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Composition and sport sponsorship of the NCAA membership

2023-24 NCAA Membership Breakdown: As of August 2023

Institutions
Status Division I Total Division II Total Division III Total Total
Active 351 293 430 1,074
Reclassifying From DI to DIII 1 14
From DII to DI-FCS 5
From DII to DI 5
From DIII to DI-FCS 1
From DIII to DII 2
Total Active Institutions 1,088
Provisional N/A 9 4 13
Exploratory N/A N/A 1 1
Conferences
Status Division I Total Division II Total Division III Total Total
Primary 32 23 42 97
Single-Sport 10 0 22 43
Multi-Divisional Single Sport 11
Total Conferences 140
Total Membership 1,242

2023-24 NCAA Division I Membership Breakdown: As of August 2023

Division I Institutions
Status FBS FCS DI DI Total
Autonomy Non-Autonomy
Active 69 61 121 96 351
From FCS to FBS 4
Division I Conferences
Status FBS FCS DI DI Total
Autonomy Non-Autonomy
Primary 5 5 11 11 32
Single Sport 2 8 10
Total Division I Conferences 42

Click here for information on Multidivisional and Reclassifying institutions.

Definitions

Active member
An active member is a four-year college or university or a two-year upper-level collegiate institution accredited by the appropriate regional accrediting agency and duly elected to active membership under the provisions of the Association bylaws. Active members have the right to compete in NCAA championships, to vote on legislation and other issues before the Association, and to enjoy other privileges of membership designated in the constitution and bylaws of the Association.

Provisional member
A provisional member is a four-year college or university or a two-year upper-level collegiate institution accredited by the appropriate regional accrediting agency and that has applied for active membership in the Association. Provisional membership is a prerequisite for active membership in the Association. The institution shall be elected to provisional membership under the bylaws of the Association. Provisional members shall receive all publications and mailings received by active members in addition to other privileges designated in the constitution and bylaws of the Association.

Exploratory member

An institution seeking Division III membership must first complete one year as an exploratory member, which represents an opportunity for an institution to learn about the NCAA and Division III.

Member conference
A member conference is a group of colleges and/or universities that conducts competition among its members and determines a conference champion in one or more sports (in which the NCAA conducts championships or for which it is responsible for providing playing rules for intercollegiate competition), duly elected to conference membership under the provisions of the bylaws of the Association. A member conference is entitled to all of the privileges of active members except the right to compete in NCAA championships. Only those conferences that meet specific criteria as competitive and legislative bodies and minimum standards related to size and division status are permitted to vote on legislation or other issues before the Association.

2023-24 NCAA Projected Sports Sponsorship: As of August 2023

  • These are projected numbers only; actual numbers may change. "Totals" are aggregated by sport division.
Sport Men's Teams Women's Teams Coed Teams
DI DII DIII Total DI DII DIII Total DI DII DIII Total
Championship Baseball 305 255 387 947
Basketball 362 302 416 1,080 360 302 428 1,090
Beach Volleyball 69 22 91
Bowling 38 39 25 102
Cross Country 328 270 397 995 359 291 415 1,065
Fencing 23 11 34 27 1 15 43 1 1
Field Hockey 82 36 166 284
Football 261 165 241 667
Golf 306 209 297 812 277 191 244 712
Gymnastics 12 3 15 62 5 18 85
Ice Hockey 63 85 148 38 6 74 118
Lacrosse 76 80 242 398 129 112 288 529
Rifle 1 1 7 7 17 1 2 20
Rowing 92 15 41 148
Skiing 10 6 16 32 10 7 16 33 1 1 2
Soccer 211 205 412 828 347 261 429 1,037
Softball 307 279 404 990
Swimming and Diving 137 76 237 450 200 98 260 558
Tennis 243 150 303 696 311 205 336 852
Track, Indoor 277 192 313 782 343 218 319 880
Track, Outdoor 302 237 339 878 352 263 353 968
Volleyball 27 37 123 187 344 290 425 1,059
Water Polo 28 7 17 52 36 10 18 64
Wrestling 81 72 124 277
Emerging Acrobatics and Tumbling 6 29 9 44
Equestrian 19 3 22
Rugby 10 10 8 28
Stunt 4 15 19
Triathlon 12 14 12 38
Wrestling 4 28 44 76
Other Beach Volleyball 9 9
Bowling 8 2 10
Cheerleading 1 3 4 8 1 5 9 15
Crew 33 2 24 59
Cricket 1 1
Equestrian 13 13 12 12
eSports 1 4 22 27
Golf 3 3
Ice Hockey 7 7
Lightweight Crew 8 1 9
Lightweight Football 4 4
Pistol 1 1
Polo 1 1 1 1
Rodeo 1 1
Rugby 3 1 3 7
Sailing 2 1 3 10 4 14 11 1 9 21
Squash 11 21 32 11 20 31
Stunt 7 7
Synchronized Swimming 2 1 1 4
Track, Indoor 1 1
Track, Outdoor 1 1
Triathlon 1 1
Water Skiing 1 1

The NCAA Membership