The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA; <!--Not like the United States NCAA which is pronounced "N C double A"-->) is an athletic association of ten private colleges and universities in Metro Manila, Philippines. Established in 1924, it is the oldest collegiate athletic association in the country. The league is not affiliated with the NCAA of the United States, as such its referred to as NCAA Philippines.
History
Early years
The NCAA was founded in 1924 on the initiative of Regino R. Ylanan, a physical education professor of the University of the Philippines (UP). The original members were the Ateneo de Manila, De La Salle College, Institute of Accounts (now as Far Eastern University), National University (NU), San Beda College (SBC), the University of Manila, the University of the Philippines, and the University of Santo Tomas (UST).
The decision of the board of directors to file papers of incorporation with the then Bureau of Commerce in 1930 led to protests from the University of the Philippines, which was the only public institution among member schools, saying that it would lead to commercialization. National University and the University of Santo Tomas sided with the University of the Philippines on the matter. This led into the formation, via an Article of Agreement, of a triangular meet among NU, UP and UST, with the Board of Control's condition that NCAA events should take precedence. The league established came to be known as the "Big Three," and in 1932, the Article of Agreement was renewed.
In 1936, the University of the Philippines, National University and University of Santo Tomas withdrew permanently from the NCAA and continued with their own league, while Far Eastern University (FEU) withdrew on its own. Six schools remained in the league and became known as the "old-timer six" – Ateneo de Manila, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, De La Salle College, José Rizal College, Mapúa Institute of Technology and San Beda College. Also in 1936, league's basketball games were transferred to the newly completed Rizal Memorial Coliseum, owing to its accessibility among the schools, since most schools were in Manila.
In 1938, Far Eastern University, National University, the University of the Philippines and the University of Santo Tomas formed the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), a rival intercollegiate league.
The NCAA experienced a golden age during the postwar years. The Loyola Center at the Ateneo campus became the new home of the league. Due to the home court advantage of the Ateneo, Blue Eagles' games were held on the old Rizal Memorial. with the Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles and San Beda Red Lions locking horns during the same era.
The decade produced collegiate players like Carlos Loyzaga (San Beda), Lauro "the Fox" Mumar (Letran), and Francisco Rabat (Ateneo) among others.
The 1950s were also known as the decade of the Crispulo Zamora Cup, which was awarded by the NCAA for the first team to get three championship crowns. (However, the NCAA's official website states that Trinity joined the league in 1985; see next section.)
thumb|The 1978 San Beda Red Lions, NCAA seniors' basketball back to back champions.
After the riotous games of the late 1970s, several of the founding members left the league. The Ateneo de Manila University left the league in 1978 due to violence, while La Salle left after a riotous game with Letran in 1980. Ateneo de Manila was accepted in the UAAP in 1978, while La Salle had to wait for six years to become a UAAP member. San Beda left the league in 1983, reasoning that the college focused on school-based sports activities like intramurals.
With the withdrawal of Ateneo de Manila, league games returned to the old Rizal Memorial and to the PhilSports Arena, since the Loyola Center was now the location of the UAAP tournament. Also with the withdrawal of the three founding members, most daily publications tagged the NCAA as "an ironic journey from sports to violence." A year later, Trinity College of Quezon City finally was accepted as a full member after being a probationary member for more than a decade, according to publications of that period However, Trinity was not able to meet league requirements and was dropped from the league in 1986, the same year San Beda returned (despite sports articles in newspapers that year stating Trinity voluntarily left the league).
2000 to 2019
The league continued its trajectory of growth into the new millennium. After it was revealed that several players of the PCU juniors' basketball team enrolled with spurious documents, PCU's seniors and juniors teams were suspended for the 2007–08 season. The seniors teams were permitted to participate in the 2008–09 season, but all PCU teams subsequently took an indefinite leave of absence beginning with the 2009–10 season.
In place of PCU, the Management Committee invited guest teams to fill out the league roster. Angeles University Foundation (AUF), Arellano University (AU), and Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC) were brought in as guest teams eligible to win championships. In Season 86, AU's and EAC's status were upgraded to probationary membership. Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU), which had earlier sought membership, joined as a guest team in Season 87 (2011–12). Arellano became a regular member in Season 89 (2013–14) after meeting the league requirements, followed by EAC and Lyceum in Season 91 (2015–16). By the mid-2010s, the league had stabilized at ten member schools, its largest membership in history.
The return of a Mapúa Juniors team, which took a leave of absence beginning Season 81 (2005–06) was scheduled in Season 83 (2007–08). Malayan High School would represent the Mapúa Institute of Technology in the Juniors Division of the NCAA. This newly established High School would only be fully operational by school year 2007–08. However, the scheduled return of the Mapua Junior varsity team did not materialize and instead it resumed participation in Season 84 (2008–09).
