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NCAA Division I independent schools are four-year institutions that compete in college athletics at the NCAA Division I level, but do not belong to an established athletic conference for a particular sport. These schools may however still compete as members of an athletic conference in other sports. A school may also be fully independent, and not belong to any athletic conference for any sport at all. The reason for independent status varies among institutions, but it is frequently because the school's primary athletic conference does not sponsor a particular sport.
Full independents
One school is competing as a full independent for the 2023–24 season. Chicago State left the Western Athletic Conference at the conclusion of the 2021–22 school year without announcing a new conference affiliation for the next season. It will join the Northeast Conference (NEC) beginning in the 2024–25 season.[1]
Five Chicago State teams have conference homes in the 2023–24 school year: men's soccer, and men's and women's golf in the Ohio Valley Conference, and men's and women's tennis in the Horizon League. Chicago State's future home of the NEC sponsors all of these sports.
Current members
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Colors | Future conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago State University | Chicago, Illinois | 1867 | Public (TMCF) |
2,620[2] | Cougars | 1984; 2006; 2022[a] |
Northeast (NEC) |
- Notes
- ^ Chicago State left the Independent ranks after the 1992–93 school year then re-joined from 2006–07 to 2008–09 before re-joining in the 2022–23 school year.
Men's sponsored sports by school
| School | Basketball | Cross Country |
Golf | Soccer | Tennis | Track & Field (indoor) |
Track & Field (outdoor) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago State |  |
|
OVC | OVC | Horizon | |
|
Women's sponsored sports by school
| School | Basketball | Cross Country |
Golf | Soccer | Tennis | Track & Field (indoor) |
Track & Field (outdoor) |
Volleyball |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago State | |
|
OVC | |
Horizon | |
|
|
Other recent independents
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Left | Colors | Current conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Hartford | West Hartford, Connecticut | 1877 | Nonsectarian | 6,792 | Hawks | 2022 | 2023 | Commonwealth Coast (CCC)[a] | |
| New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) |
Newark, New Jersey | 1881 | Public | 11,901 | Highlanders | 2006; 2013 |
2008; 2015 |
America East |
- Notes
- ^ Currently an NCAA Division III athletic conference.
Baseball
While there are currently no baseball independents, Oregon State will be participating as a baseball independent beginning in the 2025 season.[3]
Future members
| Institution | Founded | Nickname | First season | Location | Type | Enrollment | Primary conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon State University | 1868 | Beavers | 1907 | Corvallis, Oregon | Public | 37,121 | West Coast Conference[a] |
- ^ Oregon State is technically one of the two remaining members of the Pac-12 Conference beyond the 2023–24 school year, but will house most of its non-football sports in the West Coast Conference through at least 2025–26.
Bowling
Bowling, like beach volleyball, is currently a women-only sport at the NCAA level that holds a single national championship open to all NCAA members. As of 2023–24 season, nine bowling programs compete as independents.
| Institution | Team | Location | Founded | Type | Enrollment | Primary conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baldwin Wallace University | Yellow Jackets | Berea, Ohio | 1845 | Private | 2,592 | OAC (Division III) |
| Dominican University | Stars | River Forest, Illinois | 1901 | Private | 3,066 | NACC (Division III) |
| Mount St. Mary's University | Mountaineers | Emmitsburg, Maryland[a] | 1808 | Private | 1,889 | MAAC (Division I) |
| University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska) | Cornhuskers | Lincoln, Nebraska | 1869 | Public | 25,260 | Big Ten (Division I) |
| Oklahoma Christian University | Lady Eagles | Edmond, Oklahoma | 1950 | Private | 2,153 | Lone Star (Division II) |
| Wartburg College | Knights | Waverly, Iowa | 1852 | Private | 1,563 | ARC (Division III) |
| University of Wisconsin–Whitewater | Warhawks | Whitewater, Wisconsin | 1868 | Public | 11,722 | WIAC (Division III) |
| Wittenberg University | Tigers | Springfield, Ohio | 1845 | Private | 1,326 | NCAC (Division III) |
| Wright State University | Raiders | Fairborn, Ohio[b] | 1967 | Public | 10,264 | Horizon (Division I) |
- ^ The Mount St. Mary's campus has an Emmitsburg mailing address, but is located in unincorporated Frederick County.
- ^ Mailing address is Dayton.
Field hockey
As of the upcoming 2024 season, one school will be a Division I independent in field hockey. Queens University of Charlotte began a transition from NCAA Division II to Division I in July of 2022, joining the Atlantic Sun Conference.[4] (Stonehill joined the field hockey-sponsoring Northeast Conference.[5] However, the ASUN does not sponsor field hockey, and Queens has yet to announce a future field hockey affiliation for its program.
As of the most recent 2023 season, two other schools were Division I independents in field hockey along with Queens: James Madison and Lindenwood. James Madison, had competed in the Colonial Athletic Association (now the Coastal Athletic Association) in all sports, including field hockey, but moved to the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) in July 2022.[6][7] However, since the SBC does not sponsor field hockey, the Dukes competed as an independent in that sport only for 2022 and 2023.[8] In April 2023, it was announced that James Madison would become a field hockey affiliate of the Mid-American Conference in 2024, joining fellow Sun Belt member Appalachian State there.[9]
Lindenwood also transitioned from NCAA Division II at the same time as Queens, in July 2022. Similar to Queens, they joined a conference that does not sponsor field hockey, the Ohio Valley Conference,[10] and did not announce a future field hockey affiliation for its program. However, on December 1, 2023, Lindenwood announced that it would discontinue 10 athletic programs, including its field hockey program, at the end of the 2023-24 school year.[11]
| Institution | Team | Location | Founded | Type | Enrollment | Primary conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queens University of Charlotte | Royals | Charlotte, North Carolina | 1857 | Private | 1,740 | Atlantic Sun Conference |
Football
Football Bowl Subdivision
As of the recent 2023 college football season, four NCAA Division I FBS schools are football independents. The ranks of FBS independents will drop by one in 2024, when Army will depart to join the American Athletic Conference as an affiliate for football. UMass will become a full member of the Mid-American Conference in 2025.
| Institution | Founded | Nickname | First season | Location | Type | Enrollment | Primary conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States Military Academy (Army) |
1802 | Black Knights | 1890 | West Point, New York | Federal | 4,294 | Patriot League |
| University of Notre Dame | 1842 | Fighting Irish | 1887 | Notre Dame, Indiana | Private | 12,179 | Atlantic Coast Conference [a] |
| University of Connecticut (UConn) | 1881 | Huskies | 1896 | Storrs, Connecticut[b] | Public | 32,257 | Big East Conference |
| University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) | 1863 | Minutemen | 1879 | Amherst, Massachusetts | Public | 29,269 | Atlantic 10 Conference |
- Notes
- ^ Notre Dame remains officially an independent football team, and is not a member of the ACC in any capacity for football. However, as part of the agreement to join the ACC in other sports, Notre Dame agreed to schedule 5 games per year against ACC opponents.[12]
- ^ While the UConn campus is in Storrs, the Huskies play home games in East Hartford, Connecticut.
Football Championship Subdivision
As of the 2024 season, two schools, Merrimack and Sacred Heart, will play as FCS independents.