The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is divided into three divisions based on scholarship allocation. Each division is made up of several conferences for regional league competition. Unless otherwise noted, changes in conference affiliation will occur on July 1 of the given year.
Division I
Under NCAA regulations, all Division I conferences defined as "multisport conferences" must meet the following criteria: A total of at least seven active Division I members. Separate from the above, at least seven active Division I members that sponsor both men's and women's basketball. Sponsorship of at least 12 NCAA Division I sports. Minimum of six men's sports, with the following additional restrictions: Men's basketball is a mandatory sport, and at least seven members must sponsor that sport. Non-football conferences must sponsor at least two men's team sports other than basketball. At least six members must sponsor five men's sports other than basketball, including either football or two other team sports. Minimum of six women's sports, with the following additional restrictions: Women's basketball is a mandatory sport, with at least seven members sponsoring that sport. At least two other women's team sports must be sponsored. At least six members must sponsor five women's sports other than basketball, including two other team sports. If a conference officially sponsors an NCAA "emerging sport" for women (as of 2026–27, equestrianism, flag football, rugby union, or triathlon), that sport will be counted if five members (instead of six) sponsor it.
Schools in all divisions that sponsor athletic programs for only one sex/gender need only meet the sports sponsorship requirements for that sex/gender. Identically numbered and worded bylaws exist in the Division II and Division III Manuals, though page numbering is different from that in the Division I Manual.
Football Bowl Subdivision Conferences in the Football Bowl Subdivision must meet a more stringent set of NCAA requirements than other conferences. Among these additional NCAA regulations, Football Bowl Subdivision conferences must be "multisport", with institutions participating in conference play in at least six men's and eight women's sports, including football, men's and women's basketball, and at least two other women's team sports. Each school may count one men's and one women's sport not sponsored by its primary conference towards these limits, as long as that sport competes in another Division I conference. The men's and women's sports so counted need not be the same sport.
+ Conference Nickname Founded Members Sports Headquarters Map American Conference American 2013 13 22 Irving,Texas Atlantic Coast Conference ACC 1953 18 28 Charlotte, North Carolina Big Ten Conference Big Ten B1G 1896 18 28 Rosemont, Illinois Big 12 Conference Big 12 B121996 16 25 Irving,Texas Conference USA CUSA 1995 10 18 Dallas,Texas Division I FBS independents Ind. N/A 2 1 N/A Mid-American Conference MAC 1946 12 23 Cleveland, Ohio Mountain West Conference MW MWC 1999 10 18 Las Vegas, Nevada Pac-12 Conference Pac-12 P121959 9 19 San Ramon, California Southeastern Conference SEC SE Southeastern 1932 16 22 Birmingham,Alabama Sun Belt Conference SBC SB Sun Belt1976 14 20 New Orleans,Louisiana
Football Championship Subdivision Unlike in the Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision conferences are allowed to be single-sport, only sponsoring football. Multisport conferences in the Football Championship Subdivision must still meet the general NCAA Division I requirements regarding the minimum number of men's and women's sports in addition to competing in football (see above).
Conference Nickname Founded Full Members Sports Headquarters Map Big Sky Conference Big Sky BSC1963 11 16 Ogden, Utah Coastal Athletic Association Football Conference CAA Football 2007 13 1 Richmond, Virginia Division I FCS Independents 2 1 Ivy League Ivy League 1954 8 33 Princeton, New Jersey Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference MEAC 1970 8 16 Norfolk, Virginia Missouri Valley Football Conference MVFC 1985 9 1 St. Louis, Missouri NEC NEC 1981 9 25 Somerset, New Jersey Ohio Valley Conference OVC 1948 9 19 Brentwood, Tennessee Patriot League Patriot 1986 10 24 Center Valley, Pennsylvania Pioneer Football League PFL 1991 11 1 St. Louis, Missouri Southern Conference SoCon 1921 11 20 Spartanburg, South Carolina Southland Conference SouthlandSLC 1963 12 18 Frisco, Texas Southwestern Athletic Conference SWAC 1920 12 18 Birmingham, Alabama United Athletic Conference UAC 1962 9 16 Jacksonville, Florida
Non-football, multi-sport conferences Multisport conferences that do not compete in football must still meet the general NCAA Division I requirements regarding the minimum number of men's and women's sports (see above).
Conference Nickname Founded Members Sports Headquarters Map America East Conference America EastAmEast 1979 9 18 Boston, Massachusetts Atlantic Sun Conference ASUN 1978 8 22 Jacksonville, Florida Atlantic 10 Conference A-10 1975 14 22 Newport News, Virginia Big East Conference Big East 1979 11 23 New York City, New York Big South Conference Big South 1983 9 19 Charlotte, North Carolina Big West Conference Big West BWC 1969 12 21 Irvine, California Coastal Athletic Association CAA 1983 13 23 Richmond, Virginia Horizon League Horizon 1979 12 19 Indianapolis, Indiana Independents – Metro Conference Metro 1980 13 25 Edison, New Jersey Missouri Valley Conference MVC The Valley 1907 11 18 St. Louis, Missouri Mountain Pacific Sports Federation MPSF 1992 68 18 Woodland, California Summit League Summit 1982 8 19 Sioux Falls, South Dakota West Coast Conference WCC 1952 10 16 San Bruno, California
Ice hockey conferences
Division I ice hockey has a different conference structure than the above multisport conferences. These schools have memberships in other conferences for other sports.
