Provisional Pipeline for 2026-27 (expected)
3rd year provisional members: Carlow, Penn State-Brandywine
2nd year provisional members: Regent, Johnson and Wales (NC)
1st year provisional members: Azusa Pacific (reclassification from D2), St. Francis (PA) (reclassification from D1)
Exploratory year: Maine-Augusta

Provisional Pipeline for 2027-28 (expected)
Full Membership: Carlow, Penn State-Brandywine
3rd year provisional members: Regent, Johnson and Wales (NC)
2nd year provisional members: Azusa Pacific (reclassification from D2), St. Francis (PA) (reclassification from D1)
1st year provisional members: St. Anselm (reclassification from D2)

*Games against Year 3 provisional members count the same as games against full-members for NPI and tournament selection purposes (possibly changing to include provisionals that conform to all D3 bylaws but may be earlier in the pipeline)

Conference Changes Starting in 2026-2027
Alfred State leaves the AMCC for the SUNYAC
Alverno (Women only) leaves the NACC for the C2C
Anna Maria (MASCAC) closes
Azusa Pacific joins the SCIAC (full D3 member 2028-29 academic year)
Luther leaves the ARC for the MWC
Maryville leaves the CCS for the SAA
Marywood leaves the AEC for the MAC Freedom
McMurry leaves the SCAC for the ASC
Neumann leaves the AEC for the MAC Commonwealth
New Jersey City leaves the NJAC for the CUNYAC merges into Kean (no NJCU NCAA D3 athletics)
Rosemont (UEC) ceases athletics (merging into Villanova)
St. Francis (PA) joins the PAC (full D3 member 2028-29 academic year)
Schreiner leaves the SCAC for the ASC
SUNY Cobleskill leaves the NAC for the SUNYAC
SUNY Delhi leaves the NAC for the SUNYAC
SUNY New Paltz leaves the SUNYAC for the NJAC
Wesleyan (Ga.) (Women only) leaves the D3 for NAIA
Virginia Wesleyan becomes Batten University (effective July 1, 2026)
Expecting 42 automatic bids, 22 at-large bids (C2C loses MBB AQ)

Conference Changes Starting in 2027-2028
Concordia (WI) leaves the NACC for the CCIW
Keuka leaves the Empire 8 for the AMCC
Millsaps leaves the SAA for the SCAC
Pratt leaves the AEC for the CUNYAC
St. Anselm joins the NEWMAC (full D3 member 2029-2030 academic year)
St. Elizabeth leaves the AEC for the CUNYAC
Southwestern leaves the SAA for the SCAC
Vermont State Castleton leaves the LEC for the MASCAC
Expecting 42 automatic bids, 22 at-large bids (C2C remains without MBB AQ)

Southwestern is following the lead of Millsaps. https://southwesternpirates.com/news/2026/7/7/general-pirate-athletics-to-return-to-the-scac.aspx

Plus it gets their football team out of the NJAC.

Quote from: Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan) on April 22, 2026, 01:34:49 PM

Quote from: Inkblot on April 22, 2026, 01:25:11 PMAdam Nelson of HoopDirt is reporting that St. Anselm (D2) will move to D3 and the NEWMAC in 2027.

It's official on the school site:

https://www.anselm.edu/about/anselmian-hub/news/press-release-saint-anselm-college-announces-athletics-transition-plan-membership-newmac-and-ncaa-division-iii

Yep, I deleted my post and was about to redo it with that link (I'd originally misread NEWMAC as NESCAC, since I remembered St. A's had wanted to join 15-20 years ago, so my post was a bit of a mess to start with).

Quote from: Caz Bombers on March 18, 2026, 05:06:00 PM

Quote from: Ralph Turner on March 18, 2026, 04:15:26 PMAs I ran the sponsored sports by member institutions, the Atlantic East does not have Men's or Women's Volleyball, Indoor Track and Field (M & W), Women's Flag Football or Men's golf.

