2021–2026 NCAA conference realignment

[24] Phil Knight, co-founder and retired CEO of Nike and also an Oregon alumnus and major donor to both the university and its athletic program, strongly supported the Apple deal.

[25][26] However, there was an apparent reversal, as the Pac-12 chancellors and presidents called a meeting for the morning of August 4 during which they would accept the Apple deal and sign a grant of rights (GOR),[b] with a 10th school to be added later to replace Colorado.

[33] On August 23, 2024, reports about Yormark pursuing current Big East member and football independent UConn arose, with a meeting scheduled to happen no latter than the following week.

Shortly after this meeting, the Big Ten and both schools issued statements setting a 2024 entry date, immediately after the then-existing Pac-12 media rights contracts expired.

He also asked a rhetorical question that even for the West Coast schools that joined the Big Ten, "will the insane costs of flying cross-country for routine conference games be a major deterrent to fielding robust athletic departments?

[52] At the September 11 hearing, Whitman County Superior Court Judge Gary Libey granted the restraining order, preventing the full Pac-12 from meeting until the ownership of the league's assets could be determined.

[71] Another aspect of the media deal that would prove important in later expansion discussions is that the contract contains an escalator clause that requires ESPN to increase its payout to the ACC if it expands beyond 14 football members.

[76] An ESPN report on August 28 indicated that there was "continued momentum" toward adding all three schools, with one of the four ACC members that had objected to expansion expected to change its vote in the coming days.

In its ACC membership pitch, SMU also offered to serve as a hub for at least some Olympic sports[e] contests involving Cal and Stanford, reducing travel burdens for all other members.

Despite the success initiatives adopted by the conference in August 2023, FSU had continually pushed for unequal revenue distributions based on each school's media value, a concept rejected by the ACC office.

The suit claims that the GOR and withdrawal fee, estimated at the time to be about $120 million,[g] violate Florida laws on restraint of trade, and also alleges financial mismanagement, breach of contract, and failure to perform.

In late October 2021, CUSA members Southern Miss, Old Dominion and Marshall applied and were accepted to the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) to begin play in the 2022–23 season.

With three of the four incoming members (Marshall, Old Dominion, and James Madison) sponsoring men's soccer, SBC commissioner Keith Gill had announced in November 2021 that the sport would be reinstated in 2023–24.

At the end of the 2022 season, the MAC discontinued men's soccer as a sponsored sport, having failed to find the sixth member needed to maintain its automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

[116] In April 2022, it was announced that Dallas Baptist would be moving its baseball program from the Missouri Valley Conference to CUSA effective that July (with play starting in the 2023 season).

The school had also reportedly asked the MW for a one-month extension of the June 30 withdrawal deadline, citing "unforeseen delays involving other collegiate athletic conferences beyond our control", likely a reference to the upcoming Pac-12 media deal that had yet to be finalized.

However, on March 25, 2024, UTRGV announced it would move its athletic program, including football, from the WAC to the Southland Conference (SLC) in 2024–25 before playing a single game in the alliance.

Full members Eastern Illinois, Lindenwood, SIUE, and Southern Indiana were joined by affiliates Chicago State, Houston Christian, Incarnate Word, and Liberty.

[218] ESPN reported on April 27 that Mount St. Mary's, a full NEC member without a football program, was in the process of a move to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), where it would join several other basketball-focused private schools.

[225] St. Francis Brooklyn, which had been a full non-football NEC member since the league's founding in 1981, announced on March 20, 2023, that it was eliminating its athletic program at the end of the 2022–23 school year.

[200] Chicago State joined for all sports except men's and women's tennis, which will move to the NEC once the school's affiliation contract with the Horizon League expires after the 2024–25 season.

[232] Three days later, football-sponsoring Mercyhurst University announced it would transition from the Division II PSAC and join the NEC, bringing the league back to 9 members for the 2024–25 season.

[212] On February 7, 2020, North Carolina A&T State University announced it would leave the MEAC to join the Big South as a full member, including football, starting in 2021–22.

[238] On February 2, 2022, USA Lacrosse Magazine reported that the A-10 was evaluating Fairfield, High Point, and Hobart as potential affiliates to reach the required membership total.

[r][258] The basketball issue was addressed with the addition of Belmont and Murray State, both frequent contenders for NCAA men's tournament berths, putting the Missouri Valley Conference at 11 members.

[256] The conference reportedly reached out to Kansas City of the Summit League for potential membership before this, in addition to UIC, as well as Sun Belt member UT Arlington (which instead rejoined the WAC).

The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC), which had not had a membership change since its formation in 2011 and start of play in 2013, announced on July 5, 2023, that Arizona State would become the league's ninth member in 2024.

[279][280] However, a more significant change would come in June 2023 when AHA and College Hockey America (CHA), then a women-only league, jointly announced they would merge into a single conference after the 2023–24 season.

[283] Shortly after the merger, AHA would lose the American International men when the school announced it would align that team with the rest of its athletic program in Division II after the 2024–25 season.

[285] On June 29, 2022, the NEWHA announced that it would expand to 8 members with the addition of Assumption University, which officially joined for administrative purposes on July 1 but did not start conference play until launching its varsity program in the 2023–24 season.