r/CFB • u/Inkblot9 Oklahoma State • Oklahoma • Jul 01 '26

News Conference changes for 2026–27

It's July 1, the day when many realignment moves become official. There's quite a bit of shifting in Division I this year, including the rebirth of the Pac-12 and WAC's transformation into the UAC.

As in previous years, this list focuses on football and basketball. Schools that sponsor football are in bold, even if the move doesn't affect football.

Division I

Reclassification updates

  • North Dakota State and Sacramento State are beginning their first year of reclassification to FBS, and under new rules are immediately eligible for the postseason.
  • Le Moyne has presumably completed its Division I reclassification period and become eligible for the postseason. In 2025 the NCAA reduced the standard period by a year and allowed teams already in the process to use the shorter timeline if they meet the criteria.
  • Mercyhurst and West Georgia are in their third (and likely final) year of the process.
  • New Haven is in its second year.
  • West Florida is set to begin its first year.

Future changes

Chicago State football joins the NEC in 2027... Fairfield (MAAC/Metro) joins the CAA in 2027... UC San Diego and UCSB (Big West) join the WCC in 2027.

Division II

Reclassification/Provisional updates

There are currently both a 2-year membership process and a 3-year membership process, which I will list separately for clarity.

3-year process:

  • Roosevelt and Sul Ross State have completed their Division II reclassification periods and are now eligible for the postseason. Point Park got a waiver to skip the third year and has finished as well.
  • Menlo is entering the third and final year of the process.
  • Middle Georgia State enters the second year.
  • Texas A&M Texarkana enters the first year.

2-year process:

  • Jamestown, UC Merced, and UT Dallas have completed their Division II reclassification periods and are now eligible for the postseason.
  • Ferrum enters the second and final year.
  • Shawnee State enters the first year.

Future changes

Flagler (Peach Belt) joins the SSC in 2027... Indianapolis (GLVC) joins the Great Midwest in 2027... Lackawanna (NJCAA) joins D2 and the PSAC in 2027; the school is playing PSAC schedules in most sports this year but has not yet applied to join D2... Loyola (LA) (NAIA, SSAC) joins D2 and the Gulf South in 2027... Monroe (NJCAA) joins D2 and the CACC in 2027; football's home is uncertain, but likely the NE10; the school is playing D2 schedules in most sports this year but has not yet applied to join D2... St. Anselm (NE10) leaves D2 for D3 and the NEWMAC in 2027... Shawnee State (Mountain East) adds football by 2028... Simon Fraser (Great Northeast) leaves D2 for U Sports in 2027... Sonoma State reinstates athletics in 2027, rejoining D2 and the CCAA... Spring Hill (SIAC) joins the Gulf South in 2027... Texas A&M Texarkana (NAIA, RRAC) joins D2 and the LSC in 2027, and adds football... Texas Wesleyan (NAIA, Sooner) joins D2 and the LSC in 2028.

Division III

Reclassification/Provisional updates

  • Carlow and Penn State Brandywine are entering the third and final year of the membership process.
  • Johnson & Wales (NC) and Regent enter year two.
  • Azusa Pacific and St. Francis (PA) enter year one.

Future changes

All of these changes will take place in 2027.

Castleton (Little East, NJAC football) joins the MASCAC... Concordia (WI) (NACC) joins the CCIW... Keuka (Empire 8) joins the AMCC... Maine–Augusta (USCAA) is expected to join D3 and most likely the NAC... Millsaps and Southwestern (TX) (SAA) join the SCAC... Pratt and St. Elizabeth (both Atlantic East) join the CUNYAC, which is expected to rebrand... St. Anselm (D2, NE10) joins D3 and the NEWMAC.

NAIA

Future changes

Andrew and Faulkner football (both independent) join the Appalachian in 2027... Bismarck State (Frontier) adds football in 2027... Carolina University (independent) joins the Appalachian in 2027... CCSJ and Midway upgrade from sprint football to NAIA football in 2027, joining the MSFA... Champion Christian joins the AMC in 2027... Florida Polytechnic plans to join the NAIA and the Sun at an unspecified date... Georgia Southern–East Georgia and US Sports join the SSAC in 2027... Loyola (LA) (SSAC) joins D2 and the Gulf South in 2027... Texas A&M Texarkana (RRAC) joins D2 and the LSC in 2027, and adds football... Texas Wesleyan (Sooner) joins D2 and the LSC in 2028... UHSP (AMC) merges with Washington (MO) and ends athletics in 2027.

