NCAA | NAIA | NJCAA Athletic Program Changes

Following our latest September round of updating contact details of all NCAA, NAIA and NJCAA college coaches, we wanted to make you aware of any changes in the athletic program offerings across sports.
While some our our readers may simply enjoy to go through the list and register changes out of genuine interest, any of those updates can usually have a huge impact on athletes, who are in the middle of their recruiting process or just about to kick it off. Here's why:

• Knowing about conference realignments can be key in ensuring you focus on the right programs going forward.
• Knowing about division realignments can make a key difference in determining whether a school is a viable option.
• Knowing about changes in the varsity sports offering can put you in the best possible spot of speaking with coaches, before other recruits do.

Below is a selection of changes over the last couple of weeks and months, which we have come across and updated in our database accordingly.

While a lot of schools have moved from one conference to another, a relatively large number of schools has also been forced to close down, which is a sad moment for athletes, students, alumni, as well as university staff ...

Let's dive into each of those topics one by one:

1. Division Changes
   
2. Conference realignments
3. School closures
4. Program Changes (new programs / program cuts)

1. DIVISION CHANGES

• University of West Georgia (D-II) has announced that it will transition from NCAA D-II to D-I from Fall 2024 onwards, competing in the ASUN Conference.
• William Jessup University (NAIA) will become a NCAA D-II program with the first season 2024-2025, competing in the PacWest.
• Menlo College (NAIA) will become a NCAA D-II program with the first season 2024-2025, competing in the PacWest.
  
• Vanguard University (NAIA) will become a NCAA D-II program with the first season 2024-2025, competing in the PacWest.
  
• Roosevelt University (NAIA) will become a NCAA D-II program with the first season 2024-2025, competing in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
  
• Sul Ross State University (D-III) will become a NCAA D-II program with the first season 2024-2025, competing in the Lone Star Conference.
• Lyon College (NAIA) is now a NCAA D-III program, competing in the St Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC).

2. CONFERENCE CHANGES

• The CAA Conference has rebranded to "Coastal Athletic Association".
• The ASUN Conference has reinstated its old conference name "Atlantic Sun Conference", with the abbreviation remaining the same: ASUN.
• ASUN has added swimming (M&W) as sponsored sport, effective Fall 2023.
• America East Conference discontinued tennis (M&W) as sponsored sport.

• Young Harris College (D-II) is a member of Conference Carolinas effective Fall 2023.
• Brigham Young University (BYU) (D-I) is a member of the Big-12 effective Fall 2023.
• Central Florida University (D-I) is a member of the Big-12 effective Fall 2023.
• University of Cincinnati (D-I) is a member of the Big-12 effective Fall 2023.
• University of Houston (D-I) is a member of the Big-12 effective Fall 2023.
• Florida Atlantic University (D-I) is a member of the American Athletic Conference effective Fall 2023.
• University of North Texas (D-I) is a member of the American Athletic Conference effective Fall 2023.
• Rice University (D-I) is a member of the American Athletic Conference effective Fall 2023.
• University of Alabama at Birmingham (D-I) is a member of the American Athletic Conference effective Fall 2023.
• University of Texas at San Antonio (D-I) is a member of the American Athletic Conference effective Fall 2023.
• University of North Carolina at Charlotte (D-I) is a member of the American Athletic Conference effective Fall 2023.
• Sam Houston State University (D-I) is a member of the Conference USA effective Fall 2023.
• Liberty University (D-I) is a member of the Conference USA effective Fall 2023.
• Jacksonville State University (D-I) is a member of the Conference USA effective Fall 2023.
• New Mexico State University (D-I) is a member of the Conference USA effective Fall 2023.
• Western Illinois University (D-I) is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference effective Fall 2023.
• Bluefield State College (D-II) is a member of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) effective Fall 2023.
• SUNY Morrisville (D-III) is a member of the North Atlantic Conference effective Fall 2023.
  
• Lesley University (D-III) is a member of the North Atlantic Conference effective Fall 2023.

3. SCHOOL CLOSURES

• Holy Names University (D-II) closed down following the academic year 2022-2023.
• Alderson Broaddus University (D-II) closed down following 2022-2023.
• Cazenovia College (D-III) closed down following 2022-23.
  
• Finlandia University (D-III) closed down following 2022-2023.
• Medaille College (D-III) closed down following 2022-2023.
• Lincoln College (NAIA) closed down following 2022-2023.
• Cabrini University (D-III) will close down after the academic year 2023-24.

4. PROGRAM CHANGES

NCAA SCHOOLS (D-I, D-II, D-III)

• Bethune Cookman University (D-I) reinstates Women's Bowling in Fall 2024.
• Niagara University (D-I) added Bowling (W) in Fall 2023.
• University of West Georgia (then D-I, see above) plans on adding Track & Field (M) and Beach Volleyball (W) in Fall 2024, as part of its move to NCAA D-I / ASUN Conference.
  
• The University of Texas of the Permian Basin (D-II) discontinued Soccer (M) and Cross Country (M) after 2022-23.
• West Liberty University (D-II) discontinued tennis after 2022-23.
• Felician University (D-II) adds Wrestling (M&W) in Fall 2024.
• University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (D-III) adds Soccer (M) in Fall 2024.
• Utica University (D-III) discontinued Swimming & Diving (M&W), Water Polo (W) & Tennis (M).
• SUNY Buffalo State (D-III) discontinued Swimming & Diving (M&W).
• University of Massachusetts-Boston (D-III) adds Lacrosse (W) in Fall 2024.
• University of Pittsburgh-Bradford (D-III) discontinued Tennis (M&W), adds Lacrosse (M&W).
  Men: club program 23-24, intercollegiate program 24-25.
  Women: club progream 24-25, intercollegiate sport 25-26.
• Wells College (D-III) added Golf (M) in Fall 2023.
• Washington College (D-III) adds Cross Country and Track & Field (M&W) in Fall 2025 (Club status in 2024).

NAIA SCHOOLS

• Ave Maria University (NAIA) added Rugby (M) in Fall 2023.

• Brenau University (NAIA) to postpone Lacrosse (W) for the time being.

NJCAA SCHOOLS

• Terra State Community College (D-III) added Bowling (M&W) and Softball in Fall 2023.

Note that new programs (e.g. Fall 2024) may not have all coaches in place yet and may thus also not be contacted directly through Smarthlete with your account.

At Smarthlete, we continue to update our database of schools on a daily basis and our users will continue to reveive the latest updates by email once per quarter. Here's a sneek peak on what's going on behind the scenes right now: USCAA, CCCAA, NCCAA and NWAC will also be added to our database in the upcoming weeks, allowing recruits to research even more schools, check out university profiles and make contact with the respective college coaches right away.

In case you are interested in more topics within college sports and recruiting, check out our collection of articles on our Smarthlete Blog.
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