NCAA Division I independent schools

NCAA Division I independent schools are four-year institutions that compete in college athletics at the NCAA Division I level, but do not belong to an established athletic conference for a particular sport. These schools may however still compete as members of an athletic conference in other sports. A school may also be fully independent, and not belong to any athletic conference for any sport at all. The reason for independent status varies among institutions, but it is frequently because the school's primary athletic conference does not sponsor a particular sport.

Full independents

There are no schools competing as a full independent for the 2025-26 season. The most recent full independent, Chicago State, joined the Northeast Conference (NEC) after the conclusion of the 2023-24 season.[1]

Recent independents

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined[a] Left[b] Colors Current
conference
Chicago State University Chicago, Illinois 1867 Public
(TMCF)		 2,620[2] Cougars 1984;
2006;
2022		 1993;
2009;
2024		     Northeast (NEC)
University of Denver Denver, Colorado 1864 Nonsectarian 14,130 Pioneers 1962;
1998		 1979;
1999		     Summit
(West Coast (WCC) in 2026)
University of Hartford West Hartford, Connecticut 1877 Nonsectarian 6,792 Hawks 2022 2023     C. New England (CNE)[c]
Mount St. Mary's University Emmitsburg, Maryland[d] 1808 Catholic
(Archdiocese
of Baltimore)		 1,889 Mountaineers 1988 1989     Metro
New Jersey Institute of Technology
(NJIT)		 Newark, New Jersey 1881 Public 11,901 Highlanders 2006;
2013		 2008;
2015		     America East (AmEast)
Oakland University Rochester, Michigan[e] 1957 Public 20,519 Golden Grizzlies 1997 1998     Horizon
Saint Francis University Loretto, Pennsylvania 1847 Catholic
(Franciscan)		 2,111 Red Wolves 1955 1981     Northeast (NEC)
(Presidents' (PAC)[c] in 2026)
University of Wisconsin–Green Bay
(Green Bay, UW Green Bay)		 Green Bay, Wisconsin 1965 Public 11,188 Phoenix 1981 1982     Horizon
Wright State University Fairborn, Ohio[f] 1964 Public 17,074 Raiders 1987 1991     Horizon
Notes
  1. ↑ Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
  2. ↑ Represents the calendar year when spring sports competition ends.
  3. 1 2 Currently an NCAA Division III athletic conference.
  4. ↑ The Mount St. Mary's campus has an Emmitsburg mailing address, but is located in unincorporated Frederick County.
  5. ↑ The Oakland campus has a Rochester mailing address, but is located in the separate cities of Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills. The university administration is in Auburn Hills; athletic facilities are in both cities.
  6. ↑ The Wright State campus is physically located in Fairborn but has a Dayton mailing address.

Bowling

Bowling, like beach volleyball, is currently a women-only sport at the NCAA level that holds a single national championship open to all NCAA members. As of the 2026-27 season, seven bowling programs compete as independents.

Institution Location Founded Type Enrollment Nickname Primary
conference
Baldwin Wallace University Berea, Ohio 1845 Private 2,592 Yellow Jackets Ohio (OAC)[a]
Edgewood University Madison, Wisconsin 1927 Private 1,570 Eagles Northern (NACC)[a]
Merrimack College North Andover, Massachusetts 1947 Private 3,726 Warriors Metro[b]
Mount St. Mary's University Emmitsburg, Maryland[c] 1808 Private 1,889 Mountaineers Metro[b]
Rockford University Rockford, Illinois 1847 Private 1,181 Regents Northern (NACC)[a]
Western Illinois University Macomb, Illinois 1899 Public 7,643 Leathernecks Ohio Valley (OVC)[b]
University of Wisconsin–Whitewater Whitewater, Wisconsin 1868 Public 11,722 Warhawks Wisconsin (WIAC)[a]
Notes
  1. 1 2 3 4 Current NCAA Division III athletic conference.
  2. 1 2 3 Current NCAA Division I athletic conference.
  3. ↑ The Mount St. Mary's campus has an Emmitsburg mailing address, but is located in unincorporated Frederick County.

