College football realignment rolls on again this year with a few changes. On Tuesday, July 1, those conference changes for the 2025 season officially take effect.
Three changes this season affect the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The UMass Minutemen, formerly an FBS Independent, have returned to the Mid-American Conference (MAC) as a full member.
The other two changes in the FBS involve teams moving up from the FCS and joining Conference USA. Those two teams are the Delaware Blue Hens out of the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) and the Missouri State Bears from the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC).
Below is a look at the conference alignment for the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2025:
ACC
Leaving: None
Joining: None
2025 Lineup (17): Boston College, California, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, NC State, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
AMERICAN
Leaving: None
Joining: None
2025 Lineup (14): Army, Charlotte, East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, Memphis, Navy, North Texas, Rice, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa, UAB, USF, UTSA
BIG 12
Leaving: None
Joining: None
2025 Lineup (16): Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, UCF, Utah, West Virginia
BIG TEN
Leaving: None
Joining: None
2025 Lineup (18): Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, UCLA, USC, Washington, Wisconsin
CONFERENCE USA
Leaving: None
Joining: Delaware (from FCS), Missouri State (from FCS)
2025 Lineup (12): Delaware, FIU, Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State, Liberty, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, Missouri State, New Mexico State, Sam Houston, UTEP, WKU
FBS INDEPENDENTS
Leaving: UMass
Joining: None
2024 Lineup (2): Notre Dame, UConn
UMass returns to the MAC as a full member beginning with the 2025 season.
MAC
Leaving: None
Joining: UMass
2025 Lineup (13): Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami (Ohio), Northern Illinois, Ohio, Toledo, UMass, Western Michigan
The Northern Illinois Huskies will depart the MAC for the Mountain West in 2026.
MOUNTAIN WEST
Leaving: None
Joining: None
2025 Lineup (12): Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, San Diego State, San Jose State, UNLV, Utah State, Wyoming
The Mountain West will lose five teams to the rebuilding Pac-12 in 2026 — Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, and Utah State. Also in 2026, Northern Illinois from the MAC and UTEP from CUSA will each join the Mountain West.
Pac-12
Leaving: None
Joining: None
2025 Lineup (2): Oregon State, Washington State
The Pac-12 will add six football members in 2026 — Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Texas State, and Utah State.
SEC
Leaving: None
Joining: None
2025 Lineup (16): Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
SUN BELT
Leaving: None
Joining: None
2025 Lineup (14): Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, James Madison, Louisiana, Marshall, Old Dominion, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Texas State, Troy, ULM
The Texas State Bobcats will depart the Sun Belt to join the Pac-12 in 2026. Rumored replacements for Texas State include Louisiana Tech or WKU.
As mentioned above, Delaware and Missouri State are moving up from the FCS to the FBS and joining Conference USA for the 2025 season. But those aren’t the only changes in the Football Championship Subdivision.
The Northeast Conference (NEC) adds New Haven from Division II today, while Richmond moves from the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) to the Patriot League. Additionally, the UTRGV Vaqueros will play their first-ever football season this fall in the Southland Conference.
Next season, Chicago State is expected to play its first season of football in the NEC, while Villanova and William & Mary’s football programs will depart the CAA and join the Patriot League.
I am putting realignment aside & concentrate on 2025 CFB season.
Light realignment day this year. Next year though, craziness
Ja, Official signing of the new conference contract is a small result in 2025.
For the first time, revenue share is going on in the 2025 Autumn Sports season.
Craziness = being made behind the 2025-26 run up, Autumn & Winter Sports.
I wonder how long UConn will stay an independent.
Why is everyone so bothered by Connecticut football? No one wants them and their best course of action is one of two options…
First, they can end their football program and probably save a lot of money. Second, they move to FCS and join the Patriot League with the rest of the old Yankee Conference members. Of course, most of the Big Sky and MVFC playoff teams would have won last year’s Fenway Bowl, but Connecticut will blend right in with the Patriot.
Stick to being a (women’s) basketball school, but don’t let that cloud your judgement that this football team will somehow be transformed into a national power if you join a conference that will accept this school for football only.
UConn in FCS wouldn’t go to the Patriot. If I want to join what was the Yankee conference they’d be joining the other football only teams from America East that play and CAA football: their traditional rivals of New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, and nearby state schools such as UAlbany and Stony Brook.
I am excellent with UConn Football as an independent.
The Changing Face of College Football,keeps Changing. For The Best? Or The Worst?