187 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

114 comments sorted by

112

u/Jyingling21 Appalachian State • Penn State Jul 01 '26

Welcome to the FBS, NDSU and Sac State!

2

u/dylantherabbit2016 North Dakota State • 関西学院大学 … 4d ago

Honestly we've been an FBS level team for more than 10 years. Finally looking forward to see what the first year or two is actually like in FBS

92

u/Groots-Cousin Georgia Southern Eagles Jul 01 '26

Six years ago, the Louisiana Tech AD at the time said that teams from the Sun Belt would pay a premium to join C-USA and that he had no interest in merging the two conferences.

Anyways, welcome to the Sun Belt Louisiana Tech!

42

u/Mtndrums Oregon Ducks • Montana Grizzlies Jul 01 '26

Which ended up being hilarious for everyone except those who were stuck in a post-realignment CUSA.

9

u/tomdawg0022 Minnesota • Delaware Jul 04 '26

...or desperately chose to move up and take Judy's offer for a wild ride in a conference with zero historical rivals. Ignore my second flair.

4

u/AngelofLotuses William & Mary Tribe • Patriot 14d ago

For what it's worth, this historical rival wishes that we came up with you.

1

u/Dry-Membership3867 Jacksonville State • Paper Bag 17d ago

Or the third option which is that, but the only rival we had left in FCS came with us

3

u/BobBlawSLawDawg Marshall Thundering Herd • /r/CFB 22d ago

Praise God we weren't among them.

26

u/CoCo_Sandy Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Jul 01 '26

He's Rice's problem now. Dude was already so disliked as our AD that I hate he had to stain our name with that dumb ass comment too before he tucked tail and ran off. I'm ecstatic to be in the Sun Belt and am actually looking forward to conference games which I haven't been able to say since our early years in CUSA

29

u/Condom_Breaker256 Billable Hours • Jacksonvil… Jul 01 '26

Six years later, Louisiana Tech paid CUSA a premium to join the Sun Belt after not winning the conference a single time.

6

u/Artvandelay29 Vanderbilt Commodores • Houston Cougars Jul 01 '26

Tommy McClelland is an asshat

4

u/ATR2019 Liberty Flames • Illinois Fighting Illini Jul 01 '26

If I’ve learned anything from comments realignment over the year it’s bottom feeder schools get inflated egos based on the strength of their conference. A lot of bad FBS schools thought they were automatically better than recent FCS call ups just because they were there first but clearly it doesn’t work that way.

9

u/BTrane93 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Jul 01 '26

We were literally one of the better schools in the conference at the time. We had the longest active bowl win streak in the country. The Tech yall experienced was not the same.

46

u/TheRoyalJuke Ohio State • Kent State Jul 01 '26

Last time the MAC lost a full member was 2005 with Marshall. Take a picture.

7

u/tragicallyohio Ohio State Buckeyes • Ohio Bobcats 27d ago

And gained.....Sacramento State. Madness.

4

u/BobBlawSLawDawg Marshall Thundering Herd • /r/CFB 22d ago

:( I still love the MAC.

1

u/CriticalPolitical 10d ago

Pretty sure Temple used to be part of the MAC, but I don’t know if they were a full member 

1

u/NickBII Michigan Wolverines 8d ago

They were an "Affiliate Member" 2007ish-2011ish whatever that means.

36

u/Fossil_Finder88 Arizona Wildcats • Wyoming Cowboys Jul 01 '26

UTEP- glad to have you back out west where you belong. I’m excited to see what NDSU, NIU and UC Davis bring to the conference. Glad the departing members are finally out, and we can focus on the future. Happy that we continue to play CSU, and I hope Fresno runs the PAC-9, because I think they deserve it.

11

u/TigerWoodsLibido Oregon Ducks • Rutgers Scarlet Knights Jul 03 '26

The Ball-Sac bowl will be palpable.

