List of NAIA conferences

The following is a list of National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) conferences as of the 2023–24 school year. Unless otherwise noted, changes in conference membership occur on July 1 of the given year.

## Current conferences[edit]

### Football[edit]

Conference | Nickname | Founded | Members | Sports | Headquarters | Map

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Appalachian Athletic Conference | AAC | 1985 | 16 [FB 1] | 24 | Asheville, North Carolina |
Frontier Conference | Frontier | 1952 | 6 [FB 2] | 16 | Billings, Montana |
Great Plains Athletic Conference | GPAC | 1969 | 12 [FB 3] | 19 | Sioux City, Iowa |
Heart of America Athletic Conference | HAAC | 1971 | 13 [FB 4] | 23 | Overland Park, Kansas |
NAIA Independents |  |  | 0 | 1 |  |
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference | KCAC | 1928 | 14 [FB 5] | 21 | Wichita, Kansas |
Mid-South Conference | MSC | 1995 | 7 [FB 6] | 21 | Bowling Green, Kentucky |
Mid-States Football Association | MSFA | 1993 | 14 [FB 7] | 1 | Findlay, Ohio |
North Star Athletic Association | NSAA | 2013 | 7 [FB 8] | 18 | Jamestown, North Dakota |
Sooner Athletic Conference | SAC | 1978 | 12 [FB 9] | 15 [FB 10] | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
Sun Conference | The Sun | 1990 | 9 [FB 11] | 17 | Daytona Beach, Florida |

Notes

1. ^ 16 members; 7 football members.
2. ^ 6 full members with Providence as a non-football member; 9 football members with Arizona Christian, College of Idaho, Eastern Oregon, and Southern Oregon as football affiliates.
* 7 full members and 10 football members in 2025 with addition of Dickinson State.
3. ^ 12 members; 11 football members.
* 12 members in 2024 with loss of Jamestown and addition of Waldorf.
4. ^ 13 members; 12 football members.
* 14 football members in 2024 with addition of St. Ambrose and William Woods.
* 15 members in 2025 with addition of Missouri Baptist and William Woods for all-sports.
5. ^ 14 members; 12 football members.
6. ^ 7 members; 7 football members with Freed–Hardeman as a non-football member, and with Faulkner as a football-only affiliate.
7. ^ 13 members in 2024 with loss of Roosevelt and St. Ambrose and addition of Defiance
8. ^ 7 members; 5 football members with Bellevue and Viterbo as non-football members.
* 6 members in 2024 with loss of Viterbo in non-football sports and Waldorf, and return of Jamestown.
* 5 members in 2025 with loss of Jamestown. Disbanding thereafter.
9. ^ 12 members; 10 football members with Central Christian, John Brown, Mid-America Christian, North Texas at Dallas, Oklahoma City, USAO, and Southwestern Christian as non-football members, and with Arkansas Baptist, Louisiana Christian, North American, Ottawa (AZ), and Texas College as football affiliates.
* 13 members in 2024 with addition of the non-football College of the Ozarks.
10. ^ The conference began sponsoring football in 2018.
11. ^ 9 members; 8 football members with Thomas as a football-only affiliate.
* 10 members in 2024 with addition of New College (FL).

### Non-football[edit]

Conference | Nickname | Founded | Members | Sports | Headquarters | Map

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American Midwest Conference | AMC | 1998 | 10 [NF 1] | 17 | St. Louis, Missouri |
California Pacific Conference | CalPac | 1996 | 13 [NF 2] | 10 | Oakland, California |
Cascade Collegiate Conference | CCC | 1988 | 12 | 13 | Clackamas, Oregon |
Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference | CCAC | 1949 | 12 [NF 3] | 16 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
Continental Athletic Conference (Independents) | CAC | 2008 | 16 [NF 4] | 21 |  |
Crossroads League | CL | 1959 | 10 | 15 | Hartford City, Indiana |
Golden State Athletic Conference | GSAC | 1986 | 8 [NF 5] | 13 | Irvine, California |
Gulf Coast Athletic Conference | GCAC | 1981 | 10 [NF 6] | 16 | New Orleans, Louisiana |
Red River Athletic Conference | RRAC | 1998 | 14 | 15 | Dallas, Texas |
River States Conference | RSC | 1916 | 14 [NF 7] | 15 | Florence, Kentucky |
Southern States Athletic Conference | SSAC | 1999 | 13 [NF 8] | 15 | Atlanta, Georgia |
Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference | WHAC | 1992 | 12 [NF 9] | 21 | Livonia, Michigan |

