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 April 30, 2024, 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 changes 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)/Conference | News Item | Realignment Change / Effective Year | Current Conference | New Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2PAC | TV Partners Announced | No | N/A | N/A |
| Albertus Magnus | Hockey Teams to UCHC | Yes – 2025-26 | NEHC (D3) | UCHC (D3) |
| AMCC | Holding Joint Championship with SUNYAC | Yes – 2024-25 | N/A | N/A |
| CCAA | FloSports Deal | No – 2024-25 | N/A | N/A |
| Central Arkansas | Possible MVC Target | No | N/A | N/A |
| Columbia College (MO) | Men’s Lacrosse to HAAC | Yes – 2024-25 | KCAC (NAIA) | HAAC (NAIA) |
| Elmira | Hockey Teams to UCHC | Yes – 2025-26 | NEHC (D3) | UCHC (D3) |
| Gallaudet | Dropping Baseball and Women’s Soccer | Yes – 2024-25 | United East (D3) | N/A |
| Gallaudet | Adding 4 Sports | Yes – 2024-25 | N/A | Men’s Volleyball: United East (D3) Others: TBD (D3) |
| Grand Canyon | Moving to WCC | Yes – 2025-26 | WAC (D1) | West Coast (D1) |
| Hilbert | Women’s Hockey to UCHC | Yes – 2025-26 | Independent | UCHC (D3) |
| Idaho | Men’s Golf to Big West | Yes – 2024-25 | Big Sky (D1) | Big West (D1) |
| Indianapolis | Adding Two Sports | Yes – 2024-25 | N/A | GLVC (D1) / USA Triathlon (D2) |
| Keystone College | May Lose Accreditation | TBD | N/A | N/A |
| Lewis University | Adding STUNT | Yes – 2024-25 | N/A | TBD (D2) |
| Little Rock | Possible MVC Target | No | N/A | N/A |
| Midland University | Lacrosse Teams to HAAC | Yes – 2024-25 | KCAC (NAIA) | HAAC (NAIA) |
| Missouri Baptist | Lacrosse Teams to HAAC | Yes – 2024-25 | KCAC (NAIA) | HAAC (NAIA) |
| Missouri State | Joining C-USA | Yes – 2025-26 | MVC / MVFC (D1) | C-USA (D1) |
| Missouri State | Adding 2 New Sports | Yes – 2024-25 | N/A | TBD (D1) |
| Missouri-Kansas City | Possible MVC Target | No | N/A | N/A |
| Mount Mercy | Strategic Combination with St. Ambrose | Yes – 2024-25 | N/A | N/A |
| Northern Colorado | Men’s Golf to Summit | Yes – 2024-25 | Big Sky (D1) | Summit League (D1) |
| Northern Kentucky | Possible MVC Target | No | N/A | N/A |
| Northland College | Will Remain Open | Yes – 2024-25 | UMAC (D3) | UMAC (D3) |
| Ottawa (KS) | Men’s Volleyball to HAAC | Yes – 2024-25 | GPAC (NAIA) | HAAC (NAIA) |
| Ottawa (KS) | Lacrosse Teams to HAAC | Yes – 2024-25 | KCAC (NAIA) | HAAC (NAIA) |
| Rice | Adding Women’s Golf | Yes – 2026-27 | N/A | AAC (D1) |
| Richmond | Football Leaving CAA | Yes – 2025-26 | CAA (D1) | Patriot League (D1) |
| Ripon | Adding Esports | Yes – 2025-26 | N/A | NACE (Non-NCAA) |
| Sacramento State | Men’s Golf to Big West | Yes – 2024-25 | Big Sky (D1) | Big West (D1) |
| Seattle | Moving to WCC | Yes – 2025-26 | WAC (D1) | West Coast (D1) |
| St. Ambrose | Strategic Combination with Mount Mercy | Yes – 2024-25 | N/A | N/A |
| St. John Fisher | Hockey Teams to UCHC | Yes – 2025-26 | N/A | UCHC (D3) |
| St. Thomas (MN) | Hockey to NCHC | Yes – 2025-26 | CCHA (D1) | NCHC (D1) |
| SUNYAC | Holding Joint Championship with AMCC | Yes – 2024-25 | N/A | N/A |
| Texas-Arlington | Possible MVC Target | No | N/A | N/A |
| UAA | New Commissioner | No – 2024-25 | N/A | N/A |
| University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy | Women’s Lacrosse to HAAC | Yes – 2024-25 | KCAC (NAIA) | HAAC (NAIA) |
| WAC | Possible Exodus? | TBD | N/A | N/A |
| Weber State | Men’s Golf to Summit | Yes – 2024-25 | Big Sky (D1) | Summit League (D1) |
| Whittier | Bringing Back Men’s Lacrosse | Yes – 2025-26 | N/A | MCLA (Club Sport) |
Missouri State Joining Conference USA
Missouri State (Springfield, Missouri) is joining Conference USA beginning with the 2025-26 academic year. The Bears are a primary member of the Missouri Valley Conference and play football in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The change will put C-USA at 12 members while the Missouri Valley will have 10 members in 2025. Missouri State has been frequently rumored as a C-USA expansion target as noted here and here. The Bears are also adding two new sports in 2024-25: acrobatics and tumbling and STUNT, which was previously reported in June 2023.
