History

The birth of the NJCAA dates back to 1937 when representatives from thirteen California-based community colleges met to discuss the prospect of participating in the NCAA Track & Field Championship. While that meeting at the West Coast Relays in Fresno didn’t have immediate implications, it would in 1938 when the NCAA denied the schools’ petition to partake in the event. The representatives reconvened at the West Coast Relays and adopted a constitution for an athletic association oriented exclusively around two-year institutions, named the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) in 1939.

The NJCAA’s charter institutions all hailed from California. The association began adding more members and regionalized them within the Golden State. Further expansion brought in new membership from outside California and the NJCAA quickly grew into a national organization. World War II briefly halted play, but the association prevailed and was able to increase its membership to over 200 schools. While expansion was beneficial and desirable, its side effects negatively impacted the association’s governing ability. An effort to centralize governance and reorganize the NJCAA was subsequently initiated in 1949.

One of the most significant results of the NJCAA’s reorganization was the mass exodus of California institutions. A state bill, approved in 1951, prevented schools in the Golden State from participating in NJCAA-sponsored events. The passing of this bill resulted from administrators’ dissatisfaction with the logistics of out-of-state travel and a broader desire to reorganize community college athletics. Many of these institutions are now members of the separately-governed California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA).

The near decade-long reorganization effort resulted in the establishment of a respectable central governing body, stricter eligibility requirements, and clear guidelines for member institutions. The NCAA later expressed interest in establishing a junior college division with the NJCAA, but their informal proposal was ultimately rejected.

Membership

The NJCAA restricts membership to two-year institutions:

“Members eligible to join the NJCAA shall consist of two-year colleges and institutions accredited by the appropriate state and/or regional accrediting agency. As members, they shall be entitled to all the privileges and obligations of the constitution, bylaws and executive regulations of the National Junior College Athletic Association.” [4]

“By majority vote of the Board of Regents, membership may be awarded or denied to any institution. The national office will determine region placement for new members.” [5]

NJCAA members are not prohibited from joining other governing bodies/organizations.

Structure

The NJCAA is organized by divisions, regions, and conferences. Member institutions are classified by division and assigned to a region with the option of also joining a conference.

Divisions

At the highest level of organization, the NJCAA is divided into divisions. While the association has three divisions, only two are utilized in football. The key distinction between the two is how competitive its members are and how athletes are directly compensated by institutions. Division I (DI) members are considered the association’s most competitive and permitted to offer athletes academic scholarships that cover tuition, housing, books, supplies, and even travel costs to and from campus. Unlike their DI counterparts, Division III (DIII) programs are prohibited from offering athletes any form of financial assistance and, while not as competitive as most DI programs, are respectable in their own right.

Regions

Each NJCAA member is assigned to a region. Teams are assigned to regions based on their geography independent of division affiliation. For football, a team’s regional affiliation is more of a formality as it does not have direct implications on the postseason or other factors that impact the program. Teams in the same region typically share conference membership (or independence). Those in separate conferences frequently elect to schedule games against each other due to their regional proximity and in select scenarios where only two teams play in a given region, declare their contest a “regional championship.”

Conferences

Every NJCAA member is permitted, but not obligated, to join a conference of their choosing. The primary function of NJCAA conferences is to schedule matchups for their members. NJCAA conferences are hyper-regional, meaning members hail from just one or a few neighboring states. This setup offers several assurances for members. First and foremost, conference members consistently compete against each other, which often promotes sustainable regional rivalries. It also keeps transportation costs low, an essential for junior/community colleges with limited athletics budgets. Larger conferences sometimes elect to establish divisions to regionalize their members further. Organizations with this structure can pit division champions against each other at the end of the regular season to crown a true conference champion.

Teams who choose not to join a conference, or “Independents,” are solely responsible for scheduling their games annually. Despite not being in a conference, independents are still eligible for a berth in their respective division’s postseason.

Governance

Authority

The NJCAA is 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Organizations with this designation are tax-exempt, as outlined by 26 U.S. Code § 501 [8]:

“An organization described in subsection (c) or (d) or section 401(a) shall be exempt from taxation under this subtitle unless such exemption is denied under section 502 or 503.” [8]

“The following [exempt] organizations are referred to in subsection (a): Corporations, and any community chest, fund, or foundation, organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational purposes, or to foster national or international amateur sports competition (but only if no part of its activities involve the provision of athletic facilities or equipment), or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual, no substantial part of the activities of which is carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting, to influence legislation (except as otherwise provided in subsection (h)), and which does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.” [8]

The highest authority in the NJCAA is the Board of Regents (the Board):

