College Sports Realignment Roundup for March 4, 2025

There was a mixed bag of realignment news to start the week with some sporting cuts and some additions. The bad news first is that the University of Missouri-St. Louis will discontinue its men’s and women’s track & field programs. Both teams competed in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) but will not return beginning with the 2025-26 academic year. USML competed in both indoor and outdoor track & field and is the third school to discontinue at least part of its program. Seattle University and Talladega College previously announced the end of their respective indoor track & field programs. The GLVC will have 13 schools competing on the men’s side and 14 on the women’s side despite the loss of USML.

Women’s Flag Football and STUNT Additions

NCAA Division 2 and 3 schools were busy adding more women’s sports teams. Eastern New Mexico (Portales, New Mexico) will add STUNT beginning with the 2025-26 academic year and compete in the Lone Star Conference. The LSC will be at 6 members in STUNT for 2025-26 as Dallas Baptist, St. Edward’s, St. Mary’s (TX), Texas Woman’s University, and Texas A&M-Kingsville also sponsor the sport.

Six schools - one from D2 and five from D3 - have added women’s flag football and will compete this spring during three weekends in April. Augustana (SD) from the D2 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) will form a league with D3 schools Bethel (MN), Concordia (MN), Gustavus Adolphus, Northwestern-St. Paul, and UW-Stout. Bethel, Concordia, and Gustavus Adolphus play in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC), Northwestern (MN) competes in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC), and UW-Stout is a member of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC).