Conference realignment fascinates me. Here is a history of conference realignment, starting in 1936 when the AP Poll was used for the first time. This is referred to by many as when the modern era of college football began. At this time schools competed in the "University Division", which is what we know as Division I, and the "College Division" which is what we would consider Division II or lower today. In 1973, the NCAA split into today's Division I, Division II and Division III. 1978 is the year that the NCAA split Division I into I-A and I-AA.
There has been a lot of conference realignment over the years, in fact there has been at least one change almost every year since 1936. There have been only five years since 1936 where there have been no conference realignment moves: 1955, 1958, 1985, 2006 and 2010
1936
Conferences looked like this in 1936:
Big 6 Conference (6 teams)Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma
Border Conference (7 teams)Arizona, Arizona State, Northern Arizona, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Texas-El Paso, Texas Tech
Independents (43 teams)Army, Brown, Bucknell, Carnegie Tech, Centenary, Colgate, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Detroit Mercy, Duquesne, Erskine, Fordham, George Washington, Georgetown, Gonzaga, Harvard, Holy Cross, Loyola Marymount, Loyola-New Orleans, Manhattan, Marquette, Mercer, Miami (FL), Michigan State, Navy, New York University, Notre Dame, Pennsylvania, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Presbyterian, Princeton, San Francisco, Santa Clara, St. Louis, St. Mary's, Syracuse, Temple, Villanova, West Virginia, Wofford, Yale
Missouri Valley Conference (7 teams)Creighton, Drake, Grinnell, Oklahoma State, Tulsa, Washburn, Washington (MO)
Pacific Coast Conference (10 teams)California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington, Washington State
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (12 teams)Brigham Young, Colorado, Colorado College, Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State, Denver, Montana State, Northern Colorado, Utah, Utah State, Western State, Wyoming
Southeastern Conference (13 teams)Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Sewanee, Tennessee, Tulane, Vanderbilt
Southern Conference (16 teams)Citadel, Clemson, Davidson, Duke, Furman, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Richmond, South Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Military Institute, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Washington & Lee, William & Mary
Southwest Conference (7 teams)Arkansas, Baylor, Rice, Southern Methodist, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Christian
Western Conference (10 teams)Chicago, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue, Wisconsin
- There are 131 members of Division I football at this time.
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1937
- Erskine, Loyola-New Orleans, Mercer, Presbyterian, St. Louis, and Wofford leaves Independents. Outside of St. Louis the remaining schools quit playing a heavy schedule of Division I football.
- Boston College joins Independents and begins playing a schedule featuring mostly Division I opponents, there are now 38 Independents
- Grinnell leaves the Missouri Valley Conference and is replaced by St. Louis, keeping membership at seven teams. Grinnell drops down to a lower level of competition.
- There are now a total of 126 members of Division I football at this time
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1938
- Virginia leaves the Southern Conference to play as an independent. Also Hampden-Sydney joins up as an independent giving that group 40 members. The Southern Conference is left with 15 members.
- The seven major schools in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference withdrew to form their own league. Brigham Young, Colorado, Colorado State, Denver, Utah, Utah State and Wyoming formed the Mountain States Conference. The Mountain States Conference was often referred to as the Big Seven Conference for the next eight years. Colorado College, Colorado School of Mines, Montana State, Northern Colorado and Western State remained in the RMAC and now played at a lower level of college football.
- At this time there are 121 members of major Division I football.
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1939
- Two more schools join the Independents: Southwestern (Texas) and Hardin-Simmons, giving that group 42 members.
- Division I membership is now at 123 members.
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1940
- Sewanee leaves the SEC to become an Independent, dropping membership there to 12 teams.
- The University of Chicago leaves the Western Conference, dropping their membership to nine teams.
- There are now 41 Independent teams. Besides the addition of Sewanee, Bucknell and Southwestern (TX) drop out of Division I.
- This leaves a total of 120 teams in Division I.
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1941
- Hardin-Simmons joins the Border Conference, from the Independents, while West Texas A&M joins the league, moving up to Division I. The Border Conference now has nine members.
- George Washington leaves the Independents to join the Southern Conference giving that league 16 members.
- Hampden-Sydney and Carnegie Tech drops out of Division I football and leaves the Independents. New York University joins as an Independent. There are now 38 Independents.
- Washburn drops out of Division I football by leaving the Missouri Valley Conference, the MVC now has six members.
- There are now 119 Division I football members.
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1942
- The following teams join the Independent ranks: Georgia Pre-Flight, North Carolina Pre-Flight, Jacksonville NAS, Great Lakes Navy, Iowa Pre-Flight, St. Mary's Pre-Flight. Independents Gonzaga, Centenary, New York University and Sewanee drop out of Division I football. There are now 38 Independents.
- Washington University of Missouri of the Missouri Valley Conference drops out of Division I.
- There are now 118 Division I football members.
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1943
- Due to World War II, the following schools did not field football teams this year. A school with a year in parentheses shows the year the school brought football back, no year means the school resumed in 1944: Alabama, Auburn, Baylor (1945), Boston College, Citadel (1946), Davidson (1946), Detroit Mercy (1945), Drake (played a non-Division I schedule in 1943), Duquesne (1947), Florida, Fordham (1946), Furman (1946), Georgetown (1946), George Washington (1946), Harvard (1945), Idaho (1945), Kentucky, Loyola Marymount (1949), Miami (FL), Michigan State, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Montana (1946), Oregon (1945), Oregon State (1945), Santa Clara (1946), St. Louis (1945), Stanford (1946), Syracuse, Tennessee, Vanderbilt (1945), Virginia Tech (1945), Washington (played non-Division I schedule in 1944), Washington State (1945), Washington & Lee (1946) and William & Mary did not field teams this year due to World War II.
- The entire Border Conference and Mountain States Conference did not compete due to World War II.
- Creighton University and Manhattan College discontinued football entirely.
- Colorado College, March Field, Del Monte Pre-Flight, Pacific, Fort Riley, Alameda Coast Guard, Texas Tech, Camp Grant join the Independents. Jacksonville NAS quits football. There are 34 Independents for this year.
- Due to World War II, only 73 schools fielded teams in 1943
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1944
- There are 39 Independents this year. Joining as new Independents are Amarillo Field, Norman NAS, Randolph Field, Bucknell (rejoins Division I), Second Air Force (CO), Coast Guard, Lubbock Field, Fort Warren, Idaho State, New York University and Presbyterian. Dropping out were Del Monte Flight, Georgia Pre-Flight, Pacific (dropped until 1950), Fort Riley, North Carolina Pre-Flight, Camp Grant, St. Mary's (rejoined in 1945), Princeton (rejoined in 1945), and San Francisco (rejoined in 1946)
- Texas Tech leaves the Independents and rejoins the Border Conference which has three members at this time: Texas Tech, West Texas A&M and New Mexico.
