List of NCAA Division II institutions
There are currently 306 American, Canadian, and Puerto Rican colleges and universities classified as Division II for NCAA competition. During the 2021–22 academic year, six 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
- Effective in 2022–23, California, Clarion, and Edinboro will merge into Pennsylvania Western University, with each institution becoming a separate campus with its own identity as "Pennsylvania Western University location". Pending NCAA approval, each athletic program will maintain its separate identity under its community name.
- Lindenwood and Southern Indiana will depart for the Ohio Valley Conference in July 2022 pending NCAA approval.
- University of Sciences is merging with Division I Saint Joseph's University and discontinuing athletics following the 2021–22 academic year.
- The college's athletic facilities are spread across the campus, which is split between Manchester and Hooksett.
- Stonehill will depart for the Northeast Conference also in July 2022 pending NCAA approval.
- Texas A&M-Commerce will depart for the Southland Conference also in July 2022 pending NCAA approval.
Reclassifying
The reclassification process from one NCAA division to another requires four 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 Division II require two years.
| School | Nickname | City | State/ Province |
Enrollment | Conference | Full Membership |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allen University[2] | Yellow Jackets | Columbia | South Carolina | 600 | Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | 2024 |
| D'Youville College[3] | Saints | Buffalo | New York | 3,000 | East Coast Conference | 2023 |
| Edward Waters University[4] | Tigers | Jacksonville | Florida | 1,025 | Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | 2024 |
| Emory and Henry College[5] | Wasps | Emory | Virginia | 1,246 | Independent (South Atlantic Conference in 2022) | 2024 |
| Frostburg State University | Bobcats | Frostburg | Maryland | 5,396 | Mountain East Conference | 2022 |
| College of Staten Island | Dolphins | Staten Island | New York | 13,798 | East Coast Conference | 2022 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of South Carolina Beaufort[6] | Sand Sharks | Bluffton | South Carolina | 2,119 | Peach Belt Conference (in 2022) | Sun Conference (NAIA) |
| Thomas More University[7] | Saints | Crestview Hills | Kentucky | 2,238 | Great Midwest Athletic Conference (in 2022) | Mid-South Conference (NAIA) |
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 sponsors men's ice hockey for its members who choose to remain in D-II, including a postseason tournament.
Several members of the NE10 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Barry University | Men's soccer | April 15, 2022[8] |
| Saginaw Valley State University | Entire program | February 6, 2023[9] |
| Clarion University of Pennsylvania[lower-alpha 1] | Women's soccer | March 10, 2023[10] |
| King University | Men's basketball | September 3, 2023[11] |
| Bluefield State College | Eight sports[lower-alpha 2] | November 10, 2024[12] |
- Institutional name will change to Pennsylvania Western University Clarion on 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.
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.
- 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.
- "Barry University Public Infractions Decision" (PDF). NCAA. April 16, 2019. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
- "Saginaw Valley State University Public Infractions Decision" (PDF). NCAA. February 7, 2019. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
- "Clarion University of Pennsylvania Public Infractions Decision" (PDF). NCAA. March 11, 2021. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
- "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.
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Events listed in italics have been discontinued. | ||