List of NCAA conferences

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is divided into three divisions, based roughly on school size. Each division is made up of several conferences for regional league play.

Contents 1 Division I 1.1 Division I Football Bowl Subdivision 1.2 Division I Football Championship Subdivision 1.3 Non-football, multi-sport conferences 1.4 Ice hockey conferences 1.4.1 Future ice hockey conference 1.5 Other single-sport conferences 2 Division II 2.1 Future conference 3 Division III 3.1 Future conference 4 Defunct NCAA conferences 5 See also

Division I

Division I Football Bowl Subdivision

Conference	Nickname	Founded	Members	Sports	Headquarters	Map
Atlantic Coast Conference	ACC	1953	121	25	Greensboro, North Carolina
Big East Conference	Big East	1979	162	24	Providence, Rhode Island
Big Ten Conference	Big Ten	1896	12	25	Park Ridge, Illinois
Big 12 Conference	Big 12	1996	103	21	Irving, Texas
Conference USA	C-USA	1995	124	21	Irving, Texas
Division I FBS Independents			4	1
Mid-American Conference	MAC	1946	125	23	Cleveland, Ohio
Mountain West Conference	MW / MWC	1999	86	19	Colorado Springs, Colorado
Pacific-12 Conference	Pac-12	1915	12	22	Walnut Creek, California
Southeastern Conference	SEC	1932	127	20	Birmingham, Alabama
Sun Belt Conference	Sun Belt	1976	128	19	New Orleans, Louisiana
Western Athletic Conference	WAC	1962	89	19	Greenwood Village, Colorado

• Notes:
  • ¹ - 14 schools with the addition of Pittsburgh and Syracuse (date of arrival to be determined).
  • ² - 8 schools with football programs in the Big East. 3 other schools have football programs that play outside the Big East. 13 total schools (5 football schools) with the loss of Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and West Virginia (date of departure to be determined). At least 16 total schools with the addition of Houston, SMU, and Central Florida in 2013. At least 10 football schools with the addition of football-only affiliates Boise State and San Diego State in 2013.
  • ³ - 9 schools in 2012 with departure of Texas A&M and Missouri and addition of TCU. 10 schools with addition of West Virginia (date of arrival in question).
  • ⁴ - 9 members in 2013 with loss of Houston, SMU, and Central Florida
  • ⁵ - 13 with Temple being an affiliated football member. 14 football members in 2012 with the addition of Massachusetts' football program.
  • ⁶ - 9 all-sports members with addition of Fresno State and Nevada, and departure of TCU in 2012. 10 football-playing members with the addition of Hawaii as a football affiliate in 2012. 7 members (8 football) in 2013 with the loss of Boise State and San Diego State.
  • ⁷ - 14 schools in 2012 with addition of Texas A&M and Missouri
  • ⁸ - Only 9 schools with football programs. 11 total members with the departure of Denver in 2012. 10 football schools with the addition of South Alabama's football program in 2013
  • ⁹ - 10 in 2012, but only 7 with football programs, after the departure of Fresno State, Nevada, and Hawaii, and the additions of Denver, Texas-Arlington, Texas-San Antonio, Texas State, and Seattle. 11 members in 2013 with the addition of Boise State (non-football).

Division I Football Championship Subdivision

Conference	Nickname	Founded	Full Members	Sports	Headquarters	Map
Big Sky Conference	Big Sky	1963	91	14	Ogden, Utah
Big South Conference	Big South	1983	11	18	Charlotte, North Carolina
Colonial Athletic Association	CAA	1983	122	25	Richmond, Virginia
Division I FCS Independents			4	1
Great West Conference	Great West	2004	73	16	Elmhurst, Illinois
Ivy League	Ivy League	1954	8	33	Princeton, New Jersey
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference	MEAC	1970	13	15	Virginia Beach, Virginia
Missouri Valley Football Conference	MVFC	1985	94	1	St. Louis, Missouri
Northeast Conference	NEC	1981	125	23	Somerset, New Jersey
Ohio Valley Conference	OVC	1948	116	19	Brentwood, Tennessee
Patriot League	Patriot	1986	8	21	Center Valley, Pennsylvania
Pioneer Football League	PFL	1991	107	1	St. Louis, Missouri
Southern Conference	SoCon	1921	12	19	Spartanburg, South Carolina
Southland Conference	Southland	1963	128	16	Frisco, Texas
Southwestern Athletic Conference	SWAC	1920	10	18	Birmingham, Alabama

