National Collegiate Athletic Association

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that helps manage sports for students at about 1,100 schools in the United States and Canada. It works with colleges and supports more than 500,000 student athletes who play college sports every year. The main office of the NCAA is in Indianapolis, Indiana.

For a long time, the NCAA had just one group for all schools. But in 1956, it split into two groups. Then, in 1973, it made three groups called Division I, Division II, and Division III. Schools in Division I and II can give out awards for sports, but Division III schools cannot. Usually, bigger schools are in Division I, and smaller ones are in Divisions II and III.

In recent years, there have been changes to how student athletes can get support. In 2021, a big court said some of the NCAA's rules were not fair. Then, in May 2024, the NCAA agreed to let schools pay athletes who have played since 2016. The NCAA made a lot of money in the year 2022–23, mostly from showing the Division I men's basketball tournament.

History

Formation and early years

Intercollegiate sports began in the United States in 1852 when crews from Harvard and Yale universities met in a challenge race in the sport of rowing. Rowing was the main sport in the country in the late-1800s. Many early discussions about college sports rules happened through groups like the Rowing Association of American Colleges and the Intercollegiate Rowing Association. Other sports like football and basketball also grew, and football became very popular, even though its rules kept changing.

The NCAA started after President Theodore Roosevelt held meetings at the White House because many injuries and deaths in college football had caused some schools to stop the sport. After these meetings, Chancellor Henry MacCracken of New York University organized a meeting of 13 colleges. On December 28, 1905, at the Murray Hill Hotel in New York City, 62 schools became charter members of the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (IAAUS). The IAAUS became official on March 31, 1906, and changed its name to the NCAA in 1910.

For many years, the NCAA talked about rules and made them. In 1921, the first NCAA national championship happened: the National Collegiate Track and Field Championships. More rules committees and championships were added later, including a basketball championship in 1939.

1970s–1980s

As college athletics grew, the NCAA made a system to recognize different levels of sports. In 1973, it divided its members into three groups – I, II, and III. In 1978, Division I split into two subgroups for football.

Until the 1980s, the NCAA did not manage women's sports. The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) managed women's college sports instead. In the early-1980s, the AIAW had problems and stopped working. Most schools moved their women's sports programs to the NCAA. By 1982, all NCAA divisions had national championships for women’s sports.

Late 1990s

In 1999, the NCAA was sued for treating female athletes unfairly under Title IX. The U.S. Supreme Court decided the NCAA was not covered by that law.

In recent years, more athletes from other countries have joined NCAA schools. For example, many German athletes study and play at US universities. Some European athletes see American universities as a good place to study and play sports.

In 2009, Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, became the first school outside the US to join the NCAA, joining Division II. In 2018, Division II allowed schools from Mexico to apply to join. CETYS of Tijuana, Baja California showed interest but Simon Fraser University later decided to leave the NCAA and return to Canada in 2027 if allowed.

In 2014, the NCAA made a record $989 million in revenue. In 2022, the NCAA made a new constitution to simplify its rules and give athletes more say in decisions. Each division can now make its own rules without needing approval from the whole NCAA.

Headquarters

The NCAA began its modern era in 1955 when it moved its headquarters from Chicago to Kansas City, Missouri. This change helped keep the organization independent. The NCAA moved several times and finally settled in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1999. The current headquarters is in White River State Park and includes a large facility and a Hall of Champions.

Structure

The NCAA's Board of Governors is the main group that runs the NCAA and picks its president. The NCAA has many committees and groups that help make rules. These groups have members from its schools. They work together to create rules that the Board of Directors approves. The Board of Directors is made up of school presidents. The NCAA's staff helps with many tasks, like working with the media and giving advice.

The NCAA owns a company called ArbiterSports, located in Sandy, Utah. This company helps make sure sports referees are fair and consistent.

The NCAA did not have a full-time leader until 1951, when Walter Byers became the first executive director. In 1998, the title changed to president.

In 2013, the NCAA hired Brian Hainline as its first chief medical officer.

Before 1957, all NCAA sports had one level of competition. In 1957, the NCAA split into two levels for men's basketball: the University Division for bigger schools and the College Division for smaller ones. Later, these divisions were renamed and split further. Today, the NCAA has three main divisions: Division I, Division II, and Division III.

