2021–22 NCAA conference realignment

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The 2021–2022 NCAA conference realignment refers to extensive changes in NCAA conference membership, primarily at the Division I level, beginning in the 2021–22 academic year.

Most of these changes have involved conferences in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of Division I. Of the 10 FBS conferences, 5 will undergo changes in membership, while an additional 3 conferences (Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten Conference, and Pacific-12 Conference) have formed an alliance of their own.

The Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) also saw significant changes, most notably the beginning of football sponsorship by the ASUN Conference; the return of football by the Western Athletic Conference, which previously sponsored football at the FBS level until the end of the 2012 season; and the impending football-only merger of the Big South Conference and Ohio Valley Conference.

FBS conferences affected[]

Southeastern Conference[]

On July 21, 2021, the Houston Chronicle reported that Oklahoma and Texas had approached the Southeastern Conference (SEC) about the possibility of joining that league.[1] On July 26, Oklahoma and Texas notified the Big 12 Conference that the two schools do not wish to extend their grant of television rights beyond the 2024–25 athletic year and intend to leave the conference.[2] On July 29, the presidents and chancellors of the 14 current SEC members voted unanimously to extend invitations to Oklahoma and Texas, effective in 2025.[3]

Big 12 Conference[]

Further information: History of the Big 12 Conference § 2021

With the losses of Texas and Oklahoma, the Big 12 Conference was reduced from 10 to 8 teams. On September 10, the Big 12 announced that FBS independent and West Coast Conference non-football member BYU, along with American Athletic Conference (AAC) members Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF would join the conference no later than 2024–25, though they could possibly join for 2023–24.[4]

ACC–Big Ten–Pac-12 Alliance[]

There was an announcement of an alliance between the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big Ten Conference and Pac-12 Conference on August 24, 2021. It consisted of adding games between teams in these three conferences in football, as well as men's and women's college basketball.[5]

American Athletic Conference[]

The losses of Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF left the AAC with 8 remaining schools. After invitations to Mountain West Conference members Boise State, Air Force, Colorado State, and San Diego State to join the AAC were all declined,[6] the AAC then pivoted to Conference USA (C-USA) to add 6 of its members on October 21, 2021: Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, UAB, North Texas, Rice, and UTSA.[7] The additions will put the AAC at 14 members for both football and basketball, with Navy being a football-only member and Wichita State being a non-football full member.

Sun Belt Conference[]

The departures of the aforementioned 6 schools reduced Conference USA's membership from 14 to 8, and sensing the instability of the conference, the remaining members looked to join other conferences. In late October 2021, C-USA members Southern Miss, Old Dominion and Marshall applied and were accepted to the Sun Belt Conference, to begin play in the 2022–23 season.[8][9][10] On November 6, the Sun Belt added James Madison, a Colonial Athletic Association member playing FCS football. Due to the Colonial's policy of prohibiting departing members from participating in conference tournaments, JMU was initially slated to play the 2022–23 football season as an FBS independent with other sports playing as de facto Sun Belt affiliates; full membership would have begun with the 2023–24 season.[11][12][13] However, on February 2, 2022, JMU and the Sun Belt announced that JMU would join for all sports sponsored by the conference, including football, on July 1.[14] On February 11, Southern Miss, Old Dominion, and Marshall announced that they too would join the Sun Belt Conference in 2022. However, C-USA had previously indicated on January 20 that it expected all three schools to remain in the league through 2022–23. ESPN journalist Adam Rittenberg cited an unnamed source regarding this development, "It's not going to be an amicable split. It's gotten ugly, and I assume it's going to get uglier."[15] The source's prediction was apparently proven true when Marshall filed suit against C-USA in its local court in an attempt to force a 2022 move.[16] On March 1, the Sun Belt released its 2022 football schedule with Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss included, making no mention of the ongoing legal dispute or the possibility that the three schools would not become members for the 2022–23 school year.[17] By the end of that month, the three schools and C-USA reached a settlement that allowed the schools to join the Sun Belt in July 2022.[18]

The increase in the Sun Belt's football membership led to reports that the conference's two non-football members, Little Rock and UT Arlington, would leave the conference; this eventually did happen, with Little Rock joining the Ohio Valley Conference and UT Arlington rejoining the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), a league in which it had been a member in the 2012–13 school year.[19][20]

