List of college athletic programs in Kentucky

Last updated

This is a list of college athletics programs in the U.S. state of Kentucky.

Contents


NCAA

Division I

USA Kentucky location map.svg
Green pog.svg
Bellarmine
Red pog.svg
Eastern Kentucky
Blue pog.svg
Kentucky
Blue pog.svg
Louisville
Red pog.svg
Morehead State
Red pog.svg
Murray State
Green pog.svg
Northern Kentucky
Blue pog.svg
Western Kentucky
Full NCAA Division I member colleges in Kentucky.
Blue pog.svg – FBS Football, Red pog.svg – FCS Football, Green pog.svg – Non-football
TeamSchoolCityConferenceSport sponsorship
Foot-
ball
BasketballBase-
ball
Soft-
ball
Soccer
MWMW
Bellarmine Knights [lower-alpha 1] Bellarmine University Louisville ASUN Brown check.svg [lower-alpha 2] Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Eastern Kentucky Colonels Eastern Kentucky University Richmond ASUN FCS Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgDark Red x.svgYes check.svg
Kentucky Wildcats University of Kentucky Lexington SEC FBS Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg [lower-alpha 3] Yes check.svg
Louisville Cardinals University of Louisville Louisville ACC FBS Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Morehead State Eagles Morehead State University Morehead OVC FCS [lower-alpha 4] Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgDark Red x.svgYes check.svg
Murray State Racers Murray State University Murray MVC FCS [lower-alpha 5] Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgDark Red x.svgYes check.svg
Northern Kentucky Norse Northern Kentucky University Highland Heights Horizon Dark Red x.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers Western Kentucky University Bowling Green C-USA FBS Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgDark Red x.svgYes check.svg
  1. As of the 2023–24 academic year, Bellarmine is in the fourth year of a four-year transition to Division I and will become an active member in 2024–25.
  2. Bellarmine began playing sprint football, a weight-restricted form of football not governed by the NCAA, in 2022 as a charter member of the Midwest Sprint Football League.
  3. Kentucky's men's soccer team competes in the Sun Belt Conference.
  4. Morehead State's football team competes in the Pioneer Football League.
  5. Murray State's football team is a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference, a separate entity from the MVC.

Division II

USA Kentucky location map.svg
Blue pog.svg
Kentucky State
Blue pog.svg
Kentucky Wesleyan
Blue pog.svg
Thomas More
Full NCAA Division II member colleges in Kentucky.
TeamSchoolCityConferenceSport sponsorship
Foot-
ball
BasketballBase-
ball
Soft-
ball
Soccer
MWMW
Kentucky State Thorobreds and Thorobrettes Kentucky State University Frankfort SIAC Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgDark Red x.svgDark Red x.svg
Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers Kentucky Wesleyan College Owensboro G-MAC Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Thomas More Saints Thomas More University Crestview Hills G-MAC Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg

Division III

TeamSchoolCityConferenceSport sponsorship
Foot-
ball
BasketballBase-
ball
Soft-
ball
Soccer
MWMW
Asbury Eagles [lower-alpha 1] Asbury University Wilmore TBDDark Red x.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Berea Mountaineers Berea College Berea CCS Dark Red x.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Centre Colonels Centre College Danville SAA Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Spalding Golden Eagles Spalding University Louisville SLIAC Dark Red x.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Transylvania Pioneers Transylvania University Lexington HCAC Dark Red x.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
  1. As of the 2023–24 academic year, Asbury is in the third year of a three-year transition to Division III and will become an active member in 2024–25.

NAIA

TeamSchoolCityConferenceSport sponsorship
Foot-
ball
BasketballBase-
ball
Soft-
ball
Soccer
MWMW
Alice Lloyd Eagles Alice Lloyd College Pippa Passes River States Dark Red x.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgDark Red x.svgDark Red x.svg
Brescia Bearcats Brescia University Owensboro River States Dark Red x.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Campbellsville Tigers Campbellsville University Campbellsville Mid-South Yes check.svg [lower-alpha 1] Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Cumberlands Patriots University of the Cumberlands Williamsburg Mid-South Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Georgetown Tigers Georgetown College Georgetown Mid-South Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Kentucky Christian Knights Kentucky Christian University Grayson Appalachian Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg [lower-alpha 2] Yes check.svgYes check.svg
Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders Lindsey Wilson College Columbia Mid-South Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Midway Eagles Midway University Midway River States Brown check.svg [lower-alpha 3] Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Pikeville Bears University of Pikeville Pikeville Mid-South Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Union Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs Union College Barbourville Appalachian Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
  1. Campbellsville additionally sponsors flag football as a women's varsity sport.
  2. Kentucky Christian's softball team competes in the Mid-South Conference.
  3. Midway sponsors sprint football, a weight-restricted form of football not governed by the NCAA; it is a charter member of the Midwest Sprint Football League.

NCCAA

TeamSchoolCityConference
Boyce Bulldogs Boyce College Louisville Mid-East
Campbellsville Pioneers Campbellsville University Campbellsville Mid-East
Simmons College Falcons Simmons College of Kentucky Louisville Mid-East

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ohio Valley Conference</span> US college athletic conference

The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in partnership with the Big South Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision, the lower of two levels of Division I football competition. The OVC has 11 members, six of which compete in football in the conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NCAA Division I</span> Highest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association

NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic powers, with large budgets, more elaborate facilities and more athletic scholarships than Divisions II and III as well as many smaller schools committed to the highest level of intercollegiate competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ASUN Conference</span> American college sports league

The Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Division I FCS level in 2022. Originally established as the Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC) in 1978, it was renamed as the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2001, and briefly rebranded as the ASUN Conference from 2016 to 2023. The conference still uses "ASUN" as an official abbreviation. The conference headquarters are located in Atlanta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Lakes Valley Conference</span> NCAA Division II college athletic conference

The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Its fourteen member institutions are located in the U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Missouri. There are also four associate members who participate in sports not sponsored by their home conferences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sprint football</span> Form of American football with restricted player weights

Sprint football is a varsity sport played by United States colleges and universities, under standard American football rules. Since the 2022 season, the sport has been governed by the Collegiate Sprint Football League and the Midwest Sprint Football League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River States Conference</span>

The River States Conference (RSC), formerly known as the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC), is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Although it was historically a Kentucky-only conference, it has now expanded to include members in Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, and at various times in the past has also had members in Missouri, Tennessee, and Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walsh Cavaliers</span> College sport team in Ohio

The Walsh Cavaliers are the athletic teams that represent Walsh University, located in North Canton, Ohio, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sporting competitions. The Cavaliers compete as members of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference for 21 of their current 22 varsity sports. Two sports were added in the 2023–24 school year—the all-female cheerleading discipline of stunt, which the G-MAC first sponsored in 2022–23, and sprint football, a weight-restricted form of American football governed outside of the NCAA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Midwest Athletic Conference</span> College athletic conference from 2011

The Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. It was named the 24th NCAA Division II conference and operates in the Great Lakes and East South Central States regions of the United States. The G-MAC began conference play in the 2012–13 academic year hosting 12 championships and continued to work through the educational assessment program. The conference received approval and became an active Division II conference in 2013–14, hosting 17 championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bellarmine Knights</span> Intercollegiate athletic teams of Bellarmine University

The Bellarmine Knights are the athletic teams that represent Bellarmine University, located in Louisville, Kentucky, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, primarily competing in the ASUN Conference for most sports in the 2020–21 academic year. The Knights previously competed in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) of the NCAA Division II ranks from 1978–79 to 2019–20.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quincy Hawks</span>

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.