List of college athletic conferences in the United States facts for kids
In college athletics in the United States, institutions typically join in conferences for regular play under different governing bodies.
Varsity sports
There are several national and regional associations governing the varsity teams of colleges and universities. Varsity teams are typically funded by an institution's athletic department, and under some governing bodies players are eligible for athletic scholarships.
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)
Main page: List of NCAA conferences
Division I
- Multi-sport conferences
- America East Conference
- American Athletic Conference
- Atlantic 10 Conference
- Atlantic Coast Conference
- Atlantic Sun Conference
- Big 12 Conference
- Big East Conference
- Not to be confused with the original Big East. For more details, see 2010–2013 Big East Conference realignment.
- Big Sky Conference
- Big South Conference
- Big Ten Conference
- Big West Conference
- Coastal Athletic Association
- Conference USA
- FBS Independents (applies only to football)
- FCS Independents (applies only to football)
- Horizon League
- Independents (in sports other than football)
- No all-sports independents in 2024–25, with Chicago State joining the Northeast Conference.
- Ivy League
- Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
- Mid-American Conference
- Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
- Missouri Valley Conference
- Mountain Pacific Sports Federation – does not sponsor football or basketball
- Mountain West Conference
- Northeast Conference
- Ohio Valley Conference
- Pac-12 Conference – Effectively dissolving in 2024, though the two remaining members (Oregon State and Washington State) will continue to operate as a two-team league through the 2025–26 school year. The "Pac-12" brand name will remain in use.
- Patriot League
- Southeastern Conference
- Southern Conference
- Southland Conference
- Southwestern Athletic Conference
- Sun Belt Conference
- The Summit League
- West Coast Conference
- Western Athletic Conference
- Football-only conferences
- Big South–OVC Football Association – Technically a football-only alliance between the all-sports Big South and Ohio Valley Conferences.
- CAA Football – legally a separate entity from the all-sports Coastal Athletic Association, but both leagues have the same administration
- Missouri Valley Football Conference
- Pioneer Football League
- United Athletic Conference – Not officially recognized by the NCAA, instead being treated as the continuation of a preexisting football alliance between the all-sports Atlantic Sun and Western Athletic Conferences.
- Ice hockey conferences
- Atlantic Hockey America
- Central Collegiate Hockey Association (men) – previously operated from 1971 to 2013; revived in 2021
- ECAC Hockey
- Hockey East
- Independents (only men in 2023–24)
- New England Women's Hockey Alliance
- National Collegiate Hockey Conference (men)
- Western Collegiate Hockey Association (women)
- Other single-sport conferences
This list also includes conferences in sports that the NCAA does not split into divisions.
- Central Collegiate Fencing Conference
- Central Collegiate Ski Association – includes one junior-college team alongside NCAA-sanctioned teams
- Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (women's beach volleyball)
- Collegiate Water Polo Association
- Eastern Intercollegiate Gymnastics League (men)
- Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association
- Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (men)
- Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association
- Eastern Women's Fencing Conference
- Golden Coast Conference (women's water polo)
- Great America Rifle Conference
- Intercollegiate Fencing Conference of Southern California
- Metropolitan Swimming Conference
- Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Fencing Conference
- Mid-Atlantic Rifle Conference – includes a mix of NCAA-sanctioned teams and club teams
- Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference
- Midwest Fencing Conference
- Midwest Independent Conference (women's gymnastics)
- Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (men)
- National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association
- Northeast Fencing Conference
- Patriot Rifle Conference
- Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association
- Western Water Polo Association
Division II
- California Collegiate Athletic Association
- Conference Carolinas
- Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference
- Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association
- East Coast Conference
- Great American Conference
- Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
- Great Lakes Valley Conference
- Great Midwest Athletic Conference
- Great Northwest Athletic Conference
- Gulf South Conference
- Independents
- Lone Star Conference
- Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
- Mountain East Conference
- Northeast-10 Conference
- Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference
- Pacific West Conference
- Peach Belt Conference
- Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference
- Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
- South Atlantic Conference
- Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
- Sunshine State Conference
- Single sport conferences
- Appalachian Swimming Conference
- New South Intercollegiate Swim Conference
- Pacific Coast Swim Conference
Division III
- Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference
- American Rivers Conference
- American Southwest Conference
- Atlantic East Conference
- Centennial Conference
- City University of New York Athletic Conference
- Coast to Coast Athletic Conference
- College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
- Collegiate Conference of the South
- Commonwealth Coast Conference
- Empire 8
- Great Northeast Athletic Conference
- Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference
- Independents
- Landmark Conference
- Liberty League
- Little East Conference
- Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference
- Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association
- Middle Atlantic Conferences – an umbrella organization that operates three conferences.
