The following is a list of National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) conferences as of the 2026–27 school year. Unless otherwise noted, changes in conference membership occur on July 1 of the given year.

Current conferences Football Conference Nickname Founded Members Sports Headquarters Map Appalachian Athletic Conference AAC 1985 14 24 Asheville, North Carolina Frontier Conference Frontier 1952 12 16 Billings, Montana Great Plains Athletic Conference GPAC 1969 12 19 Sioux City, Iowa Heart of America Athletic Conference HAAC 1971 15 23 Overland Park, Kansas NAIA Independents 2 1 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference KCAC 1928 14 21 Wichita, Kansas Mid-South Conference MSC 1995 7 21 Bowling Green, Kentucky Mid-States Football Association MSFA 1993 12 1 Findlay, Ohio Sooner Athletic Conference SAC 1978 12 15 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Sun Conference The Sun 1990 10 17 Daytona Beach, Florida

Notes

Non-football Conference Nickname Founded Members Sports Headquarters Map American Midwest Conference AMC 1998 10 17 St. Louis, Missouri California Pacific Conference CalPac 1996 5 10 Oakland, California Cascade Collegiate Conference CCC 1988 11 13 Clackamas, Oregon Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference CCAC 1949 11 16 Milwaukee, Wisconsin Continental Athletic Conference (Independents) CAC 2008 15 21 Crossroads League CL 1959 10 15 Hartford City, Indiana Great Southwest Athletic Conference GSAC 1986 11 13 Irvine, California HBCU Athletic Conference HBCUAC 1981 16 16 New Orleans, Louisiana Red River Athletic Conference RRAC 1998 10 15 Dallas, Texas River States Conference RSC 1916 10 18 Middletown, Ohio Southern States Athletic Conference SSAC 1999 15 15 Atlanta, Georgia Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference WHAC 1992 10 21 Livonia, Michigan

Notes

Defunct conferences Football Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference (1928–1995) Central States Intercollegiate Conference (1976–1989) Dakota Athletic Conference (2000–2012) Eastern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1983–2005) Evergreen Conference (1948–1984) Great Plains Athletic Conference (1972–1976) Hoosier–Buckeye Conference (1948–1985) Missouri College Athletic Union (1924–1970) Nebraska College Conference (1916–1976) North Dakota College Athletic Conference (1931–2000) North Star Athletic Association (2013–2025) Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference (1929–1973), formerly the Oklahoma Collegiate Conference Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference (1974–1997) Pacific Northwest Athletic Conference (1984–1998) South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference (1917–2000) South East Atlantic Conference (2004–2008), football only, members became NAIA football independents Southern States Conference (1938–1997), formerly the Alabama Intercollegiate Conference and the Alabama Collegiate Conference Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1976–1996), also an NCAA Division III conference Tri-State Conference (1960–1981) Volunteer State Athletic Conference (1940s–early 1980s) West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1924–2013), transferred to the NCAA in 1995 after a two-year dual membership. Most of the final WVIAC members are now in the NCAA Division II Mountain East Conference.

Notes

Non-football American Mideast Conference (1949–2012) Georgia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1971–1999) Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference (1994–2015) Midwest Collegiate Conference (1988–2015) Northeastern Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (2016–2019) Sunrise Athletic Conference (2002–2011) TranSouth Athletic Conference (1996–2013)

Notes

Former conferences All transferred to the NCAA.

Football Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1973–1988) Lone Star Conference (1931–1982) Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1920–1982) Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (1932–1995), known as Northern Intercollegiate Conference until 1992 Northwest Conference (1926–1996), Pacific Northwest Conference before 1984 and Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges until 1996 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (1951–1980), State Teachers Conference of Pennsylvania until 1956 and Pennsylvania State Teachers College Conference before 1964 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (1909–1992), Colorado Faculty Athletic Conference until 1910 and Rocky Mountain Faculty Athletic Conference until 1967 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (1972–2008), Twin Rivers Conference until 1983

Non-football Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (1961–2002) Conference Carolinas (1930–1995), known as the North State Intercollegiate Athletic Conference until 1961, later as the Carolinas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference until 1995 (which held dual membership with the NCAA for two years starting in 1993), became the Carolinas–Virginia Athletic Conference until 2007 Dixie Conference (1963–1973), became the USA South Athletic Conference in 2003

Notes

See also List of college athletic conferences in the United States List of NCAA conferences List of NAIA institutions

References

External links

NAIA Member Schools