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 August 31, 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 |
|---|---|
| Atlantic Hockey American | Extends Commissioner |
| Baker College (MI) | Adding Athletics |
| Cascade Collegiate Conference | Streaming Partnership with Hudl |
| CIAA | Media Rights Deal with Urban Edge Network |
| FCS | New Football Calendar Rules |
| Menlo College | Now an Active NCAA D2 Member |
| NCAA Division 1 | Athlete Revenue-Share Cap Increasing |
| NCAA Division 3 | Sports Sponsorship Waivers Denied |
| Ohio Valley Conference | Eyeing Additional Members |
| Simpson University (CA) | Joining Cascade Collegiate Conference |
| Sun Conference | Partnership with NECC |
NCAA Division 1 News
AHA Extends Commissioner
Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) has extended commissioner Michelle Morgan for four years through the 2029-2030 academic year. Morgan was announced as the commissioner of the Atlantic Hockey Association in February 2023 and took over the role in mid-April. In April 2024, the Atlantic Hockey Association and College Hockey America merged into Atlantic Hockey America beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. The original AHA sponsored men’s teams, and the CHA sponsored women’s teams, with Morgan serving as the commissioner for both conferences. Since combining into the new AHA in 2024-25, only two teams have departed. American International‘s men’s team departed for the Northeast-10 in 2025, while Mercyhurst dropped men’s hockey in 2026.
FCS Calendar Changes
The Division 1 Football Championship Subdivision Oversight Committee adopted changes to the FCS calendar. The changes are nearly identical to the ones adopted by the FBS Oversight Committee in August. The Committee also approved a new out-of-season activities calendar starting January 1 and going through the preseason. The new rules allow FCS teams to have two out-of-season practice periods with a total of 21 on-field practices. The two periods cannot exceed seven weeks, and neither period on its own can exceed five weeks.
Teams will also have at least 9 volunteer weeks when athletes are not required to have athletic activities. The preseason will also be modified to have 21 practices over 27 calendar days leading to the first contest. This is a decrease from 25 practices under the old rules. Finally, the transfer portal will be reduced from 15 to 10 days and open on the first business day after January 1. The one change is that FCS programs can schedule a joint practice with another four-year school during spring practices. The Division I Cabinet will vote on these rule changes at its meeting on October 6 and 7, with the changes going into effect on January 1, 2027.
OVC Eyes Additional Members
Ohio Valley Conference commissioner Matt Wilson recently spoke about how the OVC is approaching the realignment landscape. Wilson said the OVC is looking to stabilize the membership between 10 and 12 schools. The OVC currently has 9 schools, with Little Rock and Tennessee Tech both departing at the start of the 2026-27 academic year. Wilson said he expects there to be some membership movement in the next few years, but didn’t give any specific realignment targets. He also noted that there will be a focus on restoring regional travel to keep costs down and finding new revenue streams for members.
Revenue Cap Increasing for 2026-27
The NCAA athlete revenue-share cap will increase from $20.5 million to $21.58 million for the 2026-27 academic year. The cap was originally set to be $21.4 million, but there is an additional one-time increase of $131K for the 2026-27 academic year. There is an automatic 4% increase each year built into the revenue-share cap.
NCAA Division 2 News
CIAA Signs Media Rights Deal with Urban Edge Network
The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) has agreed to a one-year media rights deal with the Urban Edge Network. The agreement has the option for a three-year extension. UEN will air four regular season football games, three regular season men’s and women’s basketball games, and select CIAA championship events.
Menlo Becomes Full D2 Member
Menlo College (Atherton, California) became a full and active NCAA Division 2 member on Friday, September 11, after the D2 Management Council Subcommittee voted to approve its waiver. The waiver was originally denied by the D2 Membership Committee, but an appeal by Menlo overturned that decision. As a full member of D2, Menlo can participate in the NCAA championships beginning with the 2026-27 academic year.
NCAA Division 3 News
Three Schools Denied Sports Sponsorship Waivers
The NCAA Division 3 Membership Committee denied minimum sports-sponsorship requirements waivers to three schools for the 2025-26 academic year: Mary Baldwin University, Medgar Evers College, and York College (NY). The Committee denied all three waivers on the grounds that insufficient mitigation was not provided by the schools.
NAIA News
Baker College Adding Athletics
Baker College (Owosso, Michigan) will start an athletics program and will look to join the NAIA’s Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC). Baker will start with six programs: men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, and men’s and women’s soccer. Baker is hoping to start competing in the 2027-28 academic year. Baker is the second school to announce plans to start athletics and compete in the WHAC. The University of Michigan-Flint plans to have seven varsity sports when it joins the WHAC beginning with the 2028-29 academic year. The WHAC has seen three schools leave in recent years, with Concordia Ann Arbor dropping athletics, while Lourdes and Siena Heights have closed. The additions of Baker and UM-Flint would give the WHAC 12 full members.
Simpson to Join Cascade Collegiate Conference
Simpson University (Redding, California) will leave the California Pacific Conference (Cal Pac) and join the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) as a full member beginning with the 2027-28 academic year. Simpson already competes in the CCC as an affiliate member for men’s wrestling, women’s beach volleyball, women’s football, and women’s wrestling. The CCC doesn’t sponsor men’s football, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, or women’s flag football. Simpson competes in the Frontier Conference for football, the Great Southwest Athletic Conference (GSAC) and Pacific Collegiate Swim and Dive Conference (PCSC) for swimming & diving, and the GSAC for women’s flag football.
Simpson will become the 12th member of the CCC and the first from California. The other members are located in the Pacific Northwest region of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Simpson’s departure puts the Cal Pac in an even tougher spot, with only four remaining members: Northern New Mexico, Pacific Union, Stanton, and Westcliff. The long-term future of the Cal Pac remains in doubt, barring new membership announcements in the coming months.
Cascade, Hudl Announce Streaming Partnership
The Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) and Hudl have announced a streaming partnership for the 2026-27 academic year and are creating the Cascade Sports Network. The majority of contests involving CCC members will be streamed on Hudl, with conference championships set to be shown on the Cascade Sports Network.
Sun Conference, NECC Announce Partnership
The Sun Conference and the National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC) have announced a partnership for the 2026-27 academic year. The NECC will oversee the Sun’s esports championship for the 2026-27 academic year, as with the NCAA D2 GLIAC esports championship. The press release noted that the Sun Conference is one of seven collegiate conferences to partner with the NECC and the first NAIA conference.
Photo Courtesy of Simpson University