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 August 15, 2024, and provide updates on previously discussed topics. As a reminder, all official moves starting with the 2024-25 academic year or later can be found here and all changes – full membership or individual sport changes – starting in 2025-26 can be found here. Please note that individual sports changes occurring in 2025-26 or later will be listed in the standalone article only.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Women’s Rowing to SEC | Yes – 2024-25 | Big 12 (D1) | SEC (D1) |
| Bryant | Men’s Golf, Women’s Golf, Women’s Tennis to OVC | Yes – 2024-25 | Southland (D1) | OVC (D1) |
| Cal Pac | Conference Plans Aggressive Expansion | TBD | N/A | N/A |
| Campbellsville | Joining AMC for Competitive Dance | Yes – 2024-25 | Independent (NAIA) | AMC (NAIA) |
| Centre College | Esports to Peach Belt | Yes – 2024-25 | NECC (Non-NCAA) | Peach Belt (D2) |
| Cumberlands (KY) | Joining AMC for Competitive Dance | Yes – 2024-25 | Independent (NAIA) | AMC (NAIA) |
| Dickinson State | Joining AMC for Competitive Cheer | Yes – 2024-25 | Independent (NAIA) | AMC (NAIA) |
| Division 3 | Proposal to reduce minimum number of members for AQ bid | TBD – 2025-26 | N/A | N/A |
| Empire 8 | Streaming Deal with Hudl | Yes – 2024-25 | N/A | N/A |
| Keystone College | Merging with WIER | Yes – TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Lesley University | Men’s Tennis to Empire 8 | Yes – 2024-25 | NAC (D3) | Empire 8 (D3) |
| NAIA | Men’s Lacrosse Becomes Championship Sport | Yes – 2024-25 | N/A | N/A |
| NCAA D1 | Sport Cuts and Reduced Funding? | TBD | N/A | N/A |
| Norwich University | Men’s Tennis to Empire 8 | Yes – 2024-25 | GNAC (D3) | Empire 8 (D3) |
| Oklahoma | Women’s Rowing to SEC | Yes – 2024-25 | Big 12 (D1) | SEC (D1) |
| PacWest | Launching Digital Network | Yes – 2024-25 | N/A | N/A |
| Simon Fraser | Not Planning to Leave NCAA | No | N/A | N/A |
| St. Ambrose | Joining AMC for Competitive Dance | Yes – 2024-25 | Independent (NAIA) | AMC (NAIA) |
| St. Ambrose | Joining AMC for Competitive Cheer | Yes – 2024-25 | Independent (NAIA) | AMC (NAIA) |
| St. Francis (IL) | Joining AMC for Competitive Dance | Yes – 2024-25 | Independent (NAIA) | AMC (NAIA) |
| SUNY Delhi | Men’s Tennis to Empire 8 | Yes – 2024-25 | NAC (D3) | Empire 8 (D3) |
| Tennessee | Women’s Rowing to SEC | Yes – 2024-25 | Big 12 (D1) | SEC (D1) |
| Texas | Women’s Rowing to SEC | Yes – 2024-25 | Big 12 (D1) | SEC (D1) |
| Thomas College | Men’s Tennis to Empire 8 | Yes – 2024-25 | NAC (D3) | Empire 8 (D3) |
| UConn | Joining Big 12? | TBD – 2026-27 | Big East (D1) | Big 12 (D1) |
| Vermont Sate-Johnson | Men’s Tennis to Empire 8 | Yes – 2024-25 | NAC (D3) | Empire 8 (D3) |
| Vermont State-Lyndon | Men’s Tennis to Empire 8 | Yes – 2024-25 | NAC (D3) | Empire 8 (D3) |
| Viterbo | Joining AMC for Competitive Dance | Yes – 2024-25 | Independent (NAIA) | AMC (NAIA) |
UConn to Big 12 Talks Heat Up Again
Connecticut is being “seriously considered” as a candidate to join the Big 12, according to Ross Dellenger. The Huskies were rumored to be in the same position last summer but nothing came to fruition for UConn while Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah would later be invited to join the Big 12. UConn would reportedly join the Big 12 in all sports except football beginning with the 2026-27 academic year. Football would not join the Big 12 until 2031 as UConn would have to make huge changes in its investment towards football. Should this move happen, the Big 12 easily become (maintain?) the best basketball league in college sports while the Big East would be left with a huge hole for men’s and women’s basketball.
College Sports Facing Big Changes With House Ruling
Anyone who has followed the NCAA lawsuit saga, even if only reading the headlines, will know that college athletics is in a transition phase. One of the big questions asked in the May 31, 2024 College Realignment Report was, “Will some schools opt to drop a portion of athletic teams and focus on higher-revenue sports? Will schools drop athletics altogether or maybe decide to go to NCAA Division 2?”
The answer to the first question will almost certainly be a yes based on a report by Matt Brown of Extra Points, who cites an interview Ohio State President Ted Carter had with the Columbus Dispatch. Carter stated, “Some of those sports may start to look and act a little bit more like a club sport, but yet compete at the Division I level and still travel and still compete.”