The United East does not have M & W Swimming / Diving.

The AEC only has 5 teams for M & W Tennis, the UEC, 8 & 7.

The AEC has 6 M & W LAX. The UEC has 4 Men's LAX members plus 1 associate; they have 4 women's LAX teams.

Field Hockey - Immaculata, Gwynedd Mercy, and Manhattanville probably just going to affiliate with the UEC going forward.

M/W soccer, women's volleyball, M/W basketball won't lose their AQs until 2029-30 and the remaining 5 will probably affiliate with the UEC at that time.

Baseball and softball won't lose the AQ until 2028-29 and the remaining 5 will probably affiliate with the UEC at that time.

Men's lacrosse likely to go the other way with the United East teams going under the AEC banner. The UEC's 2-year AQ grace period expires after this season.

UEC women's lax I believe has already had their grace period expire and they won't have an AQ to the 2026 NCAA tournament. Their remaining programs definitely need to hop on board with the AEC.

Atlantic East hasn't had men's or women's tennis AQs in a number of years and their remaining members should probably just go over to the UEC as soon as possible. The men's champion plays the AMCC champion for what is technically the AMCC's auto bid.

**down the line, sometime around 2030, maybe the Atlantic East will re-classify itself as a single sport conference for lacrosse (men's and women's). Of course many institutions may close or re-classify or re-align between now and then.

What you're describing sounds pretty much like a merger, which they explicitly say this isn't.

Quote from: Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan) on March 03, 2026, 04:04:35 PMD1 gets a little more leeway.  Unless there are nine teams in a conference in the tournament, their rules say conference opponents can't meet until the Elite Eight.

But the thing is, three top ten teams do meet in one bracket every year.  That's how the 1-8-9 overall seeds work.

D1 actually changed that rule a while back. The current rule is if they played once they can meet in the second round, if they played twice they can meet in the Sweet 16, and if they played three times they can meet in the Elite Eight; but the rules can be relaxed if a conference has 9+ selected.

Map of the 2026 tournament

Map of the 2026 tournament

Provisional Pipeline for 2025-26 (now confirmed)
Full Membership: Hartford, Lyon
3rd year provisional members: none
2nd year provisional members: Carlow, Penn State-Brandywine
1st year provisional members: Regent, Johnson and Wales (NC)

Provisional Pipeline for 2026-27
1st year provisional members: Azusa Pacific (reclassification from D2), St. Francis (PA) (reclassification from D1)
Exploratory year: Maine-Augusta

*Games against Year 3 provisional members count the same as games against full-members for NPI and tournament selection purposes (possibly changing to include provisionals that conform to all D3 bylaws but may be earlier in the pipeline)

Conference Changes Starting in 2025-2026
Anna Maria leaves GNAC for the MASCAC
Bryn Athyn (UEC) drops athletics
Ferrum leaves the ODAC for D2
Fontbonne (SLIAC) closes
Hendrix leaves the SAA for the SCAC
Hiram leaves the NCAC for the PAC
John Carroll leaves the OAC for the NCAC
Johnson & Wales (NC) joins the C2C
Johnson & Wales (RI) leaves the GNAC for the CNE
Keystone (UEC) is doing the limbo, but allowed to play
LeTourneau leaves the ASC for the SCAC
Northland closes
Regent joins the C2C
Southwestern leaves the SCAC for the SAA
St. Elizabeth leaves the UEC for the AEC
Trinity (Texas) leaves the SCAC for the SAA
Expecting 43 Pool A bids, 0 Pool B bids, 21 Pool C bids