Football

Football Bowl Subdivision

As of the current 2025 college football season, two NCAA Division I FBS schools are football independents. The ranks of FBS independents dropped by one when UMass became a full member of the Mid-American Conference in 2025.

Institution Founded First
season		 Location Type Enrollment Nickname Primary
conference
University of Notre Dame 1842 1887 Notre Dame, Indiana Private 12,179 Fighting Irish Atlantic Coast (ACC)[a]
University of Connecticut
(UConn)		 1881 1896 Storrs, Connecticut[b] Public 32,257 Huskies Big East
Notes
  1. ↑ Notre Dame remains officially an independent football team, and is not a member of the ACC in any capacity for football. However, as part of the agreement to join the ACC in other sports, Notre Dame agreed to schedule 5 games per year against ACC opponents.[3]
  2. ↑ While the UConn campus is in Storrs, the Huskies play home games in East Hartford, Connecticut.

Football Championship Subdivision

As of the 2026 season, two schools, Chicago State and Merrimack, will play as FCS independents. Chicago State will play its first season of varsity football as an independent in 2026 before joining the rest of its sports in the NEC (historically known as the Northeast Conference) for 2027. Merrimack left the NEC for the non-football Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, now known as the Metro Conference, at the end of the 2023–24 school year. Sacred Heart, which also left the NEC for the Metro in 2024 and played as an independent in 2024 and 2025, joined CAA Football in 2026.

Institution Founded First
season		 Location Type Enrollment Nickname Primary
conference
Chicago State University 1867 2026 Chicago, Illinois Public
(TMCF)		 2,620 Cougars NEC
Merrimack College 1947 1996 North Andover, Massachusetts Private 3,726 Warriors Metro

Ice hockey

Men

There are currently six NCAA Division I independents in men's ice hockey - the University of Alaska Fairbanks (branded athletically as simply "Alaska"), the University of Alaska Anchorage, Lindenwood University, Long Island University (LIU), and Stonehill College.

Alaska became a men's independent after the 2020-21 season due to the demise of its former league, the men's side of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (the WCHA remains in operation as a women-only league). The seven Midwestern members of the men's WCHA left to reestablish the Central Collegiate Hockey Association without the WCHA's three geographic outliers-the two Alaska schools, along with Alabama-Huntsville. Of these three schools, Alaska was the only one that did not initially drop hockey.[4]

Alaska-Anchorage's hockey program was suspended in 2020 by the University of Alaska System due to a reduction in state funding, along with the skiing and gymnastics programs. The 2020-21 season was set to be its last, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they did not end up playing that season either. The Alaska Board of Regents told the hockey program they would be reinstated if they were able to collect $3 million in donations and fundraising, so the team was on hiatus for both the 2020-21 and 2021-22 season while its future was uncertain. Ultimately, the money was raised, and the Seawolves were reinstated for the 2022-23 season, but due to the WCHAs aforementioned disbanding, they resumed play as an independent alongside the Nanooks.

LIU announced in late April 2020 that it would launch varsity men's hockey for the 2020-21 season. The Sharks have yet to announce a conference home, but played their first season as a scheduling partner of Atlantic Hockey.[5]

In 2021–22, Lindenwood fielded two separate men's club teams, each playing at a different level of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA), which governs the sport at club level. On March 23, 2022, Lindenwood announced that it would launch a Division I men's varsity program starting in the 2022-23 season, while maintaining its ACHA program. This announcement came shortly after the school announced it was starting a transition from Division II to Division I in July 2022, joining the non-hockey Ohio Valley Conference.[6]

On April 5, 2022, Stonehill, then a member of the D-II Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10), announced it was joining the Northeast Conference (which also does not sponsor ice hockey) that July, starting its own transition to D-I. Before this announcement, Stonehill had been one of seven NE-10 members that played men's ice hockey under Division II regulations, despite the NCAA not sponsoring a championship event at that level. (All other D-II schools with varsity men's ice hockey play under D-I regulations.)[7]

Neither Lindenwood nor Stonehill has announced a conference home for its men's hockey program.