Conference Nickname Founded Members (Men/Women) Headquarters Map Atlantic Hockey America Atlantic HockeyAHA 1997 14 (9/7) Haverhill, Massachusetts Central Collegiate Hockey Association CCHA 2020 8 (8/none) Farmington Hills, Michigan ECAC Hockey ECAC 1962 12 (12/12) Albany, New York Hockey East Hockey EastHEA 1984 12 (11/10) Amesbury, Massachusetts Independents 6 (6/none) New England Women's Hockey Alliance NEWHA 2018 8 (none/8) Winthrop, Massachusetts National Collegiate Hockey Conference NCHC 2011 9 (10/none) Colorado Springs, Colorado Western Collegiate Hockey Association WCHA 1951 8 (none/8) Edina, Minnesota
Other single-sport conferences This list includes conferences in sports that the NCAA does not fully split into divisions, such as men's volleyball and rifle. Sports in which the NCAA sponsors separate championships for men and women are officially treated by the NCAA as two separate sports.
Conference Nickname Founded Members Sport Headquarters Map Central Collegiate Fencing Conference CCFC 6 Fencing ? Central Collegiate Ski Association CCSA 2009 7 Skiing ? Collegiate Water Polo Association CWPA 1970s 26 water polo Bridgeport, Pennsylvania East Atlantic Gymnastics League EAGL 1995 7 gymnastics ? Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges EARC ? 18 rowing Danbury, Connecticut Eastern Association of Women's Rowing Colleges EAWRC ? 18 rowing Danbury, Connecticut Eastern Intercollegiate Gymnastics League EIGL ? 5 1 (gymnastics) Danbury, Connecticut Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association EISA ? 15 1 (Skiing) ? Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association EIVA 1977 7 1 () Bronxville, New York Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association EIWA 1905 17 1 (wrestling) ? Eastern Women's Fencing Conference EWFC 2000 7 1 (fencing) ? Golden Coast Conference GCC 2013 8 1 (water polo) ? Great America Rifle Conference GARC 1998 9 1 (rifle) ? Gymnastics East Conference GEC 2021 8 1 () ? IFCSC 1996? 2 1 (fencing) ? Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Fencing Association MACFA 1952 8 1 (fencing) Hackettstown, New Jersey Mid-Atlantic Rifle Conference MAC 1978 7 1 (rifle) ? Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference MAWPC 7 1 (Water polo) ? MFC 1968 6 1 (fencing) ? Midwest Independent Conference MIC ? 6 1 (women's gymnastics) UIC (?) Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association MIVA 1961 9 1 () Columbus, Ohio National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association NIWFA 1929 10 1 (fencing) ? New England Intercollegiate Fencing Conference NEIFC ? 8 1 (fencing) ? Northeast Fencing Conference NFC 1992 8 1 (fencing) ? Pacific Collegiate Swim and Dive Conference PCSC 2002 9 (men)15 (women) 1 (swimming) ? Patriot Rifle Conference PRC 2013 6 1 (rifle) Colorado Springs, Colorado Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association RMISA 1950 6 1 (Skiing) ? Western Water Polo Association WWPA 1981 7 (men)8 (women) 1 (water polo) ?
Division II
Among the NCAA regulations, Division II institutions have to sponsor at least five sports for men and five for women (or four for men and six for women), with two team sports for each sex, and each playing season represented by each sex. Teams that consist of both men and women are counted as men's teams for sports sponsorship purposes.
Current conferences Conferences that sponsor football are highlighted in yellow. Conference Nickname Founded Members Sports Headquarters Map California Collegiate Athletic Association CCAA 1938 14 13 Walnut Creek, California Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference CACC 1961 11 16 New Haven, Connecticut Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association CIAA 1912 13 15 Hampton, Virginia Conference Carolinas CC 1930 16 26 Greenville, South Carolina East Coast Conference ECC 1989 9 19 Central Islip, New York Great American Conference GAC 2011 12 16 Russellville, Arkansas Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference GLIAC 1972 11 21 Bay City, Michigan Great Lakes Valley Conference GLVC 1978 15 26 Indianapolis, Indiana Great Midwest Athletic Conference G-MAC 2011 13 25 Greenwood, Indiana Great Northwest Athletic Conference GNAC 2001 10 15 Portland, Oregon Gulf South Conference GSC 1970 11 17 Birmingham, Alabama 4 Lone Star Conference LSC 1931 18 19 Richardson, Texas Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association MIAA 1912 14 19 Kansas City, Missouri Mountain East Conference MEC 2012 12 23 Bridgeport, West Virginia Northeast-10 Conference NE-10 1980 10 23 Mansfield, Massachusetts Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference NSIC 1932 16 18 Pacific West Conference PacWest 1992 10 15 Newport Beach, California Peach Belt Conference PBC 1990 11 15 Augusta, Georgia Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference PSAC 1951 17 23 Lock Haven, Pennsylvania Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference RMAC 1909 15 23 Colorado Springs, Colorado South Atlantic Conference SAC 1975 13 20 Rock Hill, South Carolina Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference SIAC 1913 15 14 Tucker, Georgia Sunshine State Conference SSC 1975 11 18 Melbourne, Florida
Single-sport conferences Conference Nickname Founded Members Sport Headquarters Map Appalachian Swimming Conference ASC ? 6 (men)4 (women) swimming ? players+ ECAC Division II Field Hockey League ECAC 2014 6 field hockey Danbury, Connecticut ECAC Division II Wrestling League ECAC 2015 7 wrestling Danbury, Connecticut NSISC 1995 5 (men)6 (women) swimming ? Pacific Collegiate Swim and Dive Conference PCSC 2003 9 (men)15 (women) swimming ?
Other sports These all-sports conferences sponsor sports which do not have D-II championships. Bowling will become a Division II championship sport in 2027–28; conferences affected by this change are highlighed in pink.