NCAA Division II independent schools



NCAA Division II independent schools are four-year institutions that compete in college athletics at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, but do not belong to an established college 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
Division II was created in 1973, at a time when the NCAA included dozens of independent members, plus members of conferences who played as independents in one or more sports. The trend toward consolidating the NCAA membership into conferences began in the late 1970s, and within a decade the number of independent programs declined dramatically. The lists below include only the small number of programs still functioning on an independent basis in recent years.

Current members

 * Notes:

Former members

 * Notes:

Men's sponsored sports by school
Departing members in pink.

Women's sponsored sports by school
Departing members in pink.

Other sponsored sports by school

 * ‡ — D-I sport

Baseball independents
Does not include all-sports independent teams that sponsor the sport (Salem), since they have been listed before.

Football independents
Does not include all-sports independent teams that sponsor the sport, since they have been listed before. Shorter will move its football program to its full-time home of Conference Carolinas once that league begins sponsoring football in 2025.

Soccer independents
Does not include all-sports independent teams that sponsor the sport (UPR Bayamón and Salem men's soccer and UPR Bayamón, UPR Río Piedras and Salem women's soccer), since they have been listed before.

Lacrosse independents
Does not include all-sports independent teams that sponsor the sport, since they have been listed before.

Wrestling independents
Does not include all-sports independent teams that sponsor the sport (Salem and UPR Mayagüez), since they have been listed before.

Golf
Does not include all-sports independent teams that sponsor the sport, since they have been listed before.

Rowing
Does not include all-sports independent teams that sponsor the sport, since they have been listed before.

Swimming & diving
Does not include all-sports independent teams that sponsor the sport, since they have been listed before.

Tennis
Does not include all-sports independent teams that sponsor the sport (all of them in men's & women's tennis), since they have been listed before.