SUWANEE, Ga. — The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) today announced that Gallaudet University (Washington, D.C.) has accepted affiliate membership in football, effective with the 2026 season. The addition keeps the league's football membership at six and satisfies NCAA Division III requirements for the SCAC and its champion to receive an automatic qualifier (AQ) in football. The SCAC last earned an AQ in football in 2011.
When the 2026 season opens, the SCAC will field six football programs: four core members (Austin College, Centenary College, Hendrix College and Texas Lutheran University) and two affiliates (Lyon College and Gallaudet University). Under current NCAA policy, the conference will have an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Football Championship beginning with the 2026 season.
"It's not exactly the pathway we imagined when we agreed to reinstate the sport back in 2022, but I could not be more pleased that we can now offer our football student-athletes a guaranteed pathway to the NCAA Championships," said SCAC Commissioner Dwayne Hanberry.
Specific to the addition of Gallaudet, Hanberry said, "Gallaudet enriches our league with a proud tradition of excellence, a strong commitment to student-athlete development, and a unique cultural perspective that will strengthen competition and community across the conference. We are excited to have them participate as a vital part of our championship weekend."
Gallaudet, which competed last season as an affiliate of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, will not play a full SCAC conference schedule. Instead, the Bison will be placed into the conference championship bracket based on the team's NPI ranking entering Championship Weekend. Gallaudet has committed to this arrangement for the 2026 and 2027 seasons.
"Gallaudet football has been around since 1883 and has a rich history, as the
Home of the Huddle™ so it was vital for us to preserve the sustainability of our program," said Gallaudet Athletics Director
Warren Keller. "That meant balancing scheduling autonomy with a clear pathway to compete for the NCAA tournament. The SCAC has been developing exceptional student-athletes since 1962, and we are honored and thrilled for our institution to be a part of something special as an affiliate member, compete at the famed War Memorial Stadium, and expand our recruiting base."
The 2026 SCAC Football Championships will be held Saturday, November 14, at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Ark. This will be the second consecutive year the league's season-ending championship is played at the historic venue. All six teams will participate, with three games scheduled across Championship Saturday. The championship game winner will receive the SCAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Football Championship.
Football was a SCAC sponsored sport from the league's founding in 1962 (as the College Athletic Conference) through the 2016 season and was reinstated in the conference structure in 2024.
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About SCAC
The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) was formed to provide an association through which the member institutions may encourage organized competition in intercollegiate sports among teams representative of their respective student bodies. Members of this conference share a commitment to priority of the overall quality of academic standards and quality educational experiences. The SCAC is currently (4/16/26) comprised of
Austin College of Sherman, Texas;
Centenary College of Shreveport, Louisiana;
Colorado College of Colorado Springs, Colorado;
Concordia University Texas of Austin, Texas;
University of Dallas of Irving, Texas;
Hendrix College of Conway, Arkansas;
LeTourneau University of Longview, Texas;
McMurry University of Abilene, Texas;
University of the Ozarks of Clarksville, Arkansas;
Schreiner University of Kerrville, Texas;
University of St. Thomas of Houston, Texas; and
Texas Lutheran University of Seguin, Texas. For more information visit
SCACsports.com.
About Gallaudet
Gallaudet University, federally chartered in 1864, is a bilingual, diverse, multicultural institution of higher education that ensures the intellectual and professional advancement of deaf and hard of hearing individuals through American Sign Language and English. Gallaudet maintains a proud tradition of research and scholarly activity and prepares its graduates for career opportunities in a highly competitive, technological, and rapidly changing world. For more information about Gallaudet University please log onto
www.gallaudet.edu and visit the Bison athletics homepage at
www.gallaudetbison.com.
