This is part of an ongoing series covering various college realignment news for all three NCAA Divisions as well as the NAIA. The roundup below will cover news and reports since November 15 and provide updates on previously discussed topics. As a reminder, all official moves starting with the 2023-24 academic year can be found here while anything happening in 2024-25 or later can be found here.
We’ll break out the reports for each Division in the following order: Division 1, Division 2, Division 3, and NAIA. Clicking the links will bring you to that specific section. If a division is not highlighted, there has been no news in the preceding two weeks. We’ve also summarized the news items in a table below if you are more interested in a summary or specific news item rather than having to scroll to find it.
| School(s) | News Item | Realignment Change / Effective Year | Current Conference | New Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2PAC and Mountain West | Scheduling Agreement | No – 2024-25 | N/A | N/A |
| Adrian | Hockey Joining GL6 | Yes – 2024-25 | GLCHL (D1) | GL6 (D1) |
| Birmingham-Southern | Will Be Open Fall 2024 | No | N/A | N/A |
| Calvin | Hockey Joining GL6 | Yes – 2024-25 | GLCHL (D1) | GL6 (D1) |
| College Football Playoff | Slight Rule Change | Yes – 2024-25 | N/A | N/A |
| Davenport (MI) | Hockey Joining GL6 | Yes – 2024-25 | GLCHL (D1) | GL6 (D1) |
| Delaware | Joining C-USA | Yes – 2025-26 | CAA (D1) | C-USA (D1) |
| Dominican (CA) | Joining RMAC in Men’s Lacrosse | Yes – 2024-25 | WCLL (D2) | RMAC (D2) |
| Grand Valley State | Hockey Joining GL6 | Yes – 2024-25 | GLCHL (D1) | GL6 (D1) |
| Jamestown (ND) | Joining D2 NSIC | Yes – 2025-26 | NSAA (NAIA) | NSIC (D2) |
| Lincoln (PA) | Two Sports to CACC | Yes – 2024-25 | ECC (D2) | CACC (D2) |
| Northeastern State | Going Independent in Football | Yes – 2024-25 | MIAA (D2) | Independent (D2) |
| Notre Dame | Extended TV Deal With NBC | No | N/A | N/A |
| Plymouth State | Football Kicked Out of MASCAC | Yes – 2025-26 | MASCAC (D3) | TBD (D3) |
| Purdue University Northwest | Hockey Joining GL6 | Yes – 2024-25 | GLCHL (D1) | GL6 (D1) |
| Robert Morris | Football Joining NEC | Yes – 2024-25 | Big South-OVC (D1) | NEC D1) |
| Roosevelt (IL) | Hockey Joining GL6 | Yes – 2024-25 | GLCHL (D1) | GL6 (D1) |
| Saint Rose (NY) | School Closing | Yes – 2024-25 | NE-10 (D2) | N/A |
| SUNY Poly | Joining Empire 8 | Yes – 2024-25 | NAC (D3) | Empire 8 (D3) |
| Texas Lutheran | Football to SCAC Early | Yes – 2024-25 | ASC (D3) | SCAC (D3) |
| UMass-Dartmouth | Football Kicked Out of MASCAC | Yes – 2025-26 | MASCAC (D3) | TBD (D3) |
| Vermont State-Castleton | Football Kicked Out of MASCAC | Yes – 2025-26 | MASCAC (D3) | TBD (D3) |
| Wayne State (NE) | Possibly going to MIAA? | No | N/A | N/A |
| Western Connecticut State | Football Kicked Out of MASCAC | Yes – 2025-26 | MASCAC (D3) | TBD (D3) |
| William Woods | Adding Competitive Dance Team | Yes – 2024-25 | N/A | NAIA |
Delaware Joining Conference USA
Delaware is joining Conference USA beginning in 2025-26. The Blue Hens will leave the Coastal Athletic Association and begin a two-year process of reclassifying from the FCS to FBS in 2024 when they compete as an FCS independent. As a result, Delaware will not be eligible for the FCS Playoffs per the NCAA FCS-to-FBS reclassification rules. Delaware was previously rumored to join the FBS but the MAC was the speculated destination. The CAA will be at 15 football members and 13 full members in 2025 with Delaware’s departure while C-USA will have 11 members. Delaware will also be paying the recently increased $5 million application fee to join the FBS but that amount was never likely to deter them.
2PAC and Mountain West Scheduling Agreement
The 2PAC (Oregon State and Washington State) and Mountain West are headed toward a scheduling agreement. The Mountain West will play seven conference games and an eighth game against either Oregon State or Washington State. The games against OSU and WSU will not count toward the conference standings and neither school will be eligible for the Mountain West Championship. The MWC will receive some financial compensation for the agreement in what is setting up as a prelude to a merger between the two schools and the Mountain West.
Notre Dame and NBC Extend TV Deal
In a surprise to no one, Notre Dame and NBC will continue their TV partnership through the 2029 season. Incoming Athletic Director Pete Bevacqua was the chairman of NBC Sports Group and there was no doubt that the two sides would agree to a new deal. Financial terms were not released but it’s speculated that it’s close to what Big Ten teams will make in their current deal ($50-$60 million per year).