- The following conferences sponsor the same set of 14 sports, including both men's and women's basketball, but not football:
- MAC Commonwealth
- MAC Freedom
- The third league, the Middle Atlantic Conference (note the singular), combines schools from the Commonwealth and Freedom conferences in a total of 13 sports, including football.
- The following conferences sponsor the same set of 14 sports, including both men's and women's basketball, but not football:
- Midwest Conference
- Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
- New England Small College Athletic Conference
- New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference
- New Jersey Athletic Conference
- North Atlantic Conference
- North Coast Athletic Conference
- Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference
- Northwest Conference
- Ohio Athletic Conference
- Old Dominion Athletic Conference
- Presidents' Athletic Conference
- St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
- Skyline Conference
- Southern Athletic Association
- Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
- Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
- State University of New York Athletic Conference
- United East Conference
- University Athletic Association
- Upper Midwest Athletic Conference
- USA South Athletic Conference
- Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
- Single-sport conferences
- Coastal Lacrosse Conference (men)
- Continental Volleyball Conference (men)
- Eastern Collegiate Football Conference
- Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (men)
- Midwest Lacrosse Conference (men)
- Midwest Women's Lacrosse Conference
- New England Collegiate Conference (men's volleyball; also operates in the non-NCAA esports)
- United Collegiate Hockey Conference
- United Volleyball Conference (men)
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA)
Main page: List of NAIA conferences
- American Midwest Conference
- Appalachian Athletic Conference
- California Pacific Conference
- Cascade Collegiate Conference
- Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference
- Continental Athletic Conference
- Crossroads League
- Frontier Conference
- Golden State Athletic Conference
- Great Plains Athletic Conference
- Gulf Coast Athletic Conference
- Heart of America Athletic Conference
- Football Independents
- Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference
- Mid-South Conference
- North Star Athletic Association
- Red River Athletic Conference
- River States Conference
- Sooner Athletic Conference
- Southern States Athletic Conference
- Sun Conference
- Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference
- Football-only conference
- Mid-States Football Association
United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA)
- Eastern Metro Athletic Conference
- Eastern States Athletic Conference
- Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
- Penn State University Athletic Conference
- Yankee Small College Conference
National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA)
- Central Region
- Mid-East Region
- Mid-West Region
- North Region
- North Central Region
- South Region
- Southwest Region
- West Region
Association of Christian College Athletics (ACCA)
- Midwest Christian College Conference
National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA)
- Alabama Community College Conference
- Arizona Community College Athletic Conference
- Arrowhead Conference
- Bi-State Conference
- Carolinas Junior College Conference
- Colorado Community College Athletic Conference
- Eastern Pennsylvania Athletic Conference
- Garden State Athletic Conference
- Georgia Junior College Athletic Association
- Great Rivers Athletic Conference
- Illinois Skyway Conference
- Iowa Community College Athletic Conference
- Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference
- Maryland Junior College Athletic Conference
- Massachusetts Community College Athletic Association
- Michigan Community College Athletic Association
- Mid-Florida Conference
- Mid Hudson Conference
- Mid-State Athletic Conference
- Mid-West Athletic Conference
- Missouri Community College Athletic Conference
- Midwest Football Conference (NJCAA)
- Minnesota College Athletic Conference
- Mississippi Association of Community & Junior Colleges
- MISS-LOU Junior College Conference
- Metro Athletic Conference
- Mon-Dak Conference
- Mountain Valley Conference (NJCAA)
- NJCAA Region 9
- Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference
- North Central Community College Conference
- North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference
- Northeast JC Football Conference
- Ohio Community College Athletic Conference
- Panhandle Conference
- Pennsylvania Collegiate Athletic Association (Defunct)
- Scenic West Athletic Conference
- Southern Conference
- Southwest Junior College Conference
- Southwest Junior College Football Conference
- Suncoast Conference
- Tennessee Community College Athletic Association
- Western Junior College Athletic Conference
- Western New York Athletic Conference
- Western Pennsylvania Athletic Conference
- Western States Football League
- Wyoming Community College Athletic Conference
California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA)
- Bay Valley Conference
- Big Eight Conference (California)
- Central Valley Conference
- Coast Conference
- Golden Valley Conference
- Inland Empire Athletic Conference
