The DI-AA field appears to be set, with 14 conferences and two independent teams identified. The independent teams are East Carolina and Wheeling Jesuit.

This is the first year teams at Football Bowl Subdivision schools must play DI rugby to be eligible for the postseason without a waiver, prompting ECU's move to DI. And Wheeling Jesuit, after being denied entry into both the MAC Schools and Keystone conferences, will compete as an independent.

Independents are eligible for an at-large berth as long as they play six games against DI-AA competition.

The number of conferences stays static from last season, but three new leagues have formed: MAC Schools, PAC and the Pacific Western.

There are 12 conferences eligible for an automatic bid to the Sweet 16. The PAC and Southwest fall shy of the requisite seven member teams needed for an automatic bid, so if one of their teams is to make it to the postseason, it will have to receive an at-large berth from the College Competitions Committee.

There are still some conferences who have second sides competing in them, like the Southwest has Texas' seconds and the South Independent has Arkansas State's and Life's seconds. Those teams are not eligible for the DI-AA postseason. Texas actually gives the Southwest seven teams, but DI-A second sides don't count towards the seven needed for an automatic bid. 

In a unique case, American International College is not eligible for the East Coast's automatic bid to Nationals in either 7s or 15s per an agreement between AIC and the conference. The East Coast's acceptance of AIC, which competed in DII last year, was contingent on that issue. However, AIC is eligible for an at-large berth.

One of the late-summer moves was Iowa State joining the Heart of America. The creation of the Big Ten Universities, and its being exclusive to Big Ten-only schools, left the old Midwest and Mideast leagues in shambles and some teams needing to find a new league. Some went DII, like UW-Stout and UNI, while Iowa State went South. The Heart of America now has five members of the NCAA's old Big Eight conference in Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri and Oklahoma State.

Another relatively late move saw Baylor leave the Southwest for DI-A's Allied Rugby Conference. Baylor, which finished dead last in the Southwest a year ago, made the move after a coaching change.