List of NCAA Division II institutions
There are 303 American, Canadian, and Puerto Rican colleges and universities classified as Division II for NCAA competition. During the 2022–23 academic year, seven schools are in the process of reclassifying to Division II. Forty-four of the 50 U.S. states, plus the District of Columbia, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the Canadian province of British Columbia are represented. Arizona, Louisiana, Maine, Nevada, Rhode Island, and Wyoming do not currently have D-II institutions.
Division II institutions
Full members
- Notes
- The school does not sponsor women's basketball.
- Holy Names will drop their entire athletic department following the 2022-23 athletics season.[2]
- Le Moyne will go to Division I Northeast Conference following the 2022-23 athletics season.[3]
- Men's only institution in undergraduate programs, therefore it does not compete in women's sports.
- The college's athletic facilities are spread across the campus, which is split between Manchester and Hooksett.
- Despite the fact the school accepts male students, only women's sports are sponsored by the school.
- Women's only institution in undergraduate programs, therefore it does not compete in men's sports.
Reclassifying to Division II
The reclassification process from one NCAA division to another requires three to five years, except for moves to Division II. Moves from Division III or another national governing body (such as the NAIA) to Division II require three years, and moves from Division I to II require two years.
| School | Nickname | City | State/ province |
Enrollment | Conference | Reclassifying from |
Full membership |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allen University[4] | Yellow Jackets | Columbia | South Carolina | 705 | Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | NAIA | 2024 |
| D'Youville University[5] | Saints | Buffalo | New York | 2,785 | East Coast Conference | NCAA Division III | 2023 |
| Edward Waters University[6] | Tigers | Jacksonville | Florida | 2,273 | Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | NAIA | 2024 |
| Emory & Henry College[7] | Wasps | Emory | Virginia | 1,230 | South Atlantic Conference | NCAA Division III | 2024 |
| University of South Carolina Beaufort[8] | Sand Sharks | Bluffton | South Carolina | 2,006 | Peach Belt Conference | NAIA | 2025 |
| Thomas More University[9] | Saints | Crestview Hills | Kentucky | 2,037 | Great Midwest Athletic Conference | NAIA | 2025 |
| Westmont College[10] | Warriors | Santa Barbara | California | 1,226 | Pacific West Conference | NAIA | 2025 |
Reclassifying from Division II
The following programs are reclassifying away from NCAA Division II, or have announced definitive plans to do so. Under current NCAA rules, they must have an invitation from a conference to begin the transition to Division I. During the four-year transition period, they are ineligible for the FCS playoffs.
- While Bellarmine remains non-football by NCAA criteria, it began playing sprint football, a weight-restricted form of American football governed outside the NCAA, in 2022.
- While Southern Indiana has an Evansville mailing address, it is actually located outside of the Evansville city limits in Perry Township, a subdivision of Vanderburgh County that includes a small part of Evansville proper.
Pending
These schools are actively pursuing Division II membership. Schools wishing to move within the NCAA to Division II must apply no later than February 1 of a given year, with the NCAA making its decision that July.
| School | Nickname | City | State/ province |
Enrollment | Conference | Current affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jessup University[22] | Warriors | Rocklin | California | 1,743 | Pacific West Conference | GSAC (NAIA) |
| Menlo College[23] | Oaks | Atherton | California | 828 | Pacific West Conference | GSAC (NAIA) |
| Middle Georgia State University*[24] | Knights | Cochran[lower-alpha 1] | Georgia | 8,404 | Peach Belt Conference | SSAC (NAIA) |
| Roosevelt University[25] | Lakers | Chicago | Illinois | 4,680 | Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | CCAC (NAIA) |
| Sul Ross State University[26] | Lobos | Alpine | Texas | 2,070 | Lone Star Conference | ASC (NCAA D-III) |
| Talladega College[27] | Tornadoes | Talladega | Alabama | 600 | Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | SSAC (NAIA) |
| Vanguard University[28] | Lions | Costa Mesa | California | 2,200 | Pacific West Conference | GSAC (NAIA) |
- Middle Georgia has shown interest in joining Division 2, but has still yet to apply.
