College Athletic Conferences

There are over 200 college athletic conferences in the US that are under different governing bodies and divisions.

Interestingly, many of the biggest college athletic conferences predate the NCAA, an organization that regulates student athletics among 1,000-plus schools in the US.

The following massive college athletic conferences are the ones we will talk about in this post:

1. Atlantic Coast Conference
2. American Athletic Conference
3. Big 12
4. Big Ten
5. Conference USA
6. Ivy League
7. Mid-American Conference
8. Mountain West Conference
9. Pac-12
10. Southeastern Conference
11. Sun Belt Conference

Some of the biggest college athletic conferences out there:

• Healthy competition and sportsmanship
• Opportunities for student-athletes to show their skills
• Grab the attention of scouts of professional sports teams
• Television contracts
• Revenue sharing
• Increased reputation and visibility
• Boosted applications
• Enhanced alumni member engagement

So, without further ado, let’s take a quick look at some of the most well-known college athletic conferences in the US, from the oldest of the bunch to the most recently founded.

Big Ten

• Founding year: 1896
• Headquarters: Rosemont, Illinois
• Member institutions: 14
• Sports fielded: 28

The Big Ten is the oldest NCAA Division I college athletic conference.

Formerly known as the Western Conference, the Big Ten consisted of 10 members for many decades, although these days it consists of a total of 14 members.

With the exception of Northwestern University, which is one of the founding members, all schools in the Big Ten are public universities, all of which are major research institutions.

Institution Name	Year Joined	Acceptance Rate	Location
Northwestern University	1896	7%	Evanston, Illinois
Purdue University	1896	53%	West Lafayette, Indiana
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	1896	60%	Urbana-Champaign, Illinois
University of Michigan	1896	18%	Ann Arbor, Michigan
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities	1896	75%	Minneapolis, Minnesota
University of Wisconsin – Madison	1896	49%	Madison, Wisconsin
Indiana University Bloomington	1899	83%	Bloomington, Indiana
University of Iowa	1899	86%	Iowa City, Iowa
Ohio State University	1912	53%	Columbus, Ohio
Michigan State University	1950	88%	East Lansing, Michigan
Pennsylvania State University	1990	58%	University Park, Pennsylvania
University of Nebraska – Lincoln	2011	79%	Lincoln, Nebraska
Rutgers University – New Brunswick	2014	66%	New Brunswick, New Jersey
University of Maryland, College Park	2014	44%	College Park, Maryland

Men’s Sports

• Baseball
• Basketball
• Cross country
• Football
• Golf
• Gymnastics
• Hockey
• Indoor track and field
• Lacrosse
• Outdoor track and field
• Soccer
• Swimming and diving
• Tennis
• Wrestling

Women’s Sports

• Basketball
• Cross country
• Field hockey
• Golf
• Gymnastics
• Indoor track and field
• Lacrosse
• Outdoor track and field
• Rowing
• Soccer
• Softball
• Swimming and diving
• Tennis
• Volleyball

Pac-12

• Founding year: 1915
• Headquarters: San Francisco, California
• Member institutions: 12
• Sports fielded: 30

Operating in the Western region of the US, the Pac-12, short for Pacific-12, conference participates in sports at the NCAA Division I level.

True to its name, the association consists of 12 member schools.

Most of the members of the Pac-12 are flagship universities.

Among all college athletic conferences in the country, the Pac-12 has won more national NCAA national team championships than any other conference, with Stanford University, University of Southern California and UCLA winning most of them.