Conference USA[]

Having lost 6 of its 14 members to the AAC and 3 to the Sun Belt, Conference USA was left with 5 remaining members, short of the NCAA minimum of 6 and the FBS minimum of 8. On November 5, 2021, C-USA invited four schools: FBS independents Liberty and New Mexico State, who play non-football sports in the ASUN Conference and Western Athletic Conference respectively, ASUN full member Jacksonville State, and WAC full member Sam Houston State. All four schools will begin C-USA play with the 2023–24 season.[21] Per NCAA rules Jacksonville State and Sam Houston State serve a two-year probationary period. Liberty and New Mexico State are established FBS members and do not have to serve probationary periods.

Around the same time, reports surfaced that C-USA members Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee were poised to join the Mid-American Conference (MAC). However, Middle Tennessee elected to remain in C-USA, and the MAC did not invite Western Kentucky after Middle Tennessee did not join.[22]

FCS conferences affected[]

Western Athletic Conference[]

On January 14, 2021, the Western Athletic Conference, which last sponsored football at the FBS level during the 2012 season, announced its intention to reinstate football as a conference-sponsored sport at the FCS level, as well as the addition of five new members to the conference in all sports. The new members announced included four Southland Conference members from Texas in Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston, and Stephen F. Austin, plus Southern Utah from the Big Sky Conference. Those five schools joined existing WAC members Tarleton and Dixie State (which will be renamed Utah Tech in July 2022) to make up the WAC's initial football membership.[23] The four Southland schools were initially planned to join the WAC for the 2022–23 school year, but the WAC pushed their entry forward to 2021–22 after the Southland expelled all four schools.[24][25] Southern Utah will join on its originally planned schedule of 2022–23, with SUU and the Big Sky agreeing to honor their scheduling commitments for 2021–22.[26]

That same day, WAC non-football member UTRGV announced that it would begin sponsoring football no later than the 2024 season,[27] while the WAC announced that Chicago State, a geographical outlier for much of its time in the WAC, would depart the conference on July 1, 2022.[28]

On November 12, the WAC added Southland member Incarnate Word for the 2022–23 season.[29] Though fellow Southland member McNeese was rumored to be joining the WAC along with Incarnate Word, it instead chose to remain in the Southland.[30] On January 21, 2022, the WAC added Sun Belt Conference member UT Arlington, which had joined and left the WAC in the early-2010s realignment cycle, for the 2022–23 season.[20]

With the departures of New Mexico State and Sam Houston to Conference USA, the WAC will have 13 members going forward, 8 of which will play football in the conference.[21]

ASUN Conference[]

On January 29, 2021, the ASUN Conference (formerly the Atlantic Sun Conference) announced that it too would begin sponsoring football at the FCS level beginning in 2022–23, as well as announcing three new members for the 2021–22 season: Jacksonville State and Eastern Kentucky from the Ohio Valley Conference, and Central Arkansas from the Southland Conference. Those three schools plus existing ASUN members Kennesaw State and North Alabama, which had been playing football in the Big South Conference, would make up the first five ASUN football members, with a requisite sixth member to be announced at a later date.[31] For the 2021 football season, the ASUN and WAC formed a football-only partnership, with the three new ASUN members competing alongside WAC members for an automatic bid to the FCS playoffs.[32]

On September 17, that sixth football member was revealed to be Austin Peay, which would join the conference for 2022–23.[33] Though the ASUN will have the requisite 6 football members for the 2022 season, the impending departure of Jacksonville State in 2023 will necessitate a replacement football member to meet the conference minimum. Such a member has not yet been announced. ASUN full member Stetson plays football in the Pioneer Football League, a conference for Division I FCS schools that do not offer football scholarships. Another full member, Bellarmine, will add football in 2022 but will play sprint football, a non-NCAA variant played under standard NCAA rules but with player weights limited to 178 pounds (81 kg).

Shortly before Peay was announced as an incoming member, media reports indicated that the ASUN had approached at least five Division II members regarding possible membership—football-sponsoring Valdosta State, West Florida, and West Georgia and non-football Lincoln Memorial and Queens (NC).[34]

Southland Conference[]

With much of the Southland Conference's football membership leaving for the WAC and ASUN, on September 28, the Southland announced that Division II school Texas A&M–Commerce would move up to Division I and join the conference beginning with the 2022–23 season.[35] This leaves the Southland with 8 full members, 6 of which play football.

