List of NCAA Division II institutions
There are 300 American, Canadian, and Puerto Rican colleges and universities classified as Division II for NCAA competition during the 2026–27 academic year, including four schools that are in the process of reclassifying to Division II. Forty-four of the 50 U.S. states, plus the District of Columbia, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the Canadian province of British Columbia are represented. Arizona, Louisiana, Maine, Nevada, Rhode Island, and Wyoming do not currently have D-II institutions, although a Louisiana-based institution has announced plans to transition to D-II by 2027.
NCAA Division II is the smallest division in the NCAA by school count.
Division II institutions
[edit]Full members
[edit]Reinstating athletics
[edit]| School | Nickname | City | State/ Province |
Enrollment | Conference | Reinstating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sonoma State University[q] | Seawolves | Rohnert Park | CA | 6,566 | California Collegiate Athletic Association | 2027[r] |
- Notes
- ↑ Christian Brothers will transition back to the NAIA at the end of the 2026–27 athletic season.[2]
- ↑ The school does not sponsor women's basketball.
- ↑ Lincoln University's mailing address is located in the census-designated place of Lincoln University, approximately 4 miles northeast of the nearest borough of Oxford.
- ↑ Maryville's primary campus is located in Town and Country, but its mailing address is St. Louis.
- ↑ Men's only institution in undergraduate programs, therefore it does not compete in women's sports.
- ↑ Purdue Northwest maintains a branch campus in Westville, where the men's and women's cross country teams are housed and where the men's and women's basketball & women's volleyball teams play a portion of their home contests; the other intercollegiate athletics teams compete on the main campus in Hammond.
- ↑ Roberts Wesleyan's campus is located in North Chili, but its mailing address is Rochester.
- ↑ Saint Anselm will transition to NCAA Division III at the end of the 2026–27 athletic season.[3]
- ↑ Salem will transition back to the NAIA after the 2026–27 athletic season.[4]
- ↑ Simon Fraser University will rejoin U Sports starting in 2027.[5]
- ↑ The college's athletic facilities are spread across the campus, which is split between Manchester and Hooksett.
- ↑ This number accounts only for Southern New Hampshire University's on-campus enrollment. The university's online enrollment totals well over 200,000.
- ↑ Despite the fact the school accepts male students, only women's sports are sponsored by the school.
- ↑ The mailing address is Greeneville, but the campus is in unincorporated Greene County in the census-designated place of Tusculum, Tennessee.
- ↑ The school does not sponsor men's basketball.
- ↑ Virginia State's campus is in Ettrick, but has a Petersburg mailing address.
- ↑ Sonoma State is still considered a NCAA Division II member despite having suspended its athletic program for two seasons.
- ↑ Sonoma State will reinstate their athletic program starting in the 2027–28 athletic season.[7]
Reclassifying to Division II
[edit]The reclassification process from one NCAA division to another requires three to five years, except for moves to Division II. Moves from Division III or another national governing body (such as the NAIA) to Division II typically requires three years, but as of 2024 can be expedited to only need two.[8] Moves from Division I to II require two years.
| School | Nickname | City | State/ province |
Enrollment | Conference | Reclassifying from |
Full membership |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferrum College[9] | Panthers | Ferrum | VA | 780 | Conference Carolinas | NCAA D-III | 2027 |
| Middle Georgia State University[10] | Knights | Macon and Cochran[a] | GA | 8,409 | Peach Belt Conference | NAIA | 2028 |
| Shawnee State University[11] | Bears | Portsmouth | OH | 3,641 | Mountain East Conference | NAIA | 2028 |
| Texas A&M University–Texarkana[12] | Eagles | Texarkana | TX | 2,109 | Lone Star Conference | NAIA | 2029 |
Reclassifying from Division II
[edit]The following programs are reclassifying away from NCAA Division II, or have announced definitive plans to do so. Under current NCAA rules, they must have an invitation from a conference to begin the transition to Division I. During the normally four-year transition period, they are ineligible for the Division I playoffs. Since January 2025, there is an option to shorten this transition to three years.[13]
| School name | Common name | Teams | Location | State | Type | Subdivision | Conference | Reclassified | Full D-I member |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercyhurst University | Mercyhurst | Lakers | Erie | PA | Private | FCS | Northeast Conference | 2024[14] | 2027 |
| University of New Haven | New Haven | Chargers | New Haven | CT | Private | FCS | Northeast Conference | 2025[15] | 2028 |
| University of West Florida | West Florida | Argonauts | Pensacola | FL | Public | FCS | Atlantic Sun Conference | 2026[16] | 2029 |
| University of West Georgia | West Georgia | Wolves | Carrollton | GA | Public | FCS | United Athletic Conference | 2024[17] | 2027 |
- ↑ Middle Georgia State's main campus is in Macon, where the women's cross-country and volleyball teams and men's and women's tennis teams are housed; the other intercollegiate athletics teams compete on the Cochran campus.
