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 December 31, 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 and those starting in 2026-27 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.
| School(s)/Conference | News Item |
|---|---|
| NCAA Division 1 | New Transfer Windows for Select Sports |
| NCAA Division 1 | Additional Basketball Championship Units |
| NCAA Division 1 | Two New Championships, 1 New Sport |
| NCAA Division 2 | 5 Seasons Rule Pushed |
| NCAA Division 3 | Dues Pause Continuation? |
| Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference | Expanded Streaming Offerings |
| University of the Virgin Islands | Women’s Basketball Season Canceled |
| West Coast Conference | New Basketball Championships Format |
NCAA Division 1 News
2 New Championships, 1 New Emerging Sport
The NCAA Division 1 Cabinet voted to create two championships: one for women’s acrobatics and tumbling and another for women’s STUNT. Those two sports will need to be approved by D2 and D3 before becoming official. If both divisions approve, it is likely the two new championships will be held for the first time in the 2026-27 academic year. The D1 Cabinet also voted to add women’s flag football to the Emerging Sports for Women program, effective immediately.
New Basketball Financial Units
The two NCAA basketball tournaments will have additional financial units awarded to conferences for teams that make the Final Four. In both the men’s and women’s tournaments, teams that make the final four will receive one additional unit, while the national champion will receive two additional units (one for the final four, one for the title). The current allocation of units will not be changed and the policy will go into effect with the upcoming 2026 tournaments.
New Transfer Windows
The NCAA Division 1 Cabinet approved new transfer windows for men’s basketball, men’s hockey, men’s track & field, men’s wrestling, women’s basketball, and women’s track & field. For men’s and women’s basketball, the window will open the day after the championship game for 15 days. Men’s hockey will have a 15-day window open starting the Monday after the championship game. Men’s wrestling will have a 30-day window open each year on April 1. For men’s and women’s track & field, the Cabinet removed the window that opened after the indoor season concluded, while maintaining the windows after the outdoor championships and in the fall.
WCC Adjusts Basketball Championship Format
The West Coast Conference will have a new basketball championship format starting with the 2027 event. The new format will be more traditional, with the top six teams receiving a bye to the quarterfinals, while seeds 7 through 10 will play in the first round. Those pairings will be the 7 vs 10 and the 8 vs 9 seeds. The WCC has previously used a multiple-bye format that favored the top two seeds and took six rounds to complete. In 2025 and previous years, Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga had quadruple byes into the semifinals, requiring each team to win only one matchup to reach the WCC Championship Game. The format change coincides with Gonzaga’s departure from the conference, as the Bulldogs will join the Pac-12 Conference on July 1, 2026.
NCAA Division 2 News
Five Seasons of Eligibility Sent Back
The proposal for NCAA Division 2 to allow up to five seasons of eligibility is likely to be sent back to the Executive Board. The cited reason for sending it back was the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee’s concerns, but outstanding and possible litigation may also have played a significant part. The new measure will be voted upon again as early as 2028.
At the 2027 convention, a proposal will be made to eliminate the 60 total awards legislation in all men’s sports, except football and basketball. The D2 equivalency limits for each team would remain in place, while schools would have to remain Title IX compliant.
Finally, the D2 Management Council approved an allocation of $12 million in surplus funds, with $4.1 million directed to eligible schools and another $7 million to other future initiatives. Schools will receive roughly $15,000 from the distribution.
NSIC Partners With Midco Sports
The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) will partner with Midco Sports for an expanded digital streaming offering beginning with the 2026-27 academic year. The NSIC Network and Midco Sports will offer a monthly subscription package that includes all home regular season and non-conference games for 8 sports: men’s baseball, men’s basketball, men’s football, men’s wrestling, women’s basketball, women’s soccer, women’s softball, and women’s volleyball. The NSIC championships will continue to be streamed on the NSIC Network.
NCAA Division 3 News
Dues Paused
The NCAA Division 3 Management and Presidents Council requested a continuation of the pause on D3 membership dues, citing higher reserves, while also acknowledging the budget crunches faced by schools and conferences. The dues are $1,100 for schools and $550 for conferences. The dues have been paused for the last two years.
NAIA News
UVI Cancels Women’s Basketball Season
The University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) canceled the remainder of the women’s basketball season, citing low player availability. UVI competed in all games through November 15, but had to forfeit three games in December. The school’s record before the announcement was 2-7 overall. UVI hopes to return to the court in the 2026-27 academic year.
Photo courtesy of NCAA / NCAA Photos