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Well, its July 1st again, and that means the U-Haul van is once again parked in the driveway with its engine idling. Unfortunately, our resident moving van driver Tech Boys has been dealing with some health issues recently, so he asked me to take over his responsibilities for him this year. Wishing him a speedy recovery, and in the meantime, I'll do my best to pick up the slack!
Conference/Name Changes:
No Division II schools closed this year, nor did any Division II athletic programs get shuttered. Hooray!
New Conference Sports:
New 2026 Teams:
Dropped 2026 Teams:
The NCAA Division II Membership Committee is set to meet on July 8th and 9th, which is when we'll find out the fates of all of the provisional member universities-- this post will be updated once that happens. Let me know if there's anything I missed!
Conference/Name Changes:
- Fresno Pacific and Menlo will both be moving from the Pacific West Conference to the California Collegiate Athletic Association. Both schools' men's & women's tennis teams will remain in the PacWest as affiliate members; while Fresno Pacific men's & women's swim & dive will stay in the PCSC, Fresno Pacific men's & women's water polo will stay in the WWPA, and Menlo's men's & women's wrestling and men's volleyball will stay in the MPSF.
- The rumors were true, as West Florida is the latest call-up to Division I and the burgeoning ASUN-UAC alliance-- the Argos football team will compete in the United Athletic Conference, while its other sports will compete in the Atlantic Sun Conference. This puts the number of Gulf South football teams at just 3, and with their waiver for 2026 getting denied, they are no longer eligible to receive automatic bids to the Division II football playoffs (at-large bids are still very much up for grabs).
- Azusa Pacific will bring back its football team this season after 6 years of dormancy, but at a cost: the Cougars will reclassify to Division III and join the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
- Mississippi College officially changed its name to Mississippi Christian University as of June 1st. Their athletic teams will remain as the Choctaws.
- Purdue Northwest will change their nickname from the Pride to the Lions, effective today. Their athletic logos and branding remain otherwise unchanged.
- Shawnee State was accepted as a new Division II member back in February and granted the expedited 2-year transition timeline. The Bears will leave the NAIA to compete in the Mountain East Conference, with their women's bowling team competing as an independent. A football team is also in the works for the Bears, with plans to hit the field in 2028.
- Texas A&M-Texarkana was accepted as a new Division II member in July-- they were granted the regular 3-year transition timeline, although university officials have stated they are working hard to shave that down to the expedited 2-year transition. The Eagles will spend one more year in the NAIA before joining the Lone Star Conference in 2027, with their football team also in the works and planned to play their inaugural season the same year. Their women's bowling and beach volleyball teams will presumably compete as independents.
- Jamestown, Point Park, Roosevelt, Sul Ross State, UC Merced, and UT Dallas all completed the provisional membership process this year and became full Division II members eligible for Division II postseason opportunities beginning on September 1st.
- Menlo advanced to Year 3 of the provisional membership process, while Ferrum and Middle Georgia State advanced to Year 2 (with Ferrum participating in the expedited process)
- Lackawanna and Monroe (New Rochelle campus) will both leave the NJCAA this year to compete as members of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, respectively. However, as neither institution submitted their Division II application in time for this membership cycle, they have not yet begun the Division II transition process and will not be countable in conference standings nor as Division II opponents for playoff purposes. Both schools plan to submit their respective membership applications in time for 2027.
No Division II schools closed this year, nor did any Division II athletic programs get shuttered. Hooray!
New Conference Sports:
- The East Coast Conference will begin sponsoring field hockey as a championship sport. Full members D'Youville, Mercy, Molloy, Roberts Wesleyan, and St. Thomas Aquinas will be joined by affiliate member Dominican (NY). Mercy, Molloy, and St. Thomas Aquinas previously competed as affiliates of the Northeast-10, while the others were independent.
- The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference will begin sponsoring women's wrestling as a championship sport. Full members East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Gannon, Lock Haven, and Pitt-Johnstown will be joined by affiliate members D'Youville and Felician.
- The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference will begin sponsoring women's flag football as a championship sport. Full members Davenport, Purdue Northwest, Saginaw Valley State, and Wisconsin-Parkside will be joined by affiliate Lewis, with Illinois-Springfield to join the following year.
- The Pacific West Conference becomes the latest D2 conference to begin sponsoring STUNT. Full members Concordia-Irvine, Hawaii Pacific, Jessup, Vanguard, and Westmont are joined by affiliates Fresno Pacific and Northwest Nazarene.
- Conference Carolinas will become the first NCAA conference at any division to sponsor the emerging sport of women's triathlon. Full members Barton, Emmanuel, and King will be joined by affiliate members Concord, Lenoir-Rhyne, Newberry, and Wingate.
- Carson-Newman, Catawba, Lenoir-Rhyne, Mars Hill, and Wingate will all move their swimming programs to Conference Carolinas as the South Atlantic Conference is set to drop the sport.
- Daemen and D'Youville will both move their tennis programs to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (men' and women's for Daemen, women's for D'Youville). The remaining members of East Coast Conference tennis (Queens, St. Thomas Aquinas, UDC) have not announced a new conference affiliation and will presumably compete as independents.
- Grand Valley State will move its men's wrestling program to the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The Lakers have competed as an independent since their men's wrestling program was re-established in 2023.
- Salem will add men's soccer to its Mountain East Conference affiliate membership, keeping the MEC at an even 10 members for that sport.
- Colorado Mesa will move its men's and women's tennis programs back to the Pacific West Conference after a brief 1-year stint of independence. The Mavericks were previously affiliates of the PacWest for tennis from 2020 to 2025.
- Not necessarily Division II, but involving one of its members: Dallas Baptist will take its baseball talents west and join the new-look Pac-12 Conference as an affiliate member. The Patriots' baseball team has competed at the Division I level since 2004, and have been a baseball affiliate of Conference USA since 2023.
 Alabama-Huntsville |
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 Saint Anselm |
 Shippensburg |
.png&height=200&width=200&type=webp){kind=icon} USC Aiken |
| Missouri Southern | Flag Football — (IND) |
| Northeastern State | (M) Wrestling (W) Volleyball (W) Wrestling — (IND) |
| Saginaw Valley State | Flag Football |
| Ursuline | (M) Golf |
| Western Colorado | (W) Wrestling |
| Walsh | (M) Swimming & Diving (W) Swimming & Diving |
| Barry | (M) Lacrosse (W) Lacrosse Flag Football — (IND) |
| Wayne State (MI) | (W) Soccer |
| Goldey-Beacom | Flag Football |
| Caldwell | Flag Football |
| Point Park | Flag Football — (IND) |
| West Alabama | Flag Football — (IND) |
| Erskine | (M) Tennis Flag Football |
| Lewis | Flag Football — (GLIAC) |
| Bridgeport | Flag Football |
| Dominican (NY) | Flag Football |
| Lees-McRae | (M) Golf (W) Golf |
| Southwest Baptist | (M) Golf |
| Concord | (W) Wrestling — (IND) Triathlon — (CC) |
| Newman | (M) Outdoor Track & Field (W) Outdoor Track & Field |
| Westmont | STUNT |
| Parkside | Flag Football |
| Wheeling | (W) Wrestling — (IND) |
| Spring Hill | Flag Football — (IND) |
| Mercy | (M) Volleyball |
| Newberry | Flag Football — (CC) |
| Davenport | Flag Football |
| Edward Waters | Flag Football — (IND) |
| Menlo | Flag Football — (IND) |
| Clark Atlanta | (W) Golf — (PBC) |
| Fayetteville State | (M) Indoor Track & Field (M) Outdoor Track & Field |
| Minnesota-Crookston | (M) Indoor Track & Field (M) Outdoor Track & Field (W) Indoor Track & Field (W) Outdoor Track & Field |
| Fairmont State | (W) Wrestling — (IND) |
| St. Cloud State | (M) Cross Country (M) Golf (W) Golf |
| Shaw | Flag Football |
| Georgia College & State | (M) Outdoor Track & Field (W) Outdoor Track & Field |
| Hawaii Pacific | Flag Football — (IND) |
| Albany State | (M) Indoor Track & Field (W) Indoor Track & Field |
| Henderson State | (W) Indoor Track & Field |
| Tuskegee | (M) Soccer — (IND) (W) Soccer — (IND) |
| Molloy | (W) Tennis |
| Dominican (NY) | (W) Tennis |
| Thomas More | (M) Volleyball — (GLVC) |
| Newman | (M) Tennis (W) Tennis |
| Jessup | (M) Tennis (W) Tennis |
| William Jewell | (M) Tennis (W) Tennis |
| CSU-Pueblo | (W) Tennis — (IND) |
| Montevallo | (M) Swimming & Diving — (CC) (W) Swimming & Diving — (CC) (M) Tennis (W) Tennis |
| Albany State | (W) Soccer — (PBC) |
| Missouri Western | (W) Tennis |
| Texas A&M-Kingsville | (W) Tennis |
| Fort Hays State | (M) Golf (W) Golf |
| LeMoyne-Owen | (M) Volleyball |
| Mount Olive | Field Hockey |
| Lincoln Memorial | Field Hockey |
| Caldwell | Acrobatics & tumbling |
| Bentley | (M) Tennis (W) Tennis |
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