Sports not in D-II
The NCAA does not conduct separate Division II championships in the following sports:
- Men: Gymnastics, ice hockey, volleyball, water polo (note, however, that no Division II member currently sponsors men's gymnastics)
- Women: Bowling, gymnastics, ice hockey, water polo
- Coeducational: Fencing, rifle, skiing
Some schools have opted to compete in a sport at a higher level and are allowed to do so by the NCAA under certain circumstances. First, when the NCAA placed severe restrictions on the fielding of Division I teams by Division II institutions in 2011, it grandfathered in all then-current D-I teams at D-II schools. Apart from this, Division II members are allowed to compete for Division I championships in sports in which a Division II national championship is not contested.
In some sports, the NCAA only sponsors championships open to all member schools regardless of division, with examples including beach volleyball, fencing, rifle, and water polo. In men's and women's ice hockey and men's volleyball, the NCAA holds Division III championships, but does not hold a separate D-II championship. The NCAA officially classifies all championship events that are open to schools from more than one division as "National Collegiate", except in men's ice hockey, in which the top-level championship is styled as a Division I championship (presumably due to the past existence of a Division II championship in that sport). Division II members are allowed to compete for National Collegiate championships as well as the Division I men's ice hockey championship; in all such sports, they are allowed to operate under the same rules and scholarship restrictions that apply to full Division I members in that sport.
The Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) sponsors men's ice hockey for its members who choose to remain in D-II, including a postseason tournament.
Several NE-10 members that sponsored women’s ice hockey also competed in the ECAC Women’s East and pursued the ECAC Open title, a women's ice hockey postseason tournament for those teams remaining in D-II but competing as independents during the regular season, but that tournament has been superseded by the New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA), which began play in 2017 as a scheduling agreement between all of the existing women's National Collegiate independents (including full D-I member Sacred Heart), organized as a full conference in 2018, and received official NCAA recognition in 2019.
Because the NE-10 is the sole Division II hockey league, its postseason champion cannot compete for the NCAA national hockey championship. The Post University men's team competes as D-II as a single-sport NE-10 member, while its women's team is a member of the NEWHA.
- Future conference affiliations indicated in this list will take effect on July 1 of the stated year. In the case of spring sports, the first year of competition will take place in the calendar year after the conference move becomes official.
Probation
The following is a list of Division II institutions currently on probation by the NCAA in one or more sports. Probation decisions are made by the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Committee on Infractions.
| Institution | Sport(s) | Expiration Date |
|---|---|---|
| University of Montevallo | Men's basketball | June 23, 2023[29] |
| King University | Men's basketball | September 3, 2023[30] |
| Bluefield State University[lower-alpha 2] | Eight sports[lower-alpha 3] | November 10, 2024[31] |
| University of Alaska Fairbanks | Nine sports[lower-alpha 4] | March 17, 2025[32] |
| Augusta University | Men's basketball | June 1, 2025[33] |
| Lewis University | Men's and women's tennis | August 22, 2025[34] |
| Shaw University | Men's basketball | July 12, 2026[35] |
- Middle Georgia State's main campus is in Macon, where the women's cross-country and volleyball teams and men's and women's tennis teams are housed; the other intercollegiate athletics teams compete on the Cochran campus.
- Known as Bluefield State College before July 1, 2022.
- Baseball, men's basketball, women's cross country, men's golf, softball, and women's volleyball were specifically mentioned in the NCAA infractions decision.
- Sports specifically mentioned in the NCAA infractions decision were men's basketball, men's cross country, men's ice hockey (competing in Division I), rifle (a non-divisional sport), and skiing (also non-divisional).