For some sports, the NCAA holds one tournament for all three divisions to decide a single national champion. These sports include women's bowling, men's and women's fencing, men's and women's gymnastics, women's ice hockey, rifle, skiing, men's indoor volleyball, women's beach volleyball, men's and women's water polo, and women's wrestling. The newest sport to join this format is women's wrestling, which started its first NCAA championship in the 2025–26 school year.

Player eligibility

See also: Amateurism in the NCAA

The NCAA says all its athletes must be amateurs. New athletes need to show they are amateurs to join. To stay eligible, athletes cannot sign contracts, earn money from sports, try out for professional teams, or agree to work with agents.

To play in their first year of college, students must meet three rules: they must finish high school, complete the needed school courses, and have passing grades. These courses include four years of English, two years of math, two years of social science, two years of science, and one more year in English, math, science, or another subject.

Students need a certain level of passing grades to join college sports right away. For example, in Division I, they need a high school grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.30. If their grades are a bit lower, they can still join in their second year with a GPA of 2.00.

Athletes can earn small prizes from competitions if the money does not go past their costs for the event. For example, a tennis player in high school can earn up to $10,000 in prizes without losing their chance to play in college.

Students can only play sports for four years in college. They can also take a year off from playing while still going to school and not lose one of their four years of eligibility. This is called redshirting, and it gives a student five years to play four seasons before they can join a professional team.

NCAA sponsored sports

The NCAA gives out 92 team championship titles each year. These titles are for women’s sports, men’s sports, and mixed teams. Some sports the NCAA supports are basketball, baseball for men, track and field, softball for women, football for men, cross country, field hockey for women, bowling for women, golf, fencing, lacrosse, soccer, gymnastics, rowing for women, swimming and diving, beach volleyball for women, volleyball, ice hockey, water polo, rifle for both men and women, tennis, skiing for both men and women, and wrestling.

Some newer sports the NCAA now supports include acrobatics and tumbling, as well as stunt in cheerleading. These are women’s sports and will have their first championships in spring 2027.

Sports added and dropped

Over time, different sports have become more or less popular in college. From 1988 to 2011, NCAA schools added many new teams for men and women. Men's sports like indoor track and field, lacrosse, and cross country grew, while sports like wrestling and tennis lost teams. Women's sports, especially soccer, golf, and indoor track and field, added many new teams.

There are tables showing how the number of teams for different men's and women's sports changed over the years.

Championships

Further information: List of NCAA schools with the most NCAA Division I championships and List of NCAA schools with the most Division I national championships

See also: NACDA Directors' Cup, Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women championships, List of college athletics championship game outcomes, and Intercollegiate sports team champions

Trophies

The NCAA gives out special trophies for teams that do well in sports like basketball and football. These trophies are made of gold, silver, or bronze for the top three teams. In basketball, teams that reach the Final Four get special trophies too. The team that wins the big championship game gets a shiny gold trophy.

Stanford, UCLA, and Southern California (USC) have won the most of these special trophies.

Football Bowl Subdivision

Main articles: College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS and College Football Playoff

The NCAA does not have an official championship for the top level of college football. Instead, different groups choose their own winners. From 2014 to 2023, the College Football Playoff picked the best four teams to play in two games, with the winners meeting in a big championship game. This game’s winner gets a trophy, but it is not called an NCAA championship. Starting in 2024, more teams will join this playoff.

Current champions

+: The Division I FCS National Championship is the official NCAA-sanctioned football championship for Division I. The NCAA doesn't officially endorse a national champion at the Division I FBS level but keeps a list of "official selectors" in its record books.

Conferences

See also: List of NCAA conferences and List of college athletic conferences in the United States

The NCAA has three levels called divisions: Division I, Division II, and Division III. These divisions are organized by the size of the schools and the number of sports they offer. Most schools join a main group called a "multisport conference" for most of their sports, but they can join different groups for different sports.

The schools listed as "Independents" in Division I, Division II, and Division III do not belong to a main conference for a particular sport. However, they might still belong to conferences for other sports. For example, Notre Dame mostly joins the Atlantic Coast Conference but its ice hockey team plays in the Big Ten Conference, and its football team plays without a conference.