Institution Name	Year Joined	Acceptance Rate	Location
University of California, Berkeley	1915	11%	Berkeley, California
University of Oregon	1915	86%	Eugene, Oregon
Oregon State University	1915	90%	Corvallis, Oregon
University of Washington	1915	48%	Seattle, Washington
Washington State University	1917	83%	Pullman, Washington
Stanford University	1918	4%	Stanford, California
University of Southern California	1922	12%	Los Angeles, California
University of California, Los Angeles	1928	9%	Los Angeles, California
University of Arizona	1978	87%	Tucson, Arizona
Arizona State University	1978	90%	Tempe, Arizona
University of Colorado, Boulder	2011	79%	Boulder, Colorado
University of Utah	2011	89%	Salt Lake City, Utah

Men’s Sports

• Football
• Basketball
• Baseball
• Softball
• Cross country
• Field hockey
• Golf
• Gymnastics
• Ice hockey
• Lacrosse
• Rowing
• Rugby
• Soccer
• Swimming and diving
• Tennis
• Track and field
• Volleyball
• Water polo
• Wrestling

Women’s Sports

• Basketball
• Beach volleyball
• Golf
• Gymnastics
• Lacrosse
• Rowing
• Soccer
• Swimming and diving
• Tennis
• Volleyball
• Water polo

Southeastern Conference

• Founding year: 1932
• Headquarters: Birmingham, Alabama
• Member institutions: 14
• Sports fielded: 21

Member universities of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) are mostly found in the South Central and Southeastern regions of the US.

Most of them are flagship universities of 10 different states.

While SEC members compete in a number of NCAA Division I sports, they also compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for football — they have won a total of 43 national championships in football.

The SEC came into being with only 13 member institutions.

Institution Name	Year Joined	Acceptance Rate	Location
Auburn University	1932	44%	Auburn, Alabama
Louisiana State University	1932	76%	Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Mississippi State University	1932	75%	Mississippi State, Mississippi
University of Alabama	1932	80%	Tuscaloosa, Alabama
University of Florida	1932	23%	Gainesville, Florida
University of Georgia	1932	43%	Athens, Georgia
University of Kentucky	1932	95%	Lexington, Kentucky
University of Mississippi	1932	97%	University, Mississippi
University of Tennessee	1932	68%	Knoxville, Tennessee
Vanderbilt University	1932	7%	Nashville, Tennessee
University of Arkansas	1991	79%	Fayetteville, Arkansas
University of South Carolina	1991	62%	Columbia, South Carolina
Texas A&M University	2012	62%	College Station, Texas
University of Missouri	2012	79%	Columbia, Missouri

Men’s Sports

• Baseball
• Basketball
• Cross country
• Football
• Golf
• Indoor track and field
• Outdoor track and field
• Swimming and diving
• Tennis

Women’s Sports

• Basketball
• Cross country
• Equestrian
• Golf
• Gymnastics
• Indoor track and field
• Outdoor track and field
• Soccer
• Softball
• Swimming and diving
• Tennis
• Volleyball

Mid-American Conference

• Founding year: 1946
• Headquarters: Cleveland, Ohio
• Member institutions: 12
• Sports fielded: 21

The majority of the member universities of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) can be found in Ohio and Michigan.

Originally, the college athletic conference had only five members.

Currently, it consists of a dozen public universities.

It participates in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).

Men’s basketball was the very first competitive sport in the MAC — it was only in 1980 that women’s sports were added to the group’s structure.

Institution Name	Year Joined	Acceptance Rate	Location
Ohio University	1946	87%	Athens, Ohio
Miami University	1947	88%	Oxford, Ohio
Western Michigan University	1947	85%	Kalamazoo, Michigan
University of Toledo	1950	92%	Toledo, Ohio
Kent State University	1951	88%	Kent, Ohio
Bowling Green State University	1952	79%	Bowling Green, Ohio
Central Michigan University	1971	79%	Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Eastern Michigan University	1971	83%	Ypsilanti, Michigan
Ball State University	1973	69%	Muncie, Indiana
University of Akron	1992	73%	Akron, Ohio
Northern Illinois University	1997	71%	DeKalb, Illinois
University at Buffalo	1998	68%	Buffalo, New York

Men’s Sports

• Baseball
• Basketball
• Cross country
• Football
• Golf
• Swimming and diving
• Tennis
• Track and field
• Wrestling

Women’s Sports

• Basketball
• Cross country
• Field hockey
• Golf
• Gymnastics
• Lacrosse
• Soccer
• Softball
• Swimming and diving
• Tennis
• Track and field
• Volleyball

Atlantic Coast Conference

• Founding year: 1953
• Headquarters: Charlotte, North Carolina
• Member institutions: 15
• Sports fielded: 28

The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) was established by seven postsecondary institutions, all of which were located in the South Atlantic region of the US — hence, the name.

