Taken from The Main Board.
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I posted this several years back and it was pinned on the old site for quite a long time. I have tried to make the timeline as accurate as possible, though there may be a few flaws. Enjoy the read
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Time to repost my history of conference realignment. I tried to fact-check this as much as I could and I probably should go back and revisit some of the early stuff, but here's the original post I had on Rivals way back when:
I start in 1936, which is when the AP Poll began and is considered by many to be the beginning of the modern era of college football. At this time schools competed in the "University Division" which is what we would consider Division I today, or the "College Division" which would be Division II or below. In 1973, the NCAA split into today's Division I, Division II and Division III and in 1978 the NCAA split Division I into I-A and I-AA (now known as FBS and FCS, respectively).
There have been a lot of moves over the years. In fact since 1936, there have been only four years where there were no schools joining, leaving or switching conferences within Division I: 1958, 1985, 2006 and 2010.
History of Conference Realignment
1936
In 1936 here are what the conferences looked like:
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, and 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
This made for 131 total members of the "University Division" in the NCAA
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1937
- Erskine, Loyola-New Orleans, Mercer, Presbyterian, St. Louis and Wofford leave the Independents. Outside of St. Louis, the remaining schools quit playing a heavy schedule of Division I football.
- Boston College joins the Independents and begins playing a schedule featuring mostly University Division opponents, there are now 38 Independents
- Grinnell leaves the Missouri Valley Conference and is replaced by St. Louis, keeping membership in the league at 7 teams. Grinnell drops down to a lower level of competition.
- There are now 126 members of University Division football
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1938
- Virginia leaves the Southern Conference to play as an Independent. Also, Hampden-Sydney moves up and joins the Independents, giving them 40 members. The Southern Conference is left with 15 schools.
- 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 (which was often referred to as the Big Seven Conference for the next several years). The remaining RMAC schools remained in that league and dropped down to a lower level of competition.
- There are now 121 members of major University Division football.
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1939
- Two more schools join the Independents: Southwestern (Texas) and Hardin-Simmons, giving that group 42 members and increasing University Division membership to 123.
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1940
- Sewanee leaves the SEC to become Independent, dropping the league to 12 members.
- The University of Chicago leaves the Western Conference by dropping football, dropping their membership to nine.
- There are now 41 Independents. Besides the addition of Sewanee, Bucknell and Southwestern (TX) drop out of University Division.
- There are now 120 teams in the University Division
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1941
- Hardin-Simmons joins the Border Conference, from the Independents, while West Texas A&M joins the league after moving up to the University Division. The Border Conference now has nine members.
- George Washington leaves the Independents to join the Southern Conference, giving that league 16 members again.
- Hampden-Sydney and Carnegie Tech both drop out of University Division football and leaves the Independents with 37 schools.
- Washburn drops out of the University Division and leaves the Missouri Valley Conference with just six members.
- There are now 118 University Division football members.
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1942
- The following teams join the Independents: Georgia Pre-Flight, North Carolina Pre-Flight, Jacksonville NAS, Great Lakes Navy, Iowa Pre-Flight, St. Mary's Pre-Flight. The following schools drop out of the University Division football and leave the Independents: Gonzaga, Centenary, New York University, and Sewanee. This leaves 39 Independents.
- Washington (MO) drops out of the University Division and leaves the Missouri Valley Conference, giving that league just five members.
- Total University Division membership is at 119 schools.
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1943
- Due to World War II, the following schools did not field football teams in this season. A school with a year in parentheses shows the year the school brought football back: Alabama (1944), Auburn (1944), Baylor (1945), Boston College (1944), Citadel (1946), Davidson (1946), Detroit Mercy (1945), Drake (1944), Duquesne (1947), Florida (1944), Fordham (1946), Furman (1946), Georgetown (1946), George Washington (1946), Harvard (1945), Idaho (1945), Kentucky (1944), Loyola Marymount (1949), Miami (FL) (1944), Michigan State (1944), Mississippi (1944), Mississippi State (1944), Montana (1946), Oregon (1945), Oregon State (1945), Santa Clara (1946), St. Louis (1945), Stanford (1946), Syracuse (1944), Tennessee (1944), Vanderbilt (1945), Virginia Tech (1945), Washington (1944), Washington State (1945), Washington & Lee (1946), William & Mary (1944)
- The entire membership of the Border and Mountain States Conferences did not compete in 1944 due to WWII
- Creighton University and Manhattan College dismissed football entirely
- Colorado College, March Field, Del Monte Pre-Flight, Pacific, Fort Riley, Alameda Coast Guard, Texas Tech (leaves Border Conference), and Camp Grant join the Independents. Jacksonville NAS quit football. This left the Independents with 36 schools.
- Due to World War II, only 75 schools fielded University Division football teams
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1944
- Joining as new Independents are Amarillo Field, Norman NAS, Randolph Field, Bucknell (rejoins the University Division), Second Air Force (CO), Coast Guard, Lubbock Field, Fort Warren, Idaho State, New York University and Presbyterian. Dropping out of the Independents were Del Monte Flight, Georgia Pre-Flight, Pacific, Fort Riley, North Carolina Pre-Flight, Camp Grant, St. Mary's, Princeton, and San Francisco
- Texas Tech left the Independents and rejoined the Border Conference which now has just three members playing for the year: Texas Tech, West Texas A&M and New Mexico.
- The Missouri Valley Conference suspends play in 1944 due to WWII
- The Mountain States Conference resumes play with four teams: Colorado, Denver, Utah and Utah State
- There are now 37 Independents and a total of 89 schools competing in the University Division now this year.
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1945
- Nearly all of the military teams (Pre-Flight schools, forts, etc.) quit playing football in this season. Lafayette and Tennessee-Chattanooga are new Independents, of which there are now 35 members.
- 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 new member 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
- The are now 101 University Division football teams for the 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, bringing membership back up to nine
- Brigham Young and Wyoming resume football, becoming the sixth and seventh members of the Mountain States Conference
- The following teams rejoin the Southern Conference after resuming football: George Washington, Washington & Lee, Furman, Davidson, and The Citadel. The Southern Conference now is back to 16 teams.
- There are 38 Independents this season. New Independnets are Nevada, Rutgers, Montana State, San Francisco (resumed football), Santa Clara (resumed football), Portland and Fordham (resumed football). Great Lakes Navy and Coast Guard stop playing football while Colorado College and Presbyterian drop out of the University Division.
- With most schools now having resumed their programs with World War II being over, University Division membership is back up to 120 schools
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1947
- Boston University joins the Independents and Duquesne resumes football while Bucknell and Lafayette drop out of the group and leave the University Division. The number of Independents remains at 38 and total membership 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 group with six members: BYU, Colorado State, Denver, Utah, Utah State and Wyoming.
- Colorado joins the Big 6 Conference as its seventh member, and the league renames itself the Big 7 Conference with Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma
- There are 35 Indepdnents in 1948. Merchant Marine, Montana State and Portland all drop out of the University Division. Total membership now stands at 117 schools.
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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 the University Division and joins the MVC as the seventh member.
- There are still 35 Independents. Detroit Mercy left the group and Tennessee-Chattanooga leaves the University Division. They are replaced by Loyola Marymount (resumes football) and Houston, who moved up into the University Division. There are now 119 schools in the University Division.
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1950
- Montana leaves the Pacific Coast Conference and becomes Independent.
- St. Louis drops out of the University Division, leaving the Missouri Valley with six members.
- West Virginia leaves the Independents and joins the Southern Conference as their 17th member
- Despite the losses, the Independents gain three new members to increase their membership to 38: Pacific (resumed football), San Jose State and Montana
As of 1950, University Division membership is as follows:
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 and 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)
Clemson, Davidson, Duke, Furman, George Washington, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Richmond, South Carolina, The Citadel, 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 schools in the University Division 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 and joins the Skyline Conference. New Mexico also joins the Skyline, giving that group eight members. (New Mexico also maintains a membership in the Border Conference for 1951.)
- The Independents now have 32 members. Besides the loss of Houston and Montana, the group also lost Duquesne (drops football), St. Mary's (leaves the University Division), Georgetown (drops football) and Nevada (drops out of the University Division)
- That leaves 114 members in the University Division
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1952
- New Mexico leaves the Border Conference to become a full-time member in the Skyline Conference, leaving the Border with eight members.
- Drake leaves the Missouri Valley and becomes Independent. Bradley drops out of the University Division, leaving the MVC 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. Clemson, Drake and Maryland join the group while San Francisco and Loyola Marymount both leave after they drop football.
