@luks25 NSAC is becoming a new conference in the USCAA. Both Gordon State and Clayton State elevated their club football. 4 new schools added. Denmark Tech, Virginia State and Bloomfield College of Montclair State, Exploratory is John Melvin Christian of Florida who is part of NSAC.

The USCAA are starting to add new conferences to help place schools in.

As for Andrew College? I read this fall as the earliest that they would apply. Gordon State and Georgia Highlands would be in a few years before they be a 4 year school to go NAIA. Cuthbert Georgia is near the Florida's border so it would be that conference.  

@luks25 Fair enough. That also explains the silent dissolution of the HVIAC.

@davidst That sounds amazing for the organization to explore on creating or forming new athletic conferences within its ranks or level. The question would be: "What would be the minimum amounts for an athletic conference to be formed or created within the USCAA; in order to have at least X number of active member schools, with each school participating in conference play in at least X amount of men's and X amount of women's sports, including basketball, etc.?" In FBS it's 8 schools with each one playing 6 men's and 6 women's sports. In FCS it's 7 with 6 men's & 6 women's. In D-II, D-III, NAIA and NJCAA, it's like 6 with 5 men's & 5 women's, and so on.

the University of Austin has been granted Candidate Status with Middle States Commission

https://www.msche.org/2025/09/08/university-of-austin-granted-msche-candidate-status/

The university hasn't said anything about athletics that I'm aware of, but they should be on the watch list I think. They're legit.

https://www.uaustin.org/history

With meetings going on this week in Kansas City, It will be very interesting to see which schools have applied for NAIA membership. There have been rumors of upwards of 40 schools have shown interest rom D2, D2 & USCAA schools. Given the success Definace found making the move, I could see schools like Bluffton & Anderson (IN) looking to make the jump.

@emskelly3 Interesting that you share that. Could another factor be cuz of expenses and costs that the NCAA in any of the 3 levels are occuring, like for one school to move a level, that school needs to pay a huge sum amount of money for it to happen? But we will see how things go.

And let's put it this way, if some schools make the downgrade from any of those 3 NCAA levels into the NAIA, for reasons such as making competition affordable and keeping things geographic in tradition, while also helping those NAIA conferences to like boost in expansion; while at the same time, those conferences from the NCAA would need to either merge with another nearby yet regional rival conference or possibly dissolve.

@jlog3000 I'm sure operating costs are the biggest reason right now. Defiance noted in their first year in the NAIA, their discount rate went down, operating expenses went down, and they had their largest recruiting class in like 17 years. Their AD has been singing the NAIA's praises to anyone who's listening. Plus, the new NAIA mantra "Play the Right Way" has appealed greatly to institutions. A friend of mine who works at the NCAA national office told me at a convention for my sport that if the national office plays this the right way, we could see significant growth. So time will tell.

@emskelly3 Fairly understandable. And if other lower colleges to even some mid-major state/regional based public universities somehow also make those jumps (either downgrade from NCAA to NAIA, or upgrade from NJCAA/USCAA to NAIA), hope it would help increase expansion chances for conferences that are under the based minimum requirements in terms of holding certain amount of schools, while in the process to keep the regional geographic tradition along the way.

jlog3000, I'd appreciate it if you used the term 'rightsized' instead of downgraded.  I'm sure the schools doing it feel that way.

@blynnfouts With all due to respect, then what is the right term for schools that decided to upgrade or move up (i.e.: NAIA to D2 or D2 to D1)? I don't think that rightsized is the proper way to describe a school to move to a division or athletic level lower than they are currently (i.e.: D1 to D2, D1 to D3, D2 to D3, D2 to NAIA, D3 to NAIA, etc.). I would have understood for the term rightsized to be used if I can know the context over it.

Posted by: @jlog3000

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@blynnfouts With all due to respect, then what is the right term for schools that decided to upgrade or move up (i.e.: NAIA to D2 or D2 to D1)? I don't think that rightsized is the proper way to describe a school to move to a division or athletic level lower than they are currently (i.e.: D1 to D2, D1 to D3, D2 to D3, D2 to NAIA, D3 to NAIA, etc.). I would have understood for the term rightsized to be used if I can know the context over it.

I'll answer your question with a question, explain the context why moving from the NCAA to NAIA is a downgrade?

What BLF is referring to is are the schools that have literally been saved by moving from the NCAA to the NAIA, the No. 1 example being Morningside. The move to the NAIA has allowed for enrollment growth, expansion of the athletic program and reduced travel costs. None of those are anything the leadership at the school would deem a "downgrade". There are other recent examples of this I don't need to list.

The NCAA is a great fit for many schools. The NAIA is a great fit for many schools. Moving from one or the other isn't a "downgrade" for these schools, they are finding the right fit for their schools mission and athletic department.  

Nebraska Wesleyan went from playing more than half of their schedule within 3 hours of their home field to their closest game in conference being three hours away. They were a team that competed for conference titles in nearly every sport in their athletic department. Their latest Equity in Athletics report shows 1478 FT undergrads. In 2008, while in the NAIA, they had 1610 total undergrads. In 2010, they had 1637 total undergrads. Their last season in the GPAC (2015) they had 1487 total undergrads.

