As April ended and May started, it was a somewhat quiet end to the week. There was news for all three divisions of the NCAA, including a full membership move in D3. Let’s start with some men’s soccer news in Division 1.

NCAA Division 1 News

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) (Edinburg, Texas) will move men’s soccer from the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) to the Ohio Valley Conference beginning with the 2026-27 academic year. The news came just a day after Liberty moved its men’s team from the OVC to the Southern Conference beginning in 2026-27. The growing prospect of the WAC not surviving is the obvious reason for the move and will put the OVC at 8 teams in 2026 with UTRGV replacing Liberty.

NCAA Division 2 News

Limestone University (Gaffney, South Carolina) will officially close at the end of the 2024-25 academic year. The school could not secure the funding needed to continue operations by the end of April. Limestone had attempted to delay the closure by asking for funds to keep its online courses up but to no avail. Limestone was a member of the South Atlantic Conference, which will have 12 full members for the 2025-26 academic year. Limestone is the 10th NCAA or NAIA school to announce it will close or drop athletics.

NCAA Division 3 News

Saint Elizabeth Moves to Atlantic East

Saint Elizabeth University (Morris Township, New Jersey) is changing conferences. SEU will move from the United East Conference to the Atlantic East Conference, beginning with the 2025-26 academic year. SEU sponsors 14 sports, including coed cheerleading, and 11 will move to the Atlantic East. Cheerleading and STUNT compete as independents while men’s volleyball competes in the United East. The press release did not state if the men’s volleyball team would remain in the UEC or play in a different conference.

Two weeks ago, Neumann University announced it would leave the Atlantic East to join the Middle Atlantic Conferences in 2026-27. As noted at the time, the AEC was responsive to the move and the addition of Saint Elizabeth puts the membership back up to 7. For the UEC, there has to be a bit of worry given the string of departures the past few years. The Colonial States Athletic Conference and United East merged effective with the 2023-24 academic year under the United East Conference name. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been great for the former CSAC schools.

SUNY Morrisville left for the SUNYAC in 2023, Wells College left in 2023 (closed in 2024), and Clarks Summit left in 2024 (also closed). Bryn Athyn College announced it will drop athletics beginning with the 2025-26 academic year while Rosemont College will drop varsity athletics in 2026-27 as it merges with Villanova. Finally, Keystone College is facing accreditation issues that place its long-term future in doubt. Morrisville and Wells College weren’t members of the CSAC but the other five schools - Bryn Athyn, Clarks Summit, Keystone, Rosemont, and Saint Elizabeth - were part of the old conference. The United East has the numbers to withstand and remains at 14 (Cedar Crest College only sponsors women’s sports) but the constant departures have to warrant a bit of concern.

Beloit College Hockey Teams to WIAC

Beloit College (Beloit, Wisconsin) will join the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) in men’s and women’s hockey beginning with the 2025-26 academic year. As reported in February, Beloit’s teams are essentially taking the spot of Northland College, which is set to close at the end of the 2024-25 academic year. The WIAC will have 6 men’s teams and 5 women’s teams for the 2025-26 academic year, assuming no further membership changes.