Starting in July 2024, this website began tracking all college realignment changes for the NCAA and NAIA from full membership moves to single sport moves to sports being added. That’s not to say the list is perfect but it’s as exhaustive as it can be based on available sources. As of Friday, November 1, 2024, NCAA and NAIA colleges and universities have announced the addition of 173 sports programs starting with the 2025-26 academic year or later. There’s a noticeable gender difference but it shouldn’t be too surprising given the trend of women attending college at a higher rate than men. As a result, colleges need to stay within the Title IX requirements of offering equal sports opportunities for both men and women. How large is the difference? For the NCAA and NAIA, women’s sports are being added at a nearly 2-1 rate with 110 while 62 men’s sports have been added (the missing sport was a coed Archery program).
We’ve established there’s a higher rate of women’s sports being added compared to men but there is another takeaway. The majority of sports (112 programs) are being added by NCAA Division 3 (431 members) and NAIA programs (237 members). The uncertainty surrounding the legalities and implementation of the NCAA v. House Settlement is a major contributing factor to why D1 schools have added only 27 sports programs. Schools are unwilling to commit to a new program without knowing how the House settlement will impact them and, more importantly, the new revenue-cost structure associated with the case. Below is a chart showing the men’s (blue) and women’s (pink) sports effective with the 2025-26 academic year or later.
Which Sports are the Most Popular Additions?
The top sports program added has been women’s flag football with 22 while women’s wrestling isn’t far behind at 16. These two sports have grown in popularity for different reasons. Women’s flag football has seen a huge growth in participation at the youth and high school levels and the addition of the sport to the 2028 LA Olympics makes it an easy choice for schools to start. Women’s wrestling has grown in popularity at the high school level and prompted the NCAA to place it in the Emerging Sports for Women program, which provides a pathway to NCAA Championships status. Women’s flag football will likely be placed in the program within the next year or two, meaning more schools will be adding the sport.
For non-D1 schools, both programs have relatively low costs compared to other sports such as hockey or a traditional football program. It’s a way for schools to generate tuition dollars without committing a large chunk of expenses to scholarships. Adding these programs was a shrewd move by the non-D1 schools to get first mover advantage but don’t be surprised to see their Division 1 counterparts start adding these sports. After the dust settles on House, D1 schools will better understand their cost-revenue structure, making a low-cost program like flag football an easy add for some schools.
On the men’s side of sports, the most popular addition has been volleyball followed by wrestling and football. Yes, football is still a popular addition but it should be noted that 4 of the 7 additions were at the D3 level, which doesn’t offer athletic scholarships. Volleyball is gaining popularity while wrestling is seeing a resurgence, which has led to an increase in collegiate programs (a running theme here). Golf and track & field are also somewhat popular additions with 6 each. Below is a chart showing the five most popular men’s (blue) and women’s (pink) sports being added.
What to Expect with Realignment Going Forward?
Let’s preface this section with this: no one has a crystal ball into the future that can predict what will happen with realignment with a high degree of certainty. That won’t stop us from trying and ultimately making a fool of ourselves as we did with West Texas A&M’s yet-to-be-realized D2 to D1 jump (we know it’s not going to happen no matter how much we wishcast it).
At the Division 1 level, there’s still some movement to be expected as the Mountain West and Pac-12 finalize their membership which will probably trickle down to the FCS. With the House implications still to be fully realized, there isn’t likely to be a ton of sports added in D1 over the next few months. After House is properly reviewed and implemented… expect to see some sports teams cut or, at the very least, significant scholarship reductions like men’s wrestling at Campbell and men’s gymnastics at Ohio State or a movement to club status like men’s tennis at Eastern Washington.
For the D2, D3, and NAIA levels, full membership realignment will continue but at what pace is unknown. Will there be movement from D2 to D1 once the House effects are fully realized? Will any schools reconsider the D1 model altogether and drop to D2? The House mess involves way too many variables to get any good handle so we’ll have to wait to get answers to those questions. For individual sports, they will continue to be added and the current clubhouse leaders of women’s flag football and women’s wrestling will probably be the top 2 going forward. It’s worth noting that only 3 sports teams have been discontinued as of November 1, 2024, but that will increase as schools take inventory of which sports have low roster counts or if schools are in a financial crunch and cuts are required.
If you are interested in more content like this, a list of all NCAA and NAIA membership and sports changes is updated frequently while a bimonthly realignment report covering big-picture news is published on the 15th and last day of each month. Feel free to drop a comment for any additional data you would like presented or if you have any insights/context to provide.
Photo Courtesy of Keiser Athletics