College Realignment Report for July 31, 2026

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 July 15, 2026, and provide updates on previously discussed topics. As a reminder, all official moves starting with the 2026-27 academic year can be found here, and those starting in 2027-28 are 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 the corresponding section.

NCAA Division 1 News

Big Sky Expands Basketball Tournament

The Big Sky Conference will expand the men’s and women’s basketball conference tournaments to 11 teams for the 2026-27 academic year. The bracket will see the 10 and 11 seeds play in the first round, with the winner advancing to face the 9th seed. The Big Sky had 10 members last year, but Sacramento State departed for the Big West this year, while Southern Utah and Utah Tech joined from the WAC. The 2027 tournaments will take place at Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho, from Friday, March 5, through Wednesday, March 10.

Horizon League Shuffles Divisions for Men’s Tennis

The Horizon League will reshuffle its divisions for men’s tennis beginning with the 2026-27 academic year. The Horizon League announced that Oral Roberts would join as an affiliate member, giving the conference 9 teams. In the North Division, Cleveland State, IU Indy, Northern Illinois, and Youngstown State will compete. The South Division will be comprised of five teams: Belmont, Northern Kentucky, Oral Roberts, Southern Indiana, and Tennessee State.

MEAC, ESPN Announce Media Rights Deal

The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and ESPN have agreed to a five-year media rights deal through the 2030-31 academic year. The deal will include the broadcast of nearly two dozen regular season football games, with some to be shown on linear networks. Both the men’s and women’s basketball championship games will be shown on the linear ESPN networks, as will some men’s regular season games.

NCAA Division 2 News

Conference Carolinas Commissioner Talks Football Membership

Conference Carolinas Commissioner Chris Colvin talked about the football membership during the 2026 Football Media Day. Colvin noted that the conference is always looking and would like to have at least 8 football members and would prefer 9 for long-term sustainability. Currently, Conference Carolinas has 7 members: Barton, Chowan, Erskine, Ferrum, North Greenville, Shorter, and UNC Pembroke. The most likely additions would be from the Gulf South Conference, which has only three football-playing members left: Delta State, Valdosta State, and West Alabama.

D2 New Eligibility Proposal

The NCAA Division 2 Management Council recommends emergency legislation for a new eligibility model that will allow athletes to compete up to 5 seasons. The model is similar to the D1 model, in which the clock begins when an athlete enrolls full-time at the school or the academic year that starts immediately after their 19th birthday, whichever occurs first. The model would go into effect with the 2026-27 academic year.

D2 Championship Proposals

The NCAA Division 2 Championship Committee is proposing to add a men’s volleyball championship beginning with the 2028-29 academic year. The Committee will sponsor legislation at the 2027 NCAA Convention for approval. 44 D2 men’s volleyball programs are expected to compete in the 2026-27 academic year.

The Championship Committee also recommends increasing the women’s bowling championship from 8 to 10 teams, beginning with the 2027-28 academic year. The Committee also recommends that the dates of the men’s and women’s golf championships be adjusted to allow more time for programs. These would go into effect for the 2028-29 championships. Finally, there’s a proposal to require a minimum number of in-region, nonconference opponents for all sports, except women’s rowing. Men’s football would require 1 nonconference opponent, but it would not have to be against an in-region opponent.

Finally, the Championships Committee noted that the Northeast-10 Conference would be in the first year of a three-year grace period for men’s tennis. The Peach Belt Conference will be in the second year of a three-year grace period for men’s lacrosse. If both conferences are below the minimum required after the three-year grace period, neither will receive an automatic qualification bid to the NCAA D2 Championship.

D2 New Conference Legislation, Oklahoma Conference on the Horizon?

The NCAA Division 2 Membership Committee adopted new legislation that changes the bylaws for active and provisional conference membership. The new bylaws allow conferences to apply for membership with at least 10 institutions, even if all 10 are not current or are reclassifying members. This allows D1, D3, NAIA, NJCAA, and USCAA schools to be considered as one of the 10 minimum institutions required, but would also require the conference to wait until at least 10 members are active or provisional in NCAA D2. The new bylaws are in effect immediately for potential conferences planning to apply for the 2027-28 academic year. A screenshot from the NCAA’s new bylaws is provided below.

Earlier this year, the D2 Membership Committee provided initial requirements. At the time, the Committee said the waiting period for any new conference would remain at five years, meaning eligibility for automatic qualification bids to the NCAA Championships wouldn’t occur until 2032-33. However, the latest language has softened to allow the conference to be eligible as soon as it has at least 10 active and/or provisional NCAA D2 members.

In December 2024, Oklahoma HB1017 was proposed to establish an NCAA D2 conference comprised primarily of in-state schools. Currently, there are 11 NCAA D2 schools located in Oklahoma across three different conferences: Cameron (Lone Star), Central Oklahoma (MIAA), East Central (GAC), Northeastern State (MIAAA), Northwestern Oklahoma State (GAC), Oklahoma Baptist (GAC), Oklahoma Christian (Lone Star), Rogers State (MIAA), Southeastern Oklahoma State (GAC), Southern Nazarene (GAC), and Southwestern Oklahoma State (GAC). OK HB1017 became law on May 7, 2025.