- The Missouri Valley Conference suspends play in 1944 due to World War II.
- The Mountain States Conference resumes play with four teams: Colorado, Denver, Utah and Utah State
- There are 91 schools competing in Division I football this year
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1945
- There are 35 Independents playing this season. Nearly all of the military teams (Pre-Flight schools, forts, etc.) quit playing football this season. Lafayette and Tennessee-Chattanooga are new Independents.
- Most of the members of the Pacific Coast Conference resume playing football: USC, Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA, California, and Idaho.
- The Missouri Valley Conference resumes football with five members: Drake, Oklahoma State, St. Louis, Tulsa and Wichita State
- Colorado State resumes football and rejoins the Mountain States Conference as the fifth member
- Vanderbilt resumes football and brings the SEC back to 12 teams
- There are 101 Division I football teams this year.
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1946
- Stanford and Montana resume football and bring the Pacific Coast Conference back to 10 teams
- Arizona, Arizona State, Northern Arizona, Hardin-Simmons, New Mexico State and UTEP rejoin the Border Conference after resuming football, bringing membership back up to nine
- Brigham Young and Wyoming resume football and become the sixth and seventh members of the Mountain States Conference
- The following teams rejoin the Southern Conference after resuming football after WWII: George Washington, Washington & Lee, Furman, Davidson, and The Citadel. The Southern Conference now is back to 16 teams
- There are 39 Independents this season. New Independents are Nevada, Rutgers, Montana State, San Francisco (resumes football), Santa Clara (resumes football), Portland and Fordham (resumes football). Great Lakes Navy and Coast Guard stops playing football while Colorado College and Presbyterian drop out of Division I
- With most schools now having resumed football after World War II, Division I membership is back up to 120 teams.
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1947
- Boston University joins the Independents and Duquesne resumes football while Bucknell and Lafayette drop out of the group and Division I football. The number of Independents remain at 39 and the total number of Division I football teams remains at 120.
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1948
- The Mountain States Conference renames itself the Skyline Conference. Colorado drops out of the league leaving the conference with six members: BYU, Colorado State, Denver, Utah, Utah State and Wyoming.
- Colorado leaves the Mountain States to join the Big 6 as its seventh member, making the league now known as the Big 7 with membership of Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma.
There are 36 Independents in 1948. Merchant Marine, Montana State, and Portland all dropped out of Division I. There are now 117 football teams in Division I.
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1949
- Detroit Mercy leaves the Independents and joins the Missouri Valley Conference as its sixth member. Bradley University also moves up to Division I football and joins the MVC as its seventh member.
- There are still 36 Independents. Detroit Mercy left for the MVC. Tennessee-Chattanooga leaves Division I. The two are replaced by Loyola Marymount (resumes football) and Houston who moved up. There are now 119 football schools in Division I.
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1950
- Montana leaves the Pacific Coast Conference and becomes Independent.
- St. Louis drops out of Division I football and leaves the Missouri Valley Conference with six members.
- West Virginia leaves the Independents and joins the Southern Conference as their 17th member.
- Despite the one losses, the Independents gained three new schools to boost its number to 38: Pacific, San Jose State, Montana,
As of 1950 here are the rosters of the Division I conferences:
Big 7 Conference (7 teams)Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma
Border Conference (9 teams)Arizona, Arizona State, Hardin-Simmons, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Northern Arizona, Texas-El Paso, Texas Tech, West Texas A&M
Independents (38 teams)Army, Boston College, Boston University, Brown, Colgate, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duquesne, Fordham, Georgetown, Harvard, Holy Cross, Houston, Loyola Marymount, Marquette, Miami (FL), Michigan State, Montana, Navy, Nevada, New York University, Notre Dame, Pacific, Pennsylvania, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Princeton, Rutgers, San Francisco, San Jose State, Santa Clara, St. Mary's, Syracuse, Temple, Villanova, Virginia, Yale
Missouri Valley Conference (6 teams)Bradley, Detroit Mercy, Drake, Oklahoma State, Tulsa, Wichita State
Pacific Coast Conference (9 teams)California, Idaho, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington, Washington State
Skyline Conference (6 teams)Brigham Young, Colorado State, Denver, Utah, Utah State, Wyoming
Southeastern Conference (12 teams)Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Tulane, Vanderbilt
Southern Conference (17 teams)Citadel, Clemson, Davidson, Duke, Furman, George Washington, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Richmond, South Carolina, Virginia Military Institute, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Washington & Lee, West Virginia, William & Mary
Southwest Conference (7 teams)Arkansas, Baylor, Rice, Southern Methodist, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Christian
Western Conference (9 teams)Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue, Wisconsin
- There are 120 teams in Division I at this time.
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1951
- Houston leaves the Independents to join the Missouri Valley Conference as their seventh member.
- Montana leaves the Independents to join the Skyline Conference. New Mexico joins the Skyline Conference giving that league eight members now. New Mexico continues a membership with the Border Conference as well for 1951.
- The Independents have 32 members. Besides the losses of Montana and Houston the group also lost Duquesne (drops football), St. Mary's (drops out of Division I), Georgetown (dropped football) and Nevada (dropped out of Division I)
- That leaves 114 teams in Division I.
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1952
- New Mexico leaves the Border Conference to become a full time member of the Skyline Conference, the Border Conference is left with eight members
- Drake leaves the Missouri Valley Conference and becomes an Independent. Bradley drops out of Division I and also leaves the Missouri Valley leaving that league with five members.
- Clemson and Maryland leave the Southern Conference to become Independent. The Southern Conference is left with 15 members.
- There are now 33 Independents. Drake, Clemson and Maryland join the group. Leaving the group are San Francisco and Loyola Marymount who both drop football.
- There are now 111 teams in Division I.
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1953
- Clemson and Maryland leave the Independents and Duke, North Carolina, North Carolina State, South Carolina and Wake Forest leave the Southern Conference to form the Atlantic Coast Conference with seven charter members. The Southern Conference is left with 10 members.
- Michigan State leaves the Independents and joins the Western Conference as its 10th member. The league now is referred to as the Big Ten Conference.
- Northern Arizona leaves the Border Conference and drops out of Division I, leaving that league with seven members.
- There are 28 Independents. Besides the loss of Clemson, Maryland and Michigan State the group also lost New York University (dropped football), Santa Clara and Temple (both dropped out of Division I). North Texas moved up to Division I and became an Independent.
