IH 5] | File:Map - College Hockey - Independents states.svg |
- Notes
Future ice hockey conference[]
| Conference | Nickname | Founded | Members (Men/Women) | Headquarters | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Collegiate Hockey Conference | NCHC | 2011 | 8 (8/none) [FH 1] | Colorado Springs, Colorado | File:NCHC states.svg |
- Notes
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.
| Conference | Nickname | Founded | Members | Sports | Headquarters | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Lacrosse Conference | ALC | 2001 | 6 | 1 (women's lacrosse) | Athens, Ohio | |
| Coastal Collegiate Swim Association | CCSA | 2008 | 12 | 1 (swimming) | Charlotte, North Carolina | |
| Collegiate Water Polo Association | CWPA | 1970s | 25 | 1 (water polo) | Bridgeport, Pennsylvania | |
| ECAC Lacrosse League | ECAC | 2000 | 7 [SS 1] | 1 (men's lacrosse) | Centerville, Massachusetts | File:ECACDILax-USA-states.png |
| East Atlantic Gymnastics League | EAGL | 1995 | 7 | 1 (gymnastics) | ? | |
| Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges | EARC | ? | 17 | 1 (rowing) | Centerville, Massachusetts | |
| Eastern Intercollegiate Gymnastics League | EIGL | ? | 7 | 1 (gymnastics) | Centerville, Massachusetts | |
| Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association | EISA | ? | 12 | 1 (skiing) | ? | |
| Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association | EIVA | 1977 | 8 | 1 (men's volleyball) | Centerville, Massachusetts | |
| Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association | EIWA | 1905 | 19 | 1 (wrestling) | ? | |
| Eastern Wrestling League | EWL | 1976 | 6 | 1 (wrestling) | ? | |
| Great America Rifle Conference | GARC | ? | 7 | 1 (rifle) | ? | |
| Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association | MIVA | 1961 | 8 | 1 (men's volleyball) | Columbus, Ohio | |
| Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference | NorPac | 1982 | 9 | 1 (field hockey) | ? | |
| Pacific Coast Softball Conference | PCSC | 2002 | 7 [SS 2] | 1 (softball) | ? | |
| Pacific Coast Swim Conference | PCSL | 2002 | 16 | 1 (swimming) | ? | |
| Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association | RMISA | ? | 8 | 1 (skiing) | ? | |
| Western Water Polo Association | WWPA | ? | 20 | 1 (water polo) | ? | |
| Western Wrestling Conference | WWC | 2006 | 6 | 1 (wrestling) | Cedar Falls, Iowa |
- Notes
Division II[]
Current conferences[]
- Notes
Future conference[]
| Conference | Nickname | Founded | Members | Sports | Headquarters | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mountain East Conference | MEC | 2012 [FD2 1] | 12 | 16 | Wheeling, West Virginia | File:MECstates.png |
- Notes
Single sport conferences[]
| Conference | Nickname | Founded | Members | Sport | Headquarters | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegrass Mountain Conference | BGMC | ? | 10 | swimming | ? | |
| Deep South Conference | DSC | 1994 | 9 | men's lacrosse | Salisbury, North Carolina | |
| ECAC Division II Lacrosse League | ECAC | 2013 | 8 | men's lacrosse | Centerville, Massachusetts | |
| Metropolitan Conference | Metro | ? | 8 | swimming | ? | |
| Western Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association | WILA | 2010 | 4 (men) 6 (women) |
lacrosse | Alamosa, Colorado |
Division III[]
Current conferences[]
- Notes
Defunct NCAA conferences[]
| Conference | Division | Founded | Folded | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American South Conference | Division I | 1987 | 1991 | Absorbed by the Sun Belt Conference |
| Atlantic Central Football Conference | Division III | 1997 | 2010 | Disbanded |
| Atlantic Soccer Conference | Division I | 2000 | 2011 | Disbanded |
| Atlantic Women's Colleges Conference | Division III | 1995 | 2007 | Disbanded |
| Big Eight Conference | Division I | 1928 | 1996 | Previously known as Big Six and Big Seven, joined with four former Southwest Conference schools to create the Big 12 Conference |
| Border Conference | University Division | 1931 | 1962 | Members split between the newly-formed WAC and Independent statuses. |
| Central Collegiate Hockey Association | 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. |
| 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. |
| 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 Mid-Continent Conference |
| Great Lakes Football Conference | Division II | 2006 | 2011 | Football-only conference, effectively absorbed by the Great Lakes Valley Conference |
| Great Midwest Conference | Division I | 1991 | 1995 | Merged with 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 Western Lacrosse League | Division I | 1993 | 2010 | Members joined the ECAC Lacrosse League |
| Gulf Coast Conference | College Division | 1949 | 1957 | Disbanded |
| High Country Athletic Conference | Division I | ??? | 1990 | Women's-only conference absorbed by the Western Athletic Conference. |
| 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 |
| Metro Conference | Division I | 1975 | 1995 | Merged with Great Midwest Conference to form Conference USA |
| Metropolitan Collegiate Conference | Division I | 1965 | 1969 | 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. |
| Midwestern Conference | Division I | 1970 | 1973? | 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. |
| National Lacrosse Conference | Division I | 2009 | 2012 | Disbanded after Big South Conference and Atlantic Sun Conference began sponsoring women's lacrosse |
| 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 today's Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) football 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 Men's Division III Volleyball Championship. Member schools now play men's volleyball as either full or affiliate members of all-sports conferences. |
| 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 | ? | 2007 | Merged with the Lake Michigan Conference to form the Northern Athletics 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. |
| Pacific Coast Conference | Division I | 1915 | 1959 | Forerunner to the Pac-12, disbanded due to scandal and infighting |
| Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association | * | 1894 | 1941 | Disbanded with the onset of American involvement in World War II. |
| Southwest Conference | Division I | 1914 | 1996 | Disbanded, members split into the Big 12, WAC, and C-USA |
| United Soccer Conference | Division I | 2005 | 2009 | Women's soccer-only, absorbed by Great West Conference |
| 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. |
| 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 today's CAA football conference. |
- * - Operated before the NCAA split into divisions in 1955.
Conferences set to disband[]
This list is reserved for conferences that are known to be disbanding in the near future. Entries should be moved to the list of defunct conferences once they have completed their final seasons.
| Conference | Division | Sports | Founded | Folded | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific Coast Softball Conference | Division I | Softball | 2002 | 2013 | Set to disband due to fallout from the major 2010–13 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, five of the final seven members will leave when the West Coast Conference begins sponsoring the sport, and the other two will join the WAC for all sports. |
| West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | Division II | All sports | 1924 | 2013 | Set to disband after the conference's football schools announced a split from the non-football schools. Ultimately, nine of the final schools will become charter members of the Mountain East Conference, three will join the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, two will join the PSAC, and one will go Independent. |
See also[]
- List of college athletic conferences
- List of schools reclassifying their athletic programs to NCAA Division I
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