Notes

1. ^ 12 members in 2024 with addition of Crowley's Ridge and Mission.
* 10 members in 2025 with loss of Missouri Baptist and William Woods.
2. ^ 8 members in 2024 with losses of Antelope Valley, Benedictine at Mesa, Embry–Riddle Prescott, Park–Gilbert, and Saint Katherine.
* 7 members in 2025 with loss of UC Merced.
3. ^ 12 members in 2024 with loss of Roosevelt and addition of Viterbo.
4. ^ 13 members in 2024 with losses of College of the Ozarks, Crowley's Ridge, Voorhees, and Wilberforce and addition of Spartanburg Methodist.
5. ^ 9 members in 2024 with losses of Jessup, Menlo, and Vanguard, additions of Benedictine at Mesa, Embry–Riddle Prescott, Park–Gilbert, and Saint Katherine.
6. ^ 13 members in 2024 with addition of Stillman, Voorhees, and Wilberforce.
7. ^ 12 members in 2024 with loss of Ohio Christian and Point Park.
8. ^ 13 members in 2024 with addition of Abraham Baldwin and loss of Stillman.
* 12 members in 2025 with loss of Middle Georgia State.
9. ^ 13 members in 2024 with addition of Defiance.

## Defunct conferences[edit]

### Football[edit]

* Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference (1928–1995)
* Central States Intercollegiate Conference (1976–1989)
* Dakota Athletic Conference (2000–2012)
* Eastern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (closed in 2003)
* Evergreen Conference (1948–1984)
* Great Plains Athletic Conference (1972–1976)
* Hoosier–Buckeye Conference (1948–1985)
* Missouri College Athletic Union (1924–1970)
* Nebraska College Conference (1916–1976)
* North Dakota College Athletic Conference[a] (closed in 2000)
* Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference (1929–1973), formerly the Oklahoma Collegiate Conference
* Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference (1974–1997)
* Pacific Northwest Athletic Conference (1984–1998)
* South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference[a] (closed in 2000)
* South East Atlantic Conference (2004–2008), football only, members became NAIA football independents
* Southern States Conference (1938–1997), formerly the Alabama Intercollegiate Conference and the Alabama Collegiate Conference
* Tri-State Conference (1960–1981)
* Volunteer State Athletic Conference (1940s–early 1980s)
* West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1924–2013), transferred to the NCAA in 1995 after a two-year dual membership. Most of the final WVIAC members are now in the NCAA Division II Mountain East Conference.

Notes

1. ^ a b Both the NDCAC and the SDIC merged to form the Dakota Athletic Conference.

### Non-football[edit]

* American Mideast Conference (1949–2012)
* Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference (1994–2015)
* Midwest Collegiate Conference (1988–2015)
* Northeastern Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (2016–2019)[a]
* Sunrise Athletic Conference (2002–2011)
* TranSouth Athletic Conference (1996–2013)

Notes

1. ^ Also formerly a United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) athletic conference.

## Former conferences[edit]

All transferred to the NCAA.

### Football[edit]

* Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1973–1988)
* Lone Star Conference (1931–1982)
* Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1920–1982)
* Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (1932–1995), known as Northern Intercollegiate Conference until 1992
* Northwest Conference (1926–1996), Pacific Northwest Conference before 1984 and Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges until 1996
* Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (1909–1992), Colorado Faculty Athletic Conference until 1910 and Rocky Mountain Faculty Athletic Conference until 1967
* Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (1972–2008), Twin Rivers Conference until 1983

### Non-football[edit]

* Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (1961–2002)
* Conference Carolinas (1930–1995), known as Carolinas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference until 1961, held dual membership with the NCAA for two years starting in 1993
* Dixie Conference (1963–1973), became the USA South Athletic Conference in 2003

## See also[edit]

* List of college athletic conferences in the United States
* List of NCAA conferences

## References[edit]

## External links[edit]

* NAIA Member Schools

* v
* t
* e

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics

NAIA|

* Conferences
* Institutions
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Sports
and
championships|

| Active
championships|

* Baseball
* World Series
* Basketball
* men
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* Bowling
* men
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* Competitive cheer
* championship
* Competitive dance
* championship
* Cross country
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* Track & field
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* Volleyball
* men
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* Wrestling
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|

Invitation/
emerging|

* Beach Volleyball
* women
* Lacrosse
* men

Discontinued|

* Basketball (Division II)
* men
* women
* Football
* Division I
* Division II
* Gymnastics
* women
* Ice hockey
* men

Related topics|

* College athletics in the United States

* v
* t
* e

NAIA conferences

Single Division|

* American Midwest Conference
* Appalachian Athletic Conference†
* California Pacific Conference
* Cascade Collegiate Conference
* Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference
* Continental Athletic Conference (Independent schools)
* Crossroads League
* Frontier Conference†
* Golden State Athletic Conference
* Great Plains Athletic Conference†
* Gulf Coast Athletic Conference
* Heart of America Athletic Conference†
* 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|

* Mid-States Football Association†
* NAIA independent football schools†

† Conference sponsors football
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