List of NCAA conferences

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 Conference	American	2013[a]	13[b]	22	Irving, Texas
Atlantic Coast Conference	ACC	1953	18[c]	28	Charlotte, North Carolina
Big Ten Conference	Big Ten B1G	1896	18	28	Rosemont, Illinois
Big 12 Conference	Big 12 B12	1996	16	25	Irving, Texas
Conference USA	CUSA	1995	12[d]	18	Dallas, Texas
Division I FBS independents[e]	Ind.	N/A	2	1	N/A
Mid-American Conference	MAC	1946	13[f]	23	Cleveland, Ohio
Mountain West Conference	MW MWC	1999	12[g]	18	Colorado Springs, Colorado[h]
Pac-12 Conference	Pac-12 P12	1959[i]	2[j]	6[k]	San Ramon, California
Southeastern Conference	SEC SE Southeastern	1932	16	22	Birmingham, Alabama
Sun Belt Conference	SBC SB Sun Belt	1976	14[l]	20	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. 13 full members with Wichita State as a non-football member; 14 football members with Army and Navy as football-only affiliates.
3. 18 full members, 17 football members. Notre Dame football is an FBS independent, but has a substantial cross-scheduling agreement with the ACC.
4. 10 members in 2026 with loss of UTEP and Louisiana Tech.
5. 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.
6. 12 members in 2026 with loss of Northern Illinois.
7. 12 full members, 12 football members with Grand Canyon as a non-football member and Hawaii as a football-only affiliate.

   • 11 full members, 9 football members in 2026 with the following changes:
     • Loss of Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, and Utah State.
     • Addition of Northern Illinois (football only), UC Davis (non-football), and UTEP (all sports).
     • Upgrade of Hawaii's membership to all-sports.
8. Headquarters moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in July 2026.
9. Pacific Coast Conference chartered in 1915; current charter formed 1959 by five former PCC members, with three others joining by 1964.
10. 9 full members and 8 football members in 2026 with addition of Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Texas State, and Utah State, plus Gonzaga as a non-football member.
11. 19 sports upon resumption of full operation in 2026.
12. Loses Texas State & gains Louisiana Tech in 2026

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]	14[d][e]	1	Richmond, Virginia
Division I FCS Independents[f]			2[g]	1
Ivy League	Ivy League	1954[h]	8	33[i]	Princeton, New Jersey
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference	MEAC	1970	8[j]	14	Norfolk, Virginia
Missouri Valley Football Conference	MVFC	1985[k]	10	1	St. Louis, Missouri
Northeast Conference	NEC	1981	10[l]	25	Somerset, New Jersey
Ohio Valley Conference	OVC	1948	11[m]	19	Brentwood, Tennessee
Patriot League	Patriot	1986	10[n]	24	Center Valley, Pennsylvania
Pioneer Football League	PFL	1991	11	1	St. Louis, Missouri
Southern Conference	SoCon	1921	10[o]	20	Spartanburg, South Carolina
Southland Conference	Southland SLC	1963	12[p]	18	Frisco, Texas
Southwestern Athletic Conference	SWAC	1920	12	18	Birmingham, Alabama
United Athletic Conference[q][r]	UAC	2023	9[s]	1[t]

1. 10 full members and 12 football members with Cal Poly and UC Davis as football-only affiliates.

   • 11 confirmed full members and 13 likely football members in 2026 with departure of Sacramento State, plus addition of Southern Utah and Utah Tech.
2. 9 full members and 2 football members.

   • Both football members play in the OVC–Big South Football Association, an alliance between the Ohio Valley Conference and the Big South Conference which shares a single automatic berth in the FCS playoffs.
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. 13 members in 2026 with loss of Villanova and William & Mary, plus addition of Sacred Heart.
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. 2 independents possible in 2026 with confirmed move of Sacred Heart to CAA Football and potential addition of Sacramento State.
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. Number of sports in which Ivy League championships are awarded, with the following caveats:

   • Championships are awarded in the non-NCAA sports of men's rowing plus men's and women's squash.
   • While championships are awarded in men's and women's ice hockey, no Ivy League tournaments are held. All Ivy ice hockey members compete in ECAC Hockey for that league's automatic NCAA tournament bids. Ivy champions are extrapolated from regular-season results of ECAC games that involve two Ivy teams.
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. 10 full members, 8 football members with Chicago State, Fairleigh Dickinson, and Le Moyne as non-football members and with Duquesne and Robert Morris as football-only affiliates.