Right now, it consists of 15 member schools from 10 different states, many of which are in the Southern and Northeastern regions of the country, stretching from New York to Florida and from Massachusetts to Indiana.

A total of seven ACC institutions are members of the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU).

Institution Name	Year Joined	Acceptance Rate	Location
Clemson University	1953	43%	Clemson, South Carolina
Duke University	1953	6%	Durham, North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	1953	17%	Chapel Hill, North Carolina
North Carolina State University	1953	47%	Raleigh, North Carolina
Wake Forest University	1953	21%	Winston-Salem, North Carolina
University of Virginia	1953	19%	Charlottesville, Virginia
Georgia Institute of Technology	1979	18%	Atlanta, Georgia
Florida State University	1991	25%	Tallahassee, Florida
University of Miami	2004	19%	Coral Gables, Florida
Virginia Tech	2004	57%	Blacksburg, Virginia
Boston College	2005	17%	Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
University of Notre Dame	2013	13%	Notre Dame, Indiana
University of Pittsburgh	2013	49%	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Syracuse University	2013	52%	Syracuse, New York
University of Louisville	2014	82%	Louisville, Kentucky

Men’s Sports

• Baseball
• Basketball
• Cross country
• Fencing
• Football
• Golf
• Indoor track and field
• Lacrosse
• Outdoor track and field
• Soccer
• Swimming and diving
• Tennis
• Wrestling

Women’s Sports

• Basketball
• Cross country
• Fencing
• Field hockey
• Golf
• Indoor track and field
• Gymnastics
• Lacrosse
• Outdoor track and field
• Rowing
• Soccer
• Softball
• Swimming and diving
• Tennis
• Volleyball

Ivy League

• Founding year: 1954
• Headquarters: Princeton, New Jersey
• Member institutions: 8
• Sports fielded: 33

Although “Ivy League” was used as early as the 1930s, it became official only after the conference was established.

In addition, while it’s the name of the athletic conference of eight institutions, all of which are in the Northeast region of the US, it’s also associated with academic excellence and high selectivity level.

Other than being some of the most prestigious, members of the Ivy League conference are also some of those with the largest endowments not only in the US but also across the planet.

Institution Name	Year Joined	Acceptance Rate	Location
Brown University	1954	6%	Providence, Rhode Island
Columbia University	1954	4%	New York, New York
Cornell University	1954	7%	Ithaca, New York
Dartmouth College	1954	6%	Hanover, New Hampshire
Harvard University	1954	3%	Cambridge, Massachusetts
Princeton University	1954	4%	Princeton, New Jersey
University of Pennsylvania	1954	7%	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Yale University	1954	5%	New Haven, Connecticut

Men’s Sports

• Baseball
• Rowing
• Basketball
• Soccer
• Cross country
• Squash
• Fencing
• Swimming and diving
• Football
• Tennis
• Golf
• Indoor track and field
• Ice hockey
• Outdoor track and field
• Lacrosse
• Wrestling

Women’s Sports

• Basketball
• Soccer
• Cross country
• Softball
• Fencing
• Squash
• Field hockey
• Swimming and diving
• Golf
• Tennis
• Ice hockey
• Indoor track and field
• Lacrosse
• Outdoor track and field
• Rowing
• Volleyball
• Sailing

Sun Belt Conference

• Founding year: 1976
• Headquarters: New Orleans, Louisiana
• Member institutions: 14
• Sports fielded: 20

When it came into being, the Sun Belt Conference was only made up of six institutions of higher education.

These days, it has more than double the number of original members, all of which are located in the Southern region of the US.

Although it started as a non-football conference, it started participating in football in 2001.