- This leaves 111 teams in the University Division
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1953
- Clemson and Maryland leave the Independents after one year. They team up with Duke, North Carolina, North Carolina State, South Carolina and Wake Forest (who left 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 their tenth member. The league now is referred to as the Big Ten Conference.
- Northern Arizona leaves the Border Conerence and drops out of the University Division, leaving that league with seven members
- There are now just 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 left the University Division). North Texas moved up to the University Division and joined the group.
- There are now 109 teams in the University Division
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1954
- Virginia leaves the Independent ranks and joins the ACC as their eighth member.
- Washington & Lee leaves the Southern Conference as they drop out of the University Division, leaving that league with nine schools
- There are now 29 Independents. Virginia left for the ACC while Cincinnati and Florida State both join the group, after having moved up to the University Division
- There are now 110 members in the University Division
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1955
- Fordham drops football, dropping Independents to 28 and total University Division membership to 109.
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1956
- Texas Tech leaves the Border Conference and becomes Independent, leaving the Border 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 to create the Ivy League, Dayton joins after having moved up to the University Division, along with adding Texas Tech.
- There are now 110 University Division teams
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1957
- Oklahoma State and Detroit Mercy leave the Missouri Valley Conference and become Independent while Independent schools Cincinnati and North Texas move in to replace them in the MVC, keeping their membership at five schools
- There are now 23 Independents. Besides the teams swapping with the MVC, Air Force starts football and joins the Independents.
- There are now 111 University Division teams
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1958
- For the first time since 1936, there are no conference changes in the division that is considered major college football, membership remains at 111
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1959
- Idaho, Oregon, Oregon State, and Washington State leave the Pacific Coast Conference and become Independents, 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 the University Division and joins the group, while Drake leaves and drops out of the University Division.
- Total membership remains at 111 schools
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1960
- Oklahoma State leaves the Independents and joins the Big 7 Conference as their eighth member. The conference changes its name to the Big 8 Conference
- The Pacific Coast Conference disbands. The five remaining members (Cal, Stanford, UCLA, USC and Washington) form the new Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU)
- Houston leaves the Missouri Valley and becomes Independent. The MVC is left with four members
- Texas Tech leaves the Independents and joins the Southwest Conference as their eighth member
- There are 27 Independents in 1960. Oklahoma State and Texas Tech left the group, while Houston joined from the MVC. Memphis also moves up to the University Division and joins.
- There are now 113 teams in the University Division.
As of 1960, conference makeup is as follows:
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)
Davidson, Furman, George Washington, Richmond, The Citadel, 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 with five members
- Denver drops football and leaves the Skyline Conference with seven members
- There are 27 Independents. Arizona joined the group while Marquette dropped football and leaves the group
- There are now 111 members in the University Division
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1962
- The Mid-American Conference (MAC) moves up to the University Division and with it come seven new University Division teams: Bowling Green, Kent State, Marshall, Miami (OH), Ohio, Toledo, and Western Michigan
- Washington State leaves the Independents and joins the AAWU as their sixth member
- The Border Conference and Skyline Conference both dissolve. The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is then formed with charter members: Arizona, Arizona State, Brigham Young, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming
- There are now 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 both move up to the University Division and also join the group.
- There are now 120 University Division teams
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1963
- Louisville and Dayton leave the Independents and join the Missouri Valley Conference, giving that group six teams
- There are now 32 Independents. Dayton and Louisville left for the MVC. Lehigh and Southern Mississippi move up to the University Division and join the group while Montana and Hardin-Simmons drop out of the University Division.
- Total membership remains at 120.
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1964
- Oregon and Oregon State leave the Independents and join the AAWU, giving that league eight members
- Georgia Tech leaves the SEC and becomes Independent, leaving the SEC with 11 members
- There are now 31 Independents. Oregon and Oregon State leave the group while Georgia Tech joins
- Total membership remains at 120.
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1965
- Virginia Tech leaves the Southern Conference and becomes Independent. They are replaced by East Carolina, who moves up to the University Division and takes their spot in the Southern to keep membership in that league at nine.
- There are now 31 Independents. Along with the addition of Virginia Tech, Quantico Marines joined for one year. Detroit Mercy drops football and leaves while Boston University leaves the University Division.
- Total memebership remains at 120.
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1966
- Tulane leaves the SEC and becomes Independent, leaving the league with 10 members
- Dayton leaves the Missouri Valley and becomes Independent, leaving the MVC with five schools
- There are now 32 Independents. Tulane and Dayton join from their respective leagues along with Tampa who moved up to the University Division. Leaving the group are Quantico Marines and Lehigh (dropped out of the University Division).
- Total membership is now at 119
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1967
- George Washington drops out of the University Division and leaves the Southern Conference, knocking their membership level down to eight
- No other changes occur, total membership is now 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 league eight members
- Memphis leaves the Independents and joins the Missouri Valley as their sixth member
- There are now 30 Independents. Colorado State, UTEP and Memphis left to join various leagues, while Northern Illinois moved up to the University Division and joined the group
- Total membership increases to 119.
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1969
- West Virginia leaves the Southern Conference to become Independent, leaving that league with seven members
- The Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA) is formed with seven charter members. Pacific and San Jose State join from the Independent ranks, while Fresno State, Long Beach State, Los Angeles State, San Diego State and Santa Barbara move up to the University Division to join
- There are now 27 Independents. West Virginia joins while Pacific and San Jose State left to join their new league. Holy Cross and Tampa dropped back out of the University Division and leave the group.
- Total membership increases to 122
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, leaving the MVC with five members
- There are now 30 Independents with the addition of Cincinnati and Marshall. Also, Holy Cross rejoins the University Division
- There are now 123 University Division football teams
Conference makeup as of 1970:
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 Angeles State, Long Beach 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)
Davidson, East Carolina, Furman, Richmond, The Citadel, 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 the University Division and joins the Missouri Valley Conference, also West Texas A&M leaves the Independents to join the MVC, giving the conference seven members
- There are now 33 Independents with Hawaii, Tampa, Temple, Tennessee-Chattanooga and Texas-Arlington all moving up to the University Division. West Texas A&M left to join the MVC and Buffalo drops out of the University Division
- This pushes University Division 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 their eighth member
- Los Angeles State and Portland state leave the PCAA as they drop out of the University Division, leaving that league with five members
- Appalachian State moves into the University Division and joins the Southern Conference as their eighth member
- There are still 33 Independents. South Carolina joins from the ACC, New Mexico State leaves for the MVC while Southern Illinois joins as a new member of the University Division. Hawaii drops back out of the University Division to keep the total number of Independents at 33.
- Total membership falls to 127 schools
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1973
- This is the year the NCAA officially split into Divisions I, II and III. Prior to this year, NCAA members competed in either the "University Division (what is now Division I), or the "College Division"
- Memphis leaves the Missouri Valley and rejoins the Independents, leaving the MVC with seven members
- There are now 36 Independents. Memphis joined from the MVC while Lamar and Southwestern Louisiana (Louisiana-Lafayette) moved up to Division I status.
- Total Division I members now total 129 schools.
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1974
- Davidson drops out of Division I and leaves the Southern Conference, leaving that league with seven members
- There are now 37 Independents. Arkansas State moves into the Division and Hawaii rejoins the group while Xavier drops football and leaves.
- Total membership remains at 129 schools.
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1975
- The MAC adds two new teams that moved up into Division I: Ball State and Central Michigan. The league also added Northern Illinios from the Independents to give the league nine members
- Louisville and North Texas leave the Missouri Valley to become Independent, leaving the MVC with five schools
- 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, Southwestern Louisiana, and Texas-Arlington come over from the Independents while Louisiana Tech and McNeese State move up to Division I and join the conference.
- The number of Independents remain at 37. Northern Illinois, Arkansas State, Lamar, Southwestern Louisiana and Texas-Arlington all left to join their respective conferences. Louisville and North Texas joined this group from other leagues and new Division I members Akron, Eastern Michigan, Illinois State, Indiana State and Northeast Louisiana (Louisiana-Monroe) join. Tampa drops football and leaves Division I and Idaho drops out of the Division as well.
- This year saw a big increase with 137 schools now playing Division I football
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1976
- Eastern Michigan leaves the Independents and becomes the 10th member of the MAC
- 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 while San Diego State joined from the PCAA. Northwestern State joins as a new Division I member while Akron drops back out of Division I
- Total membership remains at 137 schools
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1977
- Southern Illinois leaves the Independents and joins the Missouri Valley as their sixth member
- The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) moves up as an entire conference to Division I 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 Independents. Marshall and Tennessee-Chattanooga take their place, leaving the Independent ranks to join the SoCon while Western Carolina moves up into Division I and joins the league as well to keep the Southern Conference at seven teams.
