In 1973, the world of NCAA sports was restructured into three classifications—Division I, Division II and Division III—which has allowed schools to be grouped with, and compete against, others of similar size and values.

Division III is about 80 percent private universities, with the lowest average number of students across the three divisions. Student-athletes at this level are more focused on academics, so there is less time spent practicing and competing. At the Division III level, there are no athletic scholarships, by rule.

Division III has grown to become the largest classification (477 members: 433 active schools and 44 voting conferences) and more than 200,000 student-athletes across 36 states. 

The conferences break all of the active schools into smaller groups, typically based on location, but sometimes by size, too. It gives them an opportunity for important regional competition, increased visibility, rivalries and a simple way to determine who will compete for national championships by representing the conference at the national level.

In Division III competition, there are 28 national championships up for grabs each year, including basketball.

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How Do The NCAA Division III Basketball Playoffs Work?

How Does The NCAA Division II Basketball Tournament Work?

Division III basketball is understandable in the fact that 64 teams ultimately advance to the end-of-season national tournaments (for each men and women). Simply enough, the first 40-plus spots in each bracket go to the conference champions.

What does that mean? Let’s break it down.

What Is A Conference In College Sports?

More than 1,100 schools participate in NCAA athletics across its three divisions. Those schools are further broken down within their divisions to form conferences. 

A conference, or league, usually consists of 8-10 teams with geographic proximity and other similarities (size, values, private/public, etc.), and their locations allow them to play more frequently, with more on the line—bragging rights, conference championships, postseason berths.

Conferences typically offer regular-season titles to the top-performing teams during the season, and success throughout the year helps determine qualifiers and/or seeding for any postseason conference tournaments.

In Division III basketball, the conference champions automatically qualify for the national-championship event.

With schools and teams changing, growing and changing conferences, the participant list can be fluid, but the process is the same.

In 2023, for example, the NCAA Division III Men’s Championship included 44 conference champions and 20 at-large bids selected from Pool C (teams from the auto-qualifying conferences that did not win their conference titles, plus any carryover from Pool B).

On the women’s side, there were 44 conference champions, one team from Pool B (teams that are independents or members of a conference that does not have an automatic bid) and 19 at-large selections from Pool C.

What Are The Conferences For Division III Basketball?

• Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference
• American Rivers Conference
• American Southwest Conference
• Atlantic East Conference
• Centennial Conference
• City University of New York Athletic Conference
• Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference
• College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
• *Collegiate Conference of the South
• Colonial States Athletic Conference
• Commonwealth Coast Conference
• Empire Eight
• Great Northeast Athletic Conference
• Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference
• Landmark Conference
• Liberty League
• Little East Conference
• MAC Commonwealth League
• MAC Freedom League
• Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference
• Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association
• Midwest Conference
• Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
• New England Collegiate Conference
• New England Small College Athletic Conference
• New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference
• New Jersey Athletic Conference
• North Atlantic Conference
• North Coast Athletic Conference
• Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference
• Northwest Conference
• Ohio Athletic Conference
• Old Dominion Athletic Conference
• Presidents’ Athletic Conference
• Skyline Conference
• Southern Athletic Association
• Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
• Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
• State University of New York Athletic Conference
• St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
• United East Conference
• University Athletic Association
• Upper Midwest Athletic Conference
• USA South Athletic Conference
• Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

* Collegiate Conference of the South began athletic competition in 2022. It includes nine schools that split from the USA South Athletic Conference, which had 19 teams. 

What Makes A Conference Eligible For An Automatic Bid To The Championship?

Conference must have seven schools for an automatic bid. 

*Though the Collegiate Conference of the South has nine representatives, the conference won’t be eligible for automatic bids until 2024. With that, there will be 45 automatic bids for the national tournament.

Who Were The 2023 Division III Basketball Champions?

The 2023 NCAA Division III Women’s Championship was won by undefeated Transylvania (Lexington, Kentucky), which topped Christopher Newport in the final. 

Transylvania qualified as the champion of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. The Pioneers finished the year 33-0. Christopher Newport was the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference champion in 2023.

The Christopher Newport men, who also won their conference championship, went on to claim the national title with a win over Mount Union, the Ohio Athletic Conference champion.

The Transylvania women's basketball team celebrated our first-ever national championship today in Dallas — capping off a 33-0 season! Join us Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. for a welcome home rally in Beck. #FlyPios 🏆 @TransySports @TUWBX @NCAADIII pic.twitter.com/0AtalvRMKf

— Transylvania University (@Transy) April 1, 2023

When Do Division III Conference Tournaments Take Place?

Relatively consistent across the college basketball landscape, most conference tournaments take place in late February, with the national tournament getting underway in early March. 

Sure, the term “March Madness” formally is reserved for the Division I tournaments, but the concept is the same for Division II and Division III—the season-ending events take place in March–they can be exciting and complete madness.

The 2024 women’s tournament will have its semifinals and final on March 14-16 at the Capital Center Performance Arena in Columbus, Ohio, while the men’s event will conclude March 14-16 at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Fast Fact: According to NCAA.org, the largest school in Division III has 25,725 undergraduates, while the smallest has 285.

How Is Division I Different Than Division III?

The Division I level generally is where the larger schools are—more students, bigger budgets, bigger fan base, bigger venues, more mainstream attention and more sports teams (they must meet a minimum number to be eligible for Division I), more training and tougher competition. But the tradeoff is scholarship opportunities and visibility for top performers.

How Is Division II Different Than Division I And Division III?

Division II is a little less intense for the athletes, compared to Division I, so they’re usually able to enjoy more of a balanced collegiate experience. This level also offers some scholarship opportunities, but fewer than at the Division I level.

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