- There are now 109 teams in Division I.
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1954
- Virginia leaves the Independents and joins the ACC as its eighth member
- Washington & Lee leaves the Southern Conference as they drop out of Division I, leaving that league with nine members
- There are now 29 Independents. Virginia left for the ACC. New additions to the group included Cincinnati and Florida State, both of which moved up into Division I.
- There are now 110 members in Division I.
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1955
- For the first time since 1936 there are no conference changes.
- Membership in Division I remains at 110.
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1956
- Texas Tech leaves the Border Conference and becomes an Independent, leaving that league with six teams.
- Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Pennsylvania, Princeton and Yale leave the Independents and form the Ivy League with eight charter members.
- There are 22 Independents at this point. Besides the eight schools that left for the Ivy League the group gained Dayton who moved up to Division I status.
- There are now 111 Division I teams.
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1957
- Oklahoma State and Detroit Mercy leave the Missouri Valley Conference to become Independent. Independent schools Cincinnati and North Texas move in to the Missouri Valley and that league remains at five members.
- There are 23 Independents. Oklahoma State and Detroit Mercy join the group while Cincinnati and North Texas leave and take their place in the MVC. Air Force starts football and joins the Independents.
- There are now 112 Division I teams.
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1958
- There are no changes in conferences in 1958. Membership remains at 112.
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1959
- Idaho, Oregon, Oregon State and Washington State leave the Pacific Coast Conference and become Independent, leaving the PCC with five members.
- There are now 27 Independent teams. Along with the addition of the four PCC schools, Xavier moves up to Division I and joins the Independents. Drake leaves the group, dropping out of Division I.
- Total membership remains at 112.
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1960
- Oklahoma State leaves the Independents and joins the Big 7 as its eighth member. The conference renames itself as the Big 8 Conference.
- The Pacific Coast Conference was disbanded. The five members from that conference (California, Stanford, UCLA, USC and Washington) formed the Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU).
- Houston leaves the Missouri Valley Conference and becomes Independent. The MVC is left with four members.
- Texas Tech leaves the Independents and joins the Southwest Conference as its eighth member.
- There are 27 Independents in 1960. Oklahoma State and Texas Tech leave to join their respective leagues while Houston comes in from the MVC. Memphis moves up to Division I and joins the Independents.
- There are now 113 Division I teams.
The conference rosters as of 1960:
AAWU (5 teams)California, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington
ACC (8 teams)Clemson, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, South Carolina, Virginia, Wake Forest
Big 8 (8 teams)Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State
Big Ten (10 teams)Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue, Wisconsin
Border Conference (6 teams)Arizona, Arizona State, Hardin-Simmons, New Mexico State, Texas-El Paso, West Texas A&M
Independents (27 teams)Air Force, Army, Boston College, Boston University, Colgate, Dayton, Detroit Mercy, Florida State, Holy Cross, Houston, Idaho, Marquette, Memphis, Miami (FL), Navy, Notre Dame, Oregon, Oregon State, Pacific, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, San Jose State, Syracuse, Villanova, Washington State, Xavier
Ivy League (8 teams)Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Pennsylvania, Princeton, Yale
Missouri Valley Conference (4 teams)Cincinnati, North Texas, Tulsa, Wichita State
Skyline Conference (8 teams)Brigham Young, Colorado State, Denver, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, Utah State, Wyoming
Southeastern Conference (12 teams)Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Tulane, Vanderbilt
Southern Conference (9 teams)Citadel, Davidson, Furman, George Washington, Richmond, Virginia Military Institute, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, William & Mary
Southwest Conference (8 teams)Arkansas, Baylor, Rice, Southern Methodist, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Christian, Texas Tech
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1961
- Arizona leaves the Border Conference and becomes Independent, leaving the Border Conference with five members
- Denver drops football and leaves the Skyline Conference with seven members
- There are 27 Independents. Arizona joined the group from the Border Conference while Marquette drops football and leaves the Independents.
- There are now 112 teams in Division I.
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1962
- The Mid-American Conference (MAC) moves up to Division I for football and with it are seven new Division I teams: Bowling Green, Kent State, Marshall, Miami (OH), Ohio, Toledo, and Western Michigan
- Washington State leaves the Independents and joins the AAWU as its sixth member
- The Border Conference and Skyline Conference both dissolve. The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is formed with charter members: Arizona, Arizona State, Brigham Young, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming
- There are new 34 Independents. Washington State left for the AAWU and Arizona left for the WAC. Colorado State, Hardin-Simmons, Montana, New Mexico State, Texas-El Paso, Utah State, and West Texas A&M join the group from the Border and Skyline Conferences. Louisville and Buffalo move up to Division I and join the group.
- There are now 121 teams in Division I.
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1963
- Louisville and Dayton leave the Independents and join the Missouri Valley Conference giving that league six teams.
- There are 32 Independents. Dayton and Louisville left for the MVC. Lehigh and Southern Mississippi moved up to Division I and joined the group while Montana and Hardin-Simmons dropped out of Division I.
- Total membership remains at 121 teams.
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1964
- Oregon and Oregon State leave the Independents and join the AAWU, giving them eight members.
- Georgia Tech leaves the SEC and becomes Independent. The SEC now has 11 members.
- There are 31 Independents in 1968. Oregon and Oregon State leave for the AAWU. Georgia Tech joins the group from the SEC.
- Membership in Division I remains at 121.
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1965
- Virginia Tech leaves the Southern Conference and becomes Independent. They are replaced by East Carolina who moves up to Division I and takes their spot in the Southern Conference to keep membership in that league at nine.
- There are 31 Independents in 1965. Virginia Tech joined the group from the Southern Conference. Quantico Marines joined the group for one year. Detroit Mercy (dropped football) and Boston University (dropped out of Division I) left the group.
- Membership in Division I stays at 120.
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1966
- Tulane leaves the SEC and becomes Independent, leaving the SEC with 10 members
- Dayton leaves the Missouri Valley Conference and becomes Independent. The MVC is left with five members
- There are 32 Independents. Tulane and Dayton join the group from their respective leagues. Also joining is Tampa who moved up to Division I. Leaving the group are Quantico Marines and and Lehigh, who dropped down to a lower division.
- Division I membership is at 119.
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1967
- George Washington drops out of Division I and leaves the Southern Conference, taking their membership level down to eight
- No other changes occur in 1967 and membership remains at 118.