Conference Changes Starting in 2026-2027
Alfred State leaves the AMCC for the SUNYAC
Alverno (Women only) leaves the NACC for the C2C
Asuza Pacific joins the SCIAC (full D3 member 2028-29 academic year)
Luther leaves the ARC for the MWC
Maryville leaves the CCS for the SAA
Marywood leaves the AEC for the MAC Freedom
McMurry leaves the SCAC for the ASC
Neumann leaves the AEC for the MAC Commonwealth
New Jersey City leaves the NJAC for the CUNYAC merges into Kean (no NJCU NCAA D3 athletics)
Rosemont (UEC) ceases athletics (merging into Villanova)
St. Francis (PA) joins the PAC (full D3 member 2028-29 academic year)
Schreiner leaves the SCAC for the ASC
SUNY Cobleskill leaves the NAC for the SUNYAC
SUNY Delhi leaves the NAC for the SUNYAC
SUNY New Paltz leaves the SUNYAC for the NJAC
Wesleyan (Ga.) (Women only) leaves the D3 for NAIA

Conference Changes Starting in 2027-2028
Concordia (WI) leaves the NACC for the CCIW
Pratt leaves the AEC for the CUNYAC

The Membership Committee report is out. https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/committees/d2/memb/Feb2026D3Memb_Report.pdf

Azusa Pacific and St. Francis (PA) have been approved for provisional membership.

Maine–Augusta has been approved for an exploratory year. Again no mention of Fort Kent.

The Membership Committee report isn't out yet, but Azusa Pacific just posted on Instagram that they've been accepted for provisional membership.

Recently saw a Vassar license plate frame.

Provisional Pipeline for 2025-26 (now confirmed)
Full Membership: Hartford, Lyon
3rd year provisional members: none
2nd year provisional members: Carlow, Penn State-Brandywine
1st year provisional members: Regent, Johnson and Wales (NC)

Provisional Pipeline for 2026-27
Applications expected: Azusa Pacific (reclassification from D2), St. Francis (PA) (reclassification from D1)

*Games against Year 3 provisional members count the same as games against full-members for NPI and tournament selection purposes (possibly changing to include provisionals that conform to all D3 bylaws but may be earlier in the pipeline)

Conference Changes Starting in 2025-2026
Anna Maria leaves GNAC for the MASCAC
Bryn Athyn (UEC) drops athletics
Ferrum leaves the ODAC for D2
Fontbonne (SLIAC) closes
Hendrix leaves the SAA for the SCAC
Hiram leaves the NCAC for the PAC
John Carroll leaves the OAC for the NCAC
Johnson & Wales (NC) joins the C2C
Johnson & Wales (RI) leaves the GNAC for the CNE
Keystone (UEC) is doing the limbo, but allowed to play
LeTourneau leaves the ASC for the SCAC
Northland closes
Regent joins the C2C
Southwestern leaves the SCAC for the SAA
St. Elizabeth leaves the UEC for the AEC
Trinity (Texas) leaves the SCAC for the SAA
Expecting 43 Pool A bids, 0 Pool B bids, 21 Pool C bids

Conference Changes Starting in 2026-2027
Alfred State leaves the AMCC for the SUNYAC
Asuza Pacific joins the SCIAC (full D3 member 2028-29 academic year)
Luther leaves the ARC for the MWC
Maryville leaves the CCS for the SAA
Marywood leaves the AEC for the MAC Freedom
McMurry leaves the SCAC for the ASC
Neumann leaves the AEC for the MAC Commonwealth
New Jersey City leaves the NJAC for the CUNYAC
Rosemont (UEC) ceases athletics (merging into Villanova)
St. Francis (PA) joins the PAC (full D3 member 2028-29 academic year)
Schreiner leaves the SCAC for the ASC
SUNY Cobleskill leaves the NAC for the SUNYAC
SUNY Delhi leaves the NAC for the SUNYAC
SUNY New Paltz leaves the SUNYAC for the NJAC

Conference Changes Starting in 2027-2028
Concordia (WI) leaves the NACC for the CCIW

Need to add Concordia Chicago to make it the Conference of Concordia Illinois and Wisconsin.

Today in Norman I saw a Mary Washington sticker and an MIT license plate frame.