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 15, 2025, and provide updates on previously discussed topics. As a reminder, all official moves starting with the 2025-26 academic year 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 since the most recent post.
NCAA Division 1 News
Creighton University (Omaha, Nebraska) is adding a coed cheerleading program beginning with the 2025-26 academic year. The team will perform at various campus functions and, of course, at athletic events. It is not known if the team will participate in national competitions and meets.
UTEP will discontinue women’s tennis effective immediately and will not bring the sport back in 2025-26. The Miners competed in Conference USA, which will have 11 programs next year with Delaware and Missouri State joining as full members. A total of 19 tennis programs (11 women’s and 8 men’s) will be discontinued next academic year.
NCAA Division 2 News
Limestone Dropping Athletics
Limestone University (Gaffney, South Carolina) announced that it is planning to close its campus and move to an online-only format. The school said it needed $6 million in funding by Tuesday, April 22. The school did not rule out the possibility of ending operations and closing altogether. As part of the change, the athletics department will cease to exist (paywall), resulting in 23 varsity sports being discontinued. Limestone is a member of the NCAA Division 2 South Atlantic Conference, which will have 12 full members in 2025-26. Limestone’s departure doesn’t put the SAC or Conference Carolinas (associate membership in Acrobatics & Tumbling and men’s wrestling) near the minimum of 6 in any Limestone sponsored sport.
We can add Limestone to the dubious list of NCAA and NAIA schools that are closing and/or dropping athletics over the next two academic years. The list is up to 10 and doesn’t factor in schools that are opting to drop to NCAA Division 3, such as Azusa Pacific (from NCAA D2 Pac West) and Saint Francis (from NCAA D1 NEC).
| School | Affiliation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Academy of Art | NCAA D2 – Pacific West | Dropping Athletics |
| Bryn Athyn | NCAA D3 – United East | Dropping Athletics |
| Cal Maritime | NAIA – Cal Pac | Merging with Cal Poly? |
| Concordia Ann Arbor | NAIA – WHAC | Dropping Athletics |
| Fontbonne | NCAA D3 – SLIAC | Closing |
| Limestone | NCAA D2 – South Atlantic | Dropping Athletics (Closing?) |
| Multnomah | NAIA – CCC | Dropping Athletics |
| Northland College | NCAA D3 – UMAC | Closing |
| Rosemont College | NCAA D3 – United East | Merging with Villanova |
| Sonoma State | NCAA D2 – CCAA | Dropping Athletics |
Central Washington Discontinues Rugby
Central Washington University (Ellensburg, Washington) will discontinue its men’s and women’s rugby teams after the 2024-25 academic year. Both teams competed in the College Rugby Association of America. The school estimates an annual savings of $900,000 beginning with the 2026-27 academic year by discontinuing the sport. CWU has an entire FAQ page dedicated to the cuts and the first question underscores many of the challenges athletics departments face. “Why is this being done?”
This was a very difficult decision and one that was not taken lightly. The structural deficit facing the university caused by lower enrollment, a reduction in state funding, and increased expenses, has led the university as a whole to restructure. In order to develop a more fiscally sustainable athletics department, a reduction in sport offerings was necessary.
Central Washington is not the first NCAA Division 2 school to discontinue a rugby program this academic year. Newberry College (Newberry, South Carolina) will discontinue women’s rugby at the end of the 2024-25 academic year. Two schools announced the addition of rugby: NCAA Division 1 La Salle will offer a women’s program starting in 2025-26 and NCAA D2 Wingate will start a men’s program in 2025-26.
Eckerd College Adding Cross Country
Eckerd College (St. Petersburg, Florida) will add men’s and women’s cross country beginning with the 2025-26 academic year. Eckerd previously sponsored the men’s team from 1967 through 2001 and the women’s team from 1984 through 2004. Both teams will compete in the Sunshine State Conference, which will boast 10 men’s programs and 8 women’s programs.
San Francisco State Warns of Dropping Athletics
San Francisco State University said that the school’s athletics program could be dropped due to a lack of financial support. The school is proposing to increase its athletic fees from $68 per semester to $100 for the 2025-26 academic year. The fee would increase to $125 in 2026-27, then $150 in 2027-28, and finally to $175 in 2028-29. The school would then impose a 5% increase over time to help sustain the athletic department into the following decade. SFSU said athletics would be dropped at the end of the 2025-26 academic year if the fee increase is rejected.