Division I

Main articles: NCAA Division I and List of NCAA Division I athletic directors

In Division I, each main conference must have at least seven schools and offer at least 12 sports—six for men and six for women. They must also include both men's and women's basketball. Some conferences can operate with fewer schools for up to two years under special rules.

For schools in Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, there are extra rules. They must offer at least six men's and eight women's sports, including football, men's and women's basketball, and at least two other women's sports. Starting in 2027–28, these schools will also need to provide a certain amount of financial support for their athletes.

Notes

• FBS conferences in football are marked with an asterisk (*)

• FCS conferences in football are marked with two asterisks (**)

• Conferences that do not sponsor football or basketball are in italics

• America East Conference

• American Conference (American) *

• Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10)

• Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) *

• Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) **

• Big 12 Conference (Big 12) *

• Big East Conference

• Big Sky Conference **

• Big South Conference **

• Big Ten Conference (Big Ten or B1G) *

• Big West Conference

• Coastal Athletic Association (CAA)

• Conference USA (CUSA) *

• Horizon League

• Ivy League **

• Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC)

• Mid-American Conference (MAC)*

• Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) **

• Missouri Valley Conference (MVC)

• Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF)

• Mountain West Conference (MW) *

• NEC (Northeast Conference before October 2025) **

• Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) **

• Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12) *

• Patriot League **

• Southeastern Conference (SEC) *

• Southern Conference (SoCon) **

• Southland Conference **

• Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) **

• The Summit League (The Summit)

• Sun Belt Conference (SBC) *

• West Coast Conference (WCC)

• Western Athletic Conference (WAC) **

• NCAA Division I Independents

Division I FCS football-only conferences

• Coastal Athletic Association Football Conference (CAA Football)
• Missouri Valley Football Conference
• Pioneer Football League

Division I hockey-only conferences

See also: List of NCAA Division I ice hockey programs

Division I ice hockey has different conference groups than other sports. These schools belong to other conferences for their non-hockey sports.

Men only

• Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) – revived in 2021; previously operated from 1971 to 2013
• National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC)

Women only

• New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA)
• Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA)

Men and women

• Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) – formed in 2024 by the merger of the men's Atlantic Hockey Association and the women's College Hockey America
• ECAC Hockey
• Hockey East (also HEA, from its full name of Hockey East Association)

Division II

Main article: NCAA Division II

Division II schools must offer at least five sports for men and five for women (or four for men and six for women), with at least two team sports for each gender. Each gender must also have sports in every season.

• California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA)
• Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC)
• Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA)
• Conference Carolinas (CC)
• East Coast Conference (ECC)
• Great American Conference (GAC)
• Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC)
• Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC)
• Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC)
• Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC)
• Gulf South Conference (GSC)
• Lone Star Conference (LSC)
• Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA)
• Mountain East Conference (MEC)
• Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10)
• Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC)
• Pacific West Conference (PacWest)
• Peach Belt Conference (PBC)
• Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC)
• Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC)
• South Atlantic Conference (SAC)
• Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC)
• Sunshine State Conference (SSC)
• NCAA Division II Independents

Division III

Main article: NCAA Division III

Division III schools cannot offer sports scholarships. They must offer at least three team sports for each gender, covering all seasons. Schools with fewer than 1,000 students must offer at least five sports for each gender, while larger schools must offer six.

• Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC)
• American Rivers Conference (ARC)
• American Southwest Conference (ASC)
• Atlantic East Conference (AEC)
• Centennial Conference (Centennial)
• City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC)
• Coast to Coast Athletic Conference (C2C)
• College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW)
• Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS)
• Conference of New England (CNE)
• Empire 8 (E8)
• Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC)
• Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC)
• Landmark Conference (Landmark)
• Liberty League (Liberty)
• Little East Conference (LEC)
• Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC)
• Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA)
• Middle Atlantic Conferences (MAC) – An umbrella organization of the following three conferences:
  • MAC Commonwealth, sponsoring competition in 14 sports, but not football
  • MAC Freedom, sponsoring competition in the same set of 14 sports
  • Middle Atlantic Conference, sponsoring 13 sports, including football
• Midwest Conference (Midwest or MWC)
• Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC)
• New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC)
• New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC)
• New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC)
• North Atlantic Conference (NAC)
• North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC)
• Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC)
• Northwest Conference (NWC)
• Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC)
• Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC)
• Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC)
• Skyline Conference (Skyline)
• Southern Athletic Association (SAA)
• Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC)
• Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC)
• State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC)
• St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC)
• United East Conference
• University Athletic Association (UAA)
• Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC)
• USA South Athletic Conference (USA South)
• Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC)
• NCAA Division III Independents