Shortly after A&M–Commerce was announced as an incoming member, the Southland and Ohio Valley Conference, which had lost three football-sponsoring schools in this realignment cycle (and would later lose a fourth), announced a football scheduling alliance for the 2022 and 2023 seasons.[36]

Ohio Valley Conference[]

In addition to three Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) football members joining the ASUN, two additional OVC members have announced their intent to leave the conference. On September 28, 2021, non-football member Belmont announced it would join the Missouri Valley Conference for the 2022–23 season.[37] On January 7, 2022, Murray State announced that it too would join the MVC for 2022–23.[38] Though the MVC does not sponsor football, Murray State is attempting to join the Missouri Valley Football Conference (a separate entity from the Missouri Valley Conference) starting with the 2023 season.[39] At the time of this announcement, the expected 2023 departure of Murray State football would have left the Ohio Valley Conference with 5 football members. (Full OVC member Morehead State plays non-scholarship football in the Pioneer Football League.)

On December 9, Sun Belt Conference non-football member Little Rock was announced as the newest OVC member starting with the 2022–23 season.[19] Exactly two months later, another new non-football member, Division II upgrader Southern Indiana, was announced as a July 2022 entry,[40] and on February 23 Lindenwood, a football-sponsoring D-II school, was also announced as a July 2022 entry.[41]

The day before the Lindenwood announcement saw a major change to the FCS football landscape when the OVC and Big South Conference announced their plans to merge their respective football leagues effective in 2023. Certain major details of the alliance—specifically, whether it would be operated by the Big South or OVC, or become a completely separate entity—were not revealed at the time.[42]

Colonial Athletic Association[]

The departure of James Madison left the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) with 11 football members and 9 all-sports members. On January 18, 2022, NJ.com reported that Monmouth, a full member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and football-only member of the Big South Conference, would join the CAA for all sports starting in 2022–23. They also reported Big South full member Hampton and America East Conference member Stony Brook would probably join the CAA.[43] Hampton had been working toward an eventual CAA invitation since at least 1995,[44] and Stony Brook had been a member of the CAA football league (technically a separate entity from the all-sports CAA) since 2013. On January 25, all three schools were officially announced to join the CAA for 2022–23.

On February 18, North Carolina A&T received approval from its board of trustees to move from the Big South to the CAA, and the CAA officially announced A&T's move on February 22. While A&T will join the all-sports CAA in time for the 2022–23 season, the football team will wait until the 2023 season to move to the CAA football league.[45]

Big South Conference[]

On January 25, the Colonial Athletic Association announced that Big South Conference full member Hampton and football-only member Monmouth will join the CAA for the 2022-23 season. These departures, along with football-only members Kennesaw State and North Alabama leaving to play in the ASUN Conference, at the time brought the Big South's football membership down to 5 members, one short of the conference minimum.[31][43] (Big South full member Presbyterian plays non-scholarship football in the Pioneer Football League.) On March 29, 2022, the football membership was restored to 6 with the announcement that Bryant would join as a football-only member effective with the 2022 season.[46] The departure of North Carolina A&T to the CAA in 2023 will reduce the Big South's football membership to 5; the Big South's full membership will be reduced to 10 starting with the 2022-23 season.

As noted previously, the Big South and OVC will merge their football leagues effective in 2023.[42]

Big Sky Conference[]

Southern Utah will leave the Big Sky Conference on July 1, 2022. Southern Utah's departure puts the Big Sky at 10 full members, all of whom sponsor football, with Cal Poly and UC Davis as football-only members.[23]

Northeast Conference[]

On March 29, 2022, Bryant announced that it would leave the Northeast Conference (NEC) that July, with most sports joining the America East Conference and football joining the Big South.[47] Bryant's departure will drop the NEC to 9 full members and 7 football members.

Non-football Division I conferences affected[]

America East Conference[]

On May 6, 2021, America East Conference member Hartford's governing board voted to begin the process of transitioning the school's athletic program from Division I to Division III.[48] The plan calls for the following steps:

  • January 2022: Formal request for reclassification with the NCAA.
  • 2022–23: No athletic scholarships will be awarded to incoming students.
  • 2023–24: Become a provisional member in a D-III conference to be determined; transition remaining students off athletic scholarships by the end of that school year.
  • 2024–25: Become a full member of the aforementioned D-III conference.
  • 2025–26: Full D-III membership.