Pending
[edit]These schools are actively pursuing Division II membership, but have not yet been approved by the NCAA to transition to Division II. Schools wishing to move within the NCAA to Division II must apply by either October 1, with the NCAA making its decision the following February; or February 1, with the NCAA making its decision that July.
| School | Nickname | City | State | Enrollment | Conference | Current affiliation | Applying |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lackawanna College[18] | Falcons | Scranton | PA | 1,939 | Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference | EPAC (NJCAA) | 2027[19] |
| Loyola University New Orleans[20] | Wolf Pack | New Orleans | LA | 4,351 | Gulf South Conference | SSAC (NAIA) | 2027 |
| Monroe University[21] | Mustangs | New Rochelle | NY | 7,924 | Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference | Independent (NJCAA) | 2027[22] |
| Texas Wesleyan University[23] | Rams | Fort Worth | TX | 2,666 | Lone Star Conference | Sooner (NAIA) | 2027 |
| Georgia Gwinnett College[24] | Grizzlies | Lawrenceville | GA | 11,907 | Peach Belt Conference | Continental (NAIA) | TBA |
Sports not in D-II
[edit]The NCAA does not conduct separate Division II championships in the following sports:
- Men: Gymnastics, ice hockey, volleyball, water polo (note, however, that no Division II member currently sponsors men's gymnastics)
- Women: Bowling, gymnastics, ice hockey, water polo, wrestling. The first official championships in acrobatics & tumbling and stunt will be held in 2026–27, and a separate Division II bowling championship will be established in 2027–28.
- Coeducational: Fencing, rifle, skiing
Some schools have opted to compete in a sport at a higher level and are allowed to do so by the NCAA under certain circumstances. First, when the NCAA placed severe restrictions on the fielding of Division I teams by Division II institutions in 2011, it grandfathered in all then-current D-I teams at D-II schools. Apart from this, Division II members are allowed to compete for Division I championships in sports in which a Division II national championship is not contested.
In some sports, the NCAA only sponsors championships open to all member schools regardless of division, with examples including beach volleyball, fencing, rifle, and water polo. In men's and women's ice hockey and men's volleyball, the NCAA holds Division III championships, but does not hold a separate D-II championship. The NCAA officially classifies all championship events that are open to schools from more than one division as "National Collegiate", except in men's ice hockey, in which the top-level championship is styled as a Division I championship (presumably due to the past existence of a Division II championship in that sport). Division II members are allowed to compete for National Collegiate championships as well as the Division I men's ice hockey championship; in all such sports, they are allowed to operate under the same rules and scholarship restrictions that apply to full Division I members in that sport.
The Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) sponsors men's ice hockey for its members who choose to remain in D-II, including a postseason tournament.
Several NE-10 members that sponsored women’s ice hockey also competed in the ECAC Women’s East and pursued the ECAC Open title, a women's ice hockey postseason tournament for those teams remaining in D-II but competing as independents during the regular season, but that tournament has been superseded by the New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA), which began play in 2017 as a scheduling agreement between all of the existing women's National Collegiate independents (including full D-I member Sacred Heart), organized as a full conference in 2018, and received official NCAA recognition in 2019.
Because the NE-10 is the sole Division II hockey league, its postseason champion cannot compete for the NCAA national hockey championship. The Post University men's team competes as D-II as a single-sport NE-10 member, while its women's team is a member of the NEWHA.
- Future conference affiliations indicated in this list will take effect on July 1 of the stated year. In the case of spring sports, the first year of competition will take place in the calendar year after the conference move becomes official.
Probation
[edit]The following is a list of Division II institutions currently on probation by the NCAA in one or more sports. Probation decisions are made by the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Committee on Infractions.
| Institution | Sport(s) | Expiration date |
|---|---|---|
| West Chester University | Men's basketball | December 17, 2026[25] |
| University of Nebraska-Kearney | Football | January 28, 2027[26] |
| Shepherd University | Entire athletic program | May 13, 2027[27] |
| West Texas A&M University | Men's and women's track & field, men's and women's cross country | May 21, 2027[28] |
| Westminster University (Utah) | Men's and women's track & field | June 25, 2027[29] |
| Fort Lewis College | Eleven sports[a] | July 8, 2027[30] |
| King University | Men's and women's volleyball | October 10, 2027[31] |
| Quincy University | 17 of 24 sports[b] | December 17, 2027[32] |
- ↑ Sports specifically mentioned in the NCAA infractions decision were football, men's and women's cross country, men's golf, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's indoor/outdoor track & field, and women's lacrosse.
- ↑ Sports specifically mentioned in the NCAA infractions decision were women's basketball, men's lacrosse, and men's and women's soccer.