For the MVC, the questions become will they reload and which school(s) will they target? According to Matt Brown of Extra Points, possible targets include Central Arkansas (ASUN; UAC for football), Missouri-Kansas City (Summit League; no football), Little Rock (Ohio Valley; no football), Northern Kentucky (Horizon League; no football), and Texas-Arlington (WAC; no football).
Grand Canyon and Seattle Bolt WAC; Conference in Danger?
Grand Canyon (Phoenix, Arizona) and Seattle (Seattle, Washington) are leaving the WAC to join the West Coast Conference beginning with the 2025-26 academic year. The WCC membership is up to 11 with those changes while the WAC currently has 8 members starting in 2025 and is perilously close to losing more members…
It was reported in April that Stephen F. Austin was looking at a possible return to the Southland Conference. That move may happen by the end of May but it may not be the only one that impacts the WAC, according to Matt Brown of Extra Points. Other possible moves include Abilene Christian, Texas-Arlington (maybe MVC?) and Tarleton State to the ASUN or the Southland, Cal Baptist to the West Coast Conference, and Southern Utah and Utah Tech to the Summit League.
Further reporting by Matt Brown said Abilene Christian, Southern Utah, and Tarleton have told recruits in Olympic sports they do not expect to be a member of the WAC in 2026. The American Press also reports that Abilene Christian, Tarleton State, and Texas-Arlington have reached out to the Southland Conference in the wake of Grand Canyon and Seattle leaving the WAC. All these are speculated possibilities and a lot change quickly with realignment and the ever-present legal battles facing the NCAA that seem likely to alter the college athletics model.
Richmond Leaving CAA to Join the Patriot League
Richmond’s was linked to a possible move according to a recent report in the Richmond Times-Dispatch and less than a week later a move to the Patriot League was confirmed. Some Richmond supporters are unhappy with the recent moves made by the CAA, which led to them joining the Patriot League. The change is a football-only move beginning with the 2025-26 academic year. The CAA’s football membership has become bloated with 16 members in 2024 with Bryant joining and it will be at 14 in 2025 when Richmond leaves for the Patriot League and Delaware departs for C-USA and the FBS. Some questions were raised about the scholarship limit for the Patriot League should Richmond join but a conference official said that schools can award the maximum of 63 scholarship equivalents afforded to FCS schools, a policy that begins with the 2024-25 academic year.
2024 2PAC TV Partners Revealed
The 2PAC – consisting of Oregon State and Washington State – will have its football games televised primarily by The CW with Fox picking up three of the 13 football games. Both schools will be part of a football alliance with the Mountain West in 2024 and any games involving those two conferences will be shown on the MWC’s TV partners CBS and Fox.
NCAA Division 1 Sports Changes
Northern Colorado (Greeley, Colorado) and Weber State (Ogden, Utah) are joining the Summit League for men’s golf beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. Both schools are moving from the Big Sky Conference. The additions of Northern Colorado and Weber State push the Summit League’s men’s golf membership to 11.
Two additional moves in men’s golf will see the end of the Big Sky Conference sponsoring the sport. Sacramento State (Sacramento, California) and Idaho (Moscow, Idaho) will move to the Big West Conference beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. The Hornets and Vandals were the last two remaining members for the Big Sky’s men’s golf membership.
Rice is adding women’s golf beginning with the 2026-27 academic year and the Owls will compete in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). Rice is the AAC’s 12th member in women’s golf leaving Temple as the conference’s only school without the sport.
St. Thomas (Saint Paul, Minnesota) will move its men’s hockey team from the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) to the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) beginning with the 2026-27 academic year. The move puts the NCHC up to 10 members while the CCHA will be at 8 members. St. Thomas will maintain its membership in the CCHA for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons.
NCAA Division 2 Sports Changes
Lewis University (Romeoville, Illinois) will add STUNT beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. STUNT is classified as part of the NCAA’s Emerging Sports For Women Program alongside Acrobatics and Tumbling, Equestrian, Rugby, and Triathlon. It is not yet known which conference, if any, Lewis will compete in although fellow Great Lakes Valley Confernece (GLVC) members Drury will have varsity STUNT and Quincy (IL) will start its program in 2024-25.
The University of Indianapolis (Indianapolis, Indiana) is adding women’s bowling and women’s triathlon beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. Women’s bowling will compete in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC), which now has seven members (women’s bowling is a single championship meaning all three divisions compete together). Women’s triathlon will be part of USA Triathlon and is the second GLVC school to add the sport with Drury University being the first.
