List of NAIA conferences

The following is a list of National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) conferences as of the 2025–26 school year. Unless otherwise noted, changes in conference membership occur on July 1 of the given year.

Current conferences

Football

Conference	Nickname	Founded	Members	Sports	Headquarters	Map
Appalachian Athletic Conference	AAC	1985	16 [FB 1]	24	Asheville, North Carolina
Frontier Conference	Frontier	1952	12 [FB 2]	16	Billings, Montana
Great Plains Athletic Conference	GPAC	1969	12 [FB 3]	19	Sioux City, Iowa
Heart of America Athletic Conference	HAAC	1971	15 [FB 4]	23	Overland Park, Kansas
NAIA Independents			0	1
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference	KCAC	1928	14 [FB 5]	21	Wichita, Kansas
Mid-South Conference	MSC	1995	7 [FB 6]	21	Bowling Green, Kentucky
Mid-States Football Association	MSFA	1993	13	1 [FB 7]	Findlay, Ohio
Sooner Athletic Conference	SAC	1978	13 [FB 8]	15	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Sun Conference	The Sun	1990	10 [FB 9]	17	Daytona Beach, Florida

Notes

1. 16 members; 7 football members.
2. 12 full members with Bellevue, Bismarck State, and Providence as non-football members; 14 football members with Arizona Christian, College of Idaho, Eastern Oregon, Simpson, and Southern Oregon as football affiliates.
3. 12 members; 11 football members.
4. 15 members; 15 football members with Park as a non-football member, and with St. Ambrose as football-only affiliate.
5. 14 members; 12 football members.
6. 7 members; 7 football members with Freed–Hardeman as a non-football member, and with Faulkner as a football-only affiliate.
7. Football-only conference.
8. 13 members; 9 football members with Central Christian, John Brown, Mid-America Christian, North Texas at Dallas, Oklahoma City, College of the Ozarks, USAO, and Southwestern Christian as non-football members, and with Arkansas Baptist, Louisiana Christian, Ottawa (AZ), and Texas College as football affiliates.
9. 10 members; 8 football members with Thomas as a football-only affiliate.

Non-football

Conference	Nickname	Founded	Members	Sports	Headquarters	Map
American Midwest Conference	AMC	1998	10	17	St. Louis, Missouri
California Pacific Conference	CalPac	1996	6	10	Oakland, California
Cascade Collegiate Conference	CCC	1988	11	13	Clackamas, Oregon
Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference	CCAC	1949	13	16	Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Continental Athletic Conference (Independents)	CAC	2008	12	21
Crossroads League	CL	1959	10	15	Hartford City, Indiana
Great Southwest Athletic Conference	GSAC	1986	10	13	Irvine, California
HBCU Athletic Conference	HBCUAC	1981	13	16	New Orleans, Louisiana
Red River Athletic Conference	RRAC	1998	13[NF 1]	15	Dallas, Texas
River States Conference	RSC	1916	12 [NF 2]	18	Middletown, Ohio
Southern States Athletic Conference	SSAC	1999	13 [NF 3]	15	Atlanta, Georgia
Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference	WHAC	1992	12 [NF 4]	21	Livonia, Michigan

Notes

1. 11 members in 2026 with loss of Texas A&M–Texarkana and Xavier (LA).
2. 11 members in 2026 with loss of Shawnee State.
3. 14 members in 2026 with addition of Xavier (LA).
4. 11 members in 2026 with closure of Siena Heights.

Defunct conferences

Football

• Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference (1928–1995)
• Central States Intercollegiate Conference (1976–1989)
• Dakota Athletic Conference (2000–2012)
• Eastern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (closed in 2003)
• Evergreen Conference (1948–1984)
• Great Plains Athletic Conference (1972–1976)
• Hoosier–Buckeye Conference (1948–1985)
• Missouri College Athletic Union (1924–1970)
• Nebraska College Conference (1916–1976)
• North Dakota College Athletic Conference^[a] (closed in 2000)
• North Star Athletic Association (2013–2025)
• Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference (1929–1973), formerly the Oklahoma Collegiate Conference
• Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference (1974–1997)
• Pacific Northwest Athletic Conference (1984–1998)
• South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference^[a] (closed in 2000)
• South East Atlantic Conference (2004–2008), football only, members became NAIA football independents
• Southern States Conference (1938–1997), formerly the Alabama Intercollegiate Conference and the Alabama Collegiate Conference
• Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1976–1996), also an NCAA Division III conference
• Tri-State Conference (1960–1981)
• Volunteer State Athletic Conference (1940s–early 1980s)
• West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1924–2013), transferred to the NCAA in 1995 after a two-year dual membership. Most of the final WVIAC members are now in the NCAA Division II Mountain East Conference.

Notes

1. Both the NDCAC and the SDIC merged to form the Dakota Athletic Conference.

Non-football

• American Mideast Conference (1949–2012)
• Georgia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1971–1999)
• Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference (1994–2015)
• Midwest Collegiate Conference (1988–2015)
• Northeastern Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (2016–2019)^[a]
• Sunrise Athletic Conference (2002–2011)
• TranSouth Athletic Conference (1996–2013)

Notes

1. Also formerly a United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) athletic conference.

Former conferences

All transferred to the NCAA.

Football

• Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference^[a] (1973–1988)
• Lone Star Conference^[a] (1931–1982)
• Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference^[b] (1920–1982)
• Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference^[a] (1932–1995), known as Northern Intercollegiate Conference until 1992
• Northwest Conference^[b] (1926–1996), Pacific Northwest Conference before 1984 and Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges until 1996
• Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference^[a] (1909–1992), Colorado Faculty Athletic Conference until 1910 and Rocky Mountain Faculty Athletic Conference until 1967
• Upper Midwest Athletic Conference^[b] (1972–2008), Twin Rivers Conference until 1983

Non-football

• Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference^[a] (1961–2002)
• Conference Carolinas^[a] (1930–1995), known as the North State Intercollegiate Athletic Conference until 1961, later as the Carolinas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference until 1995 (which held dual membership with the NCAA for two years starting in 1993), became the Carolinas–Virginia Athletic Conference until 2007
• Dixie Conference^[b] (1963–1973), became the USA South Athletic Conference in 2003

Notes

1. Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.
2. Currently an NCAA Division III athletic conference.

See also

• List of college athletic conferences in the United States
• List of NCAA conferences