See also
[edit]- List of NCAA Division II football programs
- List of NCAA Division II baseball programs
- List of NCAA Division II softball programs
- List of NCAA Division II lacrosse programs
- List of NCAA Division II men's soccer programs
- List of NCAA Division II women's soccer programs
- List of NCAA Division II men's wrestling programs
- List of NCAA Division II men's basketball programs
- List of NCAA Division I institutions
- List of NCAA Division III institutions
- List of NAIA institutions
- List of USCAA institutions
- List of NCCAA institutions
- List of NCAA Divisions II and III schools competing in NCAA Division I sports
References
[edit]- ↑ "Division II Members". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
- ↑ "CBU Pursues NAIA Mid-South Conference Membership". Christian Brothers University. September 16, 2026. Retrieved September 16, 2026.
- ↑ "PRESS RELEASE: Saint Anselm College Announces Athletics Transition Plan to Membership in the NEWMAC and NCAA Division III" (Press release). Saint Anselm College. April 22, 2026. Retrieved April 22, 2026.
- ↑ "Salem University Announces Return to NAIA, seeks to join River States Conference" (Press release). Salem Tigers. September 28, 2026. Retrieved September 28, 2026.
- ↑ "Simon Fraser University becomes U SPORTS' 59th member university". U Sports. June 4, 2026. Retrieved July 2, 2026.
- ↑ "UT Dallas State of the University 2022" (PDF). UT Dallas. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
- ↑ "Athletics to launch in Fall 2027". Sonoma State University. July 27, 2026. Retrieved August 7, 2026.
- ↑ Report of the NCAA Division II Membership Committee April 10 2024, Videoconference (PDF) (Report). NCAA Division II Membership Committee. April 10, 2024. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
- ↑ "Ferrum Accepted into DII Expedited Membership Process". Ferrum Panthers (Press release). February 12, 2025. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
- ↑ "Peach Belt Extends Invitation To Middle Georgia State University For Conference Membership" (Press release). Peach Belt Conference. January 10, 2024. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
- ↑ "Shawnee State Granted NCAA Division II Membership, Bound for Mountain East Conference" (Press release). Shawnee State University. February 11, 2026. Retrieved February 11, 2026.
- ↑ "Texas A&M University-Texarkana Accepted into NCAA Division II" (Press release). Texas A&M University–Texarkana. July 10, 2026. Retrieved July 10, 2026.
- ↑ "NCAA: D-I men's teams no longer need waivers for preseason games". ESPN.com. January 16, 2025. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
- ↑ "Welcome To The Lake Show: Mercyhurst University Accepts Northeast Conference Membership Invite" (Press release). Northeast Conference. April 4, 2024. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
- ↑ Polansky, Rob (May 6, 2025). "University of New Haven joins the NEC". WFSB. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
- ↑ "University of West Florida to Join the Atlantic Sun Conference, United Athletic Conference". Atlantic Sun Conference. April 2, 2026. Retrieved April 2, 2026.
- ↑ "UWG Athletics to Transition to NCAA Division I". West Georgia Athletics. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
- ↑ "PSAC extends invitation to Lackawanna College to become conference's 18th member institution" (Press release). Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. June 26, 2025. Retrieved June 26, 2025.
- ↑ "NCAA Division II Transition". Lackawanna Falcons. Retrieved August 8, 2026.
- ↑ "Loyola New Orleans set to join GSC, NCAA Division II for the 2027-28 academic year" (Press release). Loyola University New Orleans. June 9, 2026. Retrieved June 9, 2026.
- ↑ "CACC Welcomes Monroe University as its Newest Full-Time Member Institution" (Press release). Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference. November 6, 2025. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
- ↑ "Monroe University–New Rochelle Announces Pursuit of NCAA Division II Membership". Monroe Mustangs. Retrieved May 30, 2026.
- ↑ "Texas Wesleyan University Receives Invitation to Pursue NCAA Division II Membership" (Press release). Texas Wesleyan University. August 19, 2026. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
- ↑ "Georgia Gwinnett College Approved to Explore NCAA Division II Opportunities" (Press release). September 16, 2026. Retrieved September 16, 2026.
- ↑ "Negotiated Resolution: West Chester University of Pennsylvania" (Press release). NCAA. December 18, 2025.
- ↑ "Negotiated Resolution: University of Nebraska at Kearney". NCAA. January 29, 2025.
- ↑ "Negotiated Resolution: Shepherd University". NCAA. May 13, 2025.
- ↑ "Negotiated Resolution: West Texas A&M University" (Press release). NCAA. May 22, 2026. Retrieved July 16, 2026.
- ↑ "Negotiated Resolution: Westminster University (Utah)" (Press release). NCAA. June 26, 2025.
- ↑ "Negotiated Resolution: Fort Lewis College". NCAA. August 21, 2025.
- ↑ "King (Tennessee) failed to monitor men's and women's volleyball programs" (PDF). NCAA. October 11, 2024. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
- ↑ "Negotiated Resolution: Quincy University". NCAA. December 18, 2025.
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