    • 9 full members, 8 football members likely in 2026 with confirmed loss of Saint Francis and expected addition of football by Chicago State.
13. 11 full members, 7 football members (full member Morehead State plays football in the Pioneer Football League).

    • 10 full members, 6 football members in 2026 with loss of Tennessee Tech.
    • All current OVC football members (not counting Morehead State) play that sport in the OVC–Big South Football Association.
14. 10 full members and 8 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, Georgetown, and Richmond as football-only affiliates.

    • 10 football members in 2026 with addition of Villanova and William & Mary as football affiliates.
15. 10 full members, 9 football members.

    • 11 full members, 10 football members in 2026 with addition of Tennessee Tech.
16. 12 full members, 10 football members.
17. 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.
18. Becomes an official NCAA conference in 2026 as a rebranded Western Athletic Conference.
19. 8 full members, 7 football members in 2026 with the following changes:

    • Addition of UT Arlington as a full but non-football member.
    • Loss of Southern Utah and Utah Tech.
20. Number of sports in 2026 to be determined.

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	Jacksonville, Florida
Atlantic 10 Conference	A-10	1975	14	22	Newport News, Virginia
Big East Conference	Big East	1979[b]	11	23[c]	New York City, New York
Big West Conference	Big West BWC	1969	11[d]	21	Irvine, California
Coastal Athletic Association	CAA	1983	13[e]	23	Richmond, Virginia
Horizon League	Horizon	1979	11[f]	19	Indianapolis, Indiana
Independents			–
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference	MAAC	1980	13	25[g]	Edison, New Jersey
Missouri Valley Conference	MVC The Valley	1907	11	18	St. Louis, Missouri
Mountain Pacific Sports Federation	MPSF	1992	64[h]	16[i]	Woodland, California
Summit League	The Summit	1982	9	19	Sioux Falls, South Dakota
West Coast Conference	WCC	1952	10[j]	16	San Bruno, California
Western Athletic Conference[k]	WAC	1962	7[l]	19	Arlington, Texas

1. 7 members in 2026 with loss of Austin Peay, Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, North Alabama, and West Georgia.
2. 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 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. Neither conference recognizes the history of the original Big East in football (currently sponsored by the American but not the present Big East) or rowing (formerly sponsored by the American and never sponsored by the current Big East).
3. 22 NCAA-sanctioned sports, plus the non-NCAA and fully coeducational esports.
4. 12 members in 2026 with loss of Hawaiʻi and UC Davis, plus addition of California Baptist, Sacramento State, and Utah Valley.

   • 11 members in 2027 with loss of UC San Diego.
5. The CAA Football Conference is a separate entity from the all-sports CAA.
6. 12 members in 2026 with return of Northern Illinois.
7. 23 NCAA-sanctioned sports plus two non-NCAA sports—men's rowing, and esports, which are fully coeducational.
8. No more than 14 schools are competing in any one of the MPSF's sports in 2025–26.

   • 62 members in 2026 with loss of California Baptist and Southern Utah.
9. Sponsors 14 fully recognized NCAA sports (two of which feature only Division II members) and 2 non-NCAA sports (artistic swimming and men's rowing).
10. 9 members in 2026 with loss of Gonzaga.

    • 10 members in 2027 with addition of UC San Diego.
11. Rebranding as the United Athletic Conference in 2026.
12. 8 members under the United Athletic Conference banner in 2026 with the following changes:

    • Addition of Austin Peay, Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, North Alabama, and West Georgia.
    • Loss of California Baptist, Southern Utah, Utah Tech, and Utah Valley.

