College Basketball

College basketball most often refers to the American basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III. There are 347 schools in 32 Division I basketball conferences. Each conference,

except for the newly formed Great West Conference, receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship. The conferences are as follows: There are also 6 independent Division I schools without conference affiliation, for the 2009-10 season. There are 22 Division II basketball conferences. The conferences are as follows: There are also 18 independent Division II schools without conference affiliation, for the 2009-10 season. In past decades, the NBA held to tradition and drafted players who had graduated from college. This was a mutually beneficial relationship for the NBA and colleges—the colleges held onto players who would otherwise go professional, and the NBA did not have to fund a minor league. As the college game became commercialized, though, it became increasingly difficult for "student athletes" to be students.