This is a list of colleges and universities that are members of Division I, the highest level of competition sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Currently, there are 363 institutions classified as Division I, including those in the process of transitioning from other divisions.[1] An additional 202 institutions in one of the NCAA's other two divisions compete or will compete in Division I in at least one sport. All colleges and universities on this list are located in the United States; all states (except Alaska) plus the District of Columbia are represented by full members. Information in this list represents the forthcoming 2022–23 seasons.
Full members
These schools are full members of Division I, meaning they either have finished the process of joining Division I or were members of its predecessor, the University Division. The teams of one university, Hartford, are in the process of departing for Division III, but will compete in Division I for 2022.[2]
^ abThe West Coast Conference does not sponsor football. Its two football schools, BYU and San Diego, respectively play as an FBS independent and in the FCS Pioneer Football League.
^ abcdBYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF will join the Big 12 Conference in 2023.
^ abcdThe Big East Conference does not sponsor football. Its football-sponsoring schools are aligned as follows:
Butler plays in the Pioneer Football League.
Georgetown plays in the Patriot League.
UConn plays as an FBS independent.
Villanova plays in CAA Football.
^ abcThe Big West Conference does not sponsor football. Its football-playing members are aligned as follows:
Cal Poly and UC Davis play in the Big Sky Conference.
Hawaiʻi plays in the Mountain West Conference.
^Campbell will join the Colonial Athletic Association and CAA Football in 2023.
^While "Charleston" is the preferred description for the athletic program, it can also be referred to by the full school name or "Charleston (SC)" due to the existence of the University of Charleston, a Division II institution in West Virginia's state capital. However, the West Virginia school plays only one sport in Division I—men's volleyball, a sport not sponsored by the South Carolina school.
^ abcdefgThe Atlantic 10 Conference does not sponsor football. Its football-playing members are aligned as follows:
Davidson and Dayton play in the Pioneer Football League.
Duquesne plays in the Northeast Conference.
Fordham plays in the Patriot League.
Rhode Island and Richmond play in CAA Football.
UMass plays as an FBS independent.
^ abcdefghThe Missouri Valley Conference does not sponsor football. Its football-playing schools are aligned as follows:
Drake and Valparaiso play in the Pioneer Football League.
Illinois State, Indiana State, Missouri State, Northern Iowa, and Southern Illinois play in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, a legally separate entity from the MVC.
Murray State will play the 2022 season in its former all-sports home of the Ohio Valley Conference before joining the MVFC in 2023.
^ abcdefghThe Colonial Athletic Association's football league, branded as CAA Football, is a legally separate entity from the all-sports CAA, though both share the same administration.
^ abcdeCharlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice, UAB, and UTSA will join the American Athletic Conference in 2023.
^While "Bulldogs" is the official nickname, the school widely uses "Zags" as an alternate nickname.
^While this is the legal school name, "Iowa State University" is used on many official school documents, such as diplomas.
^ abcdeJacksonville State, Liberty, New Mexico State, and Sam Houston will join Conference USA in 2023.
^While this is the legal school name, "Kansas State University" is used on most official school documents, and some Kansas state statutes refer to the school by the shorter name.
^Long Island University has two main campuses, both of which had separate athletic programs before 2019–20—LIU Brooklyn in the New York City borough of that name, and LIU Post in Brookville. All of LIU's current NCAA teams are open to undergraduates at both campuses who meet NCAA eligibility requirements.
^The MAAC does not sponsor football. Its only football-playing member, Marist, plays that sport in the Pioneer Football League.
^While this is the legal school name, it only appears in Mississippi state statutes. The university uses the short form of "Mississippi State University" for virtually all purposes.
^Morehead State plays football in the Pioneer Football League instead of the OVC.
^The Western Athletic Conference is an FCS football league. New Mexico State plays as an FBS independent through the 2022 season, after which it will join Conference USA.
^North Carolina A&T football will play the 2022 season in the school's former all-sports home of the Big South Conference before joining CAA Football in 2023.
^ abcdeThe Summit League does not sponsor football. Its football-playing members are aligned as follows:
North Dakota, North Dakota State, South Dakota, South Dakota State, and Western Illinois play in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
Transitional D-I member St. Thomas plays in the Pioneer Football League.
^Presbyterian football plays in the Pioneer Football League.
^ abThe Horizon League does not sponsor football. Robert Morris football plays in the Big South Conference, and Youngstown State plays in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
^While this is the school's preferred athletic identity, national sports media typically append "State" to this description.
^The school, the Ohio Valley Conference, and the NCAA all use "SIUE" instead of national sports media's preferred usage of "SIU Edwardsville".
^While this is the legal name, "The University of Iowa" has been used for all official purposes since 1964.
^ abcThe America East Conference does not sponsor football. Its four football-sponsoring schools are aligned as follows:
Albany, Maine, and New Hampshire play in CAA Football, the legally separate football league administered by the all-sports Colonial Athletic Association.