CCAA Signs FloSports Media Deal
The California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) and FloSports have agreed to a “multi-year, seven-figure media rights” deal that begins with the 2024-25 academic year. The latest agreement is at least the 8th media rights deal between FloSports and NCAA Conferences. The Big East (D1), CAA (D1), Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (D2), Gulf South Conference (D2), South Atlantic Conference (D2), Landmark Conference (D3), and NEWMAC (D3) also have deals with FloSports.
NCAA Division 3 Sports Changes
The Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) and the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) will hold a joint swimming and diving championship for the 2024-25 academic year. The aim is to allow all programs within both conferences to reach the NCAA Division 3 Championship. From the AMCC, Alfred State, Penn State-Altoona, Penn State-Behrend, and Pitt-Bradford will compete. From the SUNYAC, Cortland, Fredonia, New Paltz, Oneonta, Oswego, and Potsdam will compete.
The United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) announced several teams would be joining in hockey with all moves effective with the 2025-26 academic year. For men’s hockey, Albertus Magnus College (New Haven, Connecticut) and Elmira College (Elmira, New York) will join from the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) while St. John Fisher’s recently announced programs will play their first season as members of the UCHC. For women’s hockey, Albertus Magnus, Elmira, Hilbert (Hamburg, New York), and St. John Fisher will compete in the UCHC. Albertus Magnus and Elmira compete in the NECH, Hilbert competes as an independent, and St. John Fisher is a new program.
Gallaudet University (Washington, D.C.) is discontinuing baseball and women’s soccer effective immediately. The school also plans to add men’s volleyball, women’s STUNT, and women’s triathlon, all three beginning competition in 2024-25. The school also plans to add a women’s flag football club team. Men’s volleyball will compete in the United East, which is the school’s primary conference. It is not known which conferences, if any, that STUNT and women’s triathlon will compete.
Ripon College (Ripon, Wisconsin) is adding a varsity Esports team beginning with the 2025-26 academic year. Ripon will compete in the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE), which is not governed by the NCAA. Ripon is a full member of the Midwest Conference.
Whittier College (Whittier, California) is bringing back men’s lacrosse as a club sport in 2025-26. The team was one of four announced cuts in November 2022 and the alumni have been adamant about having the sport brought back. Whittier will return as a member of the Southwestern Lacrosse Conference of the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA). There are hopes from the alumni to compete at the NCAA level again but the school is tempering expectations on that possibility due to travel cost concerns.
Northland College to Remain Open
Northland College (Ashland, Wisconsin) will remain open and continue operations in the 2024-25 academic year. The college was struggling to raise needed funds but a new plan to limit the number of academic programs to 8 will help save at least $7 million. Northland is a member of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC), which is comprised of schools from Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Keystone College May Lose Accreditation
The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) has told Keystone College (La Plume and Factoryville, Pennsylvania) that it may lose accreditation and may close soon. Losing accreditation would impair the school’s ability to receive federal funding that is needed to keep the doors open. The letter has given Keystone until August 1 to provide proof that the school has the funds to continue operating. Keystone is a full member of the United East Conference.
UAA Selects New Commissioner
The University Athletic Association (UAA) will hire current Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) commissioner Sarah Otey for the same position beginning in July 2024. Otey took over the OAC in 2021 following Tim Gleason’s retirement. Gleason spent 30 years as the OAC commissioner and she will face a similar challenge in the UAA as Dick Rasmussen led the UAA since 1987. The UAA has 8 members spread across the country in Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.
NAIA Sports Changes
Four teams will move from the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) to join the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) in women’s lacrosse beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. Midland University (Fremont, Nebraska), Missouri Baptist University (Creve Coeur, Missouri), Ottawa University (Ottawa, Kansas), and University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy (St. Louis, Missouri) will join in 2024 to give the HAAC 10 members for women’s lacrosse.
The HAAC is also adding four teams from the KCAC for men’s lacrosse beginning in 2024-25. Columbia College (Columbia, Missouri), Midland University, Missouri Baptist University, and Ottawa University will push the HAAC to 9 members in 2024-25 leaving the University of Saint Mary (Leavenworth, Kansas) as the only remaining KCAC member for men’s and women’s lacrosse.
Ottawa University (Ottawa, Kansas) will move its men’s volleyball team from the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) to the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. The addition of Ottawa puts the HAAC at 12 teams and gives the conference a second automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship tournament. Ottawa is a primary member of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC).
Mount Mercy and St. Ambrose Announce Strategic Combination
Mount Mercy University (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) and St. Ambrose University (Davenport, Iowa) announced a “strategic combination” beginning in 2024-25 that will allow students at both universities to take classes at either school. There are no plans to alter the athletics programs at this time although it may be a prelude to a possible merger between the two in the future. Mount Mercy is a primary member of the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) while St. Ambrose is a primary member of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC).
Photo Courtesy of Missouri State Athletics