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 February 28, 2025, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Augustana | Adding Flag Football | Yes – 2024-25 | N/A | Unnamed League (D2/D3) |
| Bethel (MN) | Adding Flag Football | Yes – 2024-25 | N/A | Unnamed League (D2/D3) |
| Clemson/Florida State | Settles Lawsuit with ACC | No | N/A | N/A |
| Concordia (MN) | Adding Flag Football | Yes – 2024-25 | N/A | Unnamed League (D2/D3) |
| Gustavus Adolphus | Adding Flag Football | Yes – 2024-25 | N/A | Unnamed League (D2/D3) |
| Kean University | Merging with NJCU | TBD | NJAC (D3) | NJAC (D3) |
| MAAC | Extending Rights Deal with ESPN | No – 2025-26 | N/A | N/A |
| NCAA Division 1 | New House Deadlines | No | N/A | N/A |
| NCAA Division 1 | Eligibility Waiver Q&A | No – 2025-26 | N/A | N/A |
| NCAA Division 1 | Teams Leaving D1? | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Nevada State | Adding Athletics | Yes – 2025-26 | N/A | Non-Affiliated |
| New Jersey City University | Merger with Kean | TBD | NJAC (D3) | Combining with Kean (D3) |
| Northwestern (MN) | Adding Flag Football | Yes – 2024-25 | N/A | Unnamed League (D2/D3) |
| Regent | Approved to start D3 Transition | Yes – 2025-26 | NCCAA | C2C (D3) |
| UW-Stout | Adding Flag Football | Yes – 2024-25 | N/A | Unnamed League (D2/D3) |
| Virginia | No Diving Program in 2025-26 | Yes – 2025-26 | ACC (D1) | N/A |
| WAC | Names New Commissioner | No – 2024-25 | N/A | N/A |
Clemson and Florida State Settle Lawsuits with ACC
The ACC will have some stability for the rest of the decade following Clemson and Florida State’s decision to settle the pending lawsuits with the conference. The settlement will see the revenue distribution model shift away from an equal sharing system. The new revenue distribution model will see 40% of the revenue equally split among 14 members (California, SMU, and Stanford are the 3 schools not included) with the other 60% distributed based on TV ratings.
The settlement also lessens some of the penalties for schools that attempt to leave the ACC prior to the end of the current deal in 2036. Schools will be able to leave anytime before 2036 with the current penalty amount at $165 million and a decrease of $18 million per year. The amount decreases until 2030-31 when the fee becomes $75 million but the school can keep its media rights. This should calm waters at the top of NCAA Division 1 through the end of the decade but there’s plenty of movement expected in the bottom half of D1.
Teams Leaving NCAA Division 1?
Realignment never truly stops and the biggest rumor isn’t even involving the WAC, at least as far as we know. Nope, the latest news is that several schools are seriously considering leaving NCAA Division 1 and dropping to a lower division, according to Matt Brown of Extra Points. If the schools go through with the move, it would take effect with the 2025-26 academic year starting on July 1. No specific schools were mentioned but one geographic alluded to was the Northeast. Of course, considering it and actually going through with it are two different things. The House settlement will have a noticeable impact for the smaller schools but the recent budget cuts across state and federal entities aren’t helping either. While current D1 schools aren’t expected to cut entire athletic departments, a higher frequency of financial issues and insolvency may hit smaller colleges across the Midwest and Northeast at the D3 and NAIA levels due to the various cuts.
NCAA Adjusts House Opt In Timeline and Changes Waiver Eligibility
With the House settlement hearing on the way, the NCAA has changed some of its timelines for members who are still deciding whether to opt in or not. Schools should have declared their intent to opt in by March 1 but can wait to formally opt in until June 15, 2025. The final approval hearing for the House vs. NCAA settlement is set for April 7, 2025. Even if the settlement is approved, the appeals will begin, to say nothing of all the unforeseen implications not accounted for.
