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 September 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
American Not Seeking Additional Members
The American Conference is not “proactively seeking additional members” after a report from On3 stated that James Madison, Miami (OH), and UConn are trying to join the conference. Miami reportedly offered $30-$40 million to join the American as a full member. James Madison is also seeking full membership, while UConn wants a football-only membership, with the remaining sports staying in the Big East. The attempted moves are unsurprising and reveal how the MAC may be looking at additional changes. Another report noted that at least 3 unnamed MAC schools are exploring a transition to FCS in the future.
Louisiana Regent Suggests 3 FBS Schools Drop to FCS
Wilbert Pryor, a member of the Louisiana Board of Regents, suggested that Louisiana, Louisiana Tech, and UL Monroe should drop to the FCS. The three schools are members of the FBS and the Sun Belt Conference. Pryor believes the schools dropping to the FCS will help shore up the deficits being run within the system. Louisiana has a $20 million deficit, LA Tech has a $17 million deficit, and Monroe has a $10 million deficit. Rick Gallot, President of the University of Louisiana System, said that “…there will be some really hard decisions our board will be called upon to make.” Gallot stated Deloitte will work with the system and present a report by the end of 2026. How the Louisiana System determines the deficit reductions will occur in 2027, but no definitive decisions on the three schools will be made until after the report is completed.
NCAA Division 2 News
Georgia Gwinnett to Explore 2 Membership
Georgia Gwinnett College (Lawrenceville, Georgia) has received approval from the University System of Georgia (USG) to apply for NCAA Division 2 membership. The school didn’t provide a timeline or potential D2 conferences. GGC has competed in the NAIA since the 2012-13 academic year and has added sports over the past few years to bolster the school’s position. GGC currently sponsors 10 sports and competes in the NAIA’s Continental Athletic Conference (CAC). The news should be of little surprise, considering the school’s president, Dr. Jann L. Joseph, has been open about moving to the NCAA since at least 2023.
Georgia Gwinnett currently offers baseball (M), basketball (M&W), cross country (M&W), soccer (M&W), softball (W), tennis (M&W), and volleyball (W). The obvious destination for GGC is the Peach Belt Conference, considering the geographic footprint and lack of football for both sides. Other possibilities include Conference Carolinas, Gulf South Conference, and South Atlantic Conference.
Minnesota State Likely to See Some Campuses Close
The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system will likely see some campuses close in the future due to financial issues. The system is comprised of 33 schools and 55 campuses. 26 of the schools and 48 of the campuses are two-year community and technical colleges. Six of the seven remaining schools compete in the NCAA D2’s Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC): Bemidji State, Minnesota State Mankato, Minnesota State Moorhead, Southwest Minnesota State, St. Cloud State, and Winona State. No specific schools were mentioned as likely closures, but mergers and consolidations are also being considered. The University of Minnesota recently announced $225 million in cuts over the next two years across its five campuses in Crookston, Duluth, Morris, Rochester, and Twin Cities (the flagship university). Minnesota is the latest state to face increasing financial pressure as the enrollment cliff begins.
Monroe Football Joining NE-10
Monroe University (New Rochelle, New York) will join the Northeast 10 Conference as an affiliate member in football beginning with the 2027-28 academic year. Monroe currently competes as an independent for the 2026 season in its first year as part of a move from the NJCAA to NCAA D2 in the 2026-27 academic year. Monroe is a member of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC), which doesn’t sponsor football. Monroe will effectively replace Saint Anselm College in football, as SAC is moving to NCAA D3 and the NEWMAC. The NE10 will have 8 football members in 2027, assuming no additional changes.
Myriad of D2 Championship Recommendations
The NCAA D2 Championships Committee made numerous recommendations for various championship changes to take effect in the 2027-28 academic year. The Committee noted that women’s field hockey and women’s rowing received exemptions from the 35-team minimum threshold to sponsor a championship. The Committee is concerned about the low number of women’s rowing institutions, currently at 14, and will consider multiple options, including removing the exemption. Below is a list of recommendations that were made:
- Eliminate altitude conversions for men’s and women’s track and field
- Expand men’s soccer bracket by 4 teams
- Increase men’s wrestling qualifiers for finals by 20 wrestlers
- Increase men’s wrestling super regionals from 1 to 2 days
- Expand men’s and women’s basketball dates to 3 weekends
- Increase men’s and women’s indoor track and field from 2 to 3 days and increase field sizes from 18 to 20 for individual events
- Increase men’s and women’s outdoor track and field to 22 participants for combined events
- Bracket by super regionals in women’s soccer, similar to men’s soccer
The following items were not recommended:
- Expand men’s baseball bracket by 4 teams
- Expand men’s baseball bracket by 2 teams
- Increase the men’s swimming & diving participant cap
- Add a preliminary round competition for men’s and women’s outdoor track and field
- Increase the men’s and women’s outdoor track & field championship from 3 to 4 days
- Increase men’s soccer bracket by 2 or 6 teams (will expand by 4 teams)
- Increase men’s and women’s indoor track and field to 18 participants for combined events
NCAA Division 3 News
Alfred Cancels Field Hockey Season
Alfred University (Alfred, New York) canceled its women’s field hockey season due to lower player numbers caused by injuries. Alfred canceled the first two games before playing its first and only game on September 12. The program will return for the 2027 fall season.