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 America	Atlantic Hockey AHA	1997[a]	14 (10/7)	Haverhill, Massachusetts
Central Collegiate Hockey Association	CCHA	2020[b]	9 (9/none)[c]	Farmington Hills, Michigan
ECAC Hockey	ECAC	1962	12 (12/12)	Albany, New York
Hockey East	Hockey East HEA	1984	12 (11/10)	Amesbury, Massachusetts
Independents			5 (5/none)[d]
New England Women's Hockey Alliance	NEWHA	2018[e]	8 (none/8)	Winthrop, Massachusetts
National Collegiate Hockey Conference	NCHC	2011[f]	9 (9/none)[g]	Colorado Springs, Colorado
Western Collegiate Hockey Association	WCHA	1951[h]	8 (none/8)	Edina, Minnesota

1. The Atlantic Hockey Association and College Hockey America merged in 2024 to form Atlantic Hockey America. Atlantic Hockey was founded (as the MAAC) in 1997 and the CHA in 1999.
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. 8 members in 2026 with loss of St. Thomas.
4. 6 independents in 2026 with addition of Tennessee State.
5. Established as a scheduling alliance in 2017, officially organized as a conference in 2018, and officially recognized by the NCAA in 2019.
6. Although founded in 2011, the NCHC did not begin play until 2013.
7. 10 members in 2026 with addition of St. Thomas.
8. 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	?
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	7	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[c]	8	1 (water polo)	?
Great America Rifle Conference	GARC	1998	9	1 (rifle)	?
Gymnastics East Conference	GEC	2021	8	1 (Women's gymnastics)	?
Intercollegiate Fencing Conference of Southern California.	IFCSC	1996?	2[d]	1 (fencing)	?
Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Fencing Association	MACFA	1952	8[e]	1 (fencing)	Hackettstown, New Jersey
Mid-Atlantic Rifle Conference	MAC	1978	7[f]	1 (rifle)	?
Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference	MAWPC		7	1 (Water polo)	?
Midwest Fencing Conference	MFC	1968	6[g]	1 (fencing)	?
Midwest Independent Conference	MIC	?	6	1 (women's gymnastics)	UIC (?)
Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association	MIVA	1961	9	1 (Men's volleyball)	Columbus, Ohio
National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association	NIWFA	1929	10[h]	1 (fencing)	?
New England Intercollegiate Fencing Conference	NEIFC	?	8[i]	1 (fencing)	?
Northeast Fencing Conference	NFC	1992	8[j]	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[k]	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. 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.
4. There are 2 varsity members; the conference also has 7 college club members.
5. There are 8 varsity members; the conference also has 7 college club members.
6. There are 7 varsity members; the conference also has 6 college club members.
7. There are 6 varsity members; the conference also has 13 college club members.
8. There are 10 varsity members; the conference also has 10 college club members.
9. There are 8 varsity members; the conference also has 13 college club members.
10. There are 8 varsity members; the conference also has 5 college club members.
11. 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	16[c]	26[d]	Greenville, South 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	11[e]	21	Bay City, Michigan
Great Lakes Valley Conference	GLVC	1978	15[f]	26	Indianapolis, Indiana
Great Midwest Athletic Conference	G-MAC	2011	13[g]	25	Greenwood, Indiana
Great Northwest Athletic Conference	GNAC	2001	10	15	Portland, Oregon
Gulf South Conference	GSC	1970	12[h]	17	Birmingham, Alabama
Division II independents			5[i]
Lone Star Conference	LSC	1931	18[j]	19	Richardson, Texas
Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association	MIAA	1912	14[k]	19	Kansas City, Missouri
Mountain East Conference	MEC	2012	11[l]	23	Bridgeport, West Virginia
Northeast-10 Conference	NE-10	1980	11[m]	23	Mansfield, Massachusetts
Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference	NSIC	1932	15[n]	18	St. Paul, Minnesota
Pacific West Conference	PacWest	1992	14[o]	15	Newport Beach, California
Peach Belt Conference	PBC	1990	11	15	Augusta, Georgia
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference	PSAC	1951	17[p]	23	Lock Haven, Pennsylvania
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference	RMAC	1909	15[q]	23	Colorado Springs, Colorado
South Atlantic Conference	SAC	1975	13[r]	20	Rock Hill, South Carolina
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	SIAC	1913	15[s]	14	Tucker, Georgia
Sunshine State Conference	SSC	1975	11	18	Melbourne, Florida

