List of NAIA conferences explained

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	24
Frontier Conference	Frontier	1952	6	16
Great Plains Athletic Conference	GPAC	1969	12	19
Heart of America Athletic Conference	HAAC	1971	13	23
NAIA Independents			1	1
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference	KCAC	1928	14	21
Mid-South Conference	MSC	1995	7	21
Mid-States Football Association	MSFA	1993	13	1
North Star Athletic Association	NSAA	2013	6	18
Sooner Athletic Conference	SAC	1978	13	15
Sun Conference	The Sun	1990	10	17

Notes

Non-football

Conference	Nickname	Founded	Members	Sports	Headquarters	Map
American Midwest Conference	AMC	1998	12	17
California Pacific Conference	CalPac	1996	8	10
Cascade Collegiate Conference	CCC	1988	12	13
Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference	CCAC	1949	12	16
Continental Athletic Conference (Independents)	CAC	2008	12	21
Crossroads League	CL	1959	10	15
Great Southwest Athletic Conference	GSAC	1986	8	13
HBCU Athletic Conference	HBCUAC	1981	13	16
Red River Athletic Conference	RRAC	1998	14	15
River States Conference	RSC	1916	12	15
Southern States Athletic Conference	SSAC	1999	13	15
Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference	WHAC	1992	13	21

Notes

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 (closed in 2000)
• 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 (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:

Non-football

• American Mideast Conference (1949–2012)
• Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference (1994–2015)
• Midwest Collegiate Conference (1988–2015)
• Northeastern Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (2016–2019)
• Sunrise Athletic Conference (2002–2011)
• TranSouth Athletic Conference (1996–2013)

Notes:

Former conferences

All transferred to the NCAA.

Football

• Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1973–1988)
• Lone Star Conference (1931–1982)
• Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1920–1982)
• Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (1932–1995), known as Northern Intercollegiate Conference until 1992
• Northwest Conference (1926–1996), Pacific Northwest Conference before 1984 and Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges until 1996
• Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (1909–1992), Colorado Faculty Athletic Conference until 1910 and Rocky Mountain Faculty Athletic Conference until 1967
• Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (1972–2008), Twin Rivers Conference until 1983

Non-football

• Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (1961–2002)
• Conference Carolinas (1930–1995), known as Carolinas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference until 1961, held dual membership with the NCAA for two years starting in 1993
• Dixie Conference (1963–1973), became the USA South Athletic Conference in 2003

See also

• List of college athletic conferences in the United States
• List of NCAA conferences

External links

• NAIA Member Schools