On January 25, Stony Brook was announced as a full member of the Colonial Athletic Association starting in 2022-23.

On March 29, Bryant was announced to join the America East Conference in all sports but football starting in 2022-23.

Atlantic 10 Conference[]

On November 16, 2021, the Atlantic 10 announced that Loyola Chicago would join the conference starting with the 2022–23 season. As the A-10 does not anticipate gaining or losing any further members for the foreseeable future, the conference will have 15 members going forward.[49]

Horizon League[]

On January 22, 2022, CBSSports.com reported that UIC would leave the Horizon League for the MVC in July.[50] This report was confirmed on January 26 when UIC was unveiled as a new MVC member, effective that July.[51] The Horizon League will drop down to 11 members going forward.

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference[]

Monmouth's departure for the CAA in 2022 will leave the MAAC with 10 members.[43]

Missouri Valley Conference[]

Losing Loyola Chicago, whose men's basketball team had made the Final Four in 2018 and Sweet Sixteen in 2021, was a significant athletic blow to the MVC, but was arguably a larger institutional blow. The Chicago area, especially its suburbs, is a major source of students for many MVC members, and Loyola's departure would leave the conference without a significant presence in the city.[a][52] The basketball issue was addressed with the addition of Belmont and Murray State, both frequent contenders for NCAA men's tournament berths, putting the Missouri Valley Conference at 11 members.[37][38][49] The issue of a Chicago presence was addressed by entering into negotiations with the city's largest university, UIC. CBSSports.com reported on January 22, 2022, that UIC had indeed been invited and accepted;[50] this move was made official four days later.[51] The conference reportedly reached out to Kansas City of the Summit League for potential membership before this, in addition to UIC, as well as Sun Belt member UT Arlington (which instead rejoined the WAC).[53]

West Coast Conference[]

With Brigham Young University leaving the West Coast Conference for the Big 12 in 2023, the WCC will drop down to 9 members going forward.[4]

Membership changes[]

List of confirmed and rumored changes[]

Main article: List of NCAA Division I conference changes since 2010

Membership change statistics[]

Full membership[]

Conference Old membership total New membership total Net change Members added Members lost
America East 10 9 −1 1 2
American 11 14 +3 6 3
ASUN 9 11 +2 4 2
Atlantic 10 14 15 +1 1 0
Big 12 10 12 +2 4 2
Big South 12 10 −2 0 2
Big Sky 11 10 −1 0 1
Colonial 10 13 +3 4 1
Conference USA 14 9 −5 4 9
Horizon 12 11 −1 0 1
MAAC 11 10 −1 0 1
Missouri Valley 10 12 +2 3 1
Northeast 10 9 -1 0 1
Ohio Valley 12 10 −2 3 5
SEC 14 16 +2 2 0
Southland 13 8 −5 1 6
Sun Belt 12 14 +2 4 2
West Coast 10 9 −1 0 1
WAC 9 13 +4 7 3

Football[]

The following table is reflective of both football-only membership changes and full membership changes that include football. This does not reflect the impending football-only merger of the Big South and OVC because full organizational details of the merger have yet to be announced.

Conference Subdivision Old membership total New membership total Net change Members added Members lost
American FBS 11 14 +3 6 3
ASUN FCS 0 5 +5 6 1
Big Sky FCS 13 12 −1 0 1
Big South FCS 9 5 −4 1 5
Big 12 FBS 10 12 +2 4 2
Colonial FCS 12 14 +2 3 1
Conference USA FBS 14 9 −5 4 9
Northeast FCS 8 7 −1 0 1
Ohio Valley FCS 9 6 −3 1 4
SEC FBS 14 16 +2 2 0
Southland FCS 11 6 −5 1 6
Sun Belt FBS 10 14 +4 4 0
WAC FCS 0 8 +8 9 1

See also[]

Footnotes[]

  1. ^ At the time, the MVC had another member in the Chicago area, Valparaiso, but that school is on the eastern fringes of the federally defined Chicago area (as opposed to Loyola being in Chicago proper), and has less than a third of the enrollment of Loyola.

References[]

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