1. 13 members in 2026 with addition of Fresno Pacific.
2. 13 full members; 12 football members.
3. 16 full members, 7 football members.
4. 25 NCAA sports plus women's flag football, currently non-NCAA but expected to become part of the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program in 2026–27.
5. 11 full members, 8 football members.
6. 15 full members, 9 football members.
7. 13 full members, 10 football members.
8. 12 full members, 4 football members.
9. 5 all-sports independents (non-football), plus one football independent (Northeastern State)
10. 18 full members, 10 football members with Central Washington and Western Oregon as football-only affiliates.

    • 19 full members, 11 football members in no later than 2027 with addition of Texas A&M–Texarkana.
11. 14 full members, 10 football members with Northeastern State competing as a D-II Independent in football.
12. 11 full members, 9 football members.

    • 12 full members, 9 football members in 2026 with addition of Shawnee State.
13. 11 full members, 9 football members with Post as a football-only affiliate.
14. 16 full members, 14 football members.
15. 13 members in 2026 with loss of Azusa Pacific.
16. 17 full members, 15 football members.

    • 18 full members, 16 football members in 2026 with addition of Lackawanna.
17. 15 full members, 10 football members.
18. 12 full members, 10 football members.
19. 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.

Conference	Nickname	Founded	Members[a]	Sport	Headquarters	Map
Conference Carolinas	CC	1930	8	Men's volleyball	Greenville, South Carolina
			6	Women's flag football[b]
			9	Women's wrestling
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	7	Bowling	Indianapolis, Indiana
			7	Stunt[c]
			8	Men's volleyball
			8	Women's wrestling
Northeast-10 Conference	NE-10	1980	7	Men's ice hockey	South Easton, Massachusetts
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference	RMAC	1909	5	Women's wrestling	Colorado Springs, Colorado
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	SIAC	1913	7	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 to become part of the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program no later than 2026–27.
3. Part of the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program; expected to become an official NCAA championship sport in 2026–27.

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	9[a]	16	North Boston, New York
American Rivers Conference	A-R-C	1922	9[b]	22	Cedar Rapids, Iowa
American Southwest Conference	ASC	1996	4[c]	16	Richardson, Texas
Atlantic East Conference	AEC	2018	8[d]	21[e]	Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Centennial Conference	Centennial	1981	11[f]	24	Lancaster, Pennsylvania
City University of New York Athletic Conference[g]	CUNYAC	1987	8[h]	16	Flushing, Queens, New York
Coast to Coast Athletic Conference	C2C	1989	7[i]	19	Fredericksburg, Virginia
College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin	CCIW	1946	9[j]	26	Naperville, Illinois
Collegiate Conference of the South[8]	CCS	2022	9[k]	14	Atlanta, Georgia
Conference of New England	CNE	1984	11[l]	18	Springfield, Massachusetts
Empire 8	E8	1964	12[m]	22	Rochester, New York
Great Northeast Athletic Conference	GNAC	1995	14	17	Boston, Massachusetts
Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference	HCAC	1987	10[n]	16	Greenwood, Indiana
Division III Independents			2[o]
Landmark Conference	Landmark	2006	10[p]	23	Madison, New Jersey
Liberty League	Liberty	1995	12[q]	26	Troy, New York
Little East Conference	LEC	1986	9	21	North Dartmouth, Massachusetts
Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference	MASCAC	1971	9[r]	16	Westfield, Massachusetts
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association	MIAA	1888	9[s]	22	Freeland, Michigan
Middle Atlantic Conferences	MAC	1912	16[t][u]	27	Annville, Pennsylvania
Midwest Conference	Midwest	1921	9[v]	20	Ripon, Wisconsin
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	MIAC	1920	13[w]	22	St. Paul, Minnesota
New England Small College Athletic Conference	NESCAC	1971	11[x]	26	Hadley, Massachusetts
New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference	NEWMAC	1998	12[y]	20	Wellesley, Massachusetts
New Jersey Athletic Conference	NJAC	1985	10[z]	21	Pitman, New Jersey
North Atlantic Conference	NAC	1996	10[aa]	15	Waterville, Maine
North Coast Athletic Conference	NCAC	1983	9[ab]	23	Westlake, Ohio
Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference	NACC	2006	14[ac]	19	Waukesha, Wisconsin
Northwest Conference	NWC	1926	9[ad]	20	Seattle, Washington
Ohio Athletic Conference	OAC	1902	9	23	Austintown, Ohio
Old Dominion Athletic Conference	ODAC	1976	14[ae]	26	Forest, Virginia
Presidents' Athletic Conference	PAC	1955	12[af]	24	Wexford, Pennsylvania
St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	SLIAC	1989	9	14	St. Louis, Missouri
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	11[ai]	9	Suwanee, Georgia
State University of New York Athletic Conference	SUNYAC	1958	10[aj]	20	Fredonia, New York
United East Conference	United East	2004	15[ak]	20	Gansevoort, New York
University Athletic Association	UAA	1986	8	22	Rochester, New York
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference	UMAC	1972	8[al]	16	St. Paul, Minnesota
USA South Athletic Conference	USA South	1965	10[am]	14	Fayetteville, North Carolina
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	WIAC	1913	8	22	Madison, Wisconsin

