List of NAIA conferences

The following is a list of National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics conferences as of the 2020–21 school year. Unless otherwise noted, changes in conference membership occur on July 1 of the given year.

Football conferences

Conference	Nickname	Founded	Members	Sports	Headquarters
Frontier Conference	Frontier	1952	6	16	Billings, Montana
Great Plains Athletic Conference	GPAC	1969	12 ^{[FB 1]}	19	Sioux City, Iowa
Heart of America Athletic Conference	HAAC	1971	14 ^{[FB 2]}	20	Overland Park, Kansas
NAIA Independents			2	1
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference	KCAC	1928	13 ^{[FB 3]}	21	Wichita, Kansas
Mid-South Conference	MSC	1995	12 ^{[FB 4]}	21	Louisville, Kentucky
Mid-States Football Association	MSFA	1993	15	1	Findlay, Ohio
North Star Athletic Association	NSAA	2013	8 ^{[FB 5]}	18	Jamestown, North Dakota
Sooner Athletic Conference	SAC	1978	12 ^{[FB 6]}	15 ^{[FB 7]}	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Notes

^ 12 members; 10 football members, 11 members in 2022 with addition of Mount Marty.
^ 14 members; 12 football members.
^ 13 members; 11 football members.
^ 12 members; 22 football members.
^ 8 members; 6 football members.
^ 12 members; 9 football members.
^ The conference began sponsoring football in 2018.

Non-football conferences

Conference	Nickname	Founded	Members	Sports	Headquarters
American Midwest Conference	AMC	1998	10	17	St. Louis, Missouri
Appalachian Athletic Conference	AAC	1985	16	19	Asheville, North Carolina
California Pacific Conference	CalPac	1996	15	10	Oakland, California
Cascade Collegiate Conference	CCC	1988	12	13	Clackamas, Oregon
Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference	CCAC	1949	15	16	Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Crossroads League	CL	1959	10	15	Hartford City, Indiana
Golden State Athletic Conference	GSAC	1986	10	13	Irvine, California
Gulf Coast Athletic Conference	GCAC	1981	8	16	Liberty, Missouri
NAIA Independents			18	21
Red River Athletic Conference	RRAC	1998	12	15	Dallas, Texas
River States Conference	RSC	1916	13	15	Florence, Kentucky
Southern States Athletic Conference	SSAC	1999	10	15	Atlanta, Georgia
Sun Conference	The Sun	1990	12 ^{[NF 1]}	16	Daytona Beach, Florida
Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference	WHAC	1992	12	21	Livonia, Michigan

Notes

^ 11 members in 2021 with loss of Johnson & Wales–North Miami.

Defunct conferences

American Mideast Conference (1949–2012)
Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference (1928–1995)
Central States Intercollegiate Conference (1976-1989)
Dakota Athletic Conference (2000–2012)
Eastern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (closed in 2003)
Evergreen Conference (1948–1984)
Great Plains Athletic Conference (1972–1976)
Hoosier–Buckeye Conference (1948–1985)
Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference (1994–2015)
Midwest Collegiate Conference (1988–2015)
Missouri College Athletic Union (1924–1970)
Nebraska College Conference (1916–1976)
North Dakota College Athletic Conference (closed in 2000), merged with South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference to form Dakota Athletic Conference
Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference (1929–1973)
Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference (1974–1997)
Pacific Northwest Athletic Conference (1984–1998)
South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference (closed in 2000), merged with North Dakota College Athletic Conference to form Dakota Athletic Conference
South East Atlantic Conference (2004–2008), football only, members became NAIA football independents
Sunrise Athletic Conference (2002–2011)
TranSouth Athletic Conference (1996–2013)
Tri-State Conference (1960–1978)
Volunteer State Athletic Conference (1940s–early 1980s)
West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1924–2013), transferred to the NCAA in 1994

Former conferences

All transferred to the NCAA.

Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (1961–2002)
Dixie Conference (1963–1973), became the USA South Athletic Conference in 2003
Conference Carolinas (1930–1995), known as Carolinas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference after 1961, held dual membership with the NCAA for two years starting in 1993
Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (1932–1992), known as Northern Intercollegiate Conference after 1962
Northwest Conference (1926–1996), Pacific Northwest Conference before 1984 and Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges until 1996
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (1972–2008)

References

External links

NAIA Member Schools

[GPAC-1] 12 members; 10 football members, 11 members in 2022 with addition of Mount Marty.

[HAAC-2] 14 members; 12 football members.

[KCAC-3] 13 members; 11 football members.

[MSC-4] 12 members; 22 football members.

[NSAA-5] 8 members; 6 football members.

[SAC1-6] 12 members; 9 football members.

[SAC2-7] The conference began sponsoring football in 2018.

[Sun-8] 11 members in 2021 with loss of Johnson & Wales–North Miami.

[FB 1]

[FB 2]

[FB 3]

[FB 4]

[FB 5]

[FB 6]

[FB 7]

[NF 1]

v t e NAIA conferences
Single Division	American Midwest Conference Appalachian Athletic Conference^† California Pacific Conference Cascade Collegiate Conference Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Continental Athletic Conference (Independent schools) Crossroads League Frontier Conference^† Golden State Athletic Conference Great Plains Athletic Conference^† Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Heart of America Athletic Conference^† Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference^† Mid-South Conference^† North Star Athletic Association^† Red River Athletic Conference River States Conference Sooner Athletic Conference^† Southern States Athletic Conference Sun Conference^† Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference
Football-only	Mid-States Football Association^† NAIA independent football schools^†
^†Conference sponsors football