- Orange Empire Conference
- Pacific Coast Athletic Conference
- South Coast Conference
- Western State Conference
Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC)
- Northern Region
- Southern Region
- Eastern Region
- Western Region
Independent conferences
- Independent Junior College Athletic Association
- Northern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
- Pacific Christian Athletic Conference
- Wisconsin Collegiate Conference
- Ohio Regional Campus Conference
- New South Athletic Conference
Other collegiate sports associations
Boxing
- National Collegiate Boxing Association (NCBA)
- United States Intercollegiate Boxing Association (USIBA)
Cycling
- ACCC: Atlantic Collegiate Cycling Conference
- RMCCC: Rocky Mountain Collegiate Cycling Conference
- ECCC: Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference
- SCCCC: South Central Collegiate Cycling Conference
- MWCCC: Midwestern Collegiate Cycling Conference
- SECCC: Southeastern Collegiate Cycling Conference
- NCCCC: North Central Collegiate Cycling Conference
- SWCCC: Southwestern Collegiate Cycling Conference
- NWCCC: Northwestern Collegiate Cycling Conference
- WCCC: Western Collegiate Cycling Conference
Fencing
- Baltimore-Washington Collegiate Fencing Conference (BWCFC)
- Northern California Intercollegiate Fencing League (NCIFL)
- Southern Atlantic Conference (SAC)
- Southwestern Intercollegiate Fencing Association (SWIFA)
Gymnastics
- East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) (women)
- Eastern Intercollegiate Gymnastics League (EIGL) (men)
Lacrosse
- See: Category:College lacrosse leagues in the United States
Rowing
- Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges (EARC) (men)
- Eastern Association of Women's Rowing Colleges (EAWRC)
- Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) (men)
Sprint football
Volleyball
- Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association
Water polo
Wrestling
- National Collegiate Wrestling Association
- Mid-Atlantic – Teams from Tennessee, the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware
- North Central – Teams from Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin
- Northeast – Teams from New York, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont
- Northwest – Teams from Washington and British Columbia
- Southeast – Teams from Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi
- Southwest – Teams from Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Kansas
- West – Teams from California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona
List of Oldest College Sports Conferences
The following table is a sortable listing of the oldest college sports conferences (organizations of athletic teams at the collegiate level) in the United States of America. This includes U.S. collegiate sports organizations of NCAA Divisions I, II, and III; as well as various sports including Rowing, Cricket, Basketball, Hockey, Wrestling, Football, Basketball, Track, and more.
| Conference | Alias | Founded | Defunct | Type | Predecessor | Successor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rowing Association of American Colleges | RAAC | 1870 | 1894 | Rowing | Intercollegiate Rowing Association | |
| Intercollegiate Rowing Association | IRA | 1895 | Rowing | Rowing Association of American Colleges | ||
| Intercollegiate Cricket Association | ICA | 1881 | 1924 | Cricket | ||
| Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League | Ivy League | 1901 | 1955 | Basketball | Ivy League | |
| Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association | EIWA | 1903 | Wrestling | |||
| Ivy League | Ivies | 1954 | NCAA | Rowing Association of American Colleges, Intercollegiate Cricket Association, Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League, Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association | ||
| Big Ten Conference | B1G | 1896 | NCAA | Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives, Western Conference, Big Nine, does not retain legacy of Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the Northwest | ||
| Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the Northwest | IAAN | 1892 | 1893 | Football, Baseball, Track | Big Ten Conference | |
| Southwest Conference | SWC | 1914 | 1996 | NCAA | Southwest Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | Big 12 Conference, Western Athletic Conference, Conference USA |
| Big 12 Conference | Big 12 | 1994* | NCAA | Southwest Conference, Big Eight Conference, but does not retain legacy of either* | ||
| Pac-12 Conference | Pac-12 | 1915 | NCAA | Pacific Coast Conference, Athletic Association of Western Universities, Pacific-8, Pacific-10 | ||
| Missouri Valley Conference | MVC / Valley | 1907 | NCAA | Shares founding members with Big Eight Conference | ||
| Big Eight Conference | Big 8 | 1907 | 1996 | NCAA | Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Big Six Conference, Big Seven Conference, Big Eight Conference | Big 12 Conference |
| Border Conference | 1931 | 1962 | NCAA | Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Western Athletic Conference, Pac-12 Conference, Big 12 Conference | |
| Skyline Conference | Skyline Eight | 1938 | 1962 | NCAA | Mountain States Athletic Conference, Big Seven, Skyline Six | Western Athletic Conference, Mountain West |
| Western Athletic Conference | WAC | 1962 | NCAA | Border Conference, Skyline Conference, Pac-12 Conference | Pac-12 Conference, Mountain West, Conference USA | |