Another CFP Rule Change
The College Football Playoff has instituted a new rule that requires conferences to have a minimum number of teams to be considered for an automatic bid. The number hasn’t been officially agreed upon but it is expected to 8 teams. The change is due to the disintegration of the Pac-12, which has left only Oregon State and Washington State and will change the 12-team model starting with the 2024 season.
D1 Sports Changes
Robert Morris is leaving the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference Football Association to return to the Northeast Conference beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. The move is a football-only one for the Colonials, who are a full member of the Horizon League. The NEC will have 7 teams in 2024 with Stonehill still in the four-year reclassification process through the 2025-26 academic year. The addition of Robert Morris will help the NEC maintain its automatic qualifying bid to the FCS playoffs.
There was a D1 hockey shake-up with six teams leaving the Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League (GLCHL) to form a new conference called the Great Lakes Six Hockey Conference (GL6). Adrian College (Adrian, Michigan), Calvin University (Grand Rapids, Michigan), Davenport University (Grand Rapids, Michigan), Grand Valley State University (Allendale, Michigan), Purdue University Northwest (Hammond, Indiana), and Roosevelt University (Chicago, Illinois) will join the newly formed GL6 beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. The move will leave only three members in the GLCHC: Eastern Michigan, Oakland, and Western Michigan.
NAIA’s Jamestown Joining NCAA Division 2
The University of Jamestown (Jamestown, North Dakota) has finally completed its goal of moving to the NCAA Division 2. The Jimmies were formally invited to join the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) beginning with the 2025-26 academic year. The school has seen plenty of twists in the past few months after being kicked out of its current conference (the Great Plains Athletic Conference), moving back to a previous conference for 2024-25 (the North Star Athletic Association), and now joining the NSIC.
Jamestown will become the 16th member of the NSIC when they join, assuming additional realignment changes do not occur. That might be difficult considering Wayne State College (Wayne, Nebraska) is reportedly interested in joining the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA). We’ll keep an eye on that rumor and provide updates should anything concrete happen.
College of Saint Rose Will Close
The College of Saint Rose (Albany, New York) will close following the 2023-24 academic year following a vote by the school’s Board of Trustees. The school was facing financial difficulties and requested emergency funds from the state of New York and the city of Albany. The school has a deficit in the millions and asked for $5 million from Albany to help keep the doors open. The drop in student enrollment and increased reliance on the school’s endowment were cited by Saint Rose as the reasons for the request. Saint Rose is a member of the Northeast-10 Conference.
D2 Sports Changes
Dominican University of California (San Rafael, California) will join the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) in men’s lacrosse beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. The addition of Dominican will put the RMAC at six members with Adams State, Colorado Mesa, Colorado State-Pueblo, Concordia Irvine, and Westminster also competing. Dominican is a full member of the Pacific West Conference.
Lincoln University (Oxford, Pennsylvania) is moving two sports to a new conference. The baseball and women’s soccer teams will leave the East Coast Conference and join the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. Both sports are affiliates of the ECC as Lincoln’s primary conference – the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) – does not sponsor baseball or women’s soccer.
Northeastern State (Tahlequah, Oklahoma) will spend at least the 2024 season as a Division 2 independent after receiving permission from the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA). The MIAA made the decision to let NSU attempt to rebuild the program to be more competitive but will not consider them a conference opponent for the other member schools in 2024. NSU will also not be included in the 2025 and 2026 MIAA conference schedule with the possibility this temporary change may become permanent after the school and conference reassess the situation following the 2025 season.
D3 Sports Changes
The Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) will be making membership changes according to D3Football. Four schools – Massachusetts-Dartmouth, Plymouth State, Vermont State-Castleton, and Western Connecticut State – will not be football affiliate members starting with the 2025-26 academic year. One report said the teams were booted due to the possibility of a new Little East Football conference starting up.
Texas Lutheran (Seguin, Texas) is moving its football program from the American Southwest Conference to the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) in 2024-25. The original timeline was for the move to occur in 2025-26 but it has been moved up a year, likely due to other departures from the ASC (only 4 football members) and an interest in moving all sports to one conference. Texas Lutheran is already a full member of the SCAC but the SCAC will not have an automatic qualifying bid to the Division 3 Playoffs until 2025.
Birmingham-Southern to Remain Open for Fall 2024
Birmingham-Southern College will be open for the fall 2024 semester after securing a $5 million loan. The school has faced a dire future over the last year with multiple attempts to secure funding including a state loan program application rejection in October. What lies beyond the Fall 2024 semester is unknown but the school has survived for the short term. BSC is a full member of the Southern Athletic Association (SAA).
SUNY Poly Heading to the Empire 8
The State University of New York Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly; Marcy, New York)) will leave the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) and join the Empire 8 Conference beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. SUNY Poly will join the E8 alongside fellow SUNY schools Brockport and Geneseo to give the conference 12 full members. The NAC will still have a healthy 11 full members in 2024-25 despite the losses of SUNY schools Canton, Morrisville, and Poly.
NAIA Sports Changes
Williams Woods University (Fulton, Missouri) is adding competitive dance beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. The team will compete in numerous meets and is debuting alongside the school’s football program. The football program will join the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) in its first season and William Woods is a full member of the American Midwest Conference.
Photo courtesy of Delaware Athletics