1. 8 members in 2026 with loss of Alfred State.
2. 8 members in 2026 with loss of Luther.
3. 4 full members.

   • 6 full members in 2026 with addition of Schreiner and McMurry.
4. 6 members in 2026 with loss of Marywood and Neumann.
5. 20 NCAA sports plus women's flag football, currently a non-NCAA sport but expected to become part of the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program no later than 2026–27.
6. 11 full members, 7 football members.
7. Plans to adopt a new name in 2027.
8. 9 members in 2027 with addition of New Jersey City.
9. 8 full members in 2026 with addition of Alverno.
10. 9 full members, 10 football members with Washington (MO) as a football-only affiliate.

    • 9 football members in 2026 with loss of Washington (MO).
    • 10 full members, 10 football members in 2027 with addition of Concordia (WI).
11. 7 full members in 2026 with loss of Maryville and Wesleyan (GA).
12. 11 members, 8 football members with Maine Maritime and New England College as football-only affiliates.
13. 12 full members with Elmira, Houghton, Keuka, Nazareth, Russell Sage, SUNY Geneseo, and SUNY Poly as non-football members; 8 football members with Hilbert, SUNY Cortland, and SUNY Morrisville as football-only affiliates.
14. 10 full members, 7 football members.
15. 2 all-sports independents (non-football), 0 football independent (which are members of non-football conferences).
16. 10 members with Drew, Elizabethtown, Goucher, and Scranton as non-football members and 7 football with Keystone as a football-only affiliate.
17. 12 full members, 7 football members with Buffalo State as a football-only affiliate.
18. 9 full members with MCLA and Salem State as non-football members, 11 football members with Anna Maria, Castleton, Plymouth State, UMass Dartmouth, and Western Connecticut as football affiliates.
19. 9 full members, 8 football members.
20. 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.
21. 16 full members (8 Commonwealth, 8 Freedom) and 10 football members.

    • 18 full members in 2026 (9 Commonwealth, 9 Freedom) with addition of non-football Marywood (Freedom) and Neumann (Commonwealth).
22. 9 full members, 10 football members with Chicago as a football affiliate.

    • 10 full members, 11 football members in 2026 with addition of Luther.
23. 13 full members, 10 football members.
24. 11 full members, 10 football members.
25. 12 full members and 8 football members.
26. 10 full members with New Jersey City, Ramapo, Rutgers–Camden, Rutgers–Newark, and Stockton as non-football members; 7 football members with Christopher Newport and Salisbury as football affiliates.