The pie is only so big with the new rules set by the House case so schools will have to allocate their resources accordingly. Some schools are likely to begin purging some sports but others may just simply cut back the budget or scholarships offered. As Matt Brown pointed out in his newsletter and as we did in our Wright State article in February 2022, schools may focus on specific sport(s) to try and gain a competitive advantage (like Gonzaga in basketball). With the House settlement still not fully finalized due to other legal challenges, we may not know exactly when the changes are happening but some changes are unavoidable.
NCAA Division 1 Sports Changes
Bryant University (Smithfield, Rhode Island) has joined the Ohio Valley Conference in men’s and women’s golf and women’s tennis beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. All three teams previously competed in the Southland Conference because Bryant’s primary conference – America East – does not sponsor the sport.
The SEC will sponsor women’s rowing beginning with the 2024-25 academic year with four teams competing – Alabama, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. All four will move their programs from the Big 12 to the SEC.
NCAA Division 2 Sports Changes
The Division 2 Football National Championship will remain in December after the D2 Championships Committee inquired with ESPN about moving the game to January to accommodate a 12-game football schedule. ESPN cited a lack of programming windows available to make the change. The Football Committee will discuss the issue in more detail.
Centre College (Danville, Kentucky) will join the Peach Belt Conference in Esports beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. Centre previously competed in the National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC). Centre is a Division 3 member of the Southern Athletic Association but Esports is not governed by the NCAA leaving them to join a conference outside its Division.
Simon Fraser University (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) has a new athletic leader in Luc Simard but there is very little that will change… for now. Simard wants a comprehensive plan in place for SFU by the end of 2024 that will include whether to: continue as a member of the NCAA, add a D1 hockey team, and bring back football. SFU currently competes in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
PacWest Launching Network
The Pacific West Conference will launch its own streaming network by partnering with Hudl beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. All PacWest games will be shown on PacWestNetwork.tv. The PacWest has 14 full members with 11 located in California and three located in Hawaii.
NCAA Division 3 Sports Changes
NCAA Division 3 has made several proposals that will be voted on during the Annual Convention in January 2025. For realignment, one proposal would reduce the minimum number of core members needed for NCAA championships from 7 to 6. If passed, the rule would become effective on August 1, 2025.
The Empire 8 will add six teams in men’s tennis for the 2024-25 academic year: Lesley University (Cambridge, Massachusetts), Norwich University (Northfield, Vermont), SUNY Delhi (Delhi, New York), Thomas College (Waterville, Maine), Vermont State-Johnson (Johnson, Vermont), and Vermont State-Lyndon (Lyndon, Vermont). Norwich is moving from the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) while the other five are moving from the North Atlantic Conference (NAC).
Keystone College Merging With WIER
Keystone College (La Plume and Factoryville, Pennsylvania) is merging with the Washington Institute for Education and Research (WIER). Keystone provided a timeline that “could extend into the spring 2025” but stated it will remain accredited, continue operations, and maintain its athletics program. Beyond that timeline, things may change in the current shifting landscape of college athletics although Keystone said it was committed to keeping athletics. Keystone is a primary member of the United East Conference (UEC).
Empire 8, Hudl Strike Streaming Deal
The Empire 8 and Hudl have reached an agreement making Hudl the exclusive home for the Empire 8 sports. The first contest will be shown on Friday, August 30, via the Empire 8 Network. The Empire 8 sponsors 26 sports with all primary and affiliate members located in New York.
NAIA Sports Changes
The NAIA has made men’s lacrosse a national championship sport beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. The NAIA now has 29 national championship sports, which requires a minimum of 30 schools in each sport. Men’s lacrosse had spent the previous 8 seasons culminating in a national invitation tournament. The first NAIA men’s lacrosse championship will take place at Memorial Stadium in Savannah, Georgia from May 7 through May 10, 2025.
The American Midwest Conference (AMC) is adding Campbellsville (Campbellsville, Kentucky), Cumberlands (Williamsburg, Kentucky), St. Ambrose (Davenport, Iowa), St. Francis (Joliet, Illinois), and Viterbo (LaCrosse, Wisconsin) as affiliate members for Competitive Dance. Dickinson State (Dickinson, North Dakota) and St. Ambrose will also join the AMC for Competitive Cheer.
Cal Pac Plans to Rebuild
The California Pacific Conference (Cal Pac) released a statement after two members – La Sierra and Soka – announced they were leaving the conference to join the Great Southwest Athletic Conference (GSAC) beginning with the 2025-26 academic year. The two departures put Cal Pac at five members in 2025-26 with only Cal Maritime, Pacific Union, Providence Christian, Simpson, and Westcliff remaining. Cal Maritime is likely to be integrating with Cal Poly by the 2026-27 academic year potentially putting its athletics program in jeopardy. Cal Pac didn’t reveal any possible targets but did say one school is close to approval and several others would need to be fast-tracked by the NAIA to join the conference.
Photo courtesy of Connecticut Athletics