The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will leave the Ohio Valley Conference -- which it joined in 2022 -- next year for a new athletics conference following unanimous approval by the University of Arkansas System board of trustees during a special meeting Friday.
The move to the United Athletic Conference is effective July 1, 2026, and "everyone is very excited" at the top levels of the university, said Chancellor Christina Drale.
Drale said the new conference's members align with UALR's interests, noting that it's "Southern-facing" -- rather than the Ohio Valley Conference, which is centered in the upper-Midwest -- and "I like the energy of the league.