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1968
- The American Association of Western Universities (AAWU) changes its name to the Pacific-8 Conference, more commonly referred to as the Pac-8
- Colorado State and Texas-El Paso leave the Independents and join the WAC, giving that conference eight members
- Memphis leaves the Independents and joins the Missouri Valley Conference as its sixth member
- There are now 30 Independents. Colorado State, UTEP and Memphis all left to join their respective leagues while Northern Illinois moved up to Division I and became an Independent.
- There are now 119 Division I football programs.
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1969
- West Virginia leaves the Southern Conference and becomes Independent, leaving the Southern Conference with seven members
- The Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA) is formed with seven charter members. Pacific and San Jose State joined from the Independents while Fresno State, Long Beach State, Los Angeles State, San Diego State and Santa Barbara moved up to Division I
- There are now 27 Independents. West Virginia joined the group while Pacific and San Jose State left to form the new PCAA. Holy Cross and Tampa dropped back out of Division I and left the group.
- There are now 122 members in Division I.
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1970
- Marshall is kicked out of the MAC and becomes Independent, leaving the MAC with six members
- Cincinnati leaves the Missouri Valley and becomes Independent. The MVC is left with five members
- There are now 30 Independents with the addition of Cincinnati, Marshall and Holy Cross (rejoins Division I).
- There are now 123 Division I football teams.
The conference rosters as of 1970 are:
ACC (8 teams)Clemson, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, South Carolina, Virginia, Wake Forest
Big 8 (8 teams)Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State
Big Ten (10 teams)Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue, Wisconsin
Independents (30 teams)Air Force, Army, Boston College, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Colgate, Dayton, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Holy Cross, Houston, Idaho, Marshall, Miami (FL), Navy, New Mexico State, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Southern Mississippi, Syracuse, Tulane, Utah State, Villanova, Virginia Tech, West Texas A&M, West Virginia, Xavier
Ivy League (8 teams)Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Pennsylvania, Princeton, Yale
MAC (6 teams)Bowling Green, Kent State, Miami (OH), Ohio, Toledo, Western Michigan
Missouri Valley (5 teams)Louisville, Memphis, North Texas, Tulsa, Wichita State
Pac-8 (8 teams)California, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington, Washington State
PCAA (7 teams)Fresno State, Long Beach State, Los Angeles State, Pacific, San Diego State, San Jose State, Santa Barbara
SEC (10 teams)Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Southern Conference (7 teams)Citadel, Davidson, East Carolina, Furman, Richmond, Virginia Military Institute, William & Mary
Southwest Conference (8 teams)Arkansas, Baylor, Rice, Southern Methodist, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Christian, Texas Tech
WAC (8 teams)Arizona, Arizona State, Brigham Young, Colorado State, New Mexico, Texas-El Paso, Utah, Wyoming
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1971
- Drake moves back up to Division I and joins the Missouri Valley Conference, also West Texas A&M leaves the Independents to join the MVC, giving that conference seven members
- There are 33 Independent teams now with Hawaii, Tampa, Temple, Tennessee-Chattanooga and Texas-Arlington all moving up to Division I and joining this group. West Texas A&M left to join the MVC and Buffalo dropped down out of Division I.
- This pushes Division I membership to 128 teams.
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1972
- South Carolina leaves the ACC and becomes Independent, leaving the ACC with seven teams
- New Mexico State leaves the Independents and joins the Missouri Valley as its eighth member
- Los Angeles State and Santa Barbara leave the PCAA as they drop out of Division I leaving the PCAA with five members
- Appalachian State moves up to Division I and joins the Southern Conference as its eighth member
- There are still 33 Independents. South Carolina joins from the ACC, New Mexico State left to join the Missouri Valley. Southern Illinois joins as a new Division I member while Hawaii drops back out as they drop out of Division I.
- Total membership falls to 127 schools
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1973
- This is the year the NCAA split into Divisions I, II and III. Prior to this year, the NCAA members competed in either the "University Division" or the "College Division"
- Memphis leaves the Missouri Valley and rejoins the Independents, leaving the MVC with seven members
- There are now 36 Independent teams. Memphis joined from the MVC. Lamar and Louisiana-Lafayette also join after moving up to Division I status.
- There are now 129 Division I football schools
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1974
- Davidson drops out of Division I and leaves the Southern Conference, leaving that league with seven teams
- There are now 37 Independent teams. Arkansas State and Hawaii moves up to Division I to join this group. Xavier drops football and leaves.
- Total membership remains at 129 schools.
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1975
- The MAC added two new teams that moved up into Division I: Ball State and Central Michigan. The league also added Northern Illinois from the Independents to give them a total of nine members.
- Louisville and North Texas leave the Missouri Valley to become Independent, leaving the MVC with five members
- The PCAA adds a sixth member in Division I newcomer Cal State-Fullerton
- The Southland Conference is formed with six charter members. Arkansas State, Lamar, Louisiana-Lafayette, and Texas-Arlington come over from the Independents while Louisiana Tech and McNeese State move up to Division I and join the league.
- There are now 37 Independent teams. Northern Illinois, Arkansas State, Lamar, Louisiana-Lafayette and Texas-Arlington all left to join conferences. Louisville and North Texas left conferences to join this group while new Division I teams Akron, Eastern Michigan, Illinois State, Indiana State, and Louisiana-Monroe join. Tampa drops football and leaves and Idaho drops down out of Division I.
- There was a huge increase this year to 137 Division I teams.
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1976
- Eastern Michigan leaves the Independents and joins the MAC as their 10th member
- San Diego State leaves the PCAA and becomes Independent. The PCAA is left with five members
- Houston leaves the Independents and joins the Southwest Conference as their ninth member
- There are 36 Independents in 1976. Eastern Michigan and Houston leave to join leagues while San Diego State comes in from the PCAA. Northwestern State joins as a new Division I member while Akron drops back out dropping out of Division I.
- Membership remains at 137
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1977
- Southern Illinois leaves the Independents and joins the Missouri Valley as their sixth member
- The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is moved up to Division I as a conference with seven members: Alcorn State, Grambling State, Jackson State, Mississippi Valley State, Prairie View A&M, Southern, and Texas Southern
- East Carolina, Richmond, and William & Mary leave the Southern Conference and become Independent. Marshall and Tennessee-Chattanooga join the conference from the Independents and Western Carolina moves up to Division I and joins the league to keep membership at seven teams
- There are 36 Independents. Southern Illinois, Marshall and Tennessee-Chattanooga leave to join conferences. East Carolina, Richmond and William & Mary join this group from the Southern Conference. Tennessee State joins as a new Division I member while Dayton drops out of Division I and leaves the group.
- There are now 145 Division I football members.
