The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to their student athletes. Around $1.3 billion in athletic scholarship financial aid is awarded to student athletes annually.
NAIA independent schools are four-year institutional members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) that do not have formal conference affiliations. NAIA schools that are not members of any other athletic conference are members of the Continental Athletic Conference (CAC), formerly the Association of Independent Institutions (AII), which provides member services to the institution and allows members to compete in postseason competition. The CAC has one member institution in Canada's British Columbia. It provides services to the member institutions that are not fitting in any other NAIA conference and allows members to compete in postseason competition. The AII renamed itself the Continental Athletic Conference at the end of June 2021, citing the need to identify as a proper conference.
NCAA Division III independent schools are four-year institutions that compete in college athletics at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III level, but do not belong to an established intercollegiate 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.
Winona State University (WSU) is a public university in Winona, Minnesota. It was founded as First State Normal School of Minnesota in 1858 and is the oldest member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. It was the first normal school west of the Mississippi River.
Shawnee State University (SSU) is a public university in Portsmouth, Ohio, United States. Established in 1986, Shawnee State is an open admissions university. It is the southernmost member of the University System of Ohio.
Marian University is a private Roman Catholic university in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1851 by the Sisters of St. Francis in Oldenburg, Indiana, the college moved to Indianapolis in 1937. Marian was known as Marian College from 1936 until 2009, when it was renamed Marian University.
The University of Jamestown is a private Christian university in Jamestown, North Dakota. Founded in 1883 by the Presbyterian Church, it has about 1,300 students enrolled and has been co-educational from its founding. Until August 2013, the school was known as Jamestown College.
St. Thomas University (STU) is a private Catholic university in Miami Gardens, Florida. The university offers 61 undergraduate and graduate degree programs, and post-graduate certificate programs on-campus and online. As of 2021, the university enrolled 5,921 students, which included 1,797 undergraduate students, 1,498 graduate students, 780 law students, 62 non-degree students, and 1,784 dual enrollment students. Over the years, the university's students have represented 45 states across the nation, and more than 70 countries.
The University of St. Francis (USF) is a private Franciscan university with its main campus in Joliet, Illinois. It enrolls nearly 3,200 students at locations throughout the country with about 1,300 students at its main campus.
York University is a private college affiliated with the Churches of Christ and located in York, Nebraska. It was founded in 1890.
Johnson & Wales University (JWU) is a private university with its main campus in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded as a business school in 1914 by Gertrude I. Johnson and Mary T. Wales, JWU enrolled 7,357 students across its campuses in the fall of 2020. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education.
Campbellsville University (CU) is a private Christian university in Campbellsville, Kentucky. It was founded as Russell Creek Academy and enrolls more than 12,000 students. The university offers associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees.
Saint Francis University (SFU) is a private Catholic university in Loretto, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1847 and conducted under the tradition of the Franciscan Friars of the Third Order Regular. The university is situated on 600 acres (243 ha) in the forests and farmland of Loretto.
Notre Dame College was a private Roman Catholic college in South Euclid, Ohio. Established in 1922 by the Sisters of Notre Dame as a women's college, it was coeducational from January 2001 until its closure. The Sisters of Notre Dame ended their sponsorship of the college in 2023. In February 2024, the college announced it would be closing at the end of the spring semester, with agreements in place for existing students to complete their degrees at partner colleges and universities. The college ultimately closed on May 2, 2024.
The University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis is a private university focused on the health sciences that is located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1864 as the St. Louis College of Pharmacy. The university includes St. Louis College of Pharmacy, the third-oldest and tenth-largest college of pharmacy in the United States, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Global Population Health, the College of Graduate Studies. The university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
The Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Originally developed as a five-team conference of Oklahoma-based schools, the SAC now boasts 13 schools in a league that spans six states – Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana.
Briar Cliff University is a private Franciscan university in Sioux City, Iowa.
Ohio Valley University was a private Christian college located between Parkersburg and Vienna in West Virginia. Founded in 1958, the school integrated education with teachings of the Christian faith. The college was physically located on two separate campuses totalling 267 acres (108 ha). At one time, OVU offered bachelor's degrees in more than 30 different subject areas, but scaled back its academic options as enrollment numbers and financial stability dropped significantly. The college was accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, and was placed under academic probation in 2020 by the Higher Learning Commission due to ongoing long-term financial struggles. In December 2021, the OVU Board of Directors voted to close the college after the Fall 2021 semester. The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission voted to revoke OVU's authority to grant degrees shortly thereafter. Seniors were allowed to finish their degrees without the loss of any credit hours in the spring semester of 2022 at several other institutions of higher education related to Churches of Christ through "teach out" agreements.
The Lourdes Gray Wolves are the athletic teams that represent Lourdes University, located in Sylvania, Ohio, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) for most of its sports since the 2011–12 academic year; while its men's wrestling team competes in the Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC). The Gray Wolves previously competed as an NAIA Independent within the Association of Independent Institutions (AII) during the 2010–11 school year.
Rochester Christian University is a private Christian college in Rochester Hills, Michigan. It was founded by members of the Churches of Christ in 1959.