“The 24 Board of Regent Members, one from each of the 24 regions, the Board Chair, the Men’s Senior Administrator, the Women’s Senior Administrator, the six Presidential Representatives, and the At-Large Representatives shall comprise the Board of Regents.” [4]

Structure

The Board is the association’s central governing authority. Between 37 and 38 members comprise the Board with representation from every faction of the association:

“The Board of Regents is composed of a minimum of 37 to a maximum of 38 members. The members include twenty-four (24) Regional Representatives, one (1) Women’s Senior Administrator and one (1) Men’s Senior Administrator, six (6) Presidential Representatives, and a maximum of six (6) At-Large Representatives.” [5]

One of the most important functions of the Board is to organize members by region:

“The Board of Regents shall have the power to organize the membership of this corporation into regions for administrative, legislative and competitive purposes.” [4]

The Board Chair is the most prominent figure on the Board and, among other duties, is expected to do as follows:

“Work with the President/CEO to make necessary decisions on all points not specifically governed by the Constitution and Bylaws.” [5]

“Delegate responsibility for handling all duties not specifically provided for in the Constitution and Bylaws.” [5]

“Cast the deciding ballot in all Board Meetings in the event of a tie vote on any motion.” [5]

“Work in an advisory capacity in conjunction with the NJCAA Board of Regents and the NJCAA National Office on past, current and future direction, issues and projects.” [5]

The Board Chair is also tasked with electing and supervising the association’s President/CEO:

“The Board Chair shall elect a committee of at least 8 from the BOR to determine the steps desired to hire the position.” [5]

“[The Board Chair shall] review the performance of the NJCAA President/CEO and include the Board of Regents as necessary.” [5]

The President/CEO is the head representative of the NJCAA National Office. The National Office assists member institutions with operational functions and other administrative tasks. The Board works closely with the National Office, primarily through the Presidents’ Commission:

“The NJCAA Presidents’ Commission provides a platform for national and regional dialogues among member college presidents and assists the association in setting the national agenda and strategic directions.” [5]

“[The Chair of the Presidents’ Commission shall] work in an advisory capacity in conjunction with the NJCAA Board of Regents and the NJCAA National Office on past, current and future direction, issues and projects.” [5]

“[The Chair of the Presidents’ Commission shall] work with the President/CEO to make necessary decisions on all points not specifically governed by the Constitution and Bylaws.” [5]

Regions and conferences directly oversee their member programs and enforce the rules and regulations set forth by the Board. They are permitted to establish rules of their own as long as those rules do not conflict with the association’s:

“Institutions/Regions/Conferences may implement rules more restrictive than the NJCAA regulations but may not implement conflicting rules.” [5]

Regions and conferences are, therefore, the most direct authority that teams report to and take guidance from. Regional representation on the Board also ensures that the voices of programs in every corner of the country are heard and accounted for.

Scheduling

Regular Season

The NJCAA states that a team can play a maximum of 11 regular season contests but does not provide a minimum number of countable contests a team must play in a given season. In addition to 11 regular season contests, programs are permitted to compete in two scrimmages per season. A scrimmage is defined as follows:

“A scrimmage is a contest or athletic contact with individuals from outside the institution which is conducted to prepare a team for regular and or postseason competition;” [9]

Scrimmages must possess the reciprocity and permanence traits:

“Reciprocity: Both colleges must agree to, and classify the competition in the same manner, either scrimmage or regular season.” [9]

“Permanence: Once the contest is classified and completed either as a scrimmage or an official game, it may not be changed.” [9]

The NJCAA also provides the following criteria for a team to become postseason (bowl) eligible:

“Overall record must be at .500 (eliminating ties)” [6]

“At least 50 percent (50%) of a team’s schedule must be against NJCAA member colleges” [6]

“Play a minimum of nine (9) games” [6]

While teams play the majority of their contests against opponents within their division, inter-division play is allowed. Each division, however, does not perform the actual function of scheduling; rather, this responsibility is deferred to conferences, their member institutions, and independents. Conferences typically schedule a fixed number of matchups between their members, ensuring each team plays the same number of conference opponents. How a conference does this is determined internally. The remainder of a team’s schedule is open-ended. A team can fill it with opponents outside their conference or designate any remaining conference opponents as “non-conference.” As implied, independents are solely responsible for scheduling their games in a given season.

Teams sometimes play opponents outside the association. This includes teams in the USCAA, prep schools, true independents (programs not associated with a governing body), and even JV teams from the NAIA and NCAA.

Conference Championships

While not explicitly stated, conference championship tournaments and games are counted towards an institution’s playing season and regularly scheduled contest maximum.