Division III ice hockey-only conferences

• ECAC East – men's and women's
• ECAC Northeast – men's only
• ECAC West – men's and women's
• Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) – men's and women's
• United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) – men's and women's

Division III lacrosse-only conferences

• Midwest Lacrosse Conference (MLC) – men's only
• Midwest Women's Lacrosse Conference (MWLC) – women's only

Division III men's volleyball-only conferences

• Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC)
• Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL)
• New England Collegiate Conference (NECC)
• United Volleyball Conference (UVC)

Media

The NCAA works with TV networks to show its sports championships. Networks like CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN+, ABC, TNT Sports, and the Golf Channel will show many NCAA events until the 2031–32 season.

Some of the biggest events include the men's basketball tournament on CBS and TNT, and many other sports like soccer, swimming, and golf on ESPN and others. Radio broadcasts of important basketball and baseball games are handled by Westwood One.

Office of Inclusion

The NCAA works on programs to support fairness and inclusion in college sports. In October 2018, they had a week-long campaign to promote these values on social media. The NCAA believes in equal chances for all students, coaches, and leaders, no matter their background.

The NCAA makes sure everyone is treated fairly. This includes people of different races, genders, and abilities. They have rules to help make sure women and men have equal chances in sports. They also support students with disabilities and international students who want to play college sports. The NCAA tries to make college sports a place where everyone feels welcome and respected.

College team name changes

Since 2018, some schools changed their team names. The old names were based on stereotypes that upset some people. Many of these names came from Native American culture. Some schools changed their names after talking to the tribes they represented. Others still use their old names.

Here are some schools that changed their team names:

• Stanford – Indians to Cardinals (1972); became Cardinal in 1981
• UMass – Redmen and Redwomen to Minutemen and Minutewomen (1972)
• Dartmouth – Indians to Big Green (1974)
• Siena – Indians to Saints (1988)
• Eastern Michigan – Hurons to Eagles (1991)
• St. Bonaventure - Brown Indians to Bonnies
• St. John's (NY) – Redmen to Red Storm (1994)
• Syracuse - Orangemen to Orange
• Marquette – Warriors to Golden Eagles (1994)
• Chattanooga – Moccasins to Mocs, suggestive of mockingbirds (1996)
• Miami (OH) – Redskins to RedHawks (1997)
• Seattle – Chieftains to Redhawks (2000)
• Colgate – Red Raiders to Raiders (2001)
• Quinnipiac – Braves to Bobcats (2002)
• Southeast Missouri State – Indians (men) and Otahkians (women) to Redhawks (2005)
• Louisiana–Monroe – Indians to Warhawks (2006)
• Arkansas State – Indians to Red Wolves (2008)
• North Dakota – Formally dropped Fighting Sioux in 2012; adopted Fighting Hawks in 2015

Some other schools made smaller changes to their symbols but kept their team names the same.

Rules violations

Member schools agree to follow rules set by the NCAA. If a school may have broken these rules, the NCAA checks to see what happened. They might find small mistakes or bigger problems.

If big problems are found, the school might be put on "probation." This means they have to follow extra rules for a time.

In very serious cases, the NCAA can stop a school from playing a sport for a while. This is called the "Death Penalty." It has only happened a few times, and it can make it hard for a school’s sports program for many years. Coaches and staff who break the rules might not be allowed to work at any NCAA school for a while.

One famous case was about a top college football player whose family was said to have wanted money for him to play at a different school, but he was allowed to keep playing.

Sponsors

The NCAA has two types of sponsors. Big companies like AT&T, Coca-Cola, and Capital One are called NCAA Corporate Champions. All other sponsors are called NCAA Corporate Partners.

Finances

The NCAA is a nonprofit group that runs college sports in the United States and Canada. Because of this status, it does not need to pay most taxes. In 2014, the NCAA had over $600 million in assets and almost a billion dollars in income for that year. Most of this money came from showing and advertising sports events on TV.

