List of NAIA conferences
The following is a list of National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) conferences as of the 2024–25 school year. Unless otherwise noted, changes in conference membership occur on July 1 of the given year.
Current conferences
Football
| Conference | Nickname | Founded | Members | Sports | Headquarters | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 1 [FB 5] | 1 | ||||
| Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference | KCAC | 1928 | 14 [FB 6] | 21 | Wichita, Kansas | |
| Mid-South Conference | MSC | 1995 | 7 [FB 7] | 21 | Bowling Green, Kentucky | |
| Mid-States Football Association | MSFA | 1993 | 13 | 1 [FB 8] | Findlay, Ohio | |
| Sooner Athletic Conference | SAC | 1978 | 13 [FB 9] | 15 | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | |
| Sun Conference | The Sun | 1990 | 10 [FB 10] | 17 | Daytona Beach, Florida |
- Notes
- ^ 16 members; 7 football members.
- 16 full members and 7 football members in 2025 with the following changes:
- Addition of non-football Spartanburg Methodist.
- Loss of football-sponsoring Kentucky Christian.
- Addition of Rio Grande as a football affiliate.
- 16 full members and 7 football members in 2025 with the following changes:
- ^ 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.
- 12 full members and 14 football members in 2025 with addition of Bellevue and Bismarck State as non-football members, Dakota State, Dickinson State, Mayville State, and Valley City State in all sports, and Simpson as football-only affiliate.
- ^ 12 members; 11 football members.
- ^ 13 members; 14 football members.
- 15 members in 2025 with addition of Missouri Baptist and William Woods for all sports.
- ^ 1 member in 2024 with addition of Simpson.
- 0 members in 2025 with loss of Simpson.
- ^ 14 members; 12 football members.
- ^ 7 members; 7 football members with Freed–Hardeman as a non-football member, and with Faulkner as a football-only affiliate.
- ^ Football-only conference.
- ^ 13 members; 10 football members with Central Christian, John Brown, Mid-America Christian, North Texas at Dallas, Oklahoma City, College of the Ozarks, USAO, and Southwestern Christian as non-football members, and with Arkansas Baptist, Louisiana Christian, North American, Ottawa (AZ), and Texas College as football affiliates.
- 9 football members in 2025 with dropping of football by North American.
- ^ 10 members; 8 football members with Thomas as a football-only affiliate.
Non-football
| Conference | Nickname | Founded | Members | Sports | Headquarters | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Midwest Conference | AMC | 1998 | 10 | 17 | St. Louis, Missouri | |
| California Pacific Conference | CalPac | 1996 | 6 | 10 | Oakland, California | |
| Cascade Collegiate Conference | CCC | 1988 | 11 | 13 | Clackamas, Oregon | |
| Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference | CCAC | 1949 | 13 | 16 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | |
| Continental Athletic Conference (Independents) | CAC | 2008 | 12 | 21 | ||
| Crossroads League | CL | 1959 | 10 | 15 | Hartford City, Indiana | |
| Great Southwest Athletic Conference | GSAC | 1986 | 10 | 13 | Irvine, California | |
| HBCU Athletic Conference | HBCUAC | 1981 | 13 | 16 | New Orleans, Louisiana | |
| Red River Athletic Conference | RRAC | 1998 | 14[NF 1] | 15 | Dallas, Texas | |
| River States Conference | RSC | 1916 | 12 [NF 2] | 18 | Middletown, Ohio | |
| Southern States Athletic Conference | SSAC | 1999 | 13 [NF 3] | 15 | Atlanta, Georgia | |
| Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference | WHAC | 1992 | 12 [NF 4] | 21 | Livonia, Michigan |
- Notes
- ^ 13 members in 2026 with loss of Xavier (LA).
- ^ 11 members in 2026 with loss of Shawnee State.
- ^ 14 members in 2026 with addition of Xavier (LA).
- ^ 11 members in 2026 with closure of Siena heights.
Defunct conferences
Football
- 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)
- North Star Athletic Association (2013–2025)
- 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
- ^ a b Both the NDCAC and the SDIC merged to form the Dakota Athletic Conference.
Non-football
- American Mideast Conference (1949–2012)
- Georgia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1971–1999)
- 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
- ^ Also formerly a United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) athletic conference.
Former conferences
All transferred to the NCAA.
Football
- Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference[a] (1973–1988)
- Lone Star Conference[a] (1931–1982)
- Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference[b] (1920–1982)
- Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference[a] (1932–1995), known as Northern Intercollegiate Conference until 1992
- Northwest Conference[b] (1926–1996), Pacific Northwest Conference before 1984 and Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges until 1996
- Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference[a] (1909–1992), Colorado Faculty Athletic Conference until 1910 and Rocky Mountain Faculty Athletic Conference until 1967
- Upper Midwest Athletic Conference[b] (1972–2008), Twin Rivers Conference until 1983
- Notes
- ^ a b c d Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.
- ^ a b c Currently an NCAA Division III athletic conference.
Non-football
- Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference[a] (1961–2002)
- Conference Carolinas[a] (1930–1995), known as the North State Intercollegiate Athletic Conference until 1961, later as the Carolinas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference until 1995 (which held dual membership with the NCAA for two years starting in 1993), became the Carolinas–Virginia Athletic Conference until 2007
- Dixie Conference[b] (1963–1973), became the USA South Athletic Conference in 2003
- Notes
- ^ a b Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.
- ^ Currently an NCAA Division III athletic conference.