A new era of Tribe Football is officially on the horizon.
Yesterday, William & Mary announced that the football program will join the Patriot League as an associate member beginning with the 2026 season, while all other Tribe sports remain in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA). The move follows months — really, years — of conference realignment speculation, much of which we’ve discussed here on the William & Mary Sports Blog.
From our Conference Realignment Talk: A-10 or Patriot? article in March to our deep dive into the future of college sports for true student-athletes in The Scholars League: A New Model for True Student-Athletes in February. And yes, for you dedicated WMSB readers, we did post an article nearly four years ago to the date titled, Should W&M Join the Patriot League?
Now, it’s official: W&M Football is headed to the Patriot League. Let’s dive in.
What W&M Announced
In an official statement, William & Mary President Katherine Rowe described the move as a “perfect fit” for the football program, highlighting the alignment with peer institutions that excel both athletically and academically. W&M Director of Athletics Brian Mann emphasized that while football will move, the Tribe’s commitment to competing for CAA championships in other sports remains.
“Our commitment to the league remains strong,” Mann said. “We value the opportunity for our 20 programs to compete for CAA Championships.”
In short:
- W&M Football → Patriot League starting in Fall 2026
- All Other W&M Sports → Stay in the CAA (except Men’s Gymnastics in ECAC and Women’s Gymnastics in GEC)
Importantly, W&M will still compete for the CAA Football Championship in 2025 before making the switch.
The Patriot League’s football schools include Bucknell, Colgate, Fordham, Georgetown, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh — and now, University of Richmond starting this fall, with William & Mary joining one year later.
“We’re stepping into a new chapter with the same intensity, preparation, and hunger to win,” said Tribe head coach Mike London.
Why It Matters
This move is not just a reshuffling of schedules — it’s a major philosophical shift.
As we discussed in Will William & Mary Pay Its Athletes or Take a Different Path?, W&M leadership made it clear earlier this year that it would hold off at least one year on directly paying athletes for playing sports, choosing instead to weigh its options, potentially signaling the school’s focus on a more academically-focused model moving forward. Aligning W&M Football with the Patriot League — long known for its emphasis on academics, need-based financial aid, and holistic student-athlete development — is a natural extension of that philosophy.
In the Patriot League, W&M Football will be competing against institutions that share its values, on and off the field. Schools like Holy Cross and Colgate have shown it’s possible to excel in FCS football without compromising academic standards — and W&M leadership clearly believes the Tribe can, too.
Moreover, this move secures one of Tribe Football’s greatest assets: its historic rivalry with Richmond. For those who may not be aware, William & Mary vs. Richmond is dubbed the “Oldest Rivalry in the South,” with the two schools first squaring off in 1898 — yes you read that correctly, 1898. Now, 135 games later, that tradition will carry on in the Patriot League. With Richmond’s football program set to officially join the Patriot this season, the stage is set for William & Mary and Richmond to continue battling for the Capital Cup, conference titles, and bragging rights for years to come.
As W&M alum Kendrick Ashton (W&M Football Class of 1998) said in an official statement, “The combination of William & Mary Football and the Patriot League is powerful. And I couldn’t be more excited about beating the snot out of Richmond for conference championships for years to come.”
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. Or as our buddies over at the JMU Sports Blog are fond of saying: squish the ticks.
Quick Reactions from the WM Sports Blog
Some quick hitters we’re already thinking about here at the Blog:
- W&M to the Patriot is a great move for football. The move aligns the Tribe with academically minded schools, preserves the Richmond rivalry indefinitely, and boosts the program’s viability in a long-term, sustainable way — added bonus: W&M Football is now on ESPN+!
- If W&M leadership wanted to move all sports to the Patriot, they would have done it yesterday. They didn’t. That signals W&M’s intent to stay in the CAA for non-football sports. Which is probably the right middle ground option, at least for now.
- The old CAA is gone. With realignment reshaping the landscape, it’s hard to see football programs like Elon sticking around. The door could even be open for more movement down the line — could Villanova football be next to the Patriot? It would make a lot of sense.
- Accept this as W&M’s new status quo: Patriot League for football, CAA for everything else. It’s a bit complicated, but it allows each program to thrive in the environment best suited for them, given the current (and ever-evolving) landscape of collegiate athletics.
How We Got Here
In summary, it’s worth revisiting one final time, how this move fits into broader trends we’ve been following:
- In Conference Realignment Talk: A-10 or Patriot?, we explored the growing appeal of the Patriot League for W&M and others seeking stability and academic alignment amidst the chaos of college athletics.
- In The Scholars League: A New Model for True Student-Athletes, we laid out a vision for college sports that prioritizes the student part of student-athlete — something the Patriot League model absolutely represents.
- In Will William & Mary Pay Its Athletes?, we noted W&M’s choice to preserve its academic and athletic balance rather than immediately choosing to chase big-dollar payouts that could upend its culture.
This move, quite simply, walks the walk.
What’s Next
For now, Tribe Football fans can enjoy one final season (2025) competing for a CAA title. After that, all eyes will be on a new slate of opponents, a revamped road to the FCS Playoffs, and new rivalries to build.
Expect some exciting nonconference games to continue — and with the Patriot League’s growing strength (five quarterfinal appearances since 2015), there’s real opportunity for W&M to thrive, and even dominate, in the Patriot.
And let’s be clear: this doesn’t lower the bar. If anything, it sharpens it. Winning in the Patriot League and making deep playoff runs is very much in reach — and W&M is positioning itself to do just that, alongside its historic rival, Richmond — with other CAA football programs potentially following suit.
We’ll have more thoughts and coverage as the move approaches. But for now, Tribe fans should feel good: this is a forward-thinking, strategic move that aligns with William & Mary’s strong academic values — and gives Tribe Football a strong, sustainable path for the future.
GO TRIBE.
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I love it, a great idea whose time has come.
I still think all sports to the SoCon would’ve been the better move. We’re more of a Southern school than a Northern school and we’d be going back to our roots from decades ago.
Disagree. IIRC, the stats from Admissions show that the vast majority of out-of-state undergrad students come from five states, ALL north of Virginia (MD, PA, NJ, NY, MA). W&M in the eighties (my undergrad years) was already becoming more of a Mid-Atlantic school than Southern and that trend seems to have continued.
It took NIL for my decades-long wish to come true
As a University of Richmond grad, I welcome your decision to join us in the Patriot League, keeping our historic rivalry intact and insuring it can still be played at the end of the season.
As far as Mr. Ashton’s comments go, about “beating the snot” out of the Spiders, he should do some research on the results over the last 20 years. Perhaps he wouldn’t be so brash.
I’m a Fordham grad thrilled to have W&M join us in the Patriot League. Hope you come visit us at Rose Hill when we host W&M in 2026 or 2027. Our campus is adjacent to the New York Botanical Gardens, the Bronx Zoo, and Arthur Avenue — the most authentic “Little Italy” in the US. Many of New York’s best Italian restaurants can be reached on foot within minutes of the final gun.