• Notes:
  • ¹ - 11 full members in 2012 with addition of North Dakota and Southern Utah, 13 football members with addition of affiliates Cal Poly and UC Davis in 2012
  • ² - 12 full members, 11 football members; 11 football members in 2012 with departure of Massachusetts and addition of Georgia State; 10 football members in 2013 with departure of Rhode Island
  • ³ - will cease sponsoring football in 2012 with loss of Cal Poly, North Dakota, South Dakota, Southern Utah, and UC Davis
  • ⁴ - 10 members in 2012 with addition of South Dakota
  • ⁵ - 12 full members, 9 football members. 10 football members in 2013 with addition of Rhode Island
  • ⁶ - 11 full members, 9 football members. 12 full members in 2012 with addition of Belmont, which has no football program and no intent to start one
  • ⁷ - 12 members in 2013 with addition of Mercer and Stetson, both of which are reviving their football programs
  • ⁸ - 10 members in 2012 with departure of Texas-Arlington, Texas-San Antonio, Texas State and addition of Oral Roberts. 11 members in 2013 with addition of Houston Baptist.

Non-football, multi-sport conferences

Conference	Nickname	Founded	Members	Sports	Headquarters	Map
America East Conference	America East	1979	9	19	Boston, Massachusetts
Atlantic Sun Conference	A-Sun	1978	101	17	Macon, Georgia
Atlantic 10 Conference	A-10	1975	14	21	Newport News, Virginia
Big West Conference	Big West / BWC	1969	92	20	Irvine, California
Horizon League	Horizon	1979	10	19	Indianapolis, Indiana
Independents			3
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference	MAAC	1980	10	24	Edison, New Jersey
Missouri Valley Conference	MVC / Valley	1907	10	19	St. Louis, Missouri
Mountain Pacific Sports Federation	MPSF	1992	38	11	Woodland, California
The Summit League	The Summit	1982	103	19	Elmhurst, Illinois
West Coast Conference	WCC	1952	9	13	San Bruno, California

• Notes:
  • ¹ - 10 members in 2012 with loss of Belmont and addition of Northern Kentucky
  • ² - 10 members in 2012 with addition of Hawaii, 11 members in 2013 with addition of San Diego State
  • ³ - 9 members in 2012 with losses of Southern Utah and Oral Roberts, and addition of Nebraska-Omaha

Ice hockey conferences

Conference	Nickname	Founded	Members (Men/Women)	Headquarters	Map
Atlantic Hockey	Atlantic Hockey	1997	12 (12/none)	Haverhill, Massachusetts
Central Collegiate Hockey Association1	CCHA	1972	11 (11/none)	Farmington Hills, Michigan
College Hockey America	CHA	2000	4 (none/4)	Detroit, Michigan
ECAC Hockey	ECAC	1962	12 (12/12)	Albany, New York
Hockey East	Hockey East	1984	11 (10/8)	Wakefield, Massachusetts
Western Collegiate Hockey Association	WCHA	1951	13 (12/8)	Denver, Colorado
Independents			3 (1/2)

¹ The CCHA will disband after the 2012–13 season, as all of its members will move to other conferences. Five will move to the WCHA, three will become charter members of the Big Ten hockey conference, two will become charter members of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, and one will join Hockey East.

Future ice hockey conference

Conference	Nickname	Founded	Members (Men/Women)	Headquarters	Map
National Collegiate Hockey Conference	NCHC	2011	8 (8/none)1	Colorado Springs, Colorado

• ¹ - Members begin play in 2013: Colorado College, Denver, Miami (Ohio), Minnesota-Duluth, Nebraska-Omaha, North Dakota, St. Cloud State, and Western Michigan