Institution Location Founded Type Enrollment Nickname Joined Primary
conference
University of Alaska Fairbanks
(Alaska)		 Fairbanks, Alaska 1917 Public 8,336 Nanooks 2021 Great Northwest (GNAC)[a]
University of Alaska Anchorage
(Alaska-Anchorage)		 Anchorage, Alaska 1954 Public 6,813 Seawolves 2022 Great Northwest (GNAC)[a]
Lindenwood University St. Charles, Missouri 1827 Private 6,491 Lions 2022 Ohio Valley (OVC)[b]
Long Island University Brooklyn and
Brookville, New York[c]		 1926 Private 15,197 Sharks[8] 2020 Northeast (NEC)[b]
Stonehill College Easton, Massachusetts 1946 Private 2,500 Skyhawks 2022 Northeast (NEC)[b]
  1. 1 2 Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.
  2. 1 2 3 Currently an NCAA Division I athletic conference.
  3. ↑ The current LIU athletic program was created in 2019 with the merger of the athletic programs of the university's two main campuses-the Brooklyn campus, which had been a Division I member, and the Post campus in Brookville, which had competed in Division II. The merged program inherited Brooklyn's Division I membership. The team is open to undergraduate men at both campuses who meet NCAA eligibility requirements.

Soccer

Women

The most recent departure from the independent ranks was Delaware State, who joined the Northeast Conference as an affiliate in women's soccer in 2023.[9]

Institution Location Founded Type Enrollment Nickname Joined Primary
conference
South Carolina State University Orangeburg, South Carolina 1896 Public 3,000 Lady Bulldogs 2013 Mid-Eastern (MEAC)

Volleyball

Men's (indoor)

Men's volleyball has a truncated divisional structure in which members of both Division I and Division II compete under identical scholarship limits for a single national championship. Eight men's volleyball programs play as independents; all are D-II members.

Institution Location Founded Type Enrollment Nickname Primary
conference
Barry University Miami Shores, Florida 1940 Private 6,958 Buccaneers Sunshine State (SSC)[a]
Catawba College Salisbury, North Carolina 1851 Private 1,172 Indians South Atlantic (SAC)[a]
Lincoln Memorial University Harrogate, Tennessee 1897 Private 2,579 Railsplitters South Atlantic (SAC)[a]
Newberry College Newberry, South Carolina 1856 Private 1,521 Wolves South Atlantic (SAC)[a]
University of Puerto Rico at Bayamón Bayamón, Puerto Rico 1971 Public 5,014 Cowboys D-II Independent[b][a]
University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 1911 Public 13,146 Tarzans D-II Independent[b][a]
University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus San Juan, Puerto Rico 1903 Public 18,653 Gallitos D-II Independent[b][a]
Tusculum University Tusculum, Tennessee[c] 1794 Private 2,053 Pioneers South Atlantic (SAC)[a]
Notes
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.
  2. 1 2 3 While no member of the University of Puerto Rico system is part of a recognized NCAA conference, all are members of Liga Atlética Interuniversitaria de Puerto Rico, which governs college sports competitions in Puerto Rico.
  3. ↑ Mailing address is Greeneville.

Women's (beach)

Beach volleyball, currently a women-only sport at the NCAA level, holds a single national championship open to members of all three NCAA divisions. The following programs will compete as independents in the 2025 spring season (2024-25 school year).

