SCAC Adds Gallaudet as Football Affiliate; Retains Automatic Bid to NCAA Championships
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.
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 an 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.