Other single-sport conferences

Conference	Nickname	Founded	Members	Sports	Headquarters	Map
Atlantic Soccer Conference	ASC	2000	5	1 (soccer)	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
American Lacrosse Conference	ALC	2001	6	1 (women's lacrosse)	Athens, Ohio
Coastal Collegiate Swim Association	CCSA	2008	12	1 (swimming)	Charlotte, North Carolina
Collegiate Water Polo Association	CWPA	1970s	25	1 (water polo)	Bridgeport, Pennsylvania
ECAC Lacrosse League	ECAC	2000	7	1 (lacrosse)	Centerville, Massachusetts
East Atlantic Gymnastics League	EAGL	1995	8	1 (gymnastics)	?
Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges	EARC	?	17	1 (rowing)	Centerville, Massachusetts
Eastern Intercollegiate Gymnastics League	EIGL	?	7	1 (gymnastics)	Centerville, Massachusetts
Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association	EISA	?	12	1 (skiing)	?
Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association	EIVA	1977	13	1 (volleyball)	Centerville, Massachusetts
Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association	EIWA	1905	19	1 (wrestling)	?
Eastern Wrestling League	EWL	1976	7	1 (wrestling)	?
Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association	MIVA	1961	7	1 (volleyball)	Columbus, Ohio
National Lacrosse Conference	NLC	2009	8	1 (lacrosse)	?
Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference	NorPac	1982	8	1 (field hockey)	?
Pacific Coast Softball Conference	PCSL	2002	12	1 (softball)	?
Pacific Coast Swim Conference	PCSL	2002	16	1 (swimming)	?
Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association	RMISA	?	8	1 (skiing)	?
Western Water Polo Association	WWPA	?	20	1 (water polo)	?
Western Wrestling Conference	WWC	2006	7	1 (wrestling)	Cedar Falls, Iowa

Division II

Conference	Nickname	Founded	Members	Sports	Headquarters	Map
California Collegiate Athletic Association	CCAA	1938	12	13	Walnut Creek, California
Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference	CACC	1965	12	12	New Haven, Connecticut
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association	CIAA	1912	12	14	Hampton, Virginia
Conference Carolinas	CC	1938	13	15	Thomasville, North Carolina
East Coast Conference	ECC	1989	9	17	Central Islip, New York
Great American Conference	GAC	2011	91	11	Russellville, Arkansas
Great Lakes Football Conference	GLFC	2006	5	1	Rensselaer, Indiana
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	GLIAC	1972	142	20	Bay City, Michigan
Great Lakes Valley Conference	GLVC	1978	163	15	Indianapolis, Indiana
Great Northwest Athletic Conference	GNAC	2001	9	13	Spokane, Washington
Gulf South Conference	GSC	1970	84	14	Birmingham, Alabama
Heartland Conference	Heartland	1999	8	13	Waco, Texas
Lone Star Conference	LSC	1931	11	16	Richardson, Texas
Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association	MIAA	1912	125	14	Kansas City, Missouri
NCAA Division II independent schools			14 (football), 21 (basketball)
Northeast-10 Conference	NE-10	1980	16	23	South Easton, Massachusetts
Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference	NSIC	1932	146	17	St. Paul, Minnesota
Pacific West Conference	PacWest	1992	107	10	Queen Creek, Arizona
Peach Belt Conference	PBC	1990	13	13	Augusta, Georgia
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference	PSAC	1951	16	22	Lock Haven, Pennsylvania
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference	RMAC	1909	148	19	Colorado Springs, Colorado
South Atlantic Conference	SAC	1975	10	14	Rock Hill, South Carolina
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	SIAC	1913	13	13	Tucker, Georgia
Sunshine State Conference	SSC	1975	9	14	Orlando, Florida
West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	WVIAC	1924	16	16	Princeton, West Virginia

• Notes:
  • ¹ - 10 members in 2012 with addition of Southern Nazarene, 11 members in 2013 with addition of Northwestern Oklahoma State
  • ² - 16 members in 2012 with addition of Malone and Walsh
  • ³ - 16 members in 2012 with addition of McKendree and loss of Northern Kentucky. 15 members in 2013 with loss of Kentucky Wesleyan
  • ⁴ - 11 members in 2012 with addition of New Orleans, Shorter, and Union
  • ⁵ - 15 members in 2012 with addition of Lindenwood, Nebraska-Kearney, Central Oklahoma, and Northeastern Oklahoma State, and loss of Nebraska-Omaha
  • ⁶ - 16 members in 2012 with addition of Minot State and Sioux Falls
  • ⁷ - 13 members in 2012 with addition of Azusa Pacific, Fresno Pacific, and Point Loma Nazarene
  • ⁸ - 14 members in 2012 with loss of Nebraska-Kearney and addition of Black Hills State

Future conference

Conference	Nickname	Founded	Members	Sports	Headquarters	Map
Great Midwest Athletic Conference	G-MAC	20111	6	TBD	TBD

• ¹ - Members begin play in 2013: Cedarville, Central State, Kentucky Wesleyan, Trevecca Nazarene, Urbana, and Ursuline.