- There are 36 Independents still. Southern Illinois, Marshall and Tennessee-Chattanooga leave while East Carolina, Richmond and William & Mary join. Tennessee State moves up as a new Division I member and joins this group while Dayton drops out of Division I and leaves.
- There is now a whopping 145 Division I football members.
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1978
- In 1978 the NCAA split Division I into two separate groups: Division I-A (FBS) and Division 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 leage 10 members. The Pac-8 then changes its name to the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10)
- San Diego State leaves the Indpendents and joins the WAC, giving them seven members
- Indiana State joins the Missouri Valley from the Independents, giving that group seven members
- Utah State leaves the Independents to join the PCAA as their sixth member
- The SWAC leaves Division I-A to compete in Division I-AA
- There are new 34 Independents. San Diego State, Indiana State and Utah State left to join conferences while UNLV joins 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 their eighth member
- There are still 34 Independents. Hawaii leaves to join the WAC while Connecticut joins as a new member of Division I-A
- Division I-A membership jumps back up to 141
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1980
- Air Force leaves the Independents and joins the WAC as their ninth member
- There are now just 31 Independents with the loss of Air Force along with Connecticut and Northwestern State who both drop back down to Division I-AA.
- This leaves 139 teams in Division I-A
The Division I-A conferences 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, Louisville, Memphis, Miami (FL), Navy, North Texas, Northeast Louisiana (Louisiana-Monroe), 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, East Tennessee State, Furman, Marshall, Tennessee-Chattanooga, The Citadel, Virginia Military Institute, Western Carolina
Southland Conference (6 teams)
Arkansas State, Lamar, Louisiana Tech, McNeese State, Southwestern Louisiana, 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 Division I-AA, leaving the MVC with six I-A members
- There are 28 Independents in 1981. Besides Illinois State leaving, Villanova dropped football and left teh group while Tennessee State dropped down to I-AA
- There are now 135 teams in I-A football
=======================================
1982
- The Ivy League, MAC, Southern and Southland Conferences (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, Colgate, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, East Tennessee State, Eastern Michigan, Furman, Harvard, Holy Cross, Illinois State, Indiana State, Kent State, Lamar, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, McNeese State, Miami (OH), North Texas, Northeast Louisiana, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Princeton, Richmond, Southern Illinois, Tennessee-Chattanooga, Texas-Arlington, The Citadel, 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, 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 their seventh member
- There are now 22 Independents. Southwestern Louisiana left the Southland when that league dropped to I-AA and joined the Independents. UNLV left to join the PCAA. Colgate, Holy Cross, Northeast Louisiana, North Texas, Richmond, and William & Mary all dropped to I-AA.
- After the final split between I-A and I-AA schools, total I-A membership dropped significantly to just 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 after Georgia Tech left for the ACC
- There are now 105 schools in Division I-A with the return of the Mid-American Conference
=======================================
1984
- New Mexico State leaves the Missouri Valley and joins the PCAA as their eighth member, leaving the MVC with just two I-A members (Tulsa and Wichita State)
- There are still 21 Independents and still 105 total I-A members
=======================================
1985
- For just the second time since 1936, there are no conference changes in a football season
- Total membership remains at 105 schools
=======================================
1986
- Northern Illinois leaves the MAC and becomes Independent, leaving the MAC with nine schools
- The Missouri Valley Conference stops sponsoring football at the Division I-A level. The two remaining members, Tulsa and Wichita State remain in I-A by becoming Independents
- There are now 24 Independents with the addition of the three schools listed above
- Total I-A membership still remains at 105 schools
=======================================
1987
- Southern Methodist is given the death penalty by the NCAA. As a result, the Southwest Conference competes with just eight members for the next two years
- There are 24 Independents with Wichita State leaving the group after dropping football entirely. They are replaced by Akron, who moved up into Division I-A
- Membership is now at 104 schools following SMU's penalty
=======================================
1988
- The Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA) 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 now 25 Independents as Louisiana Tech moves back into Division I-A and jonis the group
- There are now 105 schools again at the I-A level.
=======================================
1989
- Southern Methodist rejoins the Division I-A football world and the Southwest Conference after their two-year penalty
- No other changes occur in 1989, brinigng total I-A membership to 106 schools
=======================================
1990
- The only change in this season saw Arkansas State move back into Division I-A as an Independent, giving that group 26 teams and bringing total I-A membership to 107 schools
The conference makeup of Division I-A in 1990 was:
ACC (8 teams)
Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech, 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
Big West (8 teams)
Cal State-Fullerton, Fresno State, Long Beach State, New Mexico State, Pacific, San Jose State, UNLV, Utah State
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
MAC (9 teams)
Ball State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami (OH), Ohio, Toledo, Western Michigan
Pac-10 (10 teams)
Arizona, Arizona State, California, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington, Washington State
SEC (10 teams)
Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
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
=======================================
1991
- The Big East Conference began sponsoring football. Independents Boston College, Miami (FL), Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple, Virginia Tech and West Virginia joined the Big East, giving the league eight football members.
- The Independents were left with 18 schools
- Division I-A membership remained at 107 schools
=======================================
1992
- The Southeastern Conference expands to 12 schools by adding Arkansas from the Southwest Conference and South Carolina from the Independent ranks. With 12 members, the SEC becomes the first Division I-A conference to split into two divisions and stage a conference championship game at the end of the season between the two division champions
- The Southwest Conference is left with eight members following the loss of Arkansas
- Florida State leaves the Independents and joins the ACC as their ninth member
- Akron leaves the Independents for the MAC, giving that league 10 members
- Fresno State leaves the Big West to join the WAC as their 10th member
- Big West member Long Beach State drops football and leaves the league. Nevada moves up from Division I-AA and joins the Big West to replace Fresno State, to give the league seven members when all was said and done
- There are now just 15 Independents with the losses of South Carolina, Florida State and Akron
- Division I-A membership remains at 107
=======================================
1993
- Penn State gives up its Independent status and joins the Big Ten Conference as their 11th member
- Independents Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech, Northern Illinois and Southwestern Louisiana join the Big West as football-only members, while fellow Big West member Cal State-Fullerton announces they are dropping football and leaving the league. This leaves the Big West with 10 members
- There are now just 10 Independent teams with the departures of Penn State, Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech, Northern Illinois and Southwestern Louisiana
- Division I-A membership drops to 106
=======================================
1994
- Northeast Louisiana (Louisiana-Monroe) moved back to Division I-A from I-AA and joined the Independents, bringing that grouping up to 11 members and total I-A membership to 107 schools.
=======================================
1995
- North Texas moved back up from I-AA and joined the Independents as the 12th member, and increased I-A membership to 108 schools.
=======================================
1996
- The Southwest Conference dissolves. Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech merge with the eight members of the Big 8 Conference to form the Big 12 Conference. The Big 12 then splits into two divisions and becomes the second Division I-A conference to stage a conference championship game
- Former Southwest Conference member Houston teams up with Independents Cincinnati, Louisville, Memphis, Southern Mississippi and Tulane to form Conference USA with six charter members
- The WAC becomes a 16-team conference by adding the remaining three members of the Southwest Conference (Rice, Southern Methodist and Texas Christian), UNLV and San Jose State from the Big West Conference, and Independent school Tulsa. The WAC splits into two eight-team divisions and becomes the third I-A conference to schedule a conference championship game
- Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech, Northern Illinois and Southwestern Louisiana leave the Big West to become Independents. Pacific also leaves the Big West after deciding to drop football entirely while UNLV and San Jose State leave for the WAC. North Texas joins the Big West from the Independent ranks and Boise State University and the University of Idaho move up from I-AA and join the Big West. When all is said and done, the Big West stands with six members.
- Alabama-Birmingham and Central Florida move up from Division I-AA and join the Independents along with the four former Big West schools. The group lost Cincinnati, Louisville, Memphis, Southern Mississippi, Tulane, North Texas and Tulsa to leave the total number of Independents now at 11.
- There are now 111 Division I-A football schools
=======================================
1997
- Independent East Carolina joins Conference USA as its seventh member
- Northern Illinois leaves the Independnts to join the MAC while Marshall moves up from Division I-AA and also joins the MAC, giving that league 12 members. The MAC becomes the fourth conference to split into divisions and host a conference championship game
- Following the losses of East Carolina and Northern Illinois, there are now just nine Independents
- Membership in Division I-A increases to 112
=======================================
1998
- Army break away from nearly 100 years of tradition as an Independent and joins Conference USA as their eighth member, leaving the Independents with just eight schools
- Total I-A membership 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. This leaves the WAC with eight members as well.