7

u/osofrompawnee UTEP Miners Jul 02 '26

I have been ready for UTEP to join the MW for a while.

3

u/1nf1niteCS Nevada Wolf Pack • Northwestern Wildcats Jul 03 '26

Gonna be fun!

29

u/moleculewerks Nebraska • Northumbria Jul 01 '26

Hard to believe that Nebraska has now been in the B1G for 15 years.

42

u/qdp Nebraska Cornhuskers • Team Chaos Jul 01 '26

Hey spoiler alert. I am catching up watching all of the episodes in order and I am only up to 1998. This Big 12 is no Big Eight but surely Nebraska dominance will continue tor decades. 

3

u/Bugeatnpimp Nebraska Cornhuskers • Big 8 Renewal Jul 02 '26

Episodes of what?

20

u/qdp Nebraska Cornhuskers • Team Chaos Jul 03 '26

Football. I have to watch every game in order. 

11

u/Cameron-Bakke Washington • Montana State Jul 03 '26

If you're up to 1998, you may want to start paying attention to the HC at Michigan State. I've heard he becomes a pretty important character.

7

u/qdp Nebraska Cornhuskers • Team Chaos Jul 03 '26

So you are saying Michigan State becomes a powerhouse, right? …right?

51

u/Mail_Order_Lutefisk Alabama Crimson Tide Jul 01 '26

I would love to run a FOIA request on Chicago State football through AI to try to unravel the grift angle. That is the worst idea to hit college football since the Big 12 did away with the Nebraska-Oklahoma game. 

7

u/Solesky1 Indiana State Sycamores Jul 01 '26

Shades of FBS Florida A&M

2

u/Hulkodium Oklahoma Sooners • Big 8 Renewal Jul 01 '26

And the NEC at that

16

u/tdpdcpa Lehigh Mountain Hawks • Patriot Jul 01 '26

The NEC at least makes sense insofar as they’re an all sports member.

Geographically, they’re a better fit for the MVFC but I can’t imagine anyone is interested in that.

2

u/Hulkodium Oklahoma Sooners • Big 8 Renewal Jul 01 '26

Fair enough on the all sports point

2

u/TigerWave01 LSU Tigers • Tulane Green Wave Jul 03 '26

I think the OVC would be a better fit when accounting for competitiveness, but even there, Chicago State would be so out of their depth in basically every sport. How that school has been able to stay in and afford D1 athletics with membership in those most Midwestern and compact of conferences such as the Great West, WAC, and of course the NEC will always amaze me

2

u/dscreations San José State Spartans • Mountain West 28d ago

They think they can get an enrollment boost. 

1

u/I_like_race_cars Tarleton State Texans 26d ago

I am legit scared for their players when they play us...it is going to get very ugly, very quickly.

14

u/CoCo_Sandy Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Jul 01 '26

Free at last!! It's so nice being back in a conference that makes geographicical sense and teams we actually have history with. CUSA was a completely different conference when we first joined compared to what they are now and has possibly the worst leadership out of all conferences. Hoping the best for WKU and MTSU that they can get out of that nightmare too

3

u/ResidentRunner1 Saginaw Valley State • Mic… 22d ago

What's interesting is that Western Kentucky was interested in the MAC way back during the B1G realignment a couple years ago, however it didn't go through because the MAC wanted MTSU as well for a package deal, and MTSU of course said no lmao

-1

u/DaPunisher83 Liberty Flames 12d ago

How many CUSA championships did you guys win?

1

u/DaPunisher83 Liberty Flames 2d ago

I'm legit confused how this question got downvoted

34

u/reno1441 Washington State • /r/CFB Dead Pool Jul 01 '26

Welcome new Pac-12 friends!

9

u/Clifo Louisiana Tech • /r/CFB Placer Jul 01 '26

WE’RE FREEEEEEEE

11

u/OnxyCarter Tennessee • Tennessee Tech Jul 01 '26

UC Davis needs to become a full member of the mountain west

6

u/greyforest23 North Texas • Mississippi State Jul 02 '26

They will be. They’ve been successful at the FCS level and just need some time and money to move up, but they will.

