College Sports Realignment Roundup for March 26, 2025

Another day, another big athletic department news drop. Just a day after Saint Francis University announced it would leave NCAA Division 1 for NCAA Division 3, it was revealed that Bryn Athyn College will discontinue athletics after the 2024-25 academic year. Bryn Athyn is located in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania and is a member of the NCAA D3 United East Conference. The school made an official announcement late Wednesday evening with CBS Philadelphia’s Steve Lindsay reporting that Bryn Athyn is facing a $50 million deficit.

Bryn Athyn is the latest school to announce it will drop athletics or close at the end of the 2024-25 academic year. Sonoma State (D2), Concordia Ann Arbor (NAIA), and Multnomah (NAIA) are dropping athletics while NCAA D3 schools Fontbonne (SLIAC) and Northland (UMAC) are closing.

The move will leave the UEC with only 16 full members, split amongst the Skye and Volt Divisions. Bryn Athyn dropping athletics evens the division to 8 apiece, although Cedar Crest College in the Skye Division is a women’s college and doesn’t sponsor men’s sports. On top of that, Keystone College (Skye Division) is facing accreditation issues that may ultimately lead to its closure. For now, Keystone remains open while its accreditation status is reviewed.

Bryn Athyn sponsored 12 sports, including a men’s club hockey team that competes in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA). Below is a list of the sports sponsored and the total number of members left for each sport based on the United East’s website.

Three Schools Bringing Back Individual Sports Teams

It was not all bad news across the college athletics landscape as three schools have announced the return of some sports. Starting in NCAA Division 2, Northeastern State University (Tahlequah, Oklahoma) will bring back its men’s tennis program beginning with the 2025-26 academic year. NSU dropped the sport after the 1999-2000 academic year. The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) has 11 men’s tennis teams split into divisions of 6 in the North and 5 in the South. It’s reasonable to believe NSU will end up in the MIAA’s South Division for men’s tennis.

Montclair State University (Montclair, New Jersey) is reversing its decision to transition men’s and women’s lacrosse to club status. The university cited financial backing from alumni and supporters for the reversal. MSU announced the changes in December 2024 along with the addition of women’s flag football. Men’s lacrosse competes in the Coastal Lacrosse Conference (CLC) and women’s lacrosse competes in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC).

As a result of Montclair State keeping a varsity men’s lacrosse team, the NJAC announced it will begin sponsoring men’s lacrosse in the 2026-27 academic year. The first season in spring 2027 will be comprised of Kean, Montclair State, Stockton, and SUNY New Paltz (joining the NJAC as a full member beginning with the 2026-27 academic year). The move will also put the CLC at 4 members for 2026-27: Christopher Newport, Mary Washington, Salisbury, and Warren Wilson.

In the NAIA, Warner Pacific University (Portland, Oregon) announced the return of men’s golf beginning with the 2025-26 academic year. WPU dropped the sport after the 2018-19 academic year and eliminated its cross country, track & field, and wrestling programs in the previous few years. Warner Pacific will effectively replace Multnomah University in the Cascade Collegiate Conference to keep the membership at 9 teams.