Institution Location Founded Type Enrollment Nickname Primary
conference
Berry College Mount Berry, Georgia 1902 Private 1,900 Vikings Southern (SAA)[a]
California State University, Los Angeles
(Cal State-Los Angeles)		 Los Angeles, California 1947 Public 27,685 Golden Eagles California (CCAA)[b]
Chaminade University of Honolulu Honolulu, Hawaii 1955 Private 2,836 Silverswords Pacific West (PacWest)[b]
Colorado Mesa University Grand Junction, Colorado 1925 Public 11,000 Mavericks Rocky Mountain (RMAC)[b]
Concordia University Irvine
 Irvine, California 1976 Private 2,564 Golden Eagles Pacific West (PacWest)[b]
East Texas Baptist University Marshall, Texas 1912 Private 1,771 Tigers American Southwest (AmSW)[a]
Hawaii Pacific University Honolulu, Hawaii 1965 Private 4,998 Sharks Pacific West (PacWest)[b]
Hendrix College Conway, Arkansas 1876 Private 1,400 Warriors Southern (SAA)[a]
Huntingdon College Montgomery, Alabama 1854 Private 900 Hawks C.C. South (CCS)[a]
LaGrange College LaGrange, Georgia 1831 Private 1,100 Panthers C.C. South (CCS)[a]
University of Lynchburg Lynchburg, Virginia 1903 Private 2,460 Hornets Old Dominion (ODAC)[a]
University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Belton, Texas 1845 Private 2,700 Crusaders American Southwest (AmSW)[a]
McKendree University Lebanon, Illinois 1828 Private 1,960 Bearcats Great Lakes Valley (GLVC)[b]
University of Nebraska–Lincoln Lincoln, Nebraska 1869 Public 33,273 Cornhuskers Big Ten (B1G)
Southwest Baptist University Bolivar, Missouri 1878 Private 2,168 Bearcats Great Lakes Valley (GLVC)[b]
Spring Hill College Mobile, Alabama 1830 Private 1,439 Badgers Southern (SIAC)[b]
Stevenson University Stevenson, Maryland 1947 Private 3,621 Mustangs MAC Commonwealth[a]
Texas A&M University–Kingsville Kingsville, Texas 1925 Public 8,783 Javelinas Lone Star (LSC)[a]
Vanguard University Costa Mesa, California 1920 Private 2,752 Lions Pacific West (PacWest)[b]
Wayne State College Wayne, Nebraska 1910 Public 4,202 Wildcats Northern Sun (NSIC)[b]
Notes
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Currently an NCAA Division III athletic conference.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.

Wrestling

Men

As of the most recent 2025-26 season, one school is a Division I independent in men's wrestling. Mercyhurst University began a transition from NCAA Division II to Division I in July 2024, joining the Northeast Conference (now officially called NEC).[10] However, the NEC does not sponsor men's wrestling, and Mercyhurst has yet to announce a future affiliation for its program.

One program previously competed as an independent in the 2023-24 season. Morgan State University added a wrestling team for the 2023-24 season, becoming the only HBCU to field the sport at the Division I level.[11] However, their primary conference, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, does not sponsor the sport, so they competed as an independent in that sport only. In September 2024, however, it was announced that Morgan State would join the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association, a wrestling-only conference based in the Northeastern United States.[12]

Institution Location Founded Type Enrollment Nickname Primary
conference
Mercyhurst University Erie, Pennsylvania 1926 Private 2,759 Lakers Northeast (NEC)

Women

Women's wrestling was elevated from the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program to full championship status in January 2025, with the first NCAA championship being held in spring 2026. Of the 113 schools that sponsored the sport in that season, only six were Division I members, and all competed as independents. One D-I member added the sport for the 2026–27 season, and will also compete as an independent.

Institution Location Founded Type Enrollment Nickname Primary
conference
Delaware State University Dover, Delaware 1891 Public[a] 6,200 Hornets MEAC
University of Iowa Iowa City, Iowa 1847 Public 30,042 Hawkeyes Big Ten
Lehigh University Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 1865 Private 5,451 Mountain Hawks Patriot
Lindenwood University St. Charles, Missouri 1827 Private 7,288 Lions OVC
Mercyhurst University Erie, Pennsylvania 1926 Private 2,759 Lakers NEC
Presbyterian College Clinton, South Carolina 1880 Private 1,330 Blue Hose Big South
Sacred Heart University Fairfield, Connecticut 1963 Private 5,974 Pioneers Metro
  1. ↑ Delaware State is officially chartered as a "privately governed, state-assisted" institution.

Sports with no independents other than full independents

Baseball

No schools will play as D-I independents in the 2027 spring season (2026-27 academic year). The only program to have been independent in the 2025 and 2026 seasons was Oregon State, which became a baseball independent after its home conference, the Pac-12, collapsed following the 2023-24 season.[13] Pac-12 baseball will resume play in the 2027 season, with Oregon State joined by five new baseball-sponsoring full members and one new baseball affiliate.

