List of NCAA conferences


The National Collegiate Athletic Association 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, that sport will be counted if five members 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.

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, institutions in the Football Bowl Subdivision must be "multisport conferences" and participate 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 toward the above 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.
ConferenceNicknameFoundedMembersSportsHeadquartersMap
American ConferenceAmerican20131322Irving,
Texas
Atlantic Coast ConferenceACC19531828Charlotte,
North Carolina
Big Ten ConferenceBig Ten
B1G		18961828Rosemont,
Illinois
Big 12 ConferenceBig 12
B12		19961625Irving,
Texas
Conference USACUSA19951218Dallas,
Texas
Division I
FBS independents		Ind.N/A21N/A
Mid-American ConferenceMAC19461323Cleveland,
Ohio
Mountain West ConferenceMW
MWC		19991218Colorado Springs,
Colorado
Pac-12 ConferencePac-12
P12		195926San Ramon, California
Southeastern ConferenceSEC
SE
Southeastern		19321622Birmingham,
Alabama
Sun Belt ConferenceSBC
SB
Sun Belt		19761420New Orleans,
Louisiana

Football Championship Subdivision

In addition to competing in 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.
ConferenceNicknameFoundedFull MembersSportsHeadquartersMap
Big Sky ConferenceBig Sky
BSC		19631016Ogden, Utah
Big South ConferenceBig South1983919Charlotte, North Carolina
Coastal Athletic Association Football ConferenceCAA Football2007141Richmond, Virginia
Division I FCS Independents21
Ivy LeagueIvy League1954833Princeton, New Jersey
Mid-Eastern Athletic ConferenceMEAC1970814Norfolk, Virginia
Missouri Valley Football ConferenceMVFC1985101St. Louis, Missouri
NECNEC19811025Somerset, New Jersey
Ohio Valley ConferenceOVC19481119Brentwood, Tennessee
Patriot LeaguePatriot19861024Center Valley, Pennsylvania
Pioneer Football LeaguePFL1991111St. Louis, Missouri
Southern ConferenceSoCon19211020Spartanburg, South Carolina
Southland ConferenceSouthland
SLC		19631218Frisco, Texas
Southwestern Athletic ConferenceSWAC19201218Birmingham, Alabama
United Athletic ConferenceUAC202391

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.
ConferenceNicknameFoundedMembersSportsHeadquartersMap
America East ConferenceAmerica East
AmEast		1979918Boston, Massachusetts
Atlantic Sun ConferenceASUN19781220Jacksonville, Florida
Atlantic 10 ConferenceA-1019751422Newport News, Virginia
Big East ConferenceBig East19791123New York City, New York
Big West ConferenceBig West
BWC		19691121Irvine, California
Coastal Athletic AssociationCAA19831323Richmond, Virginia
Horizon LeagueHorizon19791119Indianapolis, Indiana
Independents–
Metro Atlantic Athletic ConferenceMAAC19801325Edison, New Jersey
Missouri Valley ConferenceMVC
The Valley		19071118St. Louis, Missouri
Mountain Pacific Sports FederationMPSF19926416Woodland, California
Summit LeagueThe Summit1982919Sioux Falls, South Dakota
West Coast ConferenceWCC19521016San Bruno, California
Western Athletic ConferenceWAC1962719Arlington, Texas

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.
ConferenceNicknameFoundedMembers HeadquartersMap
Atlantic Hockey AmericaAtlantic Hockey
AHA		199714 Haverhill, Massachusetts
Central Collegiate Hockey AssociationCCHA20209 Farmington Hills, Michigan
ECAC HockeyECAC196212 Albany, New York
Hockey EastHockey East
HEA		198412 Amesbury, Massachusetts
Independents5
New England Women's Hockey AllianceNEWHA20188 Winthrop, Massachusetts
National Collegiate Hockey ConferenceNCHC20119 Colorado Springs, Colorado
Western Collegiate Hockey AssociationWCHA19518 Edina, Minnesota