- Arkansas State leaves the Independents and joins the Big West as their seventh member
- Alabama-Birmingham leaves the Independents and joins Conference USA as their ninth member
- Buffalo moves up from Division I-AA and joins the MAC as their 13th member
- Middle Tennessee State moves up from Division I-AA and becomes an Independent, givng 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 grows to 114 schools
=======================================
2000
- Nevada leaves the Big West to join the WAC as their ninth member
- The Big West drops back down to six members
- Two more schools move up from Division I-AA: The University of Connecticut and the University of South Florida, who both become Independents. There are now nine Independent schools
- Total Division I-A membership now sits at 116
Conference makeup in 2000 was:
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
Conference 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 leave the Big West and team up with Independents Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe and Middle Tennessee State as the seven charter members of the new Sun Belt Conference
- Texas Christian leaves the WAC and joins Conference USA as their 10th member
- Boise State leaves the Big West to join the WAC along with Independent Louisiana Tech to give the WAC 10 members
- With Utah State the only remaining member playing Division I-A football, the Big West Conference stops sponsoring the sport and the Aggies become an Independent
- Troy State moves up from Division I-AA and joins the Independents. So with the additions of Utah State and Troy State and the departures of Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Middle Tennessee State and Louisiana Tech there are seven remaining Independents.
- There are now 117 members in Division I-A
=======================================
2002
- Independent Central Florida joins the MAC as their 14th member, dropping the number of Independents to six
- Total Division I-A membership remains at 117.
=======================================
2003
- Independent South Florida joins Conference USA as their 11th member
- Independent Utah State joins the Sun Belt Conference as their 8th member
- There are now just four Independent schools, and total Division I-A membership remains unchanged at 117
=======================================
2004
- Miami (FL) and Virginia Tech leave the Big East to join the ACC, giving the ACC 11 members
- Independent Connecticut joins the Big East to bring Big East membership back up to seven schools
- Troy State leaves the Independents to join the Sun Belt as that league's ninth member
- Florida Atlantic University moves up to Division I-A and plays as an Independent, giving that group a total of three members.
- Division I-A membership is now at 118 schools
=======================================
2005
- The ACC completes its "raid" of the Big East when Boston College leaves the Big East to become the 12th member of the ACC. The ACC is now able to split into two divisions and stage a conference championship game for the first time
- Cincinnati, Louisville and South Florida leave Conference USA and join the Big East, while Temple is voted out of the Big East Conference, leaving the league with eight schools
- Texas Christian leaves Conference USA to join the Mountain West Conference as their ninth member and Army leaves C-USA to become Independent
- Conference USA adds Central Florida and Marshall from the MAC and Rice, Southern Methodist, UTEP and Tulsa from the WAC to increase their membership to 12 schools. C-USA now also splits into two divisions and forms a conference championship game
- The MAC is left with 12 members following the loss of Central Florida and Marshall
- 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 and both schools join the Sun Belt Conference to give that league eight members once again
- Temple and Army join the Independents but loses Florida Atlantic to give the Indepenents four schools.
- Troy State University changes its name to Troy University
- Division I-A membership now sits at 119 schools
=======================================
2006
- A rarity in Division I-A football as no conference changes occur in 2006. Total membership remains at 119
- 2006 was the year that the NCAA changed the name of Division I-A to Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Division I-AA to Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)
=======================================
2007
- Temple leaves the Independent ranks and joins the MAC. The MAC now has 13 members, and the number of Independents decreases to just three.
- Total FBS membership remains at 119
=======================================
2008
- Western Kentucky moves up from FCS and becomes the fourth member of the Independents
- FBS membership increases to 120
=======================================
2009
- Western Kentucky leaves its Independent status and joins the Sun Belt Conference as that league's ninth member
- The number of Independents drops back down to three
- FBS membership remains at 120
=======================================
2010
- There were no conference changes in 2010, and membership remained at 120. The conference makeup was as follows:
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 leaves the Big 12 to join the Big Ten Conference as their 12th member, allowing the Big Ten to split into two divisions and holding a conference championship game for the first time
- Colorado leaves the Big 12 to join the Pac-10 and Utah leaves the Mountain West to join the Pac-10 to give that league 12 members, and like the Big Ten, splits into two divisions and holds a conference championship game for the first time. The Pac-10 renames itself the Pacific-12 Conference (Pac-12).
- The loss of Colorado and Nebraska leaves the Big 12 with 10 members and they drop divisions and no longer hold a conference title game
- Brigham Young leaves the Mountain West to become the fourth Independent school.
- Boise State leaves the WAC and joins the Mountain West, bringing Mountain West membership back up to eight schools following the loss of Utah and BYU
- The WAC is now left eight members following the loss of Boise State
- FBS membership stays at 120 schools
=======================================
2012
- Texas A&M and Missouri both announce their intention to leave the Big 12 and join the SEC as that league's 13th and 14th members, respectively
- Texas Christian, who was originally set to leave the Mountain West for the Big East, backs out of that move and joins the Big 12 instead
- West Virginia leaves the Big East and joins the Big 12 with TCU to give the Big 12 ten members
- Temple leaves the MAC and rejoins the Big East to keep membership in that league at eight schools
- Massachusetts moves up from FCS and joins FBS and becomes the 13th member of the MAC, replacing Temple
- South Alabama also moves up from FCS to FBS and becomes the 10th member of the Sun Belt
- Fresno State, Nevada and Hawaii leave the WAC to join the Mountain West, bringing membership in the Mountain West back up to ten schools
- Texas-San Antonio and Texas State move up from the FCS level and join the WAC, giving the WAC seven football playing members
- There are now 124 schools in FBS football with the additions of Texas State, Texas-San Antonio, South Alabama and Massachusetts. The number of Independents stays steady at four
=======================================
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 football-playing teams left over renamed their league the American Athletic Conference
- Pittsburgh and Syracuse leave the American Athletic Conference to join the ACC as the ACC's 13th and 14th members
- Houston, Southern Methodist, Central Florida and Memphis leave Conference USA to join the American Athletic Conference, giving that league 10 members for 2013
- Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Middle Tennessee State, and North Texas leave the Sun Belt Conference and Louisiana Tech and Texas-San Antonio leave the WAC to join Conference USA and bump that leage up to 14 members
- Georgia State moves up from the FCS ranks and Texas State leaves the WAC to both join the Sun Belt Conference to keep their league at eight members
- Boise State and San Diego State were scheduled to leave the Mountain West for the American Athletic Conference but backed out of those plans and decided to remain in the Mountain West. San Jose State and Utah State leave the WAC and join the Mountain West to give the Mountain West 12 schools. The MWC then divides into two divisions and stages their own conference championship game
- With only two members left, the WAC stops sponsoring football and Idaho and New Mexico State become Independents
- There are now six Independents with the additions of Idaho and New Mexico State
- There are now a total of 125 schools in FBS football with the addition of Georgia State
=======================================
2014
- Maryland leaves the ACC and Rutgers leaves the American Athletic Conference to become the 13th and 14th members of the Big Ten Conference
- Louisville leaves the American Athletic Conference to take Maryland's spot in the ACC, keeping that league at 14 teams
- The American Athletic Conference adds East Carolina, Tulsa and Tulane from Conference USA to bring their membership up to 11
- Conference USA, after losing three members, adds Old Dominion from the FCS ranks along with Western Kentucky from the Sun Belt to bring their membership back to 13 schools
- Appalachian State and Georgia Southern move up from the FCS ranks to join the Sun Belt and Independents Idaho and New Mexico State also move to the Sun Belt Conference to give the league 11 members, following the loss of Western Kentucky
- There are now just four Independents again after the departure of Idaho and New Mexico State
- The total number of FBS schools increases to 128 following the additions of Old Dominion, Appalachian State and Georgia Southern
=======================================
2015
- Navy leaves its Independent status and becomes the 12th member of the American Athletic Conference, allowing that league to split into divisions and stage a conference championship game
- This leaves three Independent teams
- Charlotte moves up from the FCS and joins Conference USA as their 13th member by replacing Alabama-Birmingham who dropped football (at least temporarily)
- FBS membership remains at 128 schools
Conference makeup in 2015 is 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 (13 teams)
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 teams)
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 teams)
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
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I posted this several years back and it was pinned on the old site for quite a long time. I have tried to make the timeline as accurate as possible, though there may be a few flaws. Enjoy the read
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Time to repost my history of conference realignment. I tried to fact-check this as much as I could and I probably should go back and revisit some of the early stuff, but here's the original post I had on Rivals way back when:
I start in 1936, which is when the AP Poll began and is considered by many to be the beginning of the modern era of college football. At this time schools competed in the "University Division" which is what we would consider Division I today, or the "College Division" which would be Division II or below. In 1973, the NCAA split into today's Division I, Division II and Division III and in 1978 the NCAA split Division I into I-A and I-AA (now known as FBS and FCS, respectively).
