Yavapai has been approved to join the NAIA starting in 2027-28, with the Roughriders to join the GSAC. Acting President Doug Berry: “Being accepted into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) is a proud, historic milestone for Yavapai College, and a natural next chapter for an athletics program that has been winning on the national stage for five decades. … Competing in the NAIA's Great Southwest Athletic Conference, our student-athletes will carry that legacy onto a larger stage. They'll challenge themselves, grow as leaders, and represent Yavapai College and our community with the same grit and excellence that have defined the Roughriders for generations.” (link)