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1978
- 1978 was the year that the NCAA split Division I into two separate groups: I-A (FBS) and I-AA (FCS). Schools had until the 1982 season to decide which subdivision they wanted to play in.
- Arizona and Arizona State leave the WAC and join the Pac-8 giving that league 10 members. The conference changes its name to the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10)
- San Diego State joins the WAC from the Independents giving the WAC seven members
- Indiana State joins the Missouri Valley from the Independents giving the MVC seven members
- Utah State joins the PCAA from the Independents giving the PCAA six members
- The SWAC leaves Division I-A and competes in Division I-AA
- There are 34 Independent teams. San Diego State, Indiana State and Utah State all left to join leagues. UNLV moves up to Division I and joins the Independents.
- There are now 139 Division I-A members
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1979
- Hawaii joins the WAC from the Independents giving that league eight members
- East Tennessee State moves up to Division I-A and joins the Southern Conference as its eighth member
- There are 34 Independent teams. Hawaii left to join the WAC while Connecticut joins as a new I-A member.
- There are now 141 Division I-A teams
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1980
- Air Force leaves the Independents and joins the WAC as its ninth member
- There are now 31 Independent teams. Hawaii left to join the WAC. Connecticut and Northwestern State dropped back down to I-AA
- This leaves 139 teams in Division I-A
The Division I-A conference rosters as of 1980 are:
ACC (7 teams)Clemson, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia, Wake Forest
Big 8 (8 teams)Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State
Big Ten (10 teams)Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue, Wisconsin
Independents (31 teams)Army, Boston College, Cincinnati, Colgate, East Carolina, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Holy Cross, Illinois State, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisville, Memphis, Miami (FL), Navy, North Texas, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Richmond, Rutgers, South Carolina, Southern Mississippi, Syracuse, Temple, Tennessee State, Tulane, UNLV, Villanova, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, William & Mary
Ivy League (8 teams)Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Pennsylvania, Princeton, Yale
MAC (10 teams)Ball State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami (OH), Northern Illinois, Ohio, Toledo, Western Michigan
Missouri Valley (7 teams)Drake, Indiana State, New Mexico State, Southern Illinois, Tulsa, West Texas A&M, Wichita State
Pac-10 (10 teams)Arizona, Arizona State, California, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington, Washington State
PCAA (6 teams)Cal State-Fullerton, Fresno State, Long Beach State, Pacific, San Jose State, Utah State
SEC (10 teams)Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Southern Conference (8 teams)Appalachian State, Citadel, East Tennessee State, Furman, Marshall, Tennessee-Chattanooga, Virginia Military Institute, Western Carolina
Southland Conference (6 teams)Arkansas State, Lamar, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana Tech, McNeese State, Texas-Arlington
Southwest Conference (9 teams)Arkansas, Baylor, Houston, Rice, Southern Methodist, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Christian, Texas Tech
WAC (9 teams)Air Force, Brigham Young, Colorado State, Hawaii, New Mexico, San Diego State, Texas-El Paso, Utah, Wyoming
=========================================================
1981
- Illinois State joins the Missouri Valley from the Independents. Drake and West Texas A&M drop down to I-AA leaving the MVC with six I-A members.
- There are 28 Independents in 1981. Besides Illinois State leaving for the MVC, Villanova dropped football and left the group and Tennessee State dropped down to I-AA.
- There are now 135 teams in Division I-A
=========================================================
1982
- The Ivy League, MAC, Southern Conference and Southland Conference (among other schools) all dropped down to Division I-AA either by choice or NCAA decree. The schools that left included: Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Ball State, Bowling Green, Brown, Central Michigan, Citadel, Colgate, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, East Tennessee State, Eastern Michigan, Furman, Harvard, Holy Cross, Illinois State, Indiana State, Kent State, Lamar, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, McNeese State, Miami (OH), North Texas, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Princeton, Richmond, Southern Illinois, Tennessee-Chattanooga, Texas-Arlington, Toledo, Virginia Military Institute, Western Carolina, Western Michigan, William & Mary, and Yale
- Half of the remaining Missouri Valley schools dropped to I-AA (Illinois State, Indiana State and Southern Illinois). New Mexico State, Tulsa, and Wichita State remained in I-A and the MVC remained a "major conference" with a mix of I-A and I-AA schools in its membership.
- UNLV left the Independents and joined the PCAA as its seventh member
- There are now 22 Independents. Louisiana-Lafayette left the Southland Conference when it dropped to I-AA and joined the Independents. UNLV left and joined the PCAA. Colgate, Holy Cross, Louisiana-Monroe, North Texas, Richmond and William & Mary dropped to I-AA.
- Division I-A membership is now at 95 schools.
=========================================================
1983
- Georgia Tech leaves the Independents and joins the ACC as their eighth member
- The MAC resumes membership as a I-A conference with all ten schools returning
- There are 21 Independents. Georgia Tech left to join the ACC
- There are now 105 Division I-A football teams
=========================================================
1984
- New Mexico State leaves the Missouri Valley to join the PCAA as its eighth member, leaving the MVC with two members in I-A (Tulsa and Wichita State)
- There are still 21 Independents
- There are still 105 members of Division I-A
=========================================================
1985
- For just the third time since 1936, there are no conference changes for a football season
- Membership remains at 105 in Division I-A.
=========================================================
1986
- Northern Illinois leaves the MAC and becomes an Independent. The MAC now has nine members.
- The Missouri Valley Conference stopped sponsoring football. Members Tulsa and Wichita State remained in Division I-A by becoming Independents.
- There are now 24 Independents.
- There are now 105 Division I-A football teams.
=========================================================
1987
- Southern Methodist is given the death penalty. As a result the Southwest Conference competes with just eight members for the next two years
- There are 24 Independents. Wichita State leaves the group as the school drops football entirely. Akron moves up to Division I-A and joins the Independents.
- Membership remains at 104 schools.
=========================================================
1988
- The Pacific Coast Athletic Association changes its name to the Big West Conference. Membership remains the same with eight schools: Cal State-Fullerton, Fresno State, Long Beach State, New Mexico State, Pacific, San Jose State, UNLV, and Utah State
- There are 25 Independents in 1988 as Louisiana Tech moves back up to Division I-A and joins the group.
- Division I-A membership is at 105 schools.
