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 May 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.
| School(s)/Conference | News Item |
|---|---|
| ASUN | Partnering with UAC to form Unisun Sports |
| College of Western Idaho | Starting Athletics Program |
| MAAC | Rebranding to the Metro Conference |
| Oakland City University | Cutting undergrad programs and athletics for 2026-27 |
| South Atlantic Conference | Named New Commissioner |
| Unisun Sports | Created from ASUN and UAC Partnership |
| United Athletic Conference | Partnering with ASUN to form Unisun Sports |
| Vermont State-Castleton | Joining MASCAC as Full Member |
| Women’s Flag Football | Received Recommendation for Championship Sport Status |
NCAA Division 1 News
ASUN and UAC Create Unisun Sport
The Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) and United Athletic Conference (UAC) have created Unisun Sports, which is a joint venture between the conferences to share resources. In June 2025, the ASUN and UAC made an agreement, which will see the football-playing members of the ASUN join the UAC as full members. The UAC is essentially absoring what’s left of the WAC and becoming a multi-sport conference. The conferences were clear that there would be a partnership between the two, which would include combined media rights and scheduling agreements.
The ASUN will have 8 members for the 2026-27 academic year: Bellarmine, Florida Gulf Coast, Jacksonville, Lipscomb, North Florida, Queens, Stetson, and West Florida. Only West Florida sponsors football, which will play in the UAC as an affiliate member.
The UAC will have 7 full members, plus West Florida as a football-only affiliate: Abilene Christian, Austin Peay, Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, North Alabama, Tarleton State, and West Georgia.
MAAC Rebrands to Metro Conference
The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) will rebrand to the Metro Conference beginning with the 2026-27 academic year. The idea of rebranding was noted in November 2025. The conference wanted to move away from the MAAC to avoid confusion with the other D1 MAC (Mid-American Conference). The lesser-known D3 MAC (Middle Atlantic Conference) also uses the same acronym. The Metro Conference existed from 1975 through 1995, with members located in urban metropolitan areas in the Midwest and South. The old Metro merged with the Great Midwest Conference to form Conference USA in 1995. This Metro Conference will not have any schools that played in the original conference and will have members located in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York.
Women’s Flag Football Recommended as Championship Sport
The NCAA has recommended that all three divisions sponsor legislation to make women’s flag football a championship sport. The legislation would be voted on at the January 2027 NCAA convention, with the first flag football championship projected to occur in spring 2028. All three divisions voted to add women’s flag football to the Emerging Sports for Women program in January.
NCAA Division 2 News
South Atlantic Names New Commissioner
The South Atlantic Conference named Lindsey Babcock as the conference’s next commissioner. Babcock most recently served as Deputy Athletic Director at Wake Forest University. She will take over from Patrick Britz, who is retiring on May 31. Britz was named to the SAC chair in 2008 and oversaw only a handful of realignment changes during his tenure. Four schools joined the SAC: Anderson University (SC) in 2010, Coker University in 2013, Virginia at Wise in 2019, and Emory & Henry in 2022. Three schools departed, but none moved to another D2 conference. Brevard departed in 2017 to move to Division 3, Queens University of Charlotte left in 2022 to join NCAA Division 1, and Limestone closed in 2025. As of this posting, the SAC has 12 full members across North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
NCAA Division 3 News
Vermont State Castleton Joining MASCAC
Vermont State University Castleton (Castleton, Vermont) will leave the Little East Conference to join the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) beginning with the 2027-28 academic year. VTSU Castleton has 26 varsity sports, with 20 of them competing in the MASCAC. Men’s and women’s alpine skiing, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s wrestling, and women’s rugby are the six that won’t compete in the MASCAC. The Little East will drop to 8 full members in 2027-28, while the MASCAC will return to 9 full members, assuming no additional changes. Castleton will effectively replace Anna Maria College, which closed at the end of the 2025-26 academic year.
NAIA News
Oakland City’s Uncertain Future
Oakland City University (Oakland City, Indiana) will suspend its undergraduate programs for the 2026-27 academic year due to financial constraints. The school notified employees of layoffs that will be effective on May 31. The move will effectively discontinue all sports at OCU for the 2026-27 academic year. The school believes it will be able to reopen in fall 2027 for undergraduate students, citing a carbon capture patent it plans to sell. Oakland City is a full member of the River States Conference, which will have 10 full members for the 2026-27 academic year.
| School | Affiliation | Conference | Status | Effective Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy of Art | NCAA Division 2 | Pacific West | Dropped Athletics | 2025-26 |
| Anna Maria | NCAA Division 3 | MASCAC | Closing | 2026-27 |
| Bryn Athyn | NCAA Division 3 | United East | Dropped Athletics | 2025-26 |
| Cal Maritime | NAIA | Cal Pac | Merging with Cal Poly, Dropping Athletics | 2026-27 |
| College of Alameda (CA) | 3C2A | Bay Valley | Dropping Athletics | 2026-27 |
| Concordia Ann Arbor | NAIA | WHAC | Dropped Athletics | 2025-26 |
| Fontbonne | NCAA Division 3 | SLIAC | Closed | 2025-26 |
| Hampshire College (MA) | USCAA | Independent | Closing | 2026-27 |
| Limestone | NCAA Division 2 | South Atlantic | Closed | 2025-26 |
| Lourdes | NAIA | WHAC | Closing | 2026-27 |
| Multnomah | NAIA | Cascade | Merged with Jessup, Dropped Athletics | 2025-26 |
| New Jersey City | NCAA Division 3 | NJAC | Merged with Kean, Dropping Athletics | 2026-27 |
| Northland College | NCAA Division 3 | UMAC | Closed | 2025-26 |
| Oakland City (IN) | NAIA | River States | Dropping Athletics | 2026-27 |
| Providence Christian | NAIA | Cal Pac | Dropped Athletics, Now closing | 2025-26 |
| Rosemont College | NCAA Division 3 | United East | Merging with Villanova, Dropping Athletics | 2026-27 |
| Siena Heights | NAIA | WHAC | Closing | 2026-27 |
| Sonoma State | NCAA Division 2 | California Collegiate | Dropped Athletics* (May Return in 2027-28) | 2025-26 |
| Southwest Virginia CC | NJCAA | Region 10 | Dropping Athletics | 2026-27 |
| St. Andrews | NAIA | Appalachian | Closed | 2025-26 |
| Trinity Christian (IL) | NAIA | Chicagoland | Closing | 2026-27 |
| UHSP | NAIA | American Midwest | Acquired by WashU, Dropping Athletics | 2027-28 |
Non-NAIA and NCAA News
The College of Western Idaho (Nampa, Idaho) will start an athletics program and recently named Mahmood Sheikh as the school’s first athletic director. The college did not provide a timeline for the first season of competition, nor an initial list of sports, but it will offer intramural and intercollegiate sports. CWI is a community college located near Boise, Idaho, and will be nicknamed the Otters.
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