SFSU previously announced it will cut three sports in 2025-26: men’s baseball, men’s soccer, and women’s indoor track & field. The school estimated it would save $1 million annually. SFSU competes in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), which is already set to see Sonoma State drop athletics in 2025-26. The CCAA has 11 members set to compete in 2025-26. Another California school, Academy of Art (Pac West) in San Francisco, announced earlier this month that it will drop athletics.
Sunshine State Conference Hires RMAC’s Chris Graham
The Sunshine State Conference (SSC) has hired Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) commissioner Chris Graham to the same post at the SSC. Graham had been commissioner of the RMAC since 2013, which was relatively stable under Graham. South Dakota Mines and Westminster (Utah) joined the RMAC as full members while Utah Tech (NCAA Division 1 WAC) and Western New Mexico (Lone Star) departed. Graham’s tenure with the RMAC saw the sponsorship of men’s lacrosse, women’s lacrosse, and women’s wrestling. Graham will replace former commissioner Ed Pasque, who left for the Atlantic 10 in July 2024. Pasque saw the additions of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical (Daytona Beach) and Palm Beach Atlantic University without losing any full members during his tenure.
NCAA Division 3 News
CUNYAC Changes on the Way
There are big happenings on the horizon for the CUNYAC (City University of New York Athletic Conference), and they will be happening in stages. First, New Jersey City University (Jersey City, New Jersey) will join the CUNYAC as an affiliate for men’s volleyball beginning with the 2025-26 academic year. The team is currently competing as an affiliate in the Skyline Conference.
NJCU will leave the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) following the 2025-26 academic year and join the CUNYAC as an affiliate in most sports beginning with the 2026-27 academic year. This is a bit unorthodox to be a member of a conference in nearly every sport and be classified as an affiliate but this is no ordinary movement.
In 2027-28, the current members of the CUNYAC and NJCU will form a new NCAA Division 3 athletic conference. The parties have not provided additional information, such as the name of the new conference, but did say they expect additional schools to join the new conference in 2027-28. The CUNYAC currently consists of Baruch College, Brooklyn College, City College of New York, Hunter College, John Jay College, Lehman College, Medgar Evers College, and York College (NY). NJCU will be the first full member added outside the five boroughs footprint in conference history.
The CUNYAC sponsors all NJCU’s sports except for the men’s and women’s wrestling teams, which currently compete as independents. Hunter College is the only CUNYAC member that sponsors wrestling (men’s only). Once NJCU leaves, the NJAC will have only three men’s volleyball teams. Women’s tennis will remain at five teams as NJCU doesn’t sponsor tennis. One final note for the NJAC is that it will sponsor men’s lacrosse beginning with the 2026-27 academic year, with only four members, but NJCU doesn’t sponsor lacrosse. Two years is an eternity in realignment, so those numbers may change, not to mention the other schools that eventually join the new conference.
NJCU is in the North Division of the New Jersey Athletic Conference. The NJAC will add SUNY New Paltz from the SUNYAC beginning in 2026-27, just as NJCU is leaving, which can allow the conference to maintain the North and South Divisions of five members each. New Paltz will be the northernmost member, essentially making it a swap for New Jersey City.
| NJCU Sport | CUNYAC Sponsors? | CUNYAC Sports |
|---|---|---|
| Baseball (M) | Yes | Baseball (M) |
| Basketball (M & W) | Yes | Basketball (M & W) |
| Cross Country (W) | Yes | Cross Country (M & W) |
| Soccer (M & W) | Yes | Soccer (M & W) |
| Softball (W) | Yes | Softball (W) |
| Track & Field (M & W) | Yes | Swimming & Diving (M & W) |
| Volleyball (M & W) | Yes | Tennis (M & W) |
| Wrestling (M & W) | No | Track & Field (M & W) |
| Volleyball (M & W) | ||
| Cheerleading |
One other aspect to note about NJCU is the proposed merger with Kean University (Union, New Jersey). The merger would see the two programs combined into one entity but this news is the opposite: NJCU is signaling it wants nothing to do with a single athletics department. Yet another aspect of this move to keep an eye on, along with the new conference name and other new members.
