NCAA Division III independents are four-year institutions that compete in college athletics

College athletics

College athletics refers primarily to sports and athletic competition organized and funded by institutions of tertiary education . In the United States, college athletics is a two-tiered system. The first tier includes the sports that are sanctioned by one of the collegiate sport governing bodies...

 at the NCAA

National Collegiate Athletic Association

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

’s Division III level, but do so independently of an established athletic conference. These same institutions often compete as members of an intercollegiate athletic conference in some sports. The reason for independent status varies among institutions, but it is frequently because the primary athletic conference to which the institution belongs does not sponsor a particular sport. Independent programs for Division III:

Football independents (as of May 2010)

• Chapman University
  Chapman University
  Chapman University is a private, non-profit university located in Orange, California affiliated with the Christian Church . Known for its blend of liberal arts and professional programs, Chapman University encompasses seven schools and colleges: Lawrence and Kristina Dodge College of Film and Media...
  
   (CA), Panthers
• Huntingdon College
  Huntingdon College
  Huntingdon College, founded in 1854, is a coeducational liberal arts college in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. Related to the United Methodist Church, the college's central hallmarks are faith, wisdom, and service. The college is known for providing a solid academic experience based on good...
  
   (AL), Hawks, all other sports member of GSAC
  Great South Athletic Conference
  The Great South Athletic Conference is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA’s Division III. Member institutions are located in the southeastern United States in the states of Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina.-Current members:The league currently has 9 full...
  
  .
• LaGrange College
  LaGrange College
  LaGrange College is the oldest private college in the U.S. state of Georgia. Affiliated with the United Methodist Church, it is located in LaGrange, Georgia, with an enrollment of about 1,000 students. The student-to-faculty ratio is 11:1...
  
   (GA), Panthers, all other sports member of GSAC
  Great South Athletic Conference
  The Great South Athletic Conference is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA’s Division III. Member institutions are located in the southeastern United States in the states of Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina.-Current members:The league currently has 9 full...
  
  .
• Macalester College
  Macalester College
  Macalester College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 as a Presbyterian-affiliated but nonsectarian college. Its first class entered September 15, 1885. The college is located on a campus in a historic residential neighborhood...
  
   (MN), Scots, all other sports member of MIAC
  Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
  The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. As the name implies, member schools are located in the state of Minnesota...
  
  .

Basketball independents (as of May 2010)

• University of California, Santa Cruz
  University of California, Santa Cruz
  The University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university; one of ten campuses in the University of California...
  
   (CA), Banana Slugs
• Chapman University
  Chapman University
  Chapman University is a private, non-profit university located in Orange, California affiliated with the Christian Church . Known for its blend of liberal arts and professional programs, Chapman University encompasses seven schools and colleges: Lawrence and Kristina Dodge College of Film and Media...
  
   (CA), Panthers
• Finlandia University
  Finlandia University
  Finlandia University is a university in Hancock, Michigan, United States, and the only private university in the Upper Peninsula. Founded in 1896 as Suomi College, it is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.-History:...
  
   (MI), Lions
• Lancaster Bible College
  Lancaster Bible College
  Lancaster Bible College is a private, coeducational Bible college and graduate school in Lancaster, Pennsylvania that "exists to educate Christian students to think and live a biblical worldview and to proclaim Christ by serving him in the Church and society."Traditional undergraduate students...
  
   (PA), Chargers, Joining North Eastern Athletic Conference
  North Eastern Athletic Conference
  The North Eastern Athletic Conference is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.-Members:...
  
   in 2011
• University of Maine at Presque Isle
  University of Maine at Presque Isle
  The University of Maine at Presque Isle is part of the University of Maine System. Located in Presque Isle, UMPI offers studies in social and life sciences, business, recreation, education, and natural sciences. Its campus radio station is WUPI....
  
  † (ME), Owls
• Mount Mary College
  Mount Mary College
  Mount Mary College is a Catholic women's college based on the liberal arts, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It offers bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, and bachelor of science in nursing in partnership with Columbia College of Nursing degrees in over 60 undergraduate majors, and master of arts,...
  
   (WI), Blue Angels
• Nebraska Wesleyan University
  Nebraska Wesleyan University
  Nebraska Wesleyan University is a private, coeducational university located in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was founded in 1887 by Nebraska Methodists. As of 2007, it has 1,600 full-time students and 300 faculty and staff. The school teaches in the tradition of a liberal arts college education....
  
  † (NE), Prairie Wolves
• College of New Rochelle (NY), Blue Angels
• North Central University
  North Central University
  North Central University is a coeducational, undergraduate, primarily residential college owned and operated by 11 Assemblies of God districts of the upper Midwest. It is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA...
  
   (MN), Rams. Cross country, golf and tennis participate in the UMAC
  Upper Midwest Athletic Conference
  The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference is a college-level athletic conference. The UMAC is a member-conference of the NCAA Division III. The UMAC was formerly affiliated with the NAIA. Corey Borchardt is the current commissioner of the UMAC, and was appointed to the position in 2008...
  
  .
• Rust College
  Rust College
  Rust College is a historically black liberal arts college located in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Located approximately 35 miles southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, it is the second-oldest private college in the state...
  
   (MS), Bearcats
• St. Joseph's College - Brooklyn Campus (NY), Bears
• Trinity Washington University
  Trinity Washington University
  Trinity Washington University, founded in 1897 by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, is a Roman Catholic university located in Washington, D.C. across from Catholic University of America and the Dominican House of Studies...
  
   (DC), Tigers

† Holds dual membership in the NAIA

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...