Division I (NCAA)

Division I (NCAA)

Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-I schools are generally the major collegiate athletic powers, with larger budgets, more elaborate facilities, and more athletic scholarships than Divisions II and III. This level was once called the University Division of the NCAA, in contrast to the College Division; this terminology was replaced with numeric divisions (I, II, III) in 1973. In football only, Division I was further subdivided in 1978 into Division I-A (the principal football schools) and Division I-AA; these were renamed "Football Bowl Subdivision" and "Football Championship Subdivision" in 2006. Division I contains 346 institutions. There was a moratorium on any additional movement up to Division I until 2012.

All Division I schools must field athletes in at least seven sports for men and seven for women or six for men and eight for women, with two team sports for each gender. There are several other NCAA sanctioned minimums and differences that distinguish Division I from Divisions II and III.