Their grand total of expenses reported to the EADA for athletics was $3,004,118 in 2023. Their last year in the GPAC it was $1,751,692. Adjusted for inflation, the 2015 expenses would be $2,259,682. That's $744,436 more now than then. 

I would say Nebraska Wesleyan downgraded to D3 for the simple fact their expenses are higher and their enrollment is down. But hey, the blue oval looks nice in the gym. 

@jasondannelly I'm not denying those facts or accolades. By my point of saying the word "downgrade" is in the sense of their status in terms of low funds, a low budget, low enrollment and low amounts of sports sponsored, because those schools know that they might not reach the same stature as those big schools. Hope this clarifies things a bit, if not, please lemme know.

Since you brought out Nebraska Wesleyan, the only examples that had moved recently before Defiance were those such as Oakland City (in Indiana), and at one point Ohio Valley and Iowa Wesleyan (before those ceased).

Posted by: @jlog3000

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@jasondannelly I'm not denying those facts or accolades. By my point of saying the word "downgrade" is in the sense of their status in terms of low funds, a low budget, low enrollment and low amounts of sports sponsored, because those schools know that they might not reach the same stature as those big schools. Hope this clarifies things a bit, if not, please lemme know.

It does not clarify. You are assuming every school is trying to reach the same stature as "those big schools". The mission many of these schools have been on for many many years is to provide something different than the "big schools" as you put it. And a move to a division chasing that dream can create bigger problems. 

You said "either downgrade from NCAA to NAIA, or upgrade from NJCAA/USCAA to NAIA"

I don't see the schools moving from any one governing body to another governing body as something that we can say is an upgrade or downgrade. How the institution utilizes the move ultimately will decide that. Notre Dame College made an "upgrade" (your words) to DII. Their enrollment immediately dropped, they had to cut sports with JV programs and ultimately ended up closing. Often times their travel increases and so do the expenses of the department. The facts are, when they were in the NAIA, their enrollment was higher. You could point to Urbana University as another example. I wouldn't call it an "upgrade" when your school ultimately closes and your enrollment stalls or drops because you have to cut programs to fit into the NCAA model. 

Notre Dame's enrollment in 2022 was 939. In 2012 their last year in the NAIA, it was 1324 .

"Right sizing" the organization the school belongs to is more fitting term than "upgrade" or "downgrade". Notre Dame made an "upgrade" and closed. Same with Urbana. Azusa Pacific moved from NAIA to DII to DIII. Sounds like they were trying to find the right fit. 

@jasondannelly So it doesn't matter if what I say clarifies or not. Got it. Then if that's the case, then is it worth it for a school to "rightsize" themselves, as well as to be potentially be ceasing operations (so that I won't use the term such as "endangered") in a few years or so, like many private schools have occured in the long run or long term?

Posted by: @jlog3000

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@jasondannelly So it doesn't matter if what I say clarifies or not. Got it.

Dude, you asked if what you said clarified it. It didn't. 

You started by saying: "either downgrade from NCAA to NAIA, or upgrade from NJCAA/USCAA to NAIA"

Your clarification was: "By my point of saying the word "downgrade" is in the sense of their status in terms of low funds, a low budget, low enrollment and low amounts of sports sponsored, because those schools know that they might not reach the same stature as those big schools."

I pointed out examples of your "upgrade" terminology not making sense. The Notre Dame and Urbana  "upgraded" to DII but enrollment declined, had less success and they sponsored fewer sports. If would seem to me, by your clarified definition, they actually downgraded to NCAA DII from the NAIA.

If a school left the NAIA for the USCAA and stabilized their athletic department, reduced travel costs and created a better student athlete environment, I wouldn't call that a downgrade. Now does the NCAA generally have more money and opportunities than the USCAA, for sure. We all know that. But based on your explanation you're automatically assuming the goal of all of these schools is to reach the same stature of those big schools. 

I get what you are trying to say, but as the guy who owns the web site that solely covers NAIA athletics, calling a move to this Division a downgrade is short sighted when moves to other levels of athletics have not netted positive results for schools. William Jewell's enrollment was 811 on the last EADA report. Their last year in the NAIA (2011) it was over 1000. Is it really an upgrade to the things you listed to be in DII when the school's enrollment drops, participation in championship level activities drops and travel increases?

@jasondannelly Fine, I'll just let this go, and also drop that part of the subject of what I said initially; because the last thing I need is enemies, and I don't wanna explain myself in that regard any longer; but without this final take:

I hope that NO school will EVER somehow either discontinue its athletics program OR cease operations altogether, just for the sake or rightsizing themselves. As a college sports fan myself, just like everyone else here in this wonderful forum website, I wanna see everyone thrive and be themselves competitively and socially; especially athletic conferences expanding a bit more to keep up and make up to their declines in losses of membership, as some are falling out of the basic standards that might be on the verge to dissolve while others are increasing almost to those in the FBS that have no regard with regional geographic traditional standards.