There have been a lot of moves over the years. In fact since 1936, there have been only four years where there were no schools joining, leaving or switching conferences within Division I: 1958, 1985, 2006 and 2010.
History of Conference Realignment
1936
In 1936 here are what the conferences looked like:
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, and 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
This made for 131 total members of the "University Division" in the NCAA
=======================================
1937
- Erskine, Loyola-New Orleans, Mercer, Presbyterian, St. Louis and Wofford leave the Independents. Outside of St. Louis, the remaining schools quit playing a heavy schedule of Division I football.
- Boston College joins the Independents and begins playing a schedule featuring mostly University Division opponents, there are now 38 Independents
- Grinnell leaves the Missouri Valley Conference and is replaced by St. Louis, keeping membership in the league at 7 teams. Grinnell drops down to a lower level of competition.
- There are now 126 members of University Division football
=======================================
1938
- Virginia leaves the Southern Conference to play as an Independent. Also, Hampden-Sydney moves up and joins the Independents, giving them 40 members. The Southern Conference is left with 15 schools.
- 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 (which was often referred to as the Big Seven Conference for the next several years). The remaining RMAC schools remained in that league and dropped down to a lower level of competition.
- There are now 121 members of major University Division football.
=======================================
1939
- Two more schools join the Independents: Southwestern (Texas) and Hardin-Simmons, giving that group 42 members and increasing University Division membership to 123.
=======================================
1940
- Sewanee leaves the SEC to become Independent, dropping the league to 12 members.
- The University of Chicago leaves the Western Conference by dropping football, dropping their membership to nine.
- There are now 41 Independents. Besides the addition of Sewanee, Bucknell and Southwestern (TX) drop out of University Division.
- There are now 120 teams in the University Division
=======================================
1941
- Hardin-Simmons joins the Border Conference, from the Independents, while West Texas A&M joins the league after moving up to the University Division. The Border Conference now has nine members.
- George Washington leaves the Independents to join the Southern Conference, giving that league 16 members again.
- Hampden-Sydney and Carnegie Tech both drop out of University Division football and leaves the Independents with 37 schools.
- Washburn drops out of the University Division and leaves the Missouri Valley Conference with just six members.
- There are now 118 University Division football members.
=======================================
1942
- The following teams join the Independents: Georgia Pre-Flight, North Carolina Pre-Flight, Jacksonville NAS, Great Lakes Navy, Iowa Pre-Flight, St. Mary's Pre-Flight. The following schools drop out of the University Division football and leave the Independents: Gonzaga, Centenary, New York University, and Sewanee. This leaves 39 Independents.
- Washington (MO) drops out of the University Division and leaves the Missouri Valley Conference, giving that league just five members.
- Total University Division membership is at 119 schools.
=======================================
1943
- Due to World War II, the following schools did not field football teams in this season. A school with a year in parentheses shows the year the school brought football back: Alabama (1944), Auburn (1944), Baylor (1945), Boston College (1944), Citadel (1946), Davidson (1946), Detroit Mercy (1945), Drake (1944), Duquesne (1947), Florida (1944), Fordham (1946), Furman (1946), Georgetown (1946), George Washington (1946), Harvard (1945), Idaho (1945), Kentucky (1944), Loyola Marymount (1949), Miami (FL) (1944), Michigan State (1944), Mississippi (1944), Mississippi State (1944), Montana (1946), Oregon (1945), Oregon State (1945), Santa Clara (1946), St. Louis (1945), Stanford (1946), Syracuse (1944), Tennessee (1944), Vanderbilt (1945), Virginia Tech (1945), Washington (1944), Washington State (1945), Washington & Lee (1946), William & Mary (1944)
- The entire membership of the Border and Mountain States Conferences did not compete in 1944 due to WWII
- Creighton University and Manhattan College dismissed football entirely
- Colorado College, March Field, Del Monte Pre-Flight, Pacific, Fort Riley, Alameda Coast Guard, Texas Tech (leaves Border Conference), and Camp Grant join the Independents. Jacksonville NAS quit football. This left the Independents with 36 schools.
- Due to World War II, only 75 schools fielded University Division football teams
=======================================
1944
- Joining as new Independents are Amarillo Field, Norman NAS, Randolph Field, Bucknell (rejoins the University Division), Second Air Force (CO), Coast Guard, Lubbock Field, Fort Warren, Idaho State, New York University and Presbyterian. Dropping out of the Independents were Del Monte Flight, Georgia Pre-Flight, Pacific, Fort Riley, North Carolina Pre-Flight, Camp Grant, St. Mary's, Princeton, and San Francisco
- Texas Tech left the Independents and rejoined the Border Conference which now has just three members playing for the year: Texas Tech, West Texas A&M and New Mexico.
- The Missouri Valley Conference suspends play in 1944 due to WWII
- The Mountain States Conference resumes play with four teams: Colorado, Denver, Utah and Utah State
- There are now 37 Independents and a total of 89 schools competing in the University Division now this year.
=======================================
1945
- Nearly all of the military teams (Pre-Flight schools, forts, etc.) quit playing football in this season. Lafayette and Tennessee-Chattanooga are new Independents, of which there are now 35 members.
- 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 new member 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
- The are now 101 University Division football teams for the year.
=======================================
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, bringing membership back up to nine
- Brigham Young and Wyoming resume football, becoming the sixth and seventh members of the Mountain States Conference
- The following teams rejoin the Southern Conference after resuming football: George Washington, Washington & Lee, Furman, Davidson, and The Citadel. The Southern Conference now is back to 16 teams.
- There are 38 Independents this season. New Independnets are Nevada, Rutgers, Montana State, San Francisco (resumed football), Santa Clara (resumed football), Portland and Fordham (resumed football). Great Lakes Navy and Coast Guard stop playing football while Colorado College and Presbyterian drop out of the University Division.
- With most schools now having resumed their programs with World War II being over, University Division membership is back up to 120 schools
=======================================
1947
- Boston University joins the Independents and Duquesne resumes football while Bucknell and Lafayette drop out of the group and leave the University Division. The number of Independents remains at 38 and total membership remains at 120.
=======================================
1948
- The Mountain States Conference renames itself the Skyline Conference. Colorado drops out of the league, leaving the group with six members: BYU, Colorado State, Denver, Utah, Utah State and Wyoming.
- Colorado joins the Big 6 Conference as its seventh member, and the league renames itself the Big 7 Conference with Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma
- There are 35 Indepdnents in 1948. Merchant Marine, Montana State and Portland all drop out of the University Division. Total membership now stands at 117 schools.
=======================================
1949
- Detroit Mercy leaves the Independents and joins the Missouri Valley Conference as its sixth member. Bradley University also moves up to the University Division and joins the MVC as the seventh member.
- There are still 35 Independents. Detroit Mercy left the group and Tennessee-Chattanooga leaves the University Division. They are replaced by Loyola Marymount (resumes football) and Houston, who moved up into the University Division. There are now 119 schools in the University Division.
=======================================
1950
- Montana leaves the Pacific Coast Conference and becomes Independent.
- St. Louis drops out of the University Division, leaving the Missouri Valley with six members.
- West Virginia leaves the Independents and joins the Southern Conference as their 17th member
- Despite the losses, the Independents gain three new members to increase their membership to 38: Pacific (resumed football), San Jose State and Montana
As of 1950, University Division membership is as follows:
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 and 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)
Clemson, Davidson, Duke, Furman, George Washington, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Richmond, South Carolina, The Citadel, 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 schools in the University Division at this time
=======================================
1951
- Houston leaves the Independents to join the Missouri Valley Conference as their seventh member
- Montana leaves the Independents and joins the Skyline Conference. New Mexico also joins the Skyline, giving that group eight members. (New Mexico also maintains a membership in the Border Conference for 1951.)
- The Independents now have 32 members. Besides the loss of Houston and Montana, the group also lost Duquesne (drops football), St. Mary's (leaves the University Division), Georgetown (drops football) and Nevada (drops out of the University Division)
- That leaves 114 members in the University Division
=======================================
1952
- New Mexico leaves the Border Conference to become a full-time member in the Skyline Conference, leaving the Border with eight members.
- Drake leaves the Missouri Valley and becomes Independent. Bradley drops out of the University Division, leaving the MVC 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. Clemson, Drake and Maryland join the group while San Francisco and Loyola Marymount both leave after they drop football.