MIAA Names New Commissioner
The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) named interim commissioner Lauren Bryne-Dunn to the role permanently beginning on October 1. Bryne-Dunn was named the interim commissioner in July, following the departure of Jason Horn. Horn took the commissioner role with the NAIA’s Red River Athletic Conference after 2+ years in charge of the MIAA. Bryne-Dunn inherits a historically stable conference, with only four departures since the MIAA’s founding in 1888. Michigan State left in 1907 (Big Ten), Eastern Michigan departed in 1902 and 1926 (MAC), Hillsdale left in 1961 (D2 G-MAC), and Defiance departed in 2000 (NAIA’s WHAC). The only two non-Michigan schools are located in Indiana: Saint Mary’s College, which joined in 1997, and Trine University, which joined in 2004.
NAIA News
Christian Brothers to Join NAIA, Mid-South
Christian Brothers University (Memphis, Tennessee) will depart the NCAA D2 Gulf South Conference to join the NAIA and the Mid-South Conference beginning with the 2027-28 academic year. All 17 of CBU’s varsity teams will compete in the Mid-South Conference. The Mid-South will have 8 members in 2027-28, marking the first full member change since 2023, when Pikeville, Shawnee State, Thomas More, UT Southern, and Wilberforce all departed the conference. The Gulf South will have 12 full members in 2027-28, assuming no additional changes.
Five Seasons of Eligibility Proposal
The NAIAs Council of Presidents is proposing five seasons of eligibility for student-athletes. This proposal is similar to the NCAA Divisions 1 and 2 eligibility model. The five-season rule would apply to all incoming 2026-27 enrollees and current student-athletes. It would require student-athletes to complete 96 credits to earn the fifth season of eligibility. The model would also eliminate the 20% rule, where an athlete is charged with a full season if they complete 20% or more of the maximum allowable contests. The full legislation will be published on Monday, October 5, followed by a full membership vote later this fall. The NAIA’s Path Forward Task Force published a review of the different options under consideration, as well as some of the drawbacks.
GSAC, Overnght Announce Streaming Agreement
The Great Southwest Athletic Conference (GSAC) and Overnght announced a multi-year media rights deal. The agreement will see Overnght become the exclusive home for GSAC conference broadcasts in baseball, basketball, flag football, soccer, softball, and volleyball starting October 1. Overnght will also broadcast the conference championships in each of those sports, with the partners hoping to expand the streaming to include beach volleyball, cross country, swimming, tennis, and track and field. The GSAC is the first NAIA conference to partner with Overnght, which also broadcasts select sports for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) and 3C2A.
RRAC to Launch Dedicated Digital Network
The Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) will launch a dedicated digital sports network in partnership with the Urban Edge Network. All 11 RRAC institutions will be broadcast on the new RRAC Network.
Salem Applies for NAIA
Salem University (Salem, West Virginia) will join the NAIA and the River States Conference beginning with the 2027-28 academic year. Salem is currently an NCAA Division 2 Independent and a majority of the teams will compete in the RSC. Men’s and women’s swimming and diving, men’s and women’s water polo, men’s wrestling, and women’s rugby are not sponsored by the conference.
Salem competed in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) from 1924-25 through 2009-10. The WVIAC moved from the NAIA to NCAA D2 starting in 199394, with the conference remaining in the NAIA through the 1994-95 academic year. Salem departed the WVIAC after the 2009-10 academic year, just a few years before the conference ceased operations at the end of the 2012-13 academic year. Salem was an independent from 2010-11 through 2012-13 before joining the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) for the 2013-14 through 2015-16 academic years. Salem has competed as a D2 independent since the 2016-17 academic year.
Salem’s arrival gives the conference 11 full members across Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia. The RSC has seen quite a bit of turnover this decade: Saint Mary-of-the-Woods (2021), Indiana Columbus (2023), and Kentucky Christian (2025) joined. The conference has been hit hard by departures: Asbury (2021), Ohio Valley University (2021; Closed), Carlow (2023), Ohio Christian (2024), Point Park (2024), Alice Lloyd (2025), Oakland City (2026; Closed), and Shawnee State (2026).
Wilberforce Adding Football
Wilberforce University (Wilberforce, Ohio) will bring back football beginning with the 2027-28 academic year. Football was last played at Wilberforce in 1947, when the school was known as Wilberforce State. When Central State separated from Wilberforce in 1947, the football program went with the new college. Wilberforce did not announce a conference affiliation, and the HBCU Athletic Conference doesn’t sponsor the sport. The two most likely landing spots for Wilberforce would be the Mid-South Conference or the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA).
Yavapai Joining NAIA
Yavapai College (Prescott, Arizona) will leave the NJCAA to join the NAIA and the Great Southwest Athletic Conference (GSAC) beginning with the 2027-28 academic year. Yavapai’s seven sports will all compete in the GSAC. The GSAC will have 12 full members in 2027-28, assuming no additional changes. Since 2024, the GSAC has added seven full members and lost five schools. In 2023 and 2024, Jessup, Menlo, Vanguard, and Westmont departed for the NCAA D2 PacWest, while San Diego Christian dropped athletics beginning with the 2023-24 academic year. Benedictine Mesa, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical-Prescott, and Park-Gilbert joined in 2024, followed by La Siera and Soka in 2025. Nevada State joined the GSAC at the start of the 2026-27 academic year.
Photo courtesy of UConn Athletics