Collectively, Sun Belt supports 6,700 plus student-athletes.

Institution Name	Year Joined	Acceptance Rate	Location
Georgia State University	1976	61%	Atlanta, Georgia
University of South Alabama	1976	71%	Mobile, Alabama
Old Dominion University	1982	95%	Norfolk, Virginia
Arkansas State University	1991	39%	Jonesboro, Arkansas
University of Louisiana at Lafayette	1991	75%	Lafayette, Louisiana
Troy University	2005	95%	Troy, Alabama
University of Louisiana at Monroe	2006	69%	Monroe, Louisiana
Texas State University	2013	88%	San Marcos, Texas
Appalachian State University	2014	83%	Boone, North Carolina
Georgia Southern University	2014	89%	Statesboro, Georgia
Coastal Carolina University	2016	79%	Conway, South Carolina
James Madison University	2022	78%	Harrisonburg, Virginia
Marshall University	2022	97%	Huntington, West Virginia
University of Southern Mississippi	2022	99%	Hattiesburg, Mississippi

Men’s Sports

• Baseball
• Basketball
• Cross country
• Football
• Golf
• Soccer
• Tennis
• Indoor track and field
• Outdoor track and field

Women’s Sports

• Basketball
• Beach volleyball
• Cross country
• Golf
• Soccer
• Softball
• Swimming and diving
• Tennis
• Indoor track and field
• Outdoor track and field
• Volleyball

Big 12

• Founding year: 1994
• Headquarters: Irving, Texas
• Member institutions: 14
• Sports fielded: 23

All eight members of the Big Eight Conference, which is a college athletic conference that ceased to exist in 1996, together with 50% of the Southwest Conference, which also ended in the same year, formed the Big 12.

Currently, it has a total of 14 members — three private institutions and 11 public institutions.

Throughout its history, the Big 12 has changed its structure and memberships, too, with institutions leaving and being added to the roster.

Despite that, the conference has decided to keep its well-known name intact.

Institution Name	Year Joined	Acceptance Rate	Location
Baylor University	1996	46%	Waco, Texas
Iowa State University	1996	90%	Ames, Iowa
Kansas State University	1996	88%	Manhattan, Kansas
Oklahoma State University	1996	71%	Stillwater, Oklahoma
Texas Tech University	1996	67%	Lubbock, Texas
University of Kansas	1996	88%	Lawrence, Kansas
University of Oklahoma	1996	73%	Norman, Oklahoma
University of Texas at Austin	1996	31%	Austin, Texas
Texas Christian University	2012	56%	Fort Worth, Texas
West Virginia University	2012	90%	Morgantown, West Virginia
Brigham Young University	2023	97%	Provo, Utah
University of Central Florida	2023	41%	Orlando, Florida
University of Cincinnati	2023	86%	Cincinnati, Ohio
University of Houston	2023	66%	Houston, Texas

Men’s Sports

• Baseball
• Basketball
• Cross country
• Football
• Golf
• Swimming and diving
• Tennis
• Track and field
• Rowing
• Wrestling

Women’s Sports

• Basketball
• Cross country
• Equestrian
• Golf
• Gymnastics
• Indoor track and field
• Outdoor track and field
• Rowing
• Soccer
• Softball
• Swimming and diving
• Tennis
• Volleyball

Conference USA

• Founding year: 1995
• Headquarters: Dallas, Texas
• Member institutions: 9
• Sports fielded: 19

Conference USA (C-USA) came into being when two college athletic conferences, both of which ceased to exist in 1995, decided to merge: the Metro Conference and the Great Midwest Conference.

Its current members are schools located in the Western and Southern regions of the country.