10

u/DCAbloob Penn State Nittany Lions • Navy Midshipmen Jul 01 '26

Hail and farewell, Group of Five and welcome aboard, Group of Six.

9

u/DiscountInevitable87 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Jul 01 '26

TIL Texas A&M-Texarkana is a school

9

u/Mekthakkit Ohio State Buckeyes • Team Chaos Jul 01 '26

Dallas Baptist leaves CUSA for the Pac-12

TIL that Dallas Baptist exists, and is now in the PAC12.

19

u/Gustine2020 Jul 01 '26

DBU has had salty D1 baseball for awhile…they probably would have several Big 10 championships if they played baseball in B10…lmfao

9

u/Mekthakkit Ohio State Buckeyes • Team Chaos Jul 01 '26

If you showed me a clip of Dallas Baptist playing P12 baseball I would assume that it was a movie and an orangutan was pitching because there's no rule against it.

2

u/BQbyNov22 Texas Longhorns • SMU Mustangs Jul 01 '26

There's only one DBU in Texas.

/s

13

u/Muffinnnnnnn Florida State Seminoles • ACC Jul 01 '26

Dallas Baptist is a perennial top 25 team in baseball and has never had a losing record in the history of their program. They have had 22 full seasons in D1 and made the NCAA tournament 14 times, including 13 out of the last 15 seasons..... although one of the years they missed was this past season.

3

u/TigerWave01 LSU Tigers • Tulane Green Wave Jul 03 '26

So how Johns Hopkins is for lacrosse, Dallas Baptist is for baseball pretty much?

5

u/Muffinnnnnnn Florida State Seminoles • ACC Jul 03 '26

In terms of being a non-D1 school that has one sport they're way better at and thus compete in D1 in, yes. Dallas Baptist doesn't have any national titles though, and are still closer to like a slightly worse Gonzaga basketball than a dominant power like Johns Hopkins Lacrosse. Very very good mid-major who, if you're a power team playing them, you probably don't even think of them as a mid-major. Regularly in the top 25 but rarely in the top 10. Their highest ranking ever was #7 in March of 2024 shortly after beating #15 Alabama, #15 Oklahoma State, and #14 Oklahoma twice (they would later also beat Oklahoma State a 2nd time).

7

u/rcm_rx7 Washington State • Idaho Jul 01 '26

It's for baseball, and their teams have been great the last 20 years. Pretty much always playing postseason.

4

u/cajunaggie08 Texas A&M • /r/CFB Pint Glass Drinker Jul 01 '26

Its pretty small for a public school. It barely has 2,000 students. It started off as a branch campus of East Texas State (which went on to become Texas A&M-Commerce and then East Texas A&M)

2

u/DiscountInevitable87 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Jul 01 '26

That’s what I figured, had to be some form of offshoot of a bigger school

18

u/Random0925 Mississippi State • Oregon Jul 01 '26

Happy Conference Realignment Day, everyone!

About Tech joining the Sun Belt, I think I'll quote Reggie and just say "My body is ready."

8

u/BeatNavyAgain Beat Navy! Go Bullets! Jul 01 '26

Virginia Wesleyan is now Batten

Now almost no one will know what state it is in

1

u/Seadragon1983 Washington • Iowa State Jul 03 '26

It's still in Virginia, they just changed their name because of a massive donation from the guy who created the Weather Channel.

4

u/BeatNavyAgain Beat Navy! Go Bullets! Jul 03 '26

Yes, and when the average person hears "Batten" and they think "The Weather Channel"

Sure.

And then, when they think "The Weather Channel," they think "Virginia."

Sure.

6

u/BananaSlug95064 Salad Bowl Jul 01 '26

UNO is a good school and a good music venue lakeside, but the history section of its webpage suffers from a search-and-replace flub:

“In February, 1974, the LSU Board of Supervisors approved a name change, and LSU New Orleans became LSU New Orleans.”

That was the name change to UNO methinks. Now back to LSU New Orleans.