Conferences may host a championship tournament/game to bolster their members’ case for a postseason berth/invitation. Participating conferences can pit their highest-seeded members or, if the conference has divisions, each division’s highest seeds, against each other. A conference determines its highest seeds with internal metrics, which can also be applicable when selecting the site of the championship game. Conferences that do not host a designated championship game also utilize internal metrics to crown a regular season champion.

Postseason

Postseason play, including the division championship tournaments and bowl games, begins after the regular season has concluded.

Each division has a committee that determines weekly rankings and playoff berths. While unique, both follow the same procedures when ranking teams:

“To be ranked in the weekly ratings, the college must have filed a Certification of Eligibility of its squad members with the Office of Eligibility and the Regional Director.” [6]

“The highest and lowest votes will be eliminated each week.” [6]

“In the event of a tie for the No. 1 position in the poll, the number of overall first place votes from all members of the voting panel will be used to break the tie. If a tie should still exist, all football panel members shall be immediately polled again by NJCAA National Office and asked to rank only the teams that were tied.” [6]

Division I Championship

Every Division I program is eligible to compete for the Division I Championship. The Division I Football Poll Committee, the primary authority on Division I polling, is structured like so:

“The Division I Football Poll Committee will consist of twelve (12) individuals: six (6) members of the NJCAA Division I Football Committee and one coach from each of the six (6) represented areas – ICCAC, KJCCC, MACCC, NFC, SWJCFC, independents.” [6]

The committee uses the following procedure to release its weekly Top-15 poll:

“Each member of the Division I Football Poll Committee casts one ballot for the top 15 teams in the country each poll week. Points are awarded for the 15 picks based on 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1. The tabulation of these ballots constitutes the ‘Top 15’ in the weekly NJCAA Division I Football Poll.” [6]

The day after the regular season concludes, the committee convenes to conduct its final regular season poll. This poll ultimately determines who will receive an invitation to the Division I Championship tournament:

“The members of the Division I Football Poll Committee shall vote to determine the final regular season poll. If a committee member is a direct representative (athletic director, head coach, sports information director, etc.) of a member college who will be considered for selection into the NJCAA Division I Football Playoff, the committee member shall be permitted to participate during the weekly poll call to provide input and insight from their district but will not be permitted to vote on the final poll.” [6]

The top four teams in the committee’s final regular season poll are selected as at-large bids to the playoffs, seeded by their ranking. The first and fourth seeds play at the first seed’s home venue while the second and third seeds play at the second seed’s venue. The semifinal victors then play at a designated neutral site to crown the Division I champion.

Division III Championship

Similar to their DI counterparts, every Division III program is eligible to compete for the Division III Championship. The Division III Football Poll Committee, the primary authority on Division III polling, is structured like so:

“The Division III Football Poll Committee will consist of the six (6) members of the NJCAA Division III Football Committee.” [6]

The committee uses the following procedure to release its weekly Top-5 poll:

“Each member of the Division III Football Poll Committee casts one ballot for the top 5 teams in the country each poll week. Points are awarded for the 5 picks based on 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1. The tabulation of these ballots constitutes the ‘Top 5’ in the weekly NJCAA Division III Football Poll.” [6]

The day after the regular season concludes, the committee convenes to conduct its final regular season poll. This poll ultimately determines who will receive an invitation to the Division III Championship game:

“The members of the Division III Football Committee shall vote to determine the final regular season poll.” [6]

Due to the smaller number of programs in the division, only the top two teams in the committee’s final regular season poll are selected to play in the Division III Championship. The victor of that contest is then crowned division champion.

Bowl Games

The NJCAA sponsors a select number of bowl games for teams not competing in the playoffs. As stated above, for any team to be eligible for bowl game consideration, they must meet the following criteria:

“Overall record must be at .500 (eliminating ties)” [6]

“At least 50 percent (50%) of a team’s schedule must be against NJCAA member colleges” [6]

“Play a minimum of nine (9) games” [6]

The Wool Bowl, for example, pits bowl-eligible New Mexico Military against another eligible team in the Wool Bowl (the Broncos’ home venue). Another example is the Game One Bowl, which features an inter-divisional matchup between an eligible team in the ICCAC (DI) and the MCAC (DIII).

Media Rights

Conferences and members (whether conference-affiliated or not) control their media rights arrangements. Conferences can, but are not required to, provide a media and broadcasting infrastructure for their members.