=========================================================
1989
- Southern Methodist rejoins the Southwest Conference as its ninth member after coming off the death penalty
- There are no other conference changes and membership is now at 106 schools
=========================================================
1990
- There are 26 Independents in 1990 as Arkansas State moves up to Division I-A and joins the group
- There are a total of 107 Division I-A schools in 1990
ACC (8 teams)Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia, and Wake Forest
Big Ten (10 teams)Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue, and Wisconsin
Big 8 (8 teams)Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State
Big West (8 teams)Cal State-Fullerton, Fresno State, Long Beach State, New Mexico State, Pacific, San Jose State, UNLV, and Utah State
MAC (9 teams)Ball State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami (OH), Ohio, Toledo, and Western Michigan
Pac-10 (10 teams)Arizona, Arizona State, California, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington and Washington State
SEC (10 teams)Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Tennessee and Vanderbilt
Southwest Conference (9 teams)Arkansas, Baylor, Houston, Rice, Southern Methodist, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Christian and Texas Tech
WAC (9 teams)Air Force, Brigham Young, Colorado State, Hawaii, New Mexico, San Diego State, Texas-El Paso, Utah, and Wyoming
Independents (26 teams)Akron, Arkansas State, Army, Boston College, Cincinnati, East Carolina, Florida State, Louisiana Tech, Louisville, Memphis, Miami (FL), Navy, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, South Carolina, Southern Mississippi, Southwestern Louisiana (Louisiana-Lafayette), Syracuse, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa, Virginia Tech, West Virginia
=========================================================
1991
- Independents Boston College, Miami (FL), Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia establish the football playing portion of the Big East Conference with eight members.
- The Independents are left with 18 schools
- Division I-A membership remains at 107
=========================================================
1992
- The SEC expands to 12 by adding Arkansas from the Southwest Conference and Independent South Carolina. With 12 members, the SEC is the first Division I-A conference to split into two divisions and hold a conference championship game.
- The Southwest Conference stands at eight members following the loss of Arkansas
- Independent Florida State joins the ACC, giving that league nine members
- Independent Akron joins the MAC, giving that league 10 members
- Big West member Fresno State leaves to join the WAC as its 10th member.
- Big West member Long Beach State stops playing football entirely. Nevada moves up from Division I-AA and joins the Big West as its seventh member, replacing Fresno State.
- There are now 15 Independent schools
- Division I-A membership remains at 107
=========================================================
1993
- Independent Penn State joins the Big Ten, giving that league 11 members
- Independents Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech, Northern Illinois and Southwestern Louisiana (Louisiana-Lafayette) join the Big West as football-only members, while fellow Big West member Cal State-Fullerton announced it was dropping football. This left membership in the Big West at 10 schools.
- There are now just 10 independent schools
- Division I-A membership drops to 106
=========================================================
1994
- Northeast Louisiana University (Louisiana-Monroe) moved up from Division I-AA and played as an independent, bringing the number of independents up to 11 and bringing Division I-A membership back up to 107
=========================================================
1995
- The University of North Texas moved up from Division I-AA and played as an independent. The number of Independents now stands at 12, and the total Division I-A membership his at 108 schools.
=========================================================
1996
- The Southwest Conference dissolves
- Former Southwest Conference members Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech merge with the Big 8 Conference to form the Big 12 Conference. With 12 members the Big 12 splits into two divisions and stages a conference championship game, becoming the second conference to do so.
- Former Southwest Conference member Houston joins with Independents Cincinnati, Louisville, Memphis, Southern Mississippi and Tulane to form Conference USA with six members
- The WAC expands to a 16-member conference by adding Rice, Southern Methodist, and Texas Christian from the Southwest Conference; UNLV and San Jose State from the Big West Conference and Independent member Tulsa. The WAC would hold a conference championship game for the next three seasons.
- Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech, Northern Illinois and Southwestern Louisiana leave the Big West to become Independents. Pacific also leaves the Big West as it announces it is dropping football. North Texas joins the Big West from the Independent ranks and Boise State University and the University of Idaho move up from Division I-AA and join the Big West. Big West membership now stands at six schools.
- Along with Boise State and Idaho, the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Central Florida also move up from Division I-AA and play as Independents. There are now 11 Independent schools.
- Total Division I-A membership now stands at 111
=========================================================
1997
- Independent East Carolina joins Conference USA as its seventh member
- Independent Northern Illinois joins the MAC. Marshall University moves up from Division I-AA and also joins the MAC, giving that league 12 members. The MAC then splits into two divisions and holds a conference championship game.
- There are now nine Independents at the Division I-A level
- Division I-A membership stands at 112 schools
=========================================================
1998
- Army breaks away from nearly 100 years of tradition as an Independent to join Conference USA as its eighth member
- The Independents are left with eight schools
- Membership in Division I-A remains at 112
=========================================================
1999
- Air Force, Brigham Young, Colorado State, New Mexico, San Diego State, UNLV, Utah and Wyoming leave the 16-team WAC and form a new eight-team league, the Mountain West Conference.
- The WAC is left with eight remaining members
- Arkansas State leaves the Independents and joins the Big West, giving them seven members
- Independent Alabama-Birmingham joins Conference USA as its ninth member
- Buffalo moves up from Division I-AA and joins the MAC as that league's 13th member.
- Middle Tennessee State moves up from Division I-AA and plays as an Independent, giving that group a total of seven members
- Northeast Louisiana and Southwestern Louisiana change their names to Louisiana-Monroe and Louisiana-Lafayette, respectively
- Division I-A membership now stands at 114
=========================================================
2000
- Nevada leaves the Big West to join the WAC as its ninth member
- The Big West drops back down to six members
- Two more schools make the move up from Division I-AA: the University of Connecticut and the University of South Florida, who both play as Independents. There are now nine Independent football members of Division I-A
- The total membership of Division I-A now sits at 116
Division I-A conference rosters as of 2000:
ACC (9 teams)Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia, Wake Forest
Big 12 (12 teams)Baylor, Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech
Big East (8 teams)Boston College, Miami (FL), Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple, Virginia Tech, West Virginia
Big Ten (11 teams)Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Wisconsin
Big West (6 teams)Arkansas State, Boise State, Idaho, New Mexico State, North Texas, Utah State
C-USA (9 teams)Alabama-Birmingham, Army, Cincinnati, East Carolina, Houston, Louisville, Memphis, Southern Mississippi, Tulane
Independents (9 teams)Central Florida, Connecticut, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee State, Navy, Notre Dame, South Florida
MAC (13 teams)Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Marshall, Miami (OH), Northern Illinois, Ohio, Toledo, Western Michigan
Mountain West (8 teams)Air Force, Brigham Young, Colorado State, New Mexico, San Diego State, UNLV, Utah, Wyoming
Pac-10 (10 teams)Arizona, Arizona State, California, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington, Washington State
SEC (12 teams)Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
WAC (9 teams)Fresno State, Hawaii, Nevada, Rice, San Jose State, Southern Methodist, Texas Christian, Texas-El Paso, Tulsa
=========================================================
2001
- Arkansas State, Idaho, New Mexico State and North Texas from the Big West join with Independents Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe and Middle Tennessee State to form the seven-member Sun Belt Conference
- Texas Christian leaves the WAC to join Conference USA as its 10th member
- Big West member Boise State and Independent Louisiana Tech join the WAC. The WAC now stands at 10 member schools.
