There are currently 306 American and Canadian colleges and universities classified as Division II for NCAA competition. During the 2016–17 academic year, 12 schools are in the process of reclassifying to Division II. Forty-four of the 50 U.S. states, plus the District of Columbia and the Canadian province of British Columbia are represented. Arizona, Louisiana, Maine, Nevada, Rhode Island, and Wyoming do not currently have D-II institutions.
These schools are actively pursuing Division II and have been accepted by a conference. Their application for NCAA D-II membership has yet to be accepted, which is determined in July each year.
Men's and Women's Ice Hockey and Water Polo; Men's Volleyball; Women's Bowling and Gymnastics; and Co-ed Fencing, Rifle, and Skiing are not sponsored in Division II.
Some schools have opted to compete in a sport at a higher level and are allowed to do so by the NCAA under certain circumstances. First, when the NCAA placed severe restrictions on the fielding of Division I teams by Division II institutions in 2011, it grandfathered in all then-current D-I teams at D-II schools. Apart from this, Division II members are allowed to compete for Division I championships in sports in which a Division II national championship is not contested.
The Northeast-10 Men's Ice Hockey teams compete as a D-II conference. The Northeast-10 Women's Ice Hockey teams are members of the D-III Women's New England Hockey Conference in the regular season only. Because the NE-10 is the sole Division II hockey league, its postseason champion cannot compete for the NCAA national hockey championship. Post University Ice Hockey teams also compete as D-II.
The following is a list of Division II institutions currently on probation by the NCAA in one or more sports. Probation decisions are made by the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Committee on Infractions.