- This leaves 111 teams in the University Division
=======================================
1953
- Clemson and Maryland leave the Independents after one year. They team up with Duke, North Carolina, North Carolina State, South Carolina and Wake Forest (who left 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 their tenth member. The league now is referred to as the Big Ten Conference.
- Northern Arizona leaves the Border Conerence and drops out of the University Division, leaving that league with seven members
- There are now just 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 left the University Division). North Texas moved up to the University Division and joined the group.
- There are now 109 teams in the University Division
=======================================
1954
- Virginia leaves the Independent ranks and joins the ACC as their eighth member.
- Washington & Lee leaves the Southern Conference as they drop out of the University Division, leaving that league with nine schools
- There are now 29 Independents. Virginia left for the ACC while Cincinnati and Florida State both join the group, after having moved up to the University Division
- There are now 110 members in the University Division
=======================================
1955
- Fordham drops football, dropping Independents to 28 and total University Division membership to 109.
=======================================
1956
- Texas Tech leaves the Border Conference and becomes Independent, leaving the Border 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 to create the Ivy League, Dayton joins after having moved up to the University Division, along with adding Texas Tech.
- There are now 110 University Division teams
=======================================
1957
- Oklahoma State and Detroit Mercy leave the Missouri Valley Conference and become Independent while Independent schools Cincinnati and North Texas move in to replace them in the MVC, keeping their membership at five schools
- There are now 23 Independents. Besides the teams swapping with the MVC, Air Force starts football and joins the Independents.
- There are now 111 University Division teams
=======================================
1958
- For the first time since 1936, there are no conference changes in the division that is considered major college football, membership remains at 111
=======================================
1959
- Idaho, Oregon, Oregon State, and Washington State leave the Pacific Coast Conference and become Independents, 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 the University Division and joins the group, while Drake leaves and drops out of the University Division.
- Total membership remains at 111 schools
=======================================
1960
- Oklahoma State leaves the Independents and joins the Big 7 Conference as their eighth member. The conference changes its name to the Big 8 Conference
- The Pacific Coast Conference disbands. The five remaining members (Cal, Stanford, UCLA, USC and Washington) form the new Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU)
- Houston leaves the Missouri Valley and becomes Independent. The MVC is left with four members
- Texas Tech leaves the Independents and joins the Southwest Conference as their eighth member
- There are 27 Independents in 1960. Oklahoma State and Texas Tech left the group, while Houston joined from the MVC. Memphis also moves up to the University Division and joins.
- There are now 113 teams in the University Division.
As of 1960, conference makeup is as follows:
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)
Davidson, Furman, George Washington, Richmond, The Citadel, 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
=======================================
1961
- Arizona leaves the Border Conference and becomes Independent, leaving the Border with five members
- Denver drops football and leaves the Skyline Conference with seven members
- There are 27 Independents. Arizona joined the group while Marquette dropped football and leaves the group
- There are now 111 members in the University Division
=======================================
1962
- The Mid-American Conference (MAC) moves up to the University Division and with it come seven new University Division teams: Bowling Green, Kent State, Marshall, Miami (OH), Ohio, Toledo, and Western Michigan
- Washington State leaves the Independents and joins the AAWU as their sixth member
- The Border Conference and Skyline Conference both dissolve. The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is then formed with charter members: Arizona, Arizona State, Brigham Young, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming
- There are now 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 both move up to the University Division and also join the group.
- There are now 120 University Division teams
=======================================
1963
- Louisville and Dayton leave the Independents and join the Missouri Valley Conference, giving that group six teams
- There are now 32 Independents. Dayton and Louisville left for the MVC. Lehigh and Southern Mississippi move up to the University Division and join the group while Montana and Hardin-Simmons drop out of the University Division.
- Total membership remains at 120.
=======================================
1964
- Oregon and Oregon State leave the Independents and join the AAWU, giving that league eight members
- Georgia Tech leaves the SEC and becomes Independent, leaving the SEC with 11 members
- There are now 31 Independents. Oregon and Oregon State leave the group while Georgia Tech joins
- Total membership remains at 120.
=======================================
1965
- Virginia Tech leaves the Southern Conference and becomes Independent. They are replaced by East Carolina, who moves up to the University Division and takes their spot in the Southern to keep membership in that league at nine.
- There are now 31 Independents. Along with the addition of Virginia Tech, Quantico Marines joined for one year. Detroit Mercy drops football and leaves while Boston University leaves the University Division.
- Total memebership remains at 120.
=======================================
1966
- Tulane leaves the SEC and becomes Independent, leaving the league with 10 members
- Dayton leaves the Missouri Valley and becomes Independent, leaving the MVC with five schools
- There are now 32 Independents. Tulane and Dayton join from their respective leagues along with Tampa who moved up to the University Division. Leaving the group are Quantico Marines and Lehigh (dropped out of the University Division).
- Total membership is now at 119
=======================================
1967
- George Washington drops out of the University Division and leaves the Southern Conference, knocking their membership level down to eight
- No other changes occur, total membership is now at 118.
=======================================
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 league eight members
- Memphis leaves the Independents and joins the Missouri Valley as their sixth member
- There are now 30 Independents. Colorado State, UTEP and Memphis left to join various leagues, while Northern Illinois moved up to the University Division and joined the group
- Total membership increases to 119.
=======================================
1969
- West Virginia leaves the Southern Conference to become Independent, leaving that league with seven members
- The Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA) is formed with seven charter members. Pacific and San Jose State join from the Independent ranks, while Fresno State, Long Beach State, Los Angeles State, San Diego State and Santa Barbara move up to the University Division to join
- There are now 27 Independents. West Virginia joins while Pacific and San Jose State left to join their new league. Holy Cross and Tampa dropped back out of the University Division and leave the group.
- Total membership increases to 122
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, leaving the MVC with five members
- There are now 30 Independents with the addition of Cincinnati and Marshall. Also, Holy Cross rejoins the University Division
- There are now 123 University Division football teams
Conference makeup as of 1970:
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 Angeles State, Long Beach 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)
Davidson, East Carolina, Furman, Richmond, The Citadel, 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
=======================================
1971
- Drake moves back up to the University Division and joins the Missouri Valley Conference, also West Texas A&M leaves the Independents to join the MVC, giving the conference seven members
- There are now 33 Independents with Hawaii, Tampa, Temple, Tennessee-Chattanooga and Texas-Arlington all moving up to the University Division. West Texas A&M left to join the MVC and Buffalo drops out of the University Division
- This pushes University Division membership to 128 teams
=======================================
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 their eighth member
- Los Angeles State and Portland state leave the PCAA as they drop out of the University Division, leaving that league with five members
- Appalachian State moves into the University Division and joins the Southern Conference as their eighth member
- There are still 33 Independents. South Carolina joins from the ACC, New Mexico State leaves for the MVC while Southern Illinois joins as a new member of the University Division. Hawaii drops back out of the University Division to keep the total number of Independents at 33.
- Total membership falls to 127 schools
=======================================
1973
- This is the year the NCAA officially split into Divisions I, II and III. Prior to this year, NCAA members competed in either the "University Division (what is now Division I), or the "College Division"
- Memphis leaves the Missouri Valley and rejoins the Independents, leaving the MVC with seven members
- There are now 36 Independents. Memphis joined from the MVC while Lamar and Southwestern Louisiana (Louisiana-Lafayette) moved up to Division I status.
- Total Division I members now total 129 schools.
=======================================
1974
- Davidson drops out of Division I and leaves the Southern Conference, leaving that league with seven members
- There are now 37 Independents. Arkansas State moves into the Division and Hawaii rejoins the group while Xavier drops football and leaves.
- Total membership remains at 129 schools.
=======================================
1975
- The MAC adds two new teams that moved up into Division I: Ball State and Central Michigan. The league also added Northern Illinios from the Independents to give the league nine members
- Louisville and North Texas leave the Missouri Valley to become Independent, leaving the MVC with five schools
- 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, Southwestern Louisiana, and Texas-Arlington come over from the Independents while Louisiana Tech and McNeese State move up to Division I and join the conference.
- The number of Independents remain at 37. Northern Illinois, Arkansas State, Lamar, Southwestern Louisiana and Texas-Arlington all left to join their respective conferences. Louisville and North Texas joined this group from other leagues and new Division I members Akron, Eastern Michigan, Illinois State, Indiana State and Northeast Louisiana (Louisiana-Monroe) join. Tampa drops football and leaves Division I and Idaho drops out of the Division as well.
