Athletic conference An athletic conference is a collection of sports team s , playing competitively against each other at the professional , collegiate , or high school level . In many cases conferences are subdivided into smaller and smaller division s , with the best teams competing at successively higher levels . Conferences often , but not always , include teams from a common geographic region . United States . In the United States and Canada , the National Hockey League ( NHL ) and National Basketball Association ( NBA ) are divided into the western ( NHL , NBA ) and eastern ( NHL , NBA ) conferences , with three divisions within each conference . In both leagues , the winners of the three divisions in each conference automatically advance to the playoffs , with the 5 next best teams in each conference also going to the playoffs . In the NHL each of the three division winner is guaranteed one of the top three seed s ( or ranks to determine who has home advantage and the matchups for each round of the playoffs , where the top ranked teams play lower ranked teams ) in the NBA the top four seeds go to the three division winners and the next best team , based on record . A pending realignment will divide the NHL into four regional conferences instead of two . The National Football League has an American Football Conference ( AFC ) and a National Football Conference ( NFC ) . Both conferences have 16 teams , and each conference is divided into 4 divisions of 4 teams each . Each of the 4 division winners is guaranteed one of the top 4 seeds in the playoffs . These conferences , for the most part , derive from the fact that they were once separate organizations : the original National Football League and the 1960s American Football League ; the two entities merged in 1970 , with each league forming the basis of the NFC and AFC respectively . Major League Baseball does not use the word " conference . " Instead , it is divided into two separate leagues which are identical to the conferences listed above in all but name ( which , although their operations have been integrated via the Commissioner of Baseball in modern times , were originally separately managed organizations with an intense rivalry ) ; These are the American League and National League with 15 teams each . Each league is divided into the Eastern , Central and Western divisions , with all six divisions having 5 teams . Each division winner is also guaranteed one of the top three seeds , even if their record is lower than the league ' s top wildcard team . In all four sports , the champion of one conference ( or league in MLB ' s case ) plays the champion of the other conference for the final round championship , this is guaranteed to occur because the rules for the playoffs require play to be exclusively within the conference / league in all rounds before the final round , leaving only two teams for the finals ( one from each conference / league ) and the records of teams outside a conference / league are ignored , which can allow teams with inferior records to make the playoffs while teams in the other conference with better records do not get in . An extreme example of this occurred in the NFL in 2010 in regards to the Seattle Seahawks , who achieved a playoff position despite having a losing record ( the only time this has happened in a non - strike season ) . Also , in each sport , teams play predominately within their own conference during the regular season , but play some games outside their conference ( or league in baseball ) . In college sports , the terms " league , " " conference " and ( generally at lower levels ) " athletic association " can be used interchangeably to refer to a group ( usually of approximately ten colleges and / or universities ) of teams that regularly play against each other within a national governing body , the most significant of which is the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) . Most of these groups ( including all of those in the Bowl Championship Series ) refer to themselves as conferences , although the Horizon League , Ivy League , Patriot League , Pioneer League and Summit League use the word " league " instead , and another conference calls itself the Colonial Athletic Association . The NCAA itself is divided into divisions and subdivisions , which can lead to redundancy when these conferences also have divisions of their own . For instance , the Southeastern Conference is part of NCAA Division I ( specifically the Football Bowl Subdivision ) , but is itself also subdivided into an east and west division . England and Wales . In English Association football , Conference National is one level below the The Football League . The second tier of which is divided into Conference North and Conference South . Although , this does not meet the above definition as Conference National is the fifth tier of the English football pyramid whilst Conferences North and South are the sixth . Australia , New Zealand and South Africa . In Australia , New Zealand and South Africa , the highest level of provincial rugby union is Super Rugby . From the 2011 season , Super Rugby will work on a conference system . The competition will have one conference based in each country . The winner of each conference will receive a play - off spot , as will the three next best teams overall . Philippines . In the Philippine Basketball Association where teams do not represent geographical entities , a conference is a tournament within a season .