NAIA independent football schools are four-year institutional members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) that play college football independent of any formal conference affiliation. [1] In sports other than football, these schools compete in a college athletic conference affiliated with the NAIA called Continental Athletic Conference.
There are currently zero independent football programs. The most recent independent football programs were Arkansas Baptist and North American, who both competed as independents in 2022 before being invited to join the Sooner Athletic Conference as associate members in 2023.
The North Central Conference (NCC), also known as North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, was a college athletic conference which operated in the north central United States. It participated in the NCAA's Division II.
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 NCAA Division III 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.
Warner University is a private Christian university in Lake Wales, Florida. It is affiliated with the Church of God.
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.
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.
The Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Members of the conference are located in the Southeastern United States in Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia.
Kentucky Christian University (KCU) is a private Christian university in Grayson, Kentucky. It was founded on December 1, 1919, as Christian Normal Institute, by J. W. Lusby and J. O. Snodgrass. As a "normal school" its programs included a high school, a junior college, and a training program for public school teachers. During the early 1920s its emphasis shifted to educating students for the Christian ministry. Degree programs are offered in six schools within the university: the Sack School of Bible and Ministry, the School of Business, the Keeran School of Education, the School of Distance and General Education, the Yancey School of Nursing, and the School of Social Work and Human Services.
The Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) is a college athletic conference made up entirely of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) that's affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Member institutions are located in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas as well as the U.S. territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The Malone Pioneers are athletic teams of Malone University in Canton, Ohio, United States. The Pioneers compete in Division II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as members of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC). Malone joined the G-MAC after four seasons in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) from 2012–13 to 2015–16. Malone joined the GLIAC and Division II in the 2011–12 season and completed the NCAA Division II membership process in July 2013 after having previously competed in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA); mostly known for its tenure with the now-defunct American Mideast Conference from 1965–66 to 1988–89, and from 1993–94 to 2010–11. In 2016, the Pioneers began play in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, also known as the G-MAC.
The Houston Christian Huskies, HCU or Huskies are the athletic teams that represent Houston Christian University, located in Houston, Texas, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Southland Conference for most of its sports since the 2013–14 academic year; as of the current 2023 NCAA soccer season, its men's soccer team competes in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). The Huskies previously competed the D-I Great West Conference from 2008–09 to 2012–13 after spending one season as an NCAA D-I Independent during the 2007–08 school year ; in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1998–99 to 2006–07; and as an NAIA Independent from 1989–90 to 1997–98. Houston Christian's (HCU) official school colors are royal blue and orange.
The Southern Oregon Raiders football team represents Southern Oregon University in the sport of American football. The Raiders team competes in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) as an associate member of the Frontier Conference. Southern Oregon University has fielded an official football team since 1927 and has an all-time record of 349–351–15. The Raiders play in Raider Stadium in Ashland, Oregon, which has a capacity of 5,000. Southern Oregon has played in two NAIA national championship games, winning one, and have won thirteen conference championships in multiple conferences.
The Texas A&M–Kingsville Javelinas football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the Texas A&M University–Kingsville located in the U.S. state of Texas. The team competes in the Division II and is a member of the Lone Star Conference. The school's first football team was fielded in 1929. The team plays its home games at the 15,000-seat Javelina Stadium.
North American University (NAU) is a private university in Stafford, Texas. NAU offers bachelor's and master's degree programs in Business Administration, Criminal Justice, Computer Science, and Education. In the fall of 2013, the university changed its name from Texas Gulf Institute to its current name.
The Limestone Saints are the athletic teams that represent Limestone University, located in Gaffney, South Carolina, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sporting competitions. The Saints compete as members of the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) for most sports, having joined that league in July 2020 after 22 years in Conference Carolinas (CC). Limestone maintains CC membership in two sports, specifically men's wrestling and women's acrobatics & tumbling. Men's wrestling is one of two sports in which the SAC and CC operate as a single league, the other being women's field hockey. The SAC operates the field hockey championship, while CC operates the wrestling championship. The men's volleyball team competes as an independent. The swim team competed in the Bluegrass Mountain Conference before being dropped in 2018; the field hockey and wrestling teams were members of the ECAC–Division II before 2018, when the SAC and CC established their alliance in those two sports. The football team had been independent, but entered into a scheduling agreement with the SAC in 2015. This agreement was replaced in 2017 by formal affiliate membership, which continued until the Saints joined the SAC full-time in 2020.
The Quincy Hawks are the athletic teams that represent Quincy University, located in Quincy, Illinois, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Hawks, members of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) since 1994, compete in that league in all but three sports. Men's volleyball plays in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association. Since there is no men's volleyball at the Division II level, the men's volleyball team is the only program that plays at the Division I level. Sprint football, a weight-restricted form of American football governed outside the NCAA structure, competes in the Midwest Sprint Football League. Men's bowling is also governed outside of the NCAA ; QU competes as in independent.
The Bluefield Rams are the athletic teams that represent Bluefield University, located in Bluefield, Virginia, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) for most of their sports since the 2014–15 academic year ; while its football team competes in the Mid-South Conference (MSC) since the 2014 fall season. They were also a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA), primarily competing as an independent in the Mid-East Region of the Division I level until after the 2019–20 school year to fully align with the NAIA. The Rams previously competed in the Mid-South as a full member from 2012–13 to 2013–14. Athletes make up about 60% of the student population at Bluefield. It serves as host for the NCAA Softball National Championship.
The UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros is a collegiate athletic program that represents the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). The Vaqueros inherited the NCAA Division I status of the Texas–Pan American Broncs and compete in the Western Athletic Conference.
The Warner Royals are the athletic teams for Warner University in Lake Wales, Florida, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Sun Conference for most of its sports since the 1990–91 academic year; while its men's volleyball team competes in the Mid-South Conference (MSC). They are also a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA), primarily competing as an independent in the South Region of the Division I level.
The Reinhardt Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Reinhardt University, located in Waleska, Georgia, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) since the 2009–10 academic year. They were also a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA), primarily competing as an independent in the South Region of the Division I level from 1999–2000 to 2000–01. The Eagles previously competed in the Southern States Athletic Conference from 2000–01 to 2008–09. Prior joining the NAIA, Reinhardt was also a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and of the National Small College Athletic Association (NSCAA) until after the 1998–99 school year.