- This year saw a big increase with 137 schools now playing Division I football
=======================================
1976
- Eastern Michigan leaves the Independents and becomes the 10th member of the MAC
- 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 while San Diego State joined from the PCAA. Northwestern State joins as a new Division I member while Akron drops back out of Division I
- Total membership remains at 137 schools
=======================================
1977
- Southern Illinois leaves the Independents and joins the Missouri Valley as their sixth member
- The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) moves up as an entire conference to Division I 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 Independents. Marshall and Tennessee-Chattanooga take their place, leaving the Independent ranks to join the SoCon while Western Carolina moves up into Division I and joins the league as well to keep the Southern Conference at seven teams.
- There are 36 Independents still. Southern Illinois, Marshall and Tennessee-Chattanooga leave while East Carolina, Richmond and William & Mary join. Tennessee State moves up as a new Division I member and joins this group while Dayton drops out of Division I and leaves.
- There is now a whopping 145 Division I football members.
=======================================
1978
- In 1978 the NCAA split Division I into two separate groups: Division I-A (FBS) and Division 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 leage 10 members. The Pac-8 then changes its name to the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10)
- San Diego State leaves the Indpendents and joins the WAC, giving them seven members
- Indiana State joins the Missouri Valley from the Independents, giving that group seven members
- Utah State leaves the Independents to join the PCAA as their sixth member
- The SWAC leaves Division I-A to compete in Division I-AA
- There are new 34 Independents. San Diego State, Indiana State and Utah State left to join conferences while UNLV joins Division I and joins the Independents
- There are now 139 Division I-A members
=======================================
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 their eighth member
- There are still 34 Independents. Hawaii leaves to join the WAC while Connecticut joins as a new member of Division I-A
- Division I-A membership jumps back up to 141
=======================================
1980
- Air Force leaves the Independents and joins the WAC as their ninth member
- There are now just 31 Independents with the loss of Air Force along with Connecticut and Northwestern State who both drop back down to Division I-AA.
- This leaves 139 teams in Division I-A
The Division I-A conferences 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, Louisville, Memphis, Miami (FL), Navy, North Texas, Northeast Louisiana (Louisiana-Monroe), 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, East Tennessee State, Furman, Marshall, Tennessee-Chattanooga, The Citadel, Virginia Military Institute, Western Carolina
Southland Conference (6 teams)
Arkansas State, Lamar, Louisiana Tech, McNeese State, Southwestern Louisiana, 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 Division I-AA, leaving the MVC with six I-A members
- There are 28 Independents in 1981. Besides Illinois State leaving, Villanova dropped football and left teh group while Tennessee State dropped down to I-AA
- There are now 135 teams in I-A football
=======================================
1982
- The Ivy League, MAC, Southern and Southland Conferences (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, Colgate, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, East Tennessee State, Eastern Michigan, Furman, Harvard, Holy Cross, Illinois State, Indiana State, Kent State, Lamar, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, McNeese State, Miami (OH), North Texas, Northeast Louisiana, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Princeton, Richmond, Southern Illinois, Tennessee-Chattanooga, Texas-Arlington, The Citadel, 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, 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 their seventh member
- There are now 22 Independents. Southwestern Louisiana left the Southland when that league dropped to I-AA and joined the Independents. UNLV left to join the PCAA. Colgate, Holy Cross, Northeast Louisiana, North Texas, Richmond, and William & Mary all dropped to I-AA.
- After the final split between I-A and I-AA schools, total I-A membership dropped significantly to just 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 after Georgia Tech left for the ACC
- There are now 105 schools in Division I-A with the return of the Mid-American Conference
=======================================
1984
- New Mexico State leaves the Missouri Valley and joins the PCAA as their eighth member, leaving the MVC with just two I-A members (Tulsa and Wichita State)
- There are still 21 Independents and still 105 total I-A members
=======================================
1985
- For just the second time since 1936, there are no conference changes in a football season
- Total membership remains at 105 schools
=======================================
1986
- Northern Illinois leaves the MAC and becomes Independent, leaving the MAC with nine schools
- The Missouri Valley Conference stops sponsoring football at the Division I-A level. The two remaining members, Tulsa and Wichita State remain in I-A by becoming Independents
- There are now 24 Independents with the addition of the three schools listed above
- Total I-A membership still remains at 105 schools
=======================================
1987
- Southern Methodist is given the death penalty by the NCAA. As a result, the Southwest Conference competes with just eight members for the next two years
- There are 24 Independents with Wichita State leaving the group after dropping football entirely. They are replaced by Akron, who moved up into Division I-A
- Membership is now at 104 schools following SMU's penalty
=======================================
1988
- The Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA) 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 now 25 Independents as Louisiana Tech moves back into Division I-A and jonis the group
- There are now 105 schools again at the I-A level.
=======================================
1989
- Southern Methodist rejoins the Division I-A football world and the Southwest Conference after their two-year penalty
- No other changes occur in 1989, brinigng total I-A membership to 106 schools
=======================================
1990
- The only change in this season saw Arkansas State move back into Division I-A as an Independent, giving that group 26 teams and bringing total I-A membership to 107 schools
The conference makeup of Division I-A in 1990 was:
ACC (8 teams)
Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech, 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
Big West (8 teams)
Cal State-Fullerton, Fresno State, Long Beach State, New Mexico State, Pacific, San Jose State, UNLV, Utah State
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
MAC (9 teams)
Ball State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami (OH), Ohio, Toledo, Western Michigan
Pac-10 (10 teams)
Arizona, Arizona State, California, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington, Washington State
SEC (10 teams)
Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
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
=======================================
1991
- The Big East Conference began sponsoring football. Independents Boston College, Miami (FL), Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple, Virginia Tech and West Virginia joined the Big East, giving the league eight football members.
- The Independents were left with 18 schools
- Division I-A membership remained at 107 schools
=======================================
1992
- The Southeastern Conference expands to 12 schools by adding Arkansas from the Southwest Conference and South Carolina from the Independent ranks. With 12 members, the SEC becomes the first Division I-A conference to split into two divisions and stage a conference championship game at the end of the season between the two division champions
- The Southwest Conference is left with eight members following the loss of Arkansas
- Florida State leaves the Independents and joins the ACC as their ninth member
- Akron leaves the Independents for the MAC, giving that league 10 members
- Fresno State leaves the Big West to join the WAC as their 10th member
- Big West member Long Beach State drops football and leaves the league. Nevada moves up from Division I-AA and joins the Big West to replace Fresno State, to give the league seven members when all was said and done
- There are now just 15 Independents with the losses of South Carolina, Florida State and Akron
- Division I-A membership remains at 107
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1993
- Penn State gives up its Independent status and joins the Big Ten Conference as their 11th member
- Independents Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech, Northern Illinois and Southwestern Louisiana join the Big West as football-only members, while fellow Big West member Cal State-Fullerton announces they are dropping football and leaving the league. This leaves the Big West with 10 members
- There are now just 10 Independent teams with the departures of Penn State, Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech, Northern Illinois and Southwestern Louisiana
- Division I-A membership drops to 106
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1994
- Northeast Louisiana (Louisiana-Monroe) moved back to Division I-A from I-AA and joined the Independents, bringing that grouping up to 11 members and total I-A membership to 107 schools.
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1995
- North Texas moved back up from I-AA and joined the Independents as the 12th member, and increased I-A membership to 108 schools.
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1996
- The Southwest Conference dissolves. Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech merge with the eight members of the Big 8 Conference to form the Big 12 Conference. The Big 12 then splits into two divisions and becomes the second Division I-A conference to stage a conference championship game
- Former Southwest Conference member Houston teams up with Independents Cincinnati, Louisville, Memphis, Southern Mississippi and Tulane to form Conference USA with six charter members
- The WAC becomes a 16-team conference by adding the remaining three members of the Southwest Conference (Rice, Southern Methodist and Texas Christian), UNLV and San Jose State from the Big West Conference, and Independent school Tulsa. The WAC splits into two eight-team divisions and becomes the third I-A conference to schedule a conference championship game
- Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech, Northern Illinois and Southwestern Louisiana leave the Big West to become Independents. Pacific also leaves the Big West after deciding to drop football entirely while UNLV and San Jose State leave for the WAC. North Texas joins the Big West from the Independent ranks and Boise State University and the University of Idaho move up from I-AA and join the Big West. When all is said and done, the Big West stands with six members.
- Alabama-Birmingham and Central Florida move up from Division I-AA and join the Independents along with the four former Big West schools. The group lost Cincinnati, Louisville, Memphis, Southern Mississippi, Tulane, North Texas and Tulsa to leave the total number of Independents now at 11.