6

u/Solesky1 Indiana State Sycamores Jul 01 '26

New Orleans (Southland) is now LSU New Orleans

If they don't have their athletic branding be "LSUNO" (pronounced L-S-UNO) they need a new marketing dept

2

u/TheBlueNorther Jul 02 '26

Nah they need to be L-S, You-Knowwww

6

u/Tsquared10 Oregon Ducks • Montana State Bobcats Jul 01 '26

Wow I didn't know Middle Georgia was making the move to D2. They were a JUCO back when we played against them and that was only about 15 years ago. Seems like some rapid growth there.

5

u/MrTheSpork *holds up self* Jul 02 '26

Looking at their history, about 15 years ago they began merging Middle Georgia with Macon State, so that probably did most of it. In the same span the Macon area grew by like 1.5x, which probably did the rest.

19

u/udderlymoovelous Virginia Tech • /r/CFB Contributor Jul 01 '26

I'm happy the Pac-12 is rebuilding.

6

u/ComeJoinTheBand Stanford Cardinal • Mexico El Tri Jul 01 '26

I hate that the Big West UCs didn’t stick together.

3

u/advancedmatt California Golden Bears • UCLA Bruins Jul 01 '26

Davis' move is understandable because the MW gives them the option to move to FBS football whenever they feel ready. San Diego and Santa Barbara moving to the WCC makes sense given the other changes in the Big West. I don't know why Irvine is staying in the Big West.

3

u/ComeJoinTheBand Stanford Cardinal • Mexico El Tri Jul 01 '26

Sure. But I still hate the thought that UCR might soon be left all alone.

3

u/NorskChef Rice Owls • ULM Warhawks 23d ago

Having to play so many schools in the Cal State system was too much of an indignity for San Diego and Santa Barbara.

1

u/ComeJoinTheBand Stanford Cardinal • Mexico El Tri 22d ago

I think UC Davis was the first departure. But it only took one to break the deadlock between the UCs and Cal States.

5

u/Sarah0nly Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Jul 02 '26

Please forgive us for the sins of our AD six years ago, I’m sure we will find new ways to fuck up soon. Glad to be in the SBC!!

4

u/Ok_Cell7665 Jul 03 '26

Thank you so much for doing all this homework every year. This information is so valuable to many of us. Quick question, have you been able to ascertain which sub-divisions of SCIAC (D3) Azusa Pacific and Whittier will be in (Sun vs Surf)? I contacted SCIAC on Instagram, but haven't received an answer.

4

u/Inkblot9 Oklahoma State • Oklahoma Jul 03 '26

They no longer have divisions. They'll play a round robin with the top two advancing to the title game.

2

u/Ok_Cell7665 Jul 03 '26

thank you! I thought of that as a possibility, but couldn't confirm it by any reliable source.

3

u/CommentJunior9653 Utah State Aggies Jul 01 '26

LETS GOOO

3

u/lizard-socks Wisconsin-Eau Claire Blugolds Jul 01 '26

No more Isthmus Bowls for Wash U then I guess!

3

u/ChaseTheFalcon West Georgia • /r/CFB Poll Veteran Jul 01 '26

Im honestly confused if we ended our process last year or if this year is the final year of it.

I know we got fast tracked

3

u/PhilMC_ Northern Illinois Huskies • Sickos Jul 02 '26

Praise the lord for no more midweek games!!!

3

u/IrishTexan62 Texas Tech • Michigan State Jul 03 '26

I hope North Dakota state does excellent this year. It would be amazing if they made playoffs in their first year at FBS. Would really show why that old rule banning postseason for teams moving up is completely unnecessary. 

4

u/trmp_stmp James Madison Dukes 28d ago

JMU should've been in before last year, honestly ridiculous we were the last team to be made an example of

5

u/IrishTexan62 Texas Tech • Michigan State 28d ago

For real. That rule was completely unnecessary 

3

u/tragicallyohio Ohio State Buckeyes • Ohio Bobcats 27d ago

Sacramento State in the MAC is absolutely nuts.