| Metro Conference | Metro | 1975 | 1995 | NCAA | Conference USA, Big East, American Athletic Conference | |
| American Athletic Conference | The American / AAC | 1979 | NCAA | Big East | ||
| Big East Conference | Big East | 1979 | NCAA | Atlantic 10 Conference | American Athletic Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference, Big East Conference | |
| Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association | SIAA | 1892 | 1947 | NCAA | Southeastern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12 Conference, Conference USA, Ohio Valley Conference, Southern Athletic Association, and others | |
| Southern Conference | SoCon | 1921 | NCAA | Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Southeastern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference, Metro Conference, Atlantic 10 Conference, Coastal Athletic Association, Conference USA | |
| Southeastern Conference | SEC | 1932 | NCAA | Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Southern Conference, Big 12 Conference | ||
| Atlantic Coast Conference | ACC | 1953 | NCAA | Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Southern Conference, Metro Conference, Big East | ||
| Mid-American Conference | MAC | 1946 | NCAA | |||
| Southwestern Athletic Conference | SWAC | 1920 | NCAA | |||
| Big West Conference | BWC | 1968 | NCAA | Pacific Coast Athletic Association | Western Athletic Conference, Mountain West | |
| West Coast Conference | WCC | 1952 | NCAA | California Basketball Association, West Coast Athletic Conference | Big West Conference, Western Athletic Conference, Mountain West | |
| Atlantic 10 Conference | A-10 | 1976 | NCAA | Eastern Collegiate Basketball League, Eastern Athletic Association, Eastern 8 | Big East, American Athletic Conference | |
| Yankee Conference | 1947 | 1997 | NCAA | New England Conference | Atlantic 10 Conference, CAA Football | |
| Coastal Athletic Association Football Conference | CAA Football | 2007 | NCAA | New England Conference, Yankee Conference, Atlantic 10 Conference | ||
| Coastal Athletic Association | CAA | 1979 | NCAA | ECAC | ||
| New England Conference | 1923 | 1947 | NCAA | New England College Conference of Intercollegiate Athletics | Yankee Conference | |
| Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | IIAC | 1908 | 1970 | NCAA | Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | |
| Western Collegiate Hockey Association | WCHA | 1951 | Hockey | Midwest Collegiate Hockey League, Western Intercollegiate Hockey League | ||
| ECAC Hockey | ECAC | 1961 | Hockey | Eastern College Athletic Conference, ECAC Hockey League | ||
| North Central Conference | NCC | 1922 | 2008 | Division II | Northern Sun, Summit | |
| Northern California Athletic Conference | NCAC | 1925 | 1996 | Division II | Far Western Conference | |
| Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association | CIAA | 1912 | Division II | Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association | ||
| Conference Carolinas | CVAC | 1930 | Division II | North State Conference, Carolinas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference | ||
| California Collegiate Athletic Association | CCAA | 1938 | Division II | |||
| Lone Star Conference | LSC | 1931 | Division II | |||
| Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association | MIAA | 1912 | Division II | Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association | ||
| Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference | NSIC | 1932 | Division II | Northern Teachers Athletic Conference, State Teacher's College Conference of Minnesota, Northern Intercollegiate Conference, Northern Sun Conference | ||
| Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference | RMAC | 1909 | Division II | Colorado Faculty Athletic Conference, Rocky Mountain Faculty Athletic Conference | ||
| Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | SIAC | 1913 | Division II | |||
| West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | WVIAC | 1924 | 2013 | Division II | Mountain East, Great Midwest | |
| American Rivers Conference | ARC | 1922 | Division III | Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | ||
| Middle Atlantic Conferences | MAC | 1912 | Division III | Middle Atlantic States Collegiate Athletics Association, Middle Atlantic States Collegiate Athletic Conference | ||
| Midwest Conference | MWC | 1921 | Division III | Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference, Midwest Athletic Conference for Women | ||
| Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | MIAC | 1920 | Division III | |||
| Northwest Conference | NWC | 1926 | Division III | |||
| Ohio Athletic Conference | OAC | 1902 | Division III | |||
| Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | SCIAC | 1915 | Division III | |||
| Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | WIAC | 1913 | Division III | Inter-Normal Athletic Conference of Wisconsin, Wisconsin State Teachers College Conference, Wisconsin State College Conference, Wisconsin State University Athletic Conference |
See also
- List of NCAA Conferences
- List of NAIA Conferences
- National Junior College Athletic Association
- List of college athletic conferences in the United States
- List of defunct college football conferences
- List of defunct college football teams
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