Field hockey

No school will be a Division I independent in the upcoming 2026 field hockey season. The only independent in the 2025 season, Queens University of Charlotte, became a single-sport member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in 2026.[14]

Women's ice hockey

No women's ice hockey teams have played as independents at the National Collegiate level, the de facto equivalent to Division I in that sport, since the 2018–19 season. In that season, five schools - Franklin Pierce, Post, Sacred Heart, Saint Anselm, and Saint Michael's - competed as independents, all participating in the nascent New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA), which had originally been established in 2017 as a scheduling alliance among all of the then-current National Collegiate independents. The NEWHA initially included six schools, but Holy Cross left after the inaugural 2017-18 NEWHA season to join Hockey East. The NEWHA officially organized as a conference in advance of the 2018-19 season,[15] but was not officially recognized by the NCAA as a Division I league until the 2019-20 season, by which time the newly launched LIU program had joined to return the conference membership to six.[16]

Men's lacrosse

No schools have competed as independents since the 2024 season (2024–25 school year). The most recent men's lacrosse independent, Le Moyne, moved its program to the Northeast Conference (now officially known as NEC) following the 2024 season.

Women's lacrosse

In the 2027 season (2026–27 school year), no schools will compete as independents.

Men's soccer

No school will be independent in the 2026 season. The only independent in the 2025 season was the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, which played as such when the school's affiliate membership in the Western Athletic Conference (now known as the United Athletic Conference) was not renewed for that season.[17] UTRGV joined the Ohio Valley Conference as a men's soccer affiliate beginning with the 2026 season.[18]

Men's swimming & diving

No men's swimming & diving programs are independents in the 2026-27 season.

Women's swimming & diving

As in the case of men's swimming & diving, no women's programs in that sport are competing as independents in 2026-27.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Chicago State University To Join Northeast Conference" (Press release). Chicago State University. December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  2. ↑ "CSU Graduate Enrollment Increases 5%". Chicago State University. September 11, 2021. Archived from the original on September 27, 2021. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Notre Dame Goes To ACC: Bowl Security, Football Scheduling Flexibility Key To Move". Sports Business Daily. Street and Smith's Sports Group. September 13, 2012. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
  4. ↑ Christensen, Joe (July 2, 2021). "WCHA's men's hockey era officially ends after 70 years". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Men's Hockey Announced as Atlantic Hockey Scheduling Partner" (Press release). LIU Sharks. October 15, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  6. ↑ "Lindenwood Adds NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey" (Press release). Lindenwood Lions. March 23, 2022. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Stonehill College Accepts Invitation to Join Northeast Conference" (Press release). Northeast Conference. April 5, 2022. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  8. ↑ "LIU Announces Addition of Men's Ice Hockey" (Press release). LIU Sharks. April 30, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Delaware State To Extend NEC Associate Membership Partnership to Women's Soccer & Women's Lacrosse" (Press release). Northeast Conference. September 27, 2022. Archived from the original on September 27, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Welcome To The Lake Show: Mercyhurst University Accepts Northeast Conference Membership Invite" (Press release). Northeast Conference. April 4, 2024. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Largest Donation in Morgan State University Athletics History Paves Way for Return of Division I Collegiate Wrestling, Following 24-Year Hiatus" (Press release). Morgan State Athletics. October 21, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Morgan State joins the EIWA" (Press release). Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association. September 19, 2024. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  13. ↑ Freeman, Joe (January 26, 2024). "Oregon State baseball to play independent schedule in 2025, giving Beavers chance to 'create our own identity'". OregonLive/The Oregonian. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  14. ↑ "MPSF Field Hockey Adds Queens University of Charlotte" (Press release). Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. June 22, 2026. Retrieved June 30, 2026.
  15. ↑ "NEWHA announces intent to be recognized as NCAA national collegiate women's hockey conference". USCHO.com. September 26, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  16. ↑ "New England Women's Hockey Alliance approved for NCAA Division I status, effective with '19-20 season". USCHO.com. September 4, 2019. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  17. ↑ "Men's Soccer to Open 2025 Season on August 27 at Central Florida" (Press release). University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Athletics. July 25, 2025. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  18. ↑ "UTRGV to Join OVC as Affiliate for Men's Soccer" (Press release). University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Athletics. April 30, 2025.
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