Considering the new bylaws allow for non-D2 members, the NAIA currently has 7 members based in Oklahoma: Langston (Sooner), Mid-America Christian (Sooner), Oklahoma City (Sooner), Oklahoma Panhandle State (Sooner), Oklahoma Wesleyan (KCAC), University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (Sooner), and Southwestern Christian (Sooner). Of course, there’s no guarantee these schools will receive an invitation to join a new conference. There have been Oklahoma-based conferences before. The Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference (OIC) existed from 1914 through 1928, the Oklahoma Collegiate Conference (OCC) took over from 1929 through 1974, and the OIC came back from 1974 through 1997.

Sonoma State Bringing Back Athletics

Sonoma State University (Rohnert Park, California) will bring back its athletic teams beginning with the 2027-28 academic year. Sonoma State will return to the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). The school will compete in men’s basketball, men’s cross country, men’s golf, men’s soccer, women’s basketball, women’s cross country, women’s golf, women’s soccer, women’s softball, and women’s volleyball. SSU originally announced the end of athletics in January 2025, but the door remained open even at the end of the 2024-25 academic year.

Earlier in 2026, the school hired a consulting firm, Mammoth Sports Consulting (MMS), to evaluate the return of athletics. MMS recommended that 13 sports return: nine of the ten listed above, plus men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field. Softball was not included on the list of MMS recommendations. At the end of June 2026, Sonoma State delayed its announcement on whether it would bring back athletics. The school may add sports and bring others back, such as baseball.

Valdosta State Explores Conference Options

Valdosta State University (Valdosta, Georgia) is considering its realignment options, with the plan to have a decision by the end of the decade. Valdosta State currently competes in the Gulf South Conference, but the GSC is down to three football members (Delta State, Valdosta State, and West Alabama). AD Troy Katen also noted that the travel in the Gulf South is not ideal, with the shortest round-trip being 8 hours. VSU will consider all options, including moving up to D1, joining another D2 conference, going independent in football, and/or joining another D2 conference as a football-only affiliate.

NCAA Division 3 News

Valley Forge Suspending Operations

The University of Valley Forge (Phoenixville, Pennsylvania) will suspend operations at the end of the 2026 summer term due to financial issues. The move effectively discontinues its athletic program for the 2026-27 academic year. Valley Forge becomes at least the 31st athletic program to be impacted by an acquisition, closure, merger, or voluntary decision. Valley Forge was a member of the United East Conference, which has dropped to 13 full members and has seen plenty of membership changes in recent years. Since 2020, ten schools have left the United East for different reasons.

In 2020, four schools left: Cazenovia, Keuka, SUNY Cobleskill, and SUNY Poly. Cazenovia eventually closed in 2023. After a brief respite, the departures started again in 2023 with SUNY Morrisville and Wells, with the latter closing in 2024. Clarks Summit competed in the UEC before closing in 2024. Bryn Athyn left in 2025 after discontinuing athletics, while Saint Elizabeth joined the Atlantic East. For the 2026-27 academic year, Valley Forge is joined by Rosemont as departures. Rosemont merged with Villanova and moved to a club sports model. To echo the sentiment from the May 3, 2025, Realignment Report, the United East Conference has to be a bit concerned with the departures and closures. At some point, it might make sense to bring in the four remaining Atlantic East Conference members (Centenary (NJ), Gwynedd Mercy, Immaculata, and Marymount).

American Southwest Looking to Expand

The American Southwest Conference is looking to add additional members, according to commissioner Leslie Schuemann. She said the “sweet spot” in terms of ideal membership is 10 to 12 schools, but will focus on similar institutions and footprint for new schools. The footprint will be the top priority to keep costs low for the schools and minimize missed class time for student-athletes.

NAIA News

Appalachian Names Interim Commissioner

The Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) named Jay Stancil as the interim commissioner beginning on Monday, August 3. Stancil will fill in following Bill Popp‘s resignation to take over as the NCAA Division 2 Gulf South Conference commissioner. Stancil has been with the AAC for 16 years and was named the Assistant Commissioner for Championships and Information in July 2020.

HAAC Extends Commissioner

The Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) announced a three-year extension for commissioner Nik Rule. Rule took over the top spot in February 2024, replacing Lori Thomas. In his tenure, the HAAC has added three members: Missouri Baptist and William Woods in 2025 and St. Ambrose in 2026, while no full members have departed.

NAIA Talks About Recruitment Process

The NAIA’s Vice President of Membership, Recruitment, and Retention, Nick Davidson, spoke about the association’s process for helping new members find conferences. Among the various topics, Davidson noted there is interest from schools in the Northeast and Upper Midwest to create a conference in those areas. One sticking point is the travel, as there are fewer NAIA institutions in those areas. Earlier this year, NAIA President Jim Carr mentioned those same areas for potential new conferences. Davidson thinks that some of the ongoing higher education issues will lead to increased NAIA membership. He noted that there have already been more conversations with potential schools about the NAIA’s model and its stability.

Photo courtesy of Sonoma State Athletics