William & Mary will depart CAA Football to join the Patriot League as an associate football member beginning in the 2026 season.
It’s a similar move that Richmond made entering the 2025 season.
William & Mary and Richmond had recently announced they will continue their historic Capital Cup rivalry game. The two have played 135 times dating back to 1898. It’s traditionally called the “Oldest Rivalry in the South” but can be more accurately described as the most-played rivalry in the South. The series is the 4th most-played rivalry game in Division 1, trailing Lafayette-Lehigh, Yale-Princeton, and Yale-Harvard.
William & Mary will remain a full member of the CAA for its other sports.
In 2026, the Patriot League will expand to nine teams as W&M joins Bucknell, Colgate, Fordham, Georgetown, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, and Richmond.
The CAA will drop to 13 members: UAlbany, Bryant, Campbell, Elon, Hampton, Maine, Monmouth, New Hampshire, North Carolina A&T, Rhode Island, Stony Brook, Towson, and Villanova.
“I am pleased to welcome William & Mary as our ninth football member. This is an important day for the League,” Patriot League Commissioner Jennifer Heppel said. “William & Mary’s commitment to academic excellence, athletic performance and community engagement reflects a holistic approach to student-athlete development that aligns with our membership and will make them an ideal institutional partner for the League.”
The Tribe has reached the FCS playoffs three times since 2010 (2010, 2015, and 2022), reaching the 2022 quarterfinals. It finished 7-5 last year and 6-5 in 2023.
“We are so excited to accept this invitation from the Patriot League as football members,” said William & Mary President Katherine A. Rowe. “It is a delight to be president of a university with such a robust commitment to excellence in Division I sports. We are constantly looking at how best we can support students who compete in every one of our sports. This move is a perfect fit for our football program, and we look forward to the future.”
In a statement, CAA Commissioner Joe D’Antonio said: “Today, I was informed of William & Mary’s decision to depart the CAA Football conference at the conclusion of the 2025 season. The CAA continues to be regarded as one of the premier conferences in FCS football, having sent at least three teams to the playoffs in 17 of the past 19 years. Ten times over the past 12 seasons, at least one CAA team has advanced to the semifinals of the playoffs, and even more impressively, seven different conference schools have reached the semifinals over that 12-year period. CAA Football remains committed to competing at the highest level and continuing its long-standing history of success. CAA Football will continue to make decisions that move the conference forward by creating both a competitive and sustainable model.”
