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 October 31, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division 1 | First Revenue Sharing Figure Estimated | Yes – 2025-26 | N/A | N/A |
| Grand Canyon | Joining Mountain West | Yes – 2025 or 2026 | WAC (D1) | Mountain West (D1) |
| Ivy League | May Allow Teams to Play in FCS Playoffs | TBD | N/A | N/A |
| Kentucky Christian | Joining River States Conference | Yes – 2025-26 | Appalachian (NAIA) | River States (NAIA) |
| Montevallo | Swimming Teams to Conference Carolinas | Yes – 2024-25 | NSISC (D2) | Conference Carolinas (D2) |
| North Dakota State | Possible Mountain West Expansion Target | TBD | N/A | N/A |
| Northern Illinois | Decreased Interest in MWC | No | N/A | N/A |
| Ohio State | Won’t Cut Scholarships or Sports | No | N/A | N/A |
| Salem University (WV) | Joining Mountain East in 3 Sports | Yes – 2024-25 | Swimming: Conference Carolinas (D2) Wrestling: Independent | Mountain East (D2) |
| SEC Football | Set Scholarship Limit for 2025 | No – 2025-26 | N/A | N/A |
| Texas A&M-Commerce | Now East Texas A&M | Yes – 2024-25 | N/A | N/A |
First Revenue Sharing Numbers Released
The settlement of the House v. NCAA lawsuit has paved the way for revenue sharing between schools and athletes. The first projected cap (the maximum amount a school can provide to athletes) is $20.5 million. This would be distributed in the 2025-26 academic year and the figure could change based on the final numbers of the revenues 2024-25 academic year. The cap is set at 22% of the previous year’s revenue for the Power 4 Conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, and SEC) and is slated to see a 4% increase in 2026-27 and another 4% increase in 2027-28. In 2028-29, there will be a recalculation. The expectation is that 90% of the revenue sharing will be distributed to football and men’s basketball, according to Ross Dellenger’s reporting.
Mountain West Potentially Looking at North Dakota State
The Mountain West Conference is beginning to look away from the MAC duo of Northern Illinois and Toledo as football-only members due to “waiting interest” from NIU, according to Brett McMurphy. NIU’s decreasing interest stems from the uncertainty around the MW and loyalty to the MAC. With NIU and Toledo becoming increasingly unlikely, the Mountain West will now look towards FCS powerhouse North Dakota State as a football-only member. NDSU won 9 FCS National Championships between 2011 and 2021 as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
Ohio State Backtracks on Cutting Scholarships
Ohio State no longer plans to cut scholarships as the college athletic landscape shifts after the NCAA v. House settlement. It was reported in October that OSU was cutting men’s gymnastics scholarships but OSU President Ted Carter said there would be no scholarship reductions and no sports would be cut.
NCAA Division 1 Sports Changes
The Ivy League is considering allowing its football teams to participate in the FCS Playoffs. Football is the only championship sport the Ivy League prohibits from competing in postseason competition. The policy has been in place since 1945 and didn’t change after the Ivy League joined Division 1-AA in 1982. The policy has not been discussed among university presidents who are the ones who will determine if the policy changes. There is no tentative timetable for when the policy would take effect if it were approved by the Ivy League presidents.
For the 2025 season, the SEC has set a scholarship limit of 85. Under the new terms of the House settlement, teams could have up to 105 scholarships. The SEC will have 85 scholarships and 20 walk-ons. No other conferences have announced a roster size or scholarship limit in football.
For skiing and men’s ice hockey, the NCAA Division 1 Council has amended its policy to allow athletes to retain eligibility if they have received compensation not exceeding the “actual and necessary” expenses as part of junior hockey or a professional team. The change will become effective August 1, 2025.
Grand Canyon University will join the Mountain West Conference. GCU originally planned to leave the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) to join the West Coast Conference (WCC) beginning with the 2025-26 academic year. GCU will attempt to join the Mountain West beginning with the 2025-26 academic year, if allowed by the MW bylaws, but will join no later than the 2026-27 academic year. The move puts the Mountain West at 9 full members and 8 football-playing members as GCU doesn’t sponsor football. The MW is still pursuing Northern Illinois and Toledo as football-only affiliates.
Texas A&M-Commerce has changed its name to East Texas A&M, effectively immediately. There are no plans to change the school’s nickname (Lions) or conference affiliation (Southland).
NCAA Division 2 Sports Changes
The University of Montevallo (Montevallo, Alabama) moved its men’s and women’s swimming programs to the Conference Carolinas beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. Both teams previously competed in the New South Intercollegiate Swim Conference (NSISC) as Montevallo’s primary conference (Gulf South) doesn’t sponsor swimming.
Salem University (Salem, West Virginia) will join the Mountain East Conference for men’s wrestling, men’s swimming, and women’s swimming beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. The Tigers were previously an affiliate member of the Conference Carolinas in swimming before the school announced a hiatus for the programs during the 2023-24 academic year. The school announced the return of the programs and the men’s wrestling program in December 2023.
NCAA Division 3 Sports Changes
There were no NCAA Division 3 sports changes for the 2024-25 academic year since October 31, 2024.
NAIA Sports Changes
Kentucky Christian University (Grayson, Kentucky) will leave the Appalachian Athletic Conference and join the River States Conference beginning with the 2025-26 academic year. The AAC will stay at 16 members in 2025 with Spartan Methodist College joining as KCU departs. The RSC will rise to 13 full members. KCU originally joined the NAIA in 2008-09 and remained independent through the 2018-19 academic year. The Knights joined the AAC beginning with the 2019-20 academic year.
Photo Courtesy of North Dakota State Athletics