    • 11 full members in 2026 with addition of SUNY New Paltz.
    • 10 full members in 2027 with loss of New Jersey City.
27. 8 full members in 2026 with loss of SUNY Cobleskill and SUNY Delhi.
28. 10 football members in 2026 with addition of Washington (MO).
29. 14 full members, 9 football members with Eureka as a football-only affiliate.

    • 13 full members, 9 football members in 2026 with loss of non-football Alverno.
      • 12 full members, 8 football members in 2027 with loss of Concordia (WI).
30. 9 full members, 8 football members.
31. 14 full members, 9 football members with Gallaudet as a football-only affiliate.
32. 12 full members, 12 football members, with two full members not sponsoring football (Chatham and Franciscan) and two football affiliates (Carnegie Mellon and Case Western Reserve).

    • 13 full members and 13 football members in 2026 with addition of Saint Francis.
33. 8 full members, 8 football members with one full member not sponsoring football (Oglethorpe).

    • 9 full members and 9 football members in 2026 with addition of Maryville.
34. 9 full members, 6 football members.

    • 10 full members, 8 football members in 2026 with addition of Azusa Pacific and reinstatement of football by full member Whittier.
35. 11 full members, 5 football members with football-only affiliate Lyon.

    • 10 full members, 5 football members in 2026 with loss of Schreiner and McMurry.
36. 12 full members in 2026 with loss of SUNY New Paltz and promotion of associate members Alfred State, SUNY Cobleskill, and SUNY Delhi.
37. 14 members in 2026 with loss of Rosemont.
38. 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.
39. 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	7	Men's lacrosse
Colonial Women’s Golf Conference	CWGC	2025	7	Women's golf	N/A
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]	8	Men's volleyball[b]	Mansfield, Massachusetts
Northeast Women's Golf Conference	NWGC	2019	14	Women's golf	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. 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
			6	Women's wrestling
American Rivers Conference	A-R-C	1922	7[b]	Women's wrestling	Cedar Rapids, Iowa
College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin	CCIW	1946	8	Bowling	Naperville, Illinois
			8[c]	Women's wrestling
Middle Atlantic Conference	MAC	1912	6	Women's wrestling	Annville, Pennsylvania
Metropolitan Swimming Conference	METS	?	14 (men) 17 (women)	1 (swimming)	?
St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	SLIAC	1989	6[d]	Women's wrestling	St. Louis, Missouri
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.
2. 7 or 8 women's wrestling members in 2026. Full member Coe will add the sport. Another full member, Luther (IA), will leave for the Midwest Conference, but since that conference does not sponsor women's wrestling, Luther may remain an A-R-C associate.
3. 9 women's wrestling members in 2026 with full conference member Millikin adding the sport.
4. 7 women's wrestling members at an indeterminate future time, with full conference member Blackburn adding the sport].

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 Hockey Association	Division I	2003	2024	Founded in 1997 as the men's hockey league of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference; separated from the MAAC in 2003. Merged with College Hockey America to form the current Atlantic Hockey America.
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]
Coastal Collegiate Sports Association	Division I	2008	2025	Originally started as a joint venture of several all-sports conferences to house their swimming & diving programs. Beach volleyball was later added to the conference's scope. The swimming & diving side was effectively absorbed by the Atlantic Sun Conference when it started sponsoring men's and women's swim/dive in 2023. Of the final four beach volleyball members, two joined the Big 12 Conference and two joined the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation for that sport after the 2025 season.
College Hockey America	Division I	1999	2024	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. The women's division merged with the Atlantic Hockey Association to form the current Atlantic Hockey America
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), now known as the Conference of New England, 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 (now the Conference of New England). 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 Collegiate Football Conference	Division III	2009	2024	Football-only conference. Disbanded
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 Hockey Conference	Division III	2015	2025	Ice hockey-only conference. Disbanded
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, two 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
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

• List of college athletic conferences in the United States
• List of schools reclassifying their athletic programs to NCAA Division I
• List of NAIA conferences