NCAA expenditures

The NCAA gets most of its money from TV rights for basketball and ticket sales for championship events. This money helps support the schools, teams, and over 500,000 student athletes. In 2017, the NCAA made more than $1 billion in revenue. The biggest part of this money went to help pay for sports, scholarships, and support for student athletes. Smaller amounts paid for things like travel, food, and lodging for championship events.

Expenses by category

The NCAA spends its money in many ways. The largest amounts go to help pay for sports and scholarships, support for student athletes, and running big championship events. Other money pays for things like academic programs, legal services, and day-to-day operations. In 2017, over half of the money went back to the schools and athletes in different ways.

The categories:

• $210.8M Sport Sponsorship and Scholarship Funds

Distributed to Division I schools to help fund NCAA sports and provide scholarships for college athletes.

• $160.5M Division I Basketball Performance Fund

Distributed to Division I conferences and independent schools based on their performance in the men's basketball tournament over a six-year rolling period. The money is used to fund NCAA sports and provide scholarships for college athletes.

• $96.7M Division I Championships

Provides college athletes the opportunity to compete for a championship and includes support for team travel, food, and lodging.

• $82.2M Student Assistance Fund

Distributed to Division I student-athletes for essential needs that arise during their time in college.

• $71.8M Student-Athlete Services

Includes funding for catastrophic injury insurance, drug testing, student-athlete leadership programs, postgraduate scholarships, and additional Association-wide championships support.

• $50.3M Division I Equal Conference Fund

Distributed equally among Division I basketball-playing conferences that meet athletic and academic standards to play in the men's basketball tournament. The money is used to fund NCAA sports and provide scholarships for college athletes.

• $46.7M Academic Enhancement Fund

Distributed to Division I schools to assist with academic programs and services.

• $42.3M Division II Allocation

Funds championships, grants, and other initiatives for Division II college athletes.

• $39.6M Membership Support Services

Covers costs related to NCAA governance committees and the annual NCAA Convention.

• $28.2M Division III Allocation

Funds championships, grants, and other initiatives for Division III college athletes.

• $9.5M Division I Conference Grants

Distributed to Division I conferences for programs that enhance officiating, compliance, minority opportunities, and more.

• $3.3M Educational Programs

Supports various educational services for members to help prepare student-athletes for life, including the Women Coaches Academy, the Emerging Leaders Seminars, and the Pathway Program.

• $74.3M Other Association-Wide Expenses

Includes support for Association-wide legal services, communications, and business insurance.

• $39.7M General and Administrative Expenses

Funds the day-to-day operations of the NCAA national office, including administrative and financial services, information technology, and facilities management.

Player compensation proposals

Main article: House v. NCAA

See also: NCAA v. Alston and Fair Pay to Play Act

The NCAA used to only allow players to get scholarships for school, but this has changed. Players can now earn money from endorsements and using their names, images, and likenesses. In 2021, a court decision allowed more ways for players to get paid. Starting in 2024, schools can directly pay players for the first time, with plans to share more money with athletes in the future.

Individual awards

See also: Academic All-America, Best Female College Athlete ESPY Award, Best Male College Athlete ESPY Award, Senior CLASS Award, Honda Sports Award, List of college baseball awards, and List of 2009 all-decade Sports Illustrated awards and honors#College basketball honors.

The NCAA gives out many special awards to honor students who do great things. Some of these awards include:

• NCAA Award of Valor for heroes.
• NCAA Gerald R. Ford Award for leaders in sports.
• NCAA Inspiration Award for inspiring others.
• NCAA Sportsmanship Award for showing good sportsmanship.
• NCAA Theodore Roosevelt Award, the biggest honor the NCAA can give.
• NCAA Woman of the Year Award for a top female student athlete.
• Elite Scholar-Athlete Award for the best student athletes.
• Silver Anniversary Awards for former athletes who did well.
• The Flying Wedge Award for leadership.
• Today's Top 10 Award for ten great senior athletes.
• Walter Byers Scholarship for top scholar-athletes.

Other collegiate athletic organizations

The NCAA is the biggest group for college sports in the United States, but it is not the only one. There are several other groups that help organize sports for college students.

In the United States, some of these groups include the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, which stopped working in 1982, and others like the California Community College Athletic Association, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, and National Junior College Athletic Association.

Other countries also have their own groups for college sports. For example, Canada has U Sports and the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association, while the Philippines has its own National Collegiate Athletic Association (Philippines).