Bryant is playing the 2022 season in the Big South Conference. After that season, the Big South and Ohio Valley Conference will merge their respective football leagues; it has not been announced whether this alliance will be run by either all-sports conference, or become a separate entity.
^GWU has announced it will adopt a new nickname in the 2023–24 school year.
^ abOklahoma and Texas will join the Southeastern Conference no later than 2025.
^While UTRGV has multiple campuses within its service area, its overall and athletic administration are at the Edinburg campus.
^UTRGV has committed to adding a football program at the FCS level by 2024.
^National media typically use "Louisiana–Monroe", but the school, the Sun Belt Conference, and the NCAA all primarily use "ULM".
^Notre Dame football plays as an FBS independent, although it has an extensive cross-scheduling agreement with the ACC in that sport.
^This is the school's preferred usage, although national media will generally use "South Carolina Upstate".
^This is the school's preferred athletic usage, and is generally used by national media. The NCAA, however, uses "Southern California" (a use accepted by the athletic program) because "USC" can also refer to the University of South Carolina.
^While national media typically use "Incarnate Word", the school generally uses "UIW", with the NCAA using the latter.
Transitioning members
These schools are at some point in the process of joining Division I, but as of 2022 have not yet finished the process and thus aren't yet full members. Unless stated otherwise, all transitions begin and end on July 1 of a given year.
Approved reclassifications
All moves between divisions require NCAA approval before commencing. These schools gained this approval and as such have begun their transitions.
^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.
These schools are not members of Division I, but rather are members of Division II or Division III that compete in one or more sports at the Division I level. In many cases, these institutions play in Division I because their divisions do not have championships for a particular sport. One institution, Missouri S&T, fielded a team in a Division I sport for the first time in the 2022–23 school year. Another institution, Alaska Anchorage, returned to fielding a team in a Division I sport in 2022.
These schools that are members of other divisions have announced their intentions to field one team at the Division I level sometime after the 2022–23 seasons.
Years of joining reflect calendar years. For schools that will play only spring sports at the D-I level, the calendar year of joining is the year before the first season of competition.
a As a part if its transition out of Division I, Hartford will join a Division III conference in 2023.[15]
b BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF will join the Big 12 Conference in 2023.[16]
c Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice, UAB, and UTSA will join the American Athletic Conference in 2023.[17]
d Jacksonville State, Liberty, New Mexico State, and Sam Houston will join Conference USA in 2023.[18]
e Lamar will join the Southland Conference in 2023.[19]
f Oklahoma and Texas will join the Southeastern Conference in 2025.[20]
g Dixie State University will be renamed Utah Tech University on July 1, 2022.[21]
h Alabama A&M, Georgia, and South Carolina State use the name Lady Bulldogs for their women's teams.
i Alabama State and Delaware State use the name Lady Hornets for their women's teams.
j Alcorn State uses the name Lady Braves for its women's teams.
k Arkansas–Pine Bluff uses the name Golden Lady Lions for its women's teams.
l Campbell uses the name Lady Camels for its women's teams.
m Centenary uses the name Ladies for its women's teams.
n Central Arkansas uses the name Sugar Bears for its women's teams.
o Central Missouri uses the name Jennies for its women's teams.
p Central State uses the name Lady Marauders for its women's teams.
q East Carolina and Hampton use the name Lady Pirates for their women's teams.
r Fayetteville State uses the name Lady Broncos for its women's teams.
s Florida A&M uses the name Lady Rattlers for its women's teams.
t Furman uses the name Lady Paladins for its women's teams.
u Georgia Southern and Southern Miss use the name Lady Eagles for their women's teams.
v Grambling, Jackson State, Tennessee State, and Texas Southern use the name Lady Tigers for their women's teams, while LSU uses it for select women's teams.
w Hawaiʻi uses the name Rainbow Wahine for its women's teams.
x Howard uses the name Lady Bison for its women's teams.
y Johnson C. Smith uses the name Lady Golden Bulls for its women's teams.
z Kennesaw State uses the name Lady Owls for its women's teams.
aa Kentucky State uses the name Thorobrettes for its women's teams.
ab Lamar uses the name Lady Cardinals for its women's teams.
ac Liberty uses the name Lady Flames for its women's teams.
ad Lipscomb uses the name Lady Bisons for its women's teams.
ae Louisiana Tech uses the name Lady Techsters for its women's teams.
af Manhattan uses the name Lady Jaspers for its women's teams.
ag Maryland Eastern Shore uses the name Lady Hawks for its women's teams.
ah McNeese, Oklahoma State, and Wyoming use the name Cowgirls for their women's teams.
ai Mississippi Valley State uses the name Devilettes for its women's teams.
aj Morgan State uses the name Lady Bears for their women's teams, while Missouri State uses it for its women's basketball team.