The NCAA changed its waiver policy in December 2024 to address the eligibility of athletes who previously competed outside the NCAA and the NCAA recently sent a Q&A document for NCAA D1 athletes. Any D1 athlete that competed at a non-NCAA institution will be eligible to compete in the NCAA for the 2025-26 academic year. While the document is aimed at D1 athletes, the new rules also apply to any athletes who may currently be in NCAA D2 or D3 and transferring to a D1 school for the 2025-26 academic year – provided they qualify for an extra year. The one exception to the policy is that if the only year of eligibility was for the 2020-21 academic year, an athlete will not qualify as the NCAA already offered a blanket waiver for that season.
WAC Names Permanent Commissioner
The Western Athletic Conference has named interim commissioner Rebekah Ray as the full-time, permanent commissioner. Ray was named interim commissioner in October 2024 after Brian Thornton left to join the Big 12. Ray takes over the WAC at a tumultuous time when the conference’s fate is uncertain. Seattle is leaving to join the WCC in 2025 while Grand Canyon will join the Mountain West in 2026. Other departure announcements may be imminent with Cal Baptist and Utah Valley reportedly receiving the requisite number of votes to join the Big West Conference.
NCAA Division 1 Sports News
The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and ESPN have agreed to extend their media rights deal. The new deal will begin with the 2025-26 academic year although it was not disclosed how long it will run for. Under the new deal, the MAAC’s men’s basketball championship will be broadcast on either ESPN or ESPN2 on Tuesday of Championship Week. The MAAC’s women’s lacrosse championship game will be shown on ESPNU.
According to SwimSwam, the Virginia Cavaliers will not have a diving program for the 2025-26 academic year. The school will continue to compete in swimming while the ultimate fate of the diving program is not clear at this time.
NCAA Division 2 Sports News
There was no NCAA Division 2 sports news since February 28.
NCAA Division 3 Sports News
One NCAA D2 school and five D3 schools have partnered with the Minnesota Vikings to launch a women’s flag football league this spring. The league was not given a name. The six schools that will compete in this year’s season are Augustana University (Sioux Falls, South Dakota) from the D2’s NSIC, Bethel University (Arden Hills, Minnesota) from the D3’s MIAC, Concordia-Moorhead (Moorhead, Minnesota) from the MIAC, Gustavus Adolphus College (St. Peter, Minnesota) from the MIAC, University of Northwestern-St. Paul (Roseville, Minnesota) from the D3’s UMAC, and University of Wisconsin-Stout (Menomonie, Wisconsin) from the D3’s WIAC.
New Jersey City University (Jersey City) intends to enter a strategic merger with Kean University (Union, New Jersey). Under the proposal, the two schools would combine the two athletic programs into a single entity at Kean University. Kean would also add NJCU’s esports, men’s and women’s wrestling, and women’s cross country and expand to add pickleball and women’s flag football. Both universities compete in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC), which has 10 members and is adding SUNY New Paltz beginning with the 2025-26 academic year.
Regent University (Virginia Beach, Virginia) will officially begin its reclassification from the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) to NCAA Division 3 in the 2025-26 academic year after the NCAA approved the school’s application. Regent announced in November 2024 it would join the D3 Coast-To-Coast Conference in 2025-26 but needed approval from the NCAA to make it official. Regent will become a full member of NCAA Division 3 starting with the 2028-29 academic year.
NAIA Sports News
There was no NAIA sports news since February 28.
Nevada State Adds First Sports
Nevada State University (Henderson, Nevada) announced it will add its first sports teams beginning with the 2025-26 academic year. The Scorpions will begin competing in men’s track & field and women’s flag football in their respective spring 2026 seasons. Nevada State said the school will compete as an independent, meaning there is no affiliation with the NCAA or NAIA at this time. The school’s FAQ section said that more sports will be added in the following years. In November 2024, NSU announced it was looking at starting an athletics program, which would be funded with a $9-per-credit-hour fee.
Photo courtesy of Florida State