Division III

Conference	Nickname	Founded	Members	Sports	Headquarters	Map
Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference	AMCC	1997	10	14	Gibsonia, Pennsylvania
American Southwest Conference	ASC	1996	15	16	Richardson, Texas
Capital Athletic Conference	CAC	1989	9	19	Hollywood, Maryland
Centennial Conference	Centennial	1981	11	24	Lancaster, Pennsylvania
City University of New York Athletic Conference	CUNYAC	1987	10	16	Flushing, Queens, New York
College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin	CCIW	1946	8	21	Naperville, Illinois
Colonial States Athletic Conference	CSAC	1992	12	15	Aston, Pennsylvania
Commonwealth Coast Conference	TCCC	1984	14	17	Springfield, Massachusetts
Eastern Collegiate Football Conference	ECFC	2009	8	1	Wilmington, Vermont
Empire 8	E8	1964	12	22	Rochester, New York
Great Northeast Athletic Conference	GNAC	1995	14	12	Boston, Massachusetts
Great South Athletic Conference	GSAC	1999	7	11	LaGrange, Georgia
Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference	HCAC	1987	9	17	Greenwood, Indiana
Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	IIAC	1922	9	21	Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Landmark Conference	Landmark	2006	8	11	Madison, New Jersey
Liberty League	Liberty	1995	13	26	Canton, New York
Little East Conference	LEC	1986	8	19	North Dartmouth, Massachusetts
Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference	MASCAC	1971	8	13	Westfield, Massachusetts
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association	MIAA	1888	9	18	Royal Oak, Michigan
Middle Atlantic Conferences	MAC	1912	16	22	Annville, Pennsylvania
Midwest Conference	Midwest	1921	10	20	Ripon, Wisconsin
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	MIAC	1920	13	22	St. Paul, Minnesota
NCAA Division III independent schools			2 (football) 6 (basketball)
New England Collegiate Conference	NECC	2008	9	14	Attleboro, Massachusetts
New England Football Conference	NEFC	1965	16	1	?
New England Small College Athletic Conference	NESCAC	1971	11	27	Hadley, Massachusetts
New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference	NEWMAC	1998	10	18	Wellesley, Massachusetts
New Jersey Athletic Conference	NJAC	1985	10	16	Pitman, New Jersey
North Atlantic Conference	NAC	1996	8	15	Whitingham, Vermont
North Coast Athletic Conference	NCAC	1983	10	22	Westlake, Ohio
North Eastern Athletic Conference	NEAC	2004	8	12	Gansevoort, New York
Northern Athletics Conference	NAC	2006	13	18	Waukesha, Wisconsin
Northwest Conference	NWC	1926	9	18	Seattle, Washington
Ohio Athletic Conference	OAC	1902	10	21	Austintown, Ohio
Old Dominion Athletic Conference	ODAC	1976	131	22	Forest, Virginia
Presidents' Athletic Conference	PAC	1955	10	19	Wexford, Pennsylvania
Skyline Conference	Skyline	1989	11	17	Lawrenceville, New Jersey
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	SCIAC	1915	8	19	Los Angeles, California
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference	SCAC	1962	121	19	Suwanee, Georgia
State University of New York Athletic Conference	SUNYAC	1928	11	20	Fredonia, New York
St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	SLIAC	1989	9	13	St. Louis, Missouri
University Athletic Association	UAA	1986	8	22	Rochester, New York
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference	UMAC	1972	8	16	St. Paul, Minnesota
USA South Athletic Conference	USA South	1965	103	14	Fayetteville, North Carolina
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	WIAC	1913	9	20	Madison, Wisconsin

• Notes:
  • ¹ - 14 members in 2012 with the arrival of Shenandoah from the USA South.
  • ² - 6 members in 2012. Birmingham–Southern, Centre, Hendrix, Millsaps, Oglethorpe, Rhodes, and Sewanee will depart to form a new D-III conference, the Southern Athletic Association. Centenary will join the SCAC.
  • ³ – 9 members in 2012 with the departure of Shenandoah to the ODAC.