- With Utah State the only remaining football-playing member of the Big West, the Big West Conference stops sponsoring football. The Aggies become an Independent in football.
- Troy State moves up from Division I-AA and plays as an Independent. There are now seven Independent football schools.
- There are now 117 members of Division I-A
=========================================================
2002
- Independent Central Florida joins the MAC as its 14th member. The number of Independents drops to six.
- Membership in Division I-A remains at 117.
=========================================================
2003
- Independent South Florida joins Conference USA as its 11th member
- Independent Utah State joins the Sun Belt Conference as its 8th member
- The number of Independents now stands at four
- Membership in Division I-A remains at 117
=========================================================
2004
- Miami (FL) and Virginia Tech leave the Big East to join the ACC, giving the ACC 11 members
- Independent Connecticut moves to the Big East, leaving the Big East with seven members
- Independent Troy State joins the Sun Belt Conference as that league's 9th member
- Florida Atlantic University moves up to Division I-A, bringing the total membership to 118. They play as an Independent, bringing that grouping to three members
=========================================================
2005
- The ACC completes its "raid" of the Big East when Boston College leaves the Big East to become the ACC's 12th member. The ACC then splits into two divisions and stages their own conference championship game.
- Cincinnati, Louisville and South Florida leave Conference USA and join the Big East
- Army leaves Conference USA to become an Independent once again. Temple also becomes an Independent after being voted out of the Big East.
- The Big East now sits at eight members
- Texas Christian leaves Conference USA to join the Mountain West Conference as its ninth member
- Conference USA adds Central Florida and Marshall from the MAC and Rice, Southern Methodist, UTEP and Tulsa from the WAC to get up to 12 members. C-USA then splits into two divisions and stages a conference championship game
- The MAC is left with 12 members
- The WAC adds Idaho, New Mexico State and Utah State from the Sun Belt Conference to get back to nine members
- Florida Atlantic leaves the Independent ranks and Florida International moves up from Division I-AA as both schools join the Sun Belt Conference to give that school eight members
- There are now four Independent teams
- Troy State University changes its name to Troy University
- Division I-A membership sits at 119 schools
=========================================================
2006
- A rarity....there are no conference changes in 2006.
- Division I-A membership remains at 119 schools
=========================================================
2007
- Temple leaves the Independent ranks and joins the Mid-American Conference. The MAC now has 13 members. Independents' membership shrinks to three
- Division I-A membership remains at 119
=========================================================
2008
- Western Kentucky University transitions from Division I-AA and moves up to I-A and plays as the fourth Independent.
- Division I-A membership now stands at 120 schools
=========================================================
2009
- Western Kentucky University leaves its Independent status and joins the Sun Belt Conference as that league's ninth member
- There are now only three Independents playing football
- Division I-A membership now stands at 120 schools
=========================================================
2010
- There were no conference changes in 2010
- Division I-A membership remains at 120 schools
The conference rosters in 2010 are:
ACC (12 teams)Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami (FL), North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
Big 12 (12 teams)Baylor, Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech
Big East (8 teams)Cincinnati, Connecticut, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, South Florida, Syracuse, West Virginia
Big Ten (11 teams)Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Wisconsin
C-USA (12 teams)Alabama-Birmingham, Central Florida, East Carolina, Houston, Marshall, Memphis, Rice, Southern Methodist, Southern Mississippi, Texas-El Paso, Tulane, Tulsa
Independents (3 teams)Army, Navy, Notre Dame
MAC (13 teams)Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami (OH), Northern Illinois, Ohio, Temple, Toledo, Western Michigan
Mountain West (9 teams)Air Force, Brigham Young, Colorado State, New Mexico, San Diego State, Texas Christian, UNLV, Utah, Wyoming
Pac-10 (10 teams)Arizona, Arizona State, California, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington, Washington State
SEC (12 teams)Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Sun Belt (9 teams)Arkansas State, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Middle Tennessee State, North Texas, Troy, Western Kentucky
WAC (9 teams)Boise State, Fresno State, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana Tech, Nevada, New Mexico State, San Jose State, Utah State
=========================================================
2011
- Nebraska left the Big 12 Conference to join the Big Ten Conference. This gave the Big Ten 12 members and they then split into two divisions and staged a conference championship game for the first time
- Colorado left the Big 12 to join the Pac-10 and Utah left the Mountain West Conference to join the Pac-10 to give that league 12 members. The Pac-10 renames itself the Pac-12 and splits into two divisions and holds a conference championship game for the first time
- The Big 12 is left with 10 members
- Brigham Young University leaves the Mountain West to become an Independent. There are now four Independent football schools
- Boise State leaves the WAC to join the Mountain West, bringing membership in the Mountain West back up to eight
- The WAC is now left with eight members
- Division I-A membership remains at 120 schools
=========================================================
2012
- Texas A&M and Missouri announce plans to leave the Big 12 to join the SEC. This gives the SEC 14 members
- TCU originally was set to leave the Mountain West for the Big East, but backed out of that move and instead joined the Big 12.
- West Virginia left the Big East Conference to become a member of the Big 12. This gives the Big 12 10 members.
- Massachusetts is moving up from Division I-AA to Division I-A to become the 13th member of the MAC, replacing Temple who is leaving to rejoin the Big East, moving their membership back to eight
- The University of South Alabama is moving up from Division I-AA to I-A and will become the 10th member of the Sun Belt Conference
- Fresno State, Nevada and Hawaii left the WAC to join the Mountain West Conference, to give that league 10 members.
- Texas-San Antonio and Texas State joined the WAC from Division I-AA to give that league seven football playing members
- There are now I-A 124 football members in Division I-A
=========================================================
2013
- The non-football playing members of the Big East left to form their own conference and took the "Big East" name with them. The teams left over that are playing football in the old Big East have renamed their conference the American Athletic Conference.
- Pittsburgh and Syracuse are leaving the American Athletic Conference to join the ACC, giving the ACC 14 members.
- Houston, Southern Methodist, Central Florida and Memphis will leave C-USA to also join the American Athletic Conference. This will give the AAC 10 football members for 2013.
- Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Middle Tennessee State and North Texas are leaving the Sun Belt Conference, and Louisiana Tech and Texas-San Antonio are leaving the WAC to join Conference USA to bump that league up to 14 football members.
- Georgia State will join the Sun Belt from the FCS ranks and Texas State will join from the WAC to keep the Sun Belt at eight teams.
- Boise State and San Diego State were scheduled to leave the Mountain West for the AAC but backed out of those plans and decided to stay in the Mountain West. San Jose State and Utah State will leave the WAC to join the Mountain West bumping membership up to 12 schools. The league will split into two six-team divisions and stage a conference championship game.
- With only two members left in the WAC, the WAC stops sponsoring football and Idaho and New Mexico State become Independents.
- There will now be six independents with the addition of Idaho and New Mexico State to the group. Total FBS membership will now be 125.
=========================================================
2014
- Maryland leaves the ACC and Rutgers leaves the American Athletic Conference to join the Big Ten, giving the Big Ten 14 members. Louisville leaves the American Athletic Conference for the ACC, to keep ACC membership at 14 schools.
- The American Athletic Conference adds East Carolina, Tulsa and Tulane from the Conference USA to bump their membership up to 11 schools.
- Conference USA, after losing those three members, is adding Old Dominion from FCS ranks and Charlotte, who is starting a football program along with Western Kentucky who is leaving the Sun Belt, to bring their membership to 14 schools.
- Appalachian State and Georgia Southern are moving up from FCS to join the Sun Belt Conference and independents Idaho and New Mexico State are also joining the Sun Belt to give that conference 11 football members following the loss of Western Kentucky
- Independents drop to four with Army, BYU, Navy, and Notre Dame
- There are now 129 FBS football schools
=========================================================
2015
- Navy will leave the Independent ranks and join the "Big East" as the 12th football playing member. This will leave three independent teams.
- FBS membership will remain at 129.
- By 2015, conferences will look as follows:
ACC (14 teams)
Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami (FL), North Carolina, North Carolina State, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
American Athletic Conference (12 teams)
Central Florida, Cincinnati, Connecticut, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, Navy, South Florida, Southern Methodist, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa
Big 12 (10 teams)
Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas Christian, Texas Tech, West Virginia
Big Ten (14 teams)
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, Wisconsin
Conference USA (14 teams)
Alabama-Birmingham, Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, Middle Tennessee State, North Texas, Old Dominion, Rice, Southern Mississippi, Texas-El Paso, Texas-San Antonio, Western Kentucky
Independents (3 teams)
Army, Brigham Young, Notre Dame
MAC (13 teams)
Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Massachusetts, Miami (OH), Northern Illinois, Ohio, Toledo, Western Michigan
Mountain West (12 members)
Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, San Diego State, San Jose State, UNLV, Utah State, Wyoming
Pac-12 (12 members)
Arizona, Arizona State, California, Colorado, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Utah, Washington, Washington State
SEC (14 members)
Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
Sun Belt (11 teams)
Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Idaho, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, New Mexico State, South Alabama, Texas State, Troy
This post was edited on 4/8 3:21 PM by Alum-Ni
Pretty cool stuff.
Coolest thing I've ever seen on this Board-thanks! I remember poor Cal State Fullerton in 1993. Playing D1 ball for years at local High School stadiums then they finally get and finish an on campus stadium. Once done, the Admin. dropped the football program. That's how Cali rolls with their State funds. It still lays useless to this day outside of some soccer games.
wow...good works , somebody might want to put this in the wikipedia for all to see the history of CFB.
The 13 charter members of the SEC had just seceded from the Southern Conference 4 years before that in December of 1932 with the first season of SEC play being 1933.
The Southern Conference had become too big and unwieldy in the minds of many and the desire to form a more geographically cohesive conference and save on travel costs had also been a major concern along with significant philosophical differences within the Southern Conference (the SECeders were more football focused).
https://docs.google.com/a/global.t-bird.edu/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B7bsWUpcvlU_MDE1NzM3MWQtM2M0OC00OTEyLWI1M2ItM2MwOWQ5M2ZlNzcz&hl=en_US&pli=1
https://docs.google.com/a/global.t-bird.edu/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B7bsWUpcvlU_NDVhZWUzODMtNWE5NS00YmMzLWE2M2YtZWI3MzkyMTY0ZTEy&hl=en_US&pli=1
The League's coaches considered SECession from the NCAA in 1949 in a dispute over the NCAA's refusal to allow grants in aid to athletes at that time.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=19490522&id=httOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=G04DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5376,4692094
Eventually dropping out were:
Sewannee is a small private school that simply could not compete with the larger state universities. The Sewannee Tigers went winless in the SEC and dropped out in 1941 after 8 years of conference futility.
Georgia Tech which lost an internal power struggle to Alabama and in a huff (and in the mistaken belief that they could do better as an independent and make themselves the "Notre Dame of the South") left in 1964. Their program immediately went into the tank but because of their history of high handedness within the conference, their application to rejoin the SEC in 1970 was rejected. They later claimed the dispute was over scholarship limitations in a futile bid to save face after the fact.
Tulane which like Sewannee was a small private university which did not have the resources to compete with the big state schools, left in 1966.
Eventually Joining were:
South Carolina which was a Southern Conference member that joined in 1992.
Arkansas which was never a member of the Southern Conference but which instead was a member of the SWC that joined the SEC in 1992.
Texas A&M another former member of the SWC and the Big 12 which opted to join the SEC in 2012.
Mizzou had been a member of the Big 8 and later the Big 12 which opted to join the SEC in 2012.
Alumni you do great work and make reading this board, husker online, and the nebraska prep board worthwhile.
Simply outstanding. What a gem. Thanks so much.
Glad you guys enjoyed this post. Conference realignment fascinates me, it was fun putting this together.
To be a stickler, there was no "University Division" in 1936. That didn't happen until the NCAA's modern era began in the next year.
While I'm being picky, Western Kentucky was an FBS team in 2007, according to the NCAA.
Great post very informative. The only thing I saw missed was the admission of Florida State to the ACC. Otherwise still great post. Lots of information.
I've updated the timeline in the early 80s to reflect what happened with the Missouri Valley Conference and a number of other schools that moved or were forced into I-AA.
You wrote that Louisiana Layette dropped to I-AA in 82, which I'm guessing you didn't mean.
Amazing work. Thanks!
One thing I would like to see is something about what conference realignments were proposed but never happened.
Good work, OP.
Hawaii was a D-II program for a couple of seasons during the early '70s (even upset D-I Washington one of those years), before jumping back up to D-IA.
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