Institution Name	Year Joined	Acceptance Rate	Location
University of Texas at El Paso	2005	100%	El Paso, Texas
Florida International University	2013	64%	Miami, Florida
Louisiana Tech University	2013	64%	Ruston, Louisiana
Middle Tennessee State University	2013	68%	Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Western Kentucky University	2014	97%	Bowling Green, Kentucky
Jacksonville State University	2023	58%	Jacksonville, Alabama
Liberty University	2023	99%	Lynchburg, Virginia
New Mexico State University	2023	78%	Las Cruces, New Mexico
Sam Houston State University	2023	85%	Huntsville, Texas

Men’s Sports

• Baseball
• Basketball
• Bowling
• Cross country
• Football
• Golf
• Soccer
• Softball
• Tennis
• Track and field
• Volleyball
• Beach volleyball

Women’s Sports

• Basketball
• Cross country
• Golf
• Soccer
• Swimming and diving
• Tennis
• Track and field

Mountain West Conference

• Founding year: 1998
• Headquarters: Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Member institutions: 13
• Sports fielded: 19

Schools that are a member of the Mountain West Conference (MW) are in the Western region of the US.

According to MW’s website, it’s the first conference to establish a sports television network that’s dedicated exclusively to an intercollegiate athletic conference.

It adds that it’s one of the first conferences to employ a state-of-the-art basketball instant replay system.

Institution Name	Year Joined	Acceptance Rate	Location
Colorado State University	1999	91%	Fort Collins, Colorado
San Diego State University	1999	39%	San Diego, California
San Jose State University	1999	75%	San Jose, California
University of Nevada, Las Vegas	1999	85%	Las Vegas, Nevada
University of New Mexico	1999	81%	Albuquerque, New Mexico
University of Wyoming	1999	96%	Laramie, Wyoming
US Air Force Academy	1999	16%	USAF Academy, Colorado
Boise State University	2011	82%	Boise, Idaho
California State University, Fresno	2012	95%	Fresno, California
University of Hawaii at Manoa	2012	73%	Honolulu, Hawaii
University of Nevada, Reno	2012	86%	Reno, Nevada
Utah State University	2013	94%	Logan, Utah
Colorado College	2014	16%	Colorado Springs, Colorado

Men’s Sports

• Academic
• Baseball
• Basketball
• Cross country
• Esports
• Football
• General
• Golf
• Indoor track and field
• Outdoor track and field
• Softball
• Tennis

Women’s Sports

• Basketball
• Golf
• Gymnastics
• Soccer
• Tennis
• Volleyball
• Swimming and diving

American Athletic Conference

• Founding year: 2013
• Headquarters: Irving, Texas
• Member institutions: 14
• Sports fielded: 21

The American Athletic Conference (AAC) consists of a wide variety of member schools, both private and public postsecondary institutions as well as having various enrollment sizes.

However, all of them are located in the Northeastern, Midwestern and Southern regions of the country.

The conference came into being when the Big East Conference, which was a 16-university athletic association, ceased to exist in 2013.

Today, its members compete in the NCAA Division I and FBS, too.

Institution Name	Year Joined	Acceptance Rate	Location
Southern Methodist University	2013	52%	University Park, Texas
Temple University	2013	80%	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
University of Memphis	2013	95%	Memphis, Tennessee
University of South Florida	2013	44%	Tampa, Florida
East Carolina University	2014	92%	Greenville, North Carolina
Tulane University	2014	11%	New Orleans, Louisiana
University of Tulsa	2014	69%	Tulsa, Oklahoma
Wichita State University	2017	68%	Wichita, Kansas
Florida Atlantic University	2023	81%	Boca Raton, Florida
Rice University	2023	9%	Houston, Texas
University of Alabama at Birmingham	2023	87%	Birmingham, Alabama
University of North Carolina at Charlotte	2023	80%	Charlotte, North Carolina
University of North Texas	2023	90%	Dallas, Texas
University of Texas at San Antonio	2023	87%	San Antonio, Texas

Men’s Sports

• Baseball
• Basketball
• Cross country
• Football
• Golf
• Indoor track and field
• Outdoor track and field
• Soccer
• Tennis

Women’s Sports

• Basketball
• Cross country
• Golf
• Indoor track and field
• Lacrosse
• Outdoor track and field
• Rowing
• Soccer
• Softball
• Swimming and diving
• Tennis
• Volleyball