See also
- List of NCAA Division II football programs
- List of NCAA Division II lacrosse programs
- List of NCAA Division II men's soccer programs
- List of NCAA Division II women's soccer programs
- List of NCAA Division II wrestling programs
- List of NCAA Division I institutions
- List of NCAA Division III institutions
- List of NAIA institutions
- List of USCAA institutions
- List of NCCAA institutions
- List of NCAA Divisions II and III schools competing in NCAA Division I sports
References
- "Division II Members". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
- "Open Letter to the Holy Names University Community". Holy Names University. November 21, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
- "LE MOYNE COLLEGE MAKES MOVE TO DIVISION I: ACCEPTS INVITATION TO JOIN NORTHEAST CONFERENCE". Le Moyne College Athletics. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
- Brown, Mitchell (July 15, 2020). "Allen University makes the jump from NAIA to NCAA Division II". Columbia, SC: WACH. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
- "D'Youville accepted for ECC membership, prepares to gain Division II status". The Buffalo News. March 2, 2020.
- "Edward Waters University (EWU) Earns NCAA Membership: Becomes Florida's Only NCAA Division II HBCU Member Institution". Edward Waters University. July 19, 2021. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
- "E&H ATHLETICS: Moving up and out; Emory & Henry College to join NCAA Division-II South Atlantic Conference, leaving D-III and the ODAC". Bristol Herald Courier. November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
- "Peach Belt Accepts USCB as Newest League Member". University of South Carolina Beaufort Athletics. April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- "Thomas More University Unanimously Approved for Provisional Membership to Join Great Midwest". August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
- "Staten Island, Frostburg State to become DII members". NCAA. July 14, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
- "ASUN Conference Welcomes Bellarmine University". July 1, 2020.
- "LE MOYNE COLLEGE MAKES MOVE TO DIVISION I: ACCEPTS INVITATION TO JOIN NORTHEAST CONFERENCE". Le Moyne College Athletics. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
- "Lindenwood University to Join the Ohio Valley Conference in 2022-23". OVC Sports. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
- "Merrimack College Accepts Invitation to Join Northeast Conference". Northeast Conference. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
- "Queens University of Charlotte accepts invitation to NCAA Division I conference". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
- "Stonehill College Accepts Invitation to Join Northeast Conference". Northeast Conference. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
- "Tarleton accepts WAC invitation, moves to NCAA Division I". Tarleton State University. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
- "Texas A&M University-Commerce Accepts Invitation to Southland Conference". Texas A&M University-Commerce. September 30, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
- "UC San Diego Formally Joins Big West as Part of Transition to Division I". UC San Diego. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
- "Southern Indiana joining OVC". Indiana News Journal. February 9, 2022. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
- "IT'S OFFICIAL - Dixie State Joins the WAC and Begins NCAA D-I Transition". Dixie State University Athletics. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
- "Von Vogt, Jessup's Winningest Coach, Announces the 2022-23 Season will be his Last". Jessup Warriors (Press release). February 23, 2023. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
- "Menlo College Exploring NCAA Division II Membership". Menlo Oaks (Press release). November 1, 2022. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
- "Middle Georgia State University's athletics program to shift from NAIA to NCAA Division II" (Press release). 41 WMGT. February 21, 2023. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
- Roosevelt University approved as provisional member of the GLIAC - GLIAC
- "SRSU applies to move to NCAA Division II" (Press release). Sul Ross State University. January 31, 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
- "Talladega College is poised to transition to NCAA Division II" (Press release). Talladega College. February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
- Head Coach, Women's Soccer job with Vanguard University
- "Negotiated Resolution: University of Montevallo" (PDF). NCAA. June 24, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
- "King University Public Infractions Decision" (PDF). NCAA. September 4, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
- "Bluefield State College Public Infractions Decision" (PDF). NCAA. November 11, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
- "Negotiated Resolution: University of Alaska Fairbanks" (PDF). NCAA. March 18, 2022. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
- "Augusta University Public Infractions Decision" (PDF). NCAA. June 2, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
- "Lewis University Public Infractions Decision" (PDF). NCAA. August 23, 2022. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
- "Shaw University Public Infractions Decision" (PDF). NCAA. July 13, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
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