NESCAC to Participate in D3 Football Playoffs
Some of the last remaining holdouts of playoff participation in college football at a conference level have finally relented. The New England Small College Athletic Conference, or NESCAC, will participate in the NCAA Division 3 Football playoffs beginning with the 2026 season. The NESCAC will keep its 9-game schedule. In late 2024, the Ivy League announced it would begin participating in the FCS Playoffs starting in 2025, ending its eight-decade-long postseason abstention policy.
Neumann University Joining Middle Atlantic Conferences
The Middle Atlantic Conferences (MAC) will continue to expand with Neumann University (Aston, Pennsylvania) joining beginning with the 2026-27 academic year. Neumann will continue to be a member of the Atlantic East Conference (AEC) through the 2025-26 academic year. The MAC will be at 17 members with Neumann’s inclusion, split among two divisions: the Commonwealth and Freedom. The press release did not say which division Neumann will be joining.
Neumann already competes in the MAC as an affiliate in men’s and women’s hockey. All its other sports, except for women’s flag football, are sponsored by the MAC. There is a possibility that the flag football team continues to compete in the Atlantic East but that has not been confirmed.
The larger concern with this move is that the AEC will be down to six full members. The conference started in 2018 with 7 members, saw two schools be acquired and shut down athletics, and added two members in response. Wesley College was acquired by Delaware State and Wesley’s athletic program was shuttered in 2021. Cabrini University was acquired by Villanova and athletics were discontinued in 2024. The AEC has been responsive to membership losses by replacing the departing members with a new school by adding Centenary (NJ) in 2021 and Pratt in 2024. Normally, I’d give a breakdown of the sports close to the minimum threshold but with only six full members, the entire conference is at that point.
Averett University Suspends Women’s Lacrosse
Another sport can be added to the discontinued list after Averett University (Danville, Virginia) suspended its women’s lacrosse program. The move will be effective with the 2025-26 academic year. The school was open about the reasoning: only 17 players on the 2025 roster, seven players are seniors or graduating early, and the lack of interest in the head coaching vacancy with an interim coach since July 2024. The school would not commit to bringing the sport back. Averett’s lacrosse program competes in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC).
Heidelberg Adds 3 Club Sports
Heidelberg University (Tiffin, Ohio) will add three club sports beginning with the 2025-26 academic year: pickleball, walleye fishing, and women’s flag football. This is the first instance of fishing to show up as an added sport for 2025-26 based on my data set and the fourth for pickleball (Truett McConnell added two teams and Spring Arbor added one). As for women’s flag football, frequent readers know the forthcoming information: flag football is the fastest-growing sport in the NCAA and NAIA. Heidelberg will consider elevating flag football to varsity level beginning with the 2026-27 academic year, depending on athlete interest.
SLIAC Names Next Commissioner
The St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) named Chassidy Holloway as its next commissioner. Holloway was previously with the Midwest Conference in a variety of positions, including Associate Executive Director, Director of Sport Administration and External Operations, and Assistant Executive Director. She will replace Dick Kaiser, who is retiring at the end of the 2024-25 academic year. Kaiser was hired beginning with the 2018-19 academic year and saw the additions of full members Lyon College and Mississippi University for Women. Fontbonne University will be closing at the end of the 2024-25 academic year, leaving the SLIAC with 9 full members starting in 2025-26.
NAIA News
Loyola University New Orleans athletic director Brett Simpson said the school may add sports. Simpson did not provide a timeline or specify which sports, but did say the school is focused on improving its outdoor facilities. Loyola already sponsors outdoor sports such as baseball, cross country (M & W), golf (M & W), tennis (M & W), and track & field (M & W). Some outdoor possibilities include lacrosse, soccer, and softball.
Union Commonwealth University (Barbourville, Kentucky) will end its men’s and women’s swimming programs beginning with the 2025-26 academic year. The teams competed in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC). The AAC will be down to three men’s teams and four women’s teams, according to the conference’s website. Columbia (SC), Milligan (TN), and Pikeville (KY) will compete in both men’s and women’s swimming programs while Brenau (GA) will compete only in women’s swimming.