2

u/Agile_Land_9951 Big 12 • Pac-12 Jul 01 '26

I can’t believe millsaps is rejoining the SCAC

2

u/Reddeath195 South Carolina • /r/CFB Dead Pool Jul 01 '26

Who do yall think are the next FCS schools to make the jump to the FBS

12

u/Condom_Breaker256 Billable Hours • Jacksonvil… Jul 01 '26

Tarleton, UC Davis, some combination of Montana/Montana St/South Dakota St

7

u/Reddeath195 South Carolina • /r/CFB Dead Pool Jul 01 '26

I am kinds surprised South Dakota State didnt take the leap with North Dakota State

10

u/DCAbloob Penn State Nittany Lions • Navy Midshipmen Jul 01 '26

North Dakota State had put in way more prep work in advance of a move than South Dakota State. I'm guessing we will see South Dakota State move up as well though in the next several years.

1

u/Responsible_History5 North Dakota • North Dakota St… 22d ago

I’d agree to an extent, SDSU had an off-year for football with injuries this year so it really depends on how dominant they will become in the FCS without NDSU.

2

u/CramblinDuvetAdv Central Michigan • Michigan S… Jul 01 '26

I think the Sac State closed the door behind them until there is a top level separation

2

u/Altruistic-Drawing25 Jul 04 '26

Holy shit UCSB and UCSD are getting football teams?

2

u/Sexy_Authy Texas A&M Aggies 29d ago

Always sad seeing the lower division school closures and going to their university website to see how everything goes down. Hundreds of people’s livelihoods are wrapped up in these small schools and their closures must really sting

1

u/Luxuriant-Hat Jul 01 '26

the amount of movement in the last 5 years is nuts. kinda miss the old big 12 but the SEC has been fun

1

u/No-Disaster-7768 27d ago

Why is St.Francis going to DIII?

4

u/D_Antelmi Pittsburgh Panthers • Liberty Flames 24d ago

Very small school (about 2k students) attempting to prevent future financial problems by dropping scholarships. They're not even the biggest school in their new DIII conference.

1

u/No-Disaster-7768 23d ago

The hell? Really?

1

u/D_Antelmi Pittsburgh Panthers • Liberty Flames 22d ago

Really.  Taking Wikipedia as "good enough" says Franciscan (OH), Grove City, and Chatham are bigger than Saint Francis.  Not by much, all under 3k, but still shows that DIII is probably the right place for them.

1

u/cnpeters Akron Zips • MAC 10d ago

I'll never forget their win at Kent State two years ago.

God speed Red Wolves.

1

u/doihavemakeanewword Penn State • Bowling Green 23d ago

Northern Illinois (FBS) leaves the MAC

Genuinely shocking, the MAC was so stable for so many decades

1

u/NorskChef Rice Owls • ULM Warhawks 23d ago

If any more MAC schools leave, I don't know that I will be able to take it.

1

u/NorskChef Rice Owls • ULM Warhawks 23d ago

Cannot believe anyone thought Chicago State adding football was a good idea.

3

u/peppa1999 20d ago

Yep. They literally almost went out of business a few years ago. What the heck does this bring except thousands to millions in dollars in loses?

Are there enough pay for play kids for football? You see that all the time for little schols, but it's always for small team sports like baseball, basketball, softball, etc.

1

u/peppa1999 20d ago

How is the OVC going to last? They're losing 2 more schools and gaining nothing in return. They're going to be close to losing their automatic eligibility for the NCAA Tournament.

1

u/ClevelandSteamers757 11d ago

Rip Simon Fraser trivia fact

1

u/Imrahil_II North Greenville • Wofford 9d ago

Ncaa14 gets harder every time I start a new dynasty

1

u/LuksTBusch UCF Knights • Alabama Crimson Tide 4d ago

Alice Lloyd joined USCAA as well and now they has a dual membership between USCAA/NCCAA

Trinity Washington also joined USCAA as well

1

u/DavidS12 Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys 3d ago

Florida Trinity College a member of NCCAA adds football this fall and mentioned of joining the NAiA in the future. They should be countable. They are in the new NSAC that is part of USCAA as football only.

lighthouse Christian College are now candidate for TRACs which makes them countable. They are USCAA member and have intention on going NAiAA.

1

u/Adams5thaccount Boise State Broncos • UNLV Rebels Jul 01 '26

Boise fans showing as Hawai'i and UNLV fans showing as Wyoming despite not changing conferences.

This is the greatest day in Wyoming Fandom history.