Future conference

Conference	Nickname	Founded	Members	Sports	Headquarters	Map
Southern Athletic Association	SAA	20111	8	TBD	TBA; interim HQ in Atlanta, Georgia

• ¹ - Members begin play in 2012: Berry, Birmingham–Southern, Centre, Hendrix, Millsaps, Oglethorpe, Rhodes, and Sewanee

Defunct NCAA conferences

Conference	Division	Founded	Folded	Fate
American South Conference	Division I		1991	absorbed by Sun Belt Conference
Atlantic Central Football Conference	Division III	1997	2010	disbanded
Atlantic Women's Colleges Conference	Division III	1995	2007	disbanded
Big Eight Conference	Division I	1928	1996	previously known as Big Six and Big Seven, joined with four former Southwest Conference schools to create the Big 12 Conference
Border Conference	University Division	1931	1962	members split between the newly-formed WAC and independent status
Dixie Conference	*	1930	1942	disbanded
Dixie Conference	*	1948	1954	disbanded
East Coast Conference	Division I	1958	1994	absorbed by Mid-Continent Conference
Great Lakes Football Conference	Division II	2006	2012	Football-only conference; final season in 2011. Will effectively be absorbed by the Great Lakes Valley Conference, which is adding football for 2012.
Great Midwest Conference	Division I	1991	1995	merged with Metro Conference to form Conference USA
Great Western Lacrosse League	Division I	1993	2010	members joined the ECAC Lacrosse League
Gulf Coast Conference	College Division	1949	1957	disbanded
Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	University Division	1908	1970	previously known as Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, disbanded
Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the Northwest	*	1892	1893	disbanded, precursor to the Big Ten Conference
Lake Michigan Conference	Division III	1974	2007	merged with the Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference to form the Northern Athletics Conference
Metro Conference	Division I	1975	1995	merged with Great Midwest Conference to form Conference USA
Mountain States Conference aka (Skyline Conference)	University Division	1938	1962	disbanded, members split between the newly-formed WAC and independent status
New England Conference	*	1938	1947	Disbanded; the final five members joined with the University of Vermont to form the Yankee Conference under a new charter. Effectively the earliest ancestor of today's Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) football conference.
North Central Conference	Division II	1922	2008	disbanded
Northern California Athletic Conference	Division II	1925	1996	Football-only conference, dissolved when most members decided to drop football
Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference	Division III	?	2007	merged with the Lake Michigan Conference to form the Northern Athletics Conference
Pacific Coast Conference	Division I	1915	1959	forerunner to Pac-12, disbanded due to scandal and infighting
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association	*	1894	1941	disbanded with the onset of World War II
Southwest Conference	Division I	1914	1996	disbanded, members split into the Big 12, WAC, and C-USA
Yankee Conference	Division I	1947	1997	Football-only conference from 1975 until its absorption by the Atlantic 10 Conference in 1997. Also an effective ancestor of today's CAA football conference.

• * - Operated before the NCAA split into divisions in 1955.

See also

• List of college athletic conferences
• List of schools reclassifying their athletic programs to NCAA Division I

National Collegiate Athletic Association NCAA Awards Hall of Champions Conferences Division I sports and championships Institutions Athletic Directors Baseball (Championship, CWS) Basketball (Men, Women) Women's Bowling Boxing Cross Country (Men, Women) Fencing (Championship) Women's Field Hockey Football (FBS / BCS, FCS) Golf (Men, Women) Gymnastics (Men, Women) Ice Hockey (Men, Women) Lacrosse (Men, Women) Rifle Rowing (Women's Championship) Skiing Soccer (Men, Women) Softball (Championship, CWS) Swimming & Diving (Men, Women) Tennis (Men, Women) Track & Field (Men's Indoor & Outdoor, Women's Indoor & Outdoor) Volleyball (Men, Women) Water Polo (Men, Women) Wrestling (Championship) Division II Institutions Baseball (CWS) Basketball (Men, Women) Football (Championship) Soccer (Men) Softball (CWS) Division III Institutions Baseball (CWS) Basketball (Men, Women) Football (Championship) Soccer (Men) Softball (CWS)