Most broadcast games on a custom-built conference network. These networks are typically powered by industry-standard streaming platforms (e.g., HudlTV) and also allow institutions to enable a subscription service (i.e. a paywall) to generate additional revenue from viewership, should they choose. Conferences can also air games on a general streaming platform (e.g., YouTube) exclusively or in addition to another service.

The vast majority of NJCAA programs make their broadcasts available to the public at no cost. This is valuable to them and the association because it allows distant fans to stay engaged while exposing the programs to larger, emerging audiences. Instead of using a paywall, institutions can earn additional revenue from broadcasts with advertising.

Postseason participants may become subject to a new set of broadcasting agreements that take precedence over existing ones.

Recruitment

Coaches, staff, and all other agents of a NJCAA institution (representatives) are permitted to recruit any eligible prospective student-athlete in the country. An eligible prospect is a student who has not signed a Letter of Intent or is not in season at an NJCAA member institution. Recruits can take one official and variable unofficial visits to an institution:

“A visit is classified as “Official”, if any benefit is provided or funds are expended by the institution or its representatives to facilitate the visit of the prospective student-athlete plus two guests.” [5]

“A visit is classified as “Unofficial” provided the following are met: No expense or benefit is provided for the recruit; Student-athletes may take up to two unofficial visits with athletic participation with team or current student-athletes. There is no limit to number of unofficial visits with athletic contact without athletic participation.” [5]

The organization shares many of the same guiding principles for recruiting as its peers. For example, representatives are strictly prohibited from illegally “inducing” a current or prospective student-athlete or gifting the athlete or his family. The NJCAA also does not set a defined recruiting calendar or “periods” which gives representatives the flexibility to engage in activities with eligible recruits throughout the year. Representatives can visit eligible recruits at any location and are not geographically restricted.

Compensation For Athletes

Scholarships

Current/prospective student-athletes of a Division I institution are permitted to receive an athletic scholarship from the institution itself, booster clubs, foundations, civic groups, or any other person or organization. In this arrangement, the student-athlete is financially awarded for his athletic capabilities/associations. All athletic scholarships must be formally submitted to the institution by June 15th and extended to the current/prospective student-athlete through the institution’s financial aid office. Costs that can be covered by a grant-in-aid include:

“Tuition and course fees, Room and board, Course related books, Up to $250 in course required supplies per academic year, provided such course supplies are required by all students in the course and specified in the institutions catalog or course syllabus, Transportation costs one time per academic year to and from the college by direct route.” [5]

Current/prospective student-athletes of a Division III institution, on the other hand, are prohibited from receiving any form of financial aid based on their athletic capabilities/associations.

Any institution, regardless of division, is permitted to offer non-athletic scholarships under the following stipulations:

“Aid must be available to the entire student population, AND” [5]

“Aid must not be awarded based on athletic capabilities, performance or participation, AND” [5]

“Aid must be officially recorded in and administered by the college’s office of financial aid and business, AND” [5]

“Aid must be awarded either on the basis of need, as verified by the college’s office of financial aid OR for outstanding academic achievement, published in the college catalog, office of financial aid, and/or foundation scholarship materials.” [5]

Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL)

As of June 2021, NJCAA athletes are permitted to leverage their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) for financial gain. Per the NJCAA’s bylaws [5]:

“A member institution may allow a student-athlete to receive compensation for name, image and likeness, provided it is following local, state and federal law.” [5]

“There must be an exchange of goods/services (Quid Pro Quo).” [5]

This enables athletes to seek partnerships and agreements with organizations that compensate them for promoting products or services. Student-athletes are permitted to utilize professional service providers to represent them for NIL purposes only. The following are legal NIL activities:

“Participating in radio or television programs for the purpose of promoting an amateur athletic event.” [7]

“Receiving compensation for supervision of physical education, playground, or recreational activities.” [7]

“Receiving compensation for use of name, image, or likeness to promote any commercial product or enterprise, or public or media appearance so long as it does not conflict with the institutions existing partnerships, sponsorships, and agreements.” [7]

“A member institution allowing a student-athlete to receive compensation in compliance with their state law.” [7]

This legislation works in conjunction with the pre-existing structure for financial compensation. Athletes cannot receive compensation conditionally based on their performance or designated as employees of their school such that they operate within a “pay-for-play” environment.

References

1. NJCAA History (August 2, 2018)
2. History of the NJCAA
3. Rising from the Ashes (October 17, 2012)
4. NJCAA Constitution (2024-2025)
5. NJCAA Bylaws (2024-2025)
6. NJCAA Sport Codes
7. NJCAA Name Image and Likeness Update (June 30, 2021)
8. United States Code
9. NJCAA Sports Procedures Chart (2025-26)