- There are now 111 Division I-A football schools
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1997
- Independent East Carolina joins Conference USA as its seventh member
- Northern Illinois leaves the Independnts to join the MAC while Marshall moves up from Division I-AA and also joins the MAC, giving that league 12 members. The MAC becomes the fourth conference to split into divisions and host a conference championship game
- Following the losses of East Carolina and Northern Illinois, there are now just nine Independents
- Membership in Division I-A increases to 112
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1998
- Army break away from nearly 100 years of tradition as an Independent and joins Conference USA as their eighth member, leaving the Independents with just eight schools
- Total I-A membership remains at 112.
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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. This leaves the WAC with eight members as well.
- Arkansas State leaves the Independents and joins the Big West as their seventh member
- Alabama-Birmingham leaves the Independents and joins Conference USA as their ninth member
- Buffalo moves up from Division I-AA and joins the MAC as their 13th member
- Middle Tennessee State moves up from Division I-AA and becomes an Independent, givng 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 grows to 114 schools
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2000
- Nevada leaves the Big West to join the WAC as their ninth member
- The Big West drops back down to six members
- Two more schools move up from Division I-AA: The University of Connecticut and the University of South Florida, who both become Independents. There are now nine Independent schools
- Total Division I-A membership now sits at 116
Conference makeup in 2000 was:
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
Conference 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 leave the Big West and team up with Independents Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe and Middle Tennessee State as the seven charter members of the new Sun Belt Conference
- Texas Christian leaves the WAC and joins Conference USA as their 10th member
- Boise State leaves the Big West to join the WAC along with Independent Louisiana Tech to give the WAC 10 members
- With Utah State the only remaining member playing Division I-A football, the Big West Conference stops sponsoring the sport and the Aggies become an Independent
- Troy State moves up from Division I-AA and joins the Independents. So with the additions of Utah State and Troy State and the departures of Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Middle Tennessee State and Louisiana Tech there are seven remaining Independents.
- There are now 117 members in Division I-A
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2002
- Independent Central Florida joins the MAC as their 14th member, dropping the number of Independents to six
- Total Division I-A membership remains at 117.
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2003
- Independent South Florida joins Conference USA as their 11th member
- Independent Utah State joins the Sun Belt Conference as their 8th member
- There are now just four Independent schools, and total Division I-A membership remains unchanged at 117
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2004
- Miami (FL) and Virginia Tech leave the Big East to join the ACC, giving the ACC 11 members
- Independent Connecticut joins the Big East to bring Big East membership back up to seven schools
- Troy State leaves the Independents to join the Sun Belt as that league's ninth member
- Florida Atlantic University moves up to Division I-A and plays as an Independent, giving that group a total of three members.
- Division I-A membership is now at 118 schools
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2005
- The ACC completes its "raid" of the Big East when Boston College leaves the Big East to become the 12th member of the ACC. The ACC is now able to split into two divisions and stage a conference championship game for the first time
- Cincinnati, Louisville and South Florida leave Conference USA and join the Big East, while Temple is voted out of the Big East Conference, leaving the league with eight schools
- Texas Christian leaves Conference USA to join the Mountain West Conference as their ninth member and Army leaves C-USA to become Independent
- Conference USA adds Central Florida and Marshall from the MAC and Rice, Southern Methodist, UTEP and Tulsa from the WAC to increase their membership to 12 schools. C-USA now also splits into two divisions and forms a conference championship game
- The MAC is left with 12 members following the loss of Central Florida and Marshall
- 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 and both schools join the Sun Belt Conference to give that league eight members once again
- Temple and Army join the Independents but loses Florida Atlantic to give the Indepenents four schools.
- Troy State University changes its name to Troy University
- Division I-A membership now sits at 119 schools
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2006
- A rarity in Division I-A football as no conference changes occur in 2006. Total membership remains at 119
- 2006 was the year that the NCAA changed the name of Division I-A to Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Division I-AA to Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)
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2007
- Temple leaves the Independent ranks and joins the MAC. The MAC now has 13 members, and the number of Independents decreases to just three.
- Total FBS membership remains at 119
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2008
- Western Kentucky moves up from FCS and becomes the fourth member of the Independents
- FBS membership increases to 120
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2009
- Western Kentucky leaves its Independent status and joins the Sun Belt Conference as that league's ninth member
- The number of Independents drops back down to three
- FBS membership remains at 120
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2010
- There were no conference changes in 2010, and membership remained at 120. The conference makeup was as follows:
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
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2011
- Nebraska leaves the Big 12 to join the Big Ten Conference as their 12th member, allowing the Big Ten to split into two divisions and holding a conference championship game for the first time
- Colorado leaves the Big 12 to join the Pac-10 and Utah leaves the Mountain West to join the Pac-10 to give that league 12 members, and like the Big Ten, splits into two divisions and holds a conference championship game for the first time. The Pac-10 renames itself the Pacific-12 Conference (Pac-12).
- The loss of Colorado and Nebraska leaves the Big 12 with 10 members and they drop divisions and no longer hold a conference title game
- Brigham Young leaves the Mountain West to become the fourth Independent school.
- Boise State leaves the WAC and joins the Mountain West, bringing Mountain West membership back up to eight schools following the loss of Utah and BYU
- The WAC is now left eight members following the loss of Boise State
- FBS membership stays at 120 schools
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2012
- Texas A&M and Missouri both announce their intention to leave the Big 12 and join the SEC as that league's 13th and 14th members, respectively
- Texas Christian, who was originally set to leave the Mountain West for the Big East, backs out of that move and joins the Big 12 instead
- West Virginia leaves the Big East and joins the Big 12 with TCU to give the Big 12 ten members
- Temple leaves the MAC and rejoins the Big East to keep membership in that league at eight schools
- Massachusetts moves up from FCS and joins FBS and becomes the 13th member of the MAC, replacing Temple
- South Alabama also moves up from FCS to FBS and becomes the 10th member of the Sun Belt
- Fresno State, Nevada and Hawaii leave the WAC to join the Mountain West, bringing membership in the Mountain West back up to ten schools
- Texas-San Antonio and Texas State move up from the FCS level and join the WAC, giving the WAC seven football playing members
- There are now 124 schools in FBS football with the additions of Texas State, Texas-San Antonio, South Alabama and Massachusetts. The number of Independents stays steady at four
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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 football-playing teams left over renamed their league the American Athletic Conference
- Pittsburgh and Syracuse leave the American Athletic Conference to join the ACC as the ACC's 13th and 14th members
- Houston, Southern Methodist, Central Florida and Memphis leave Conference USA to join the American Athletic Conference, giving that league 10 members for 2013
- Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Middle Tennessee State, and North Texas leave the Sun Belt Conference and Louisiana Tech and Texas-San Antonio leave the WAC to join Conference USA and bump that leage up to 14 members
- Georgia State moves up from the FCS ranks and Texas State leaves the WAC to both join the Sun Belt Conference to keep their league at eight members
- Boise State and San Diego State were scheduled to leave the Mountain West for the American Athletic Conference but backed out of those plans and decided to remain in the Mountain West. San Jose State and Utah State leave the WAC and join the Mountain West to give the Mountain West 12 schools. The MWC then divides into two divisions and stages their own conference championship game
- With only two members left, the WAC stops sponsoring football and Idaho and New Mexico State become Independents
- There are now six Independents with the additions of Idaho and New Mexico State
- There are now a total of 125 schools in FBS football with the addition of Georgia State
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2014
- Maryland leaves the ACC and Rutgers leaves the American Athletic Conference to become the 13th and 14th members of the Big Ten Conference
- Louisville leaves the American Athletic Conference to take Maryland's spot in the ACC, keeping that league at 14 teams
- The American Athletic Conference adds East Carolina, Tulsa and Tulane from Conference USA to bring their membership up to 11
- Conference USA, after losing three members, adds Old Dominion from the FCS ranks along with Western Kentucky from the Sun Belt to bring their membership back to 13 schools
- Appalachian State and Georgia Southern move up from the FCS ranks to join the Sun Belt and Independents Idaho and New Mexico State also move to the Sun Belt Conference to give the league 11 members, following the loss of Western Kentucky
- There are now just four Independents again after the departure of Idaho and New Mexico State
- The total number of FBS schools increases to 128 following the additions of Old Dominion, Appalachian State and Georgia Southern
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2015
- Navy leaves its Independent status and becomes the 12th member of the American Athletic Conference, allowing that league to split into divisions and stage a conference championship game
- This leaves three Independent teams
- Charlotte moves up from the FCS and joins Conference USA as their 13th member by replacing Alabama-Birmingham who dropped football (at least temporarily)
- FBS membership remains at 128 schools
Conference makeup in 2015 is 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 (13 teams)
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 teams)
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 teams)
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