In 1998, the affiliated schools in the Calabarzon region and southern Metro Manila established NCAA South, an offshoot of the league. The schools of NCAA South do not compete with the schools in the main league.
The NCAA has also set plans for a Division II, which would be composed of newly admitted schools. The league has already visited and issued invitations to schools such as Arellano University, Emilio Aguinaldo College and the Lyceum of the Philippines University.
2020 onwards
Following the loss of the congressional franchise of ABS-CBN, the NCAA had to find a new broadcast partner. The GMA Network secured the broadcast rights for six seasons beginning with Season 96 (2020–21), a partnership that encompassed the association's centennial season in 2024–25. GMA eventually opt to not renew its contract with the league following the conclusion of NCAA Season 101, and as of 2026 the NCAA is once again seeking a new broadcast partner, with ABS-CBN, Bilyonaryo News Channel, PTV, and Net 25 among the interested parties.
The NCAA invited University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) as a guest team in the newly introduced golf tournament, hosted at Wack Wack Golf and Country Club.
In the lead-up to its centennial season, the league also undertook a renewal of its visual identity where it opened a public logo-making contest, of which hundreds were submitted to the Committee and Policy Board and ultimately, a logo designed by Jeffrey Salut was selected.
Organization
The Policy Board and the Management Committee handles the affairs of the league. The Board and the committee are composed of representatives of the ten member schools, and determine the acceptance and suspension of member schools, game reversals and replays, and other official decisions.
During the nearly year-long season from June to March, each school participates in 11 sports; each sport is conducted in two divisions: the Juniors for male high-school students, and the Seniors for college students. There are male and female Seniors divisions for some events. The Juniors and Seniors divisions each award a General Championship trophy at the end of the academic year to the school which had the best performance in all sports, based on the total number of points scored in a championship tally.
The current president of the Policy Board is Jose Paulo Campos of Emilio Aguinaldo College, while the Management Committee is headed by Estefania Boquiren Jr. of Emilio Aguinaldo College.
Member schools
The number and composition of NCAA members has changed over the years. The association is currently composed of the following schools, with their corresponding team names, affiliation, and year of admission.
{| class="wikitable" style="width:90%; text-align:left;"
|-
! Colors !! School !! Location !! Founded !! Joined !! Type !! Seniors' division !! Juniors' division
|-
| || Arellano University
|Manila|| 1938
|2009
|Private|| colspan="2" | Chiefs, Lady Chiefs and Braves
|-
| || Colegio de San Juan de Letran
|Manila|| 1620
|1936
|Private (Dominican)|| colspan="2" | Knights, Lady Knights and Squires
|-
| rowspan="2" |center|30px|border|| De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde
|Manila|| 1980
|1998
| rowspan="2" |Private (Lasallian)|| Blazers and Lady Blazers||
|-
| La Salle Green Hills
|Mandaluyong|| 1959
|1998|| || Greenies
|-
| rowspan="2" ||| Emilio Aguinaldo College
|Manila|| 1957
| rowspan="2" |2009
| rowspan="2" |Private|| Generals and Lady Generals||
|-
| Immaculate Conception Academy
|Dasmariñas, Cavite|| 1947 || || Brigadiers
|-
||| José Rizal University
|Mandaluyong|| 1919
|1927
|Private|| colspan="2" | Heavy Bombers, Lady Bombers and Light Bombers
|-
| rowspan="2" ||| Lyceum of the Philippines University
|Manila|| 1952
| rowspan="2" |2011
| rowspan="2" |Private|| Pirates and Lady Pirates||
|-
| Lyceum of the Philippines University – Cavite
|General Trias, Cavite|| 2008 || || Junior Pirates
|-
| rowspan="2" ||| Mapúa University
|Manila|| 1925
|1930
| rowspan="2" |Private|| Cardinals and Lady Cardinals ||
|-
| Malayan High School of Science
|Manila|| 2005
|2008|| || Red Robins
|-
| rowspan="2" ||| rowspan="2" | San Beda University
|Manila|| 1901
| rowspan="2" |1986
| rowspan="2" |Private (Benedictine)|| colspan="2" rowspan="2" | Red Lions, Red Lionesses and Red Cubs
|-
|Taytay, Rizal
|2004
|-
||| San Sebastian College – Recoletos
|Manila|| 1941
|1969
|Private (Augustinian Recollect)|| colspan="2" | Golden Stags, Lady Stags and Staglets
|-
||| University of Perpetual Help System DALTA
|Las Piñas|| 1975
|1984
|Private|| colspan="2" | Altas, Lady Altas and Junior Altas
|}
|group=teams
| Manila || Private || Season 101 (2026) || Esports || Guest for the NCAA esports tournament only; Fatima College